Thunderous Intentions
Fansided

Thunder in the News: Hopefully we’ve hit Rock Bottom

By Tony Heim

NEW ORLEANS, LA - NOVEMBER 20: Paul George #13 of the OKC Thunder and E'Twaun Moore #55 of the New Orleans Pelicans scramble for a loose ball during the first half at the Smoothie King Center on November 20, 2017 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LA - NOVEMBER 20: Paul George #13 of the OKC Thunder and E'Twaun Moore #55 of the New Orleans Pelicans scramble for a loose ball during the first half at the Smoothie King Center on November 20, 2017 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
OKC Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook
NEW ORLEANS, LA – NOVEMBER 20: Russell Westbrook #0 of the OKC Thunder holds his head after being fouled by DeMarcus Cousins #0 of the New Orleans Pelicans during the second half at the Smoothie King Center on November 20, 2017 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The New Orleans Pelicans won the game 114 – 107. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images) /

Thunder in the News may be the only constant surrounding the OKC Thunder right now.

We are officially at the lowest point of the early Oklahoma City Thunder. The loss to the Sacramento Kings was bad, but a second straight blown 20-point lead is unacceptable from a team as talented as the Thunder. I guess that’s what happens when a a group of players have no idea how to play together.

Thunder lose second straight 20+ point lead

I’ve never seen a team that can play so well in the first quarter just to fall apart the last three. OKC shows flashes every game of a team that might be breaking through – those flashes are still outweighed by long stretches where OKC looks like they’ve never even practiced together. Brett Dawson said it perfectly though:

"The buzz saw was back on Monday night. The seesaw, too."

Kevin Durant may not play on Wednesday night

To make matters worse (and yes this is weirdly a bad thing), Kevin Durant is questionable for Wednesday’s showdown with the Warriors. The way the Thunder are playing there is little chance they can beat Golden State without KD. That’s exactly why I want him to play.

If OKC can’t take down Golden State at home without Durant how do they expect to win a single game against them in the Playoffs (if it comes to that)? If they lose without playing KD it’s just another arrow in his arsenal – that’s the last person I want to hear from right now.

"Durant added that he’s not sure if he’ll be able to play against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday, adding that he’s taking it day by day, per Haynes."

Did Sam Presti make the wrong draft pick?

If there’s been one positive thing about the Thunder this year it’s that their 19-year old rookie has been better than we expected. With OG Anunoby’s recent surge in Toronto there’s a new worry that Sam Presti may have chosen the wrong player. Austin Sternlicht breaks that exact premise down, but includes an important premise so we don’t go making any rash decisions:

"It’s still incredibly early and way too soon to judge, however there is a good chance the Thunder missed out on a golden opportunity to draft a star player at the end of the first round."

That’s it for today’s issue of Thunder in the News. We’re not giving up hope here at Thunderous Intentions just yet. We’re not going to be naive either – there’s a lot of work to be done in Oklahoma City.

Home/Thunder News