Last night marked the first time this season that an OKC Thunder win left such a bad taste in our mouths.
Yuck. That’s not the way I should be describing an Oklahoma City win, yet that’s exactly how I feel. The OKC Thunder squeaked by the lowly Orlando Magic last night to stay in the positive side of the Playoff picture. It was disheartening to say the least, solely because we’re not seeing the 110% effort we were promised for the second half of the season.
Let’s jump right into it.
Paul George, prepare to get fined
It took awhile, but Paul George finally voiced his frustrations about the officiating to the general public. The Players Association supposedly met with referees during the All-Star Break, but early signs show nothing was done to alleviate the players’ frustrations. So what happens now?
PG will receive a hefty fine from the League. It’s sad but true: Oklahoma City is simply going to have to deal with the referees the rest of the season. If you’re as annoyed as I, just talk to my cohort Tamberlyn Richardson – her stories about the Toronto Raptors struggles are probably worse than what we’ve experienced.
Paul George was frustrated a number of times after hard rim attacks with a lot of contact and no call, saying he, Westbrook and Melo are “officiated differently.” pic.twitter.com/Rcdkwp9zwZ
— Royce Young (@royceyoung) February 27, 2018
Thunder need Carmelo Anthony to quickly “change with the NBA”
When Andre Roberson ruptured his patella we knew role players were going to have to step up in his absence. It turns out Carmelo Anthony might just be the most important.
ESPN wrote a wonderful feature on Melo and his ever-fading style of play a few days ago. While we have to respect the 10-time All-Star for trying to stick to his roots, we simply need him to change. The Thunder have enough offensive talent where his mid-range isos aren’t needed. They have the defensively apt forwards in Jerami Grant and Patrick Patterson. What they need from Melo is to morph into a true two-way player that doesn’t stop OKC’s offense because he want to jab-jab-shoot.
If that doesn’t happen the Thunder don’t have a chance of making it past the Second Round.
"Fifteen years out there on the elbow, roughly 17 feet away, chiseling stones for his own personal pyramid. It’s a way of reaffirming his value in a world that no longer agrees."
Next: Zaza Pachulia is offically OKC's (and the NBA's) worst enemy
Recapping and grading last night’s performance
And finally, we provide the full recap and grades from last night’s win. New writer Stephen Dolan paints the picture on how the Thunder were able to pull off the victory. Here’s a hint for you: effort.
"75 percent of the credit for this win goes to the Thunder defense, since they decided to play defense for 75 percent of the game. The Magic scored only 67 points in the final three quarters, after the 38 they put up in the first."
That’s it for today’s issue of Thunder in the News! Tomorrow is a new day, an opportunity to refresh the brain and return to our optimistic OKC mindset. Now you have to hold me to it – return to Thunderous Intentions tomorrow for another edition of TitN, as well as pre-game analysis for the matchup with the Mavericks.