The OKC Thunder desperately need to find motivation for the stretch run of the season. That’s why I collected some bad press so they can see how other’s truly feel about them.
Happy Gameday Thunder Nation. Avid readers might be confused – yes I used a period instead of an exclamation point for a reason. Oklahoma City plays the Phoenix Suns tonight. Recent history tells us we’re either going to be upset with this team for barely squeaking out a win or for losing to a bottom-feeder.
Hopefully they prove us wrong tonight. To do my share, I pulled together negative press in an attempts to motivate this talented yet under-performing team.
“It sort of feels over for Russell Westbrook”
Usually I don’t include the actual title of the post I feature, but this one is simply too juicy not to. In the offseason I wrote about how this season would define Russell Westbrook’s legacy. If this article is any indication, that hypothesis is coming true. There’s no reason for a team that added Paul George and Carmelo Anthony over the offseason to actually regress, but that’s exactly what we’re seeing.
Some of the points Jason McIntyre make here are a bit superfluous/incorrect. It’s time to be honest with ourselves though – this isn’t a good look for Russ.
"Russell Westbrook doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who can change his game to accommodate others."
Houston showcased how to terrorize OKC’s defense
Next up on the ‘bad press’ train is Carmelo Anthony, a player who’s play has been sporadic all season. When Melo plays hard and is engaged he plays well. The problem comes when he takes plays/games off. We saw an engaged Carmelo in the first quarter of Tuesday’s game against Houston, yet as the game wore on so did his defense.
Dan Devine (who is one of the better national NBA writers) wrote about how Houston picked on Melo, opening up OKC’s biggest hole on that end. Billy Donovan has a decision to make: either stop switching everything or put Carmelo on the bench. Either way something has to change.
"There’s a reason Anthony ranks in just the 13th percentile in points allowed per possession when defending pick-and-roll ball-handlers, and only the 23rd percentile against roll men, according to Synergy Sports Technology’s game-tracking data."
Maybe they’ll listen to smack talk from their peers?
Thunderous Intentions has made it our mission to motivate this team, which is exactly why Jordan Buckamneer wrote this advice column. Trevor Ariza made an incredibly disrespectful (yet true) statement on Tuesday night, comparing the OKC Thunder defense to an “ABC Book.” Could an average starter making defamatory claims wake up Russ? I’m not sure, but I’d like to think so.
"Perhaps Trevor Ariza’s shade can serve as some form of inspiration."
Next: Previewing tonight's matchup against the Phoenix Suns
That’s it for today’s Thunder in the News. Make sure you check our full site for all of our great content. As always, we’ll be back tonight with a full recap and report card from tonight’s game.