OKC Thunder In the news: West seeds struggle, TFerg concussed

As the OKC Thunder prepare for the Spurs in the news examines the trials and tribulations of several western seeds.

The OKC Thunder have produced a five and three record since returning from the break. The team has looked disheveled and needed herculean efforts from Westbrook to pull out victories against lottery teams.

Yet, a dive into the three losses offers room for optimism. Specifically, the three losses came versus  the top three seeds (Rockets, Warriors, Blazers). It’s clear there are defensive issues to resolve and it would be nice to produce wins against the elite. In spite of these factors however, a win is still a win and the Thunder are finally beating the teams they should (on paper).

Entering Saturday’s action the Thunder are sitting in seventh. Today they’ll face one of the squads seeded ahead of them in fifth – the San Antonio Spurs.

Western Middle Ground:

Thunderous Intentions scribe Jeremy Lambert offers some room for optimism in his own inimitable style. Lambert opines all the teams embroiled in the west’s fight for the seeds three through ten are bad. It’s a great read sure to tickle your funny bone.

"This is the story of Bugs Bunny and Filburt. They get into an argument over what kind of species Rocco is. He’s a wallaby. But Bugs Bunny thinks he’s a kangaroo. Why does Bugs Bunny think this even though all the evidence says that Rocko is a wallaby? I don’t know, why does Patrick Patterson play less than 20 minutes a game? Why does Terrance Ferguson play more than Alex Abrines? Billy Donovan is coaching Bugs Bunny. That’s why Bugs Bunny thinks Rocko is a kangaroo."

Terrance Ferguson suffers concussion:

More from Thunderous Intentions

• Stealing one player from every Southwest Division team for the OKC Thunder
• Should the OKC Thunder chase after a disgruntled hometown hero?
• 3 OKC Thunder players who can step up in Aleksej Pokusevski’s absence
• Aleksej Pokusevski sidelined approximately 6 weeks with ankle injury
• Damian Lillard does not fit with the OKC Thunder

In the oust of the Phoenix Suns the OKC Thunder may have won the battle, but they lost a player in the process.  Terrance Ferguson and Steven Adams suffered a head on head collision.

As my cohort Tony Heim accurately assesses it was obvious who would win that battle. The OKC Thunder confirmed TFerg will enter the NBA concussion protocol.

For those unfamiliar Heim outlines the four phases involved: which Ferguson will need to pass prior to a return to the hardwood.

"Ferguson can’t show signs of concussion-related symptoms."

"He has to be evaluated by a non-team physician."

"He must pass an NBA return-to-participation test."

"A Thunder team physician must talk to Dr. Jeffrey Kutcher – the Director of the NBA concussion program – about Ferguson’s recovery."

This week witnessed several horrible injuries of this nature. Jaylen Brown also left the Celtics – Wolves game after falling hard to the court. Brown hung on to the rim and fell awkwardly in what initially looked much worse (he landed on his neck).

In both cases the audio tells the story as the sound of head on head and head hitting floor can be clearly heard.

Westbrook technical rescinded:

Russell Westbrook sure has a contentious relationship with the officials. He’s picked up technicals this season at an alarming rate. However, the NBA recently rescinded one they doled out in the game versus the Blazers.

Moving forward Westbrook still has 12 technicals and once the player reaches 16 they automatically receive a one game suspension. Draymond Green leads the NBA with technicals administered and picked up another Friday in Portland.

That wraps up in the news for March 10th. Enjoy the rest of your weekend and be sure to make Thunderous Intentions a daily stop.