Thunderous Intentions
Fansided

Thunder in the News: The return to .500 is oh so close

By Tony Heim

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - DECEMBER 5: Russell Westbrook #0 of the OKC Thunder runs off the court yelling and celebrating after the game against the Utah Jazz on December 5, 2017 at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Layne Murdoch/NBAE via Getty Images)
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - DECEMBER 5: Russell Westbrook #0 of the OKC Thunder runs off the court yelling and celebrating after the game against the Utah Jazz on December 5, 2017 at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Layne Murdoch/NBAE via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
OKC Thunder center Steven Adams plays defense
BROOKLYN, NY – MARCH 14: Caris LeVert #22 of the Brooklyn Nets handles the ball against the OKC Thunder during the game on March 14, 2017 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Much like the OKC Thunder, In the News is riding a hot streak. That’s probably because when the team plays well, the team gets good press.

Today marks a momentous day for the Oklahoma City Thunder – they’re playing a game at the highest elevation in franchise history. Mexico City, approximately 7,300 feet above sea level, is the location of tonight’s matchup against the Brooklyn Nets. A win pushes the Thunder to their first four game win streak and back to .500 on the season, so hopefully this team doesn’t come out flat.

Previewing tonight from the opposition’s viewpoint

Mexico City is going to provide an interesting challenge for both teams. If either gets out to a big early lead the high elevation will make it harder for the losing team to claw their way back. That’s why Oklahoma City needs to come out with the first quarter fire we are accustomed to. Brooklyn is incredibly inferior on the talent spectrum, but their coach Kenny Atkinson has done a great job implementing his spread-out system. Thanks to Nets.com we have an idea of what their going to try and do to beat this Thunder team.

"Both of Brooklyn’s centers, Tyler Zeller and Jarrett Allen, responded with breakout performances in Atlanta and the team will need more of the same on Thursday night. If Zeller and Allen are factors on offense, it could help in slowing down Adams."

What to expect from Paul George moving forward

Never mind that this post is strictly about fantasy basketball. Kevin Pelton, Jim McCormick and Kyle Soppe’s trice-weekly fantasy roundtable featured Paul George yesterday; the discussion centered around PG’s declining statistics and whether or not that would continue moving forward. They all had virtually the same answer that can be summed up by Mr. Soppe:

"No, sir, we can expect more."

I have to say I agree with them.

Thunder still have offensive struggles to fix

Even with a three-game win streak the Thunder are nowhere close to mending all of their offensive woes. Thunderous Intentions writer Yams detailed the three biggest concerns, ones we all have heard the past 23 games. He does a great job laying out the statistics to explain where Oklahoma City has gone wrong, and how they can fix it sooner rather than later.

"The offense has not been simply underwhelming; it’s been atrocious. And there are quite a few reasons why that’s the case."

Next: The Thunder are showing legitimate signs of positivity

That’s it for today’s issue of Thunder in the News! As always we’ll have you covered with analysis from tonight’s Mexico City matchup. Make sure you’re checking our home page for all of our great content.

Home/Thunder News