OKC - Five-peat! Final summary

[Phil89]

26/11/10

Oklahoma City Thunder [11-4] vs Charlotte Bobcats [8-6]

Thunder fight back to win after slow start



OKC - 23 33 24 37 117
CHA - 34 29 15 32 110

Player of the Game: Al Horford


OKC _______ CHA
50-102 - FGM/A - 44-97
5-14 - 3PTM/A - 7-21
12-14 - FTM/A - 15-18
34 - Rebounds - 48
28 - Assists - 21
14 - Blocks - 8
13 - Steals - 2
12 - Turnovers - 21
13 - Fouls - 9


Top Scorers
Kevin Durant - 30
DJ Augustin - 28
OJ Mayo - 27
Gerald Wallace - 20
Leandro Barbosa - 20
Carl Landry - 18
Boris Diaw - 16
Jeff Green - 16
Al Horford - 14

Assists
Al Horford - 10
Gerald Wallace - 9
Russell Westbrook - 6
Leandro Barbosa - 5
Jeff Green - 5

Rebounds
Carl Landry - 15
Al Horford - 12
Boris Diaw - 10
Desagana Diop - 8
Gerald Wallace - 6
Jeff Green - 6

Video Highlights
Durant finishes with a reverse dunk.

-----
Horford also had 6 blocks.

[Andrew]

Nice second half effort to get the win, good to see Horford pick up his first triple double as a member of the Thunder. Six blocks is nice too, shame you couldn't get the quadruple double.

[Phil89]

28/11/10

Oklahoma City Thunder [12-4] vs New Jersey Nets [10-7]

Thunder go on scoring spree after slow start



OKC - 22 38 36 45 141
NJN - 31 24 24 35 114

Player of the Game: Jeff Green


OKC _______ NJN
57-106 - FGM/A - 46-100
4-17 - 3PTM/A - 9-22
23-23 - FTM/A - 13-17
41 - Rebounds - 36
34 - Assists - 22
10 - Blocks - 13
17 - Steals - 3
18 - Turnovers - 23
10 - Fouls - 13


Top Scorers
Jeff Green - 30
Devin Harris - 26
Al Horford - 26
Travis Outlaw - 25
Anthony Morrow - 23
Kevin Durant - 21
OJ Mayo - 20
Russell Westbrook - 14
Shannon Brown - 13
Brook Lopez - 12

Assists
Russell Westbrook - 12
Devin Harris - 11
Serge Ibaka - 6
Jeff Green - 4
Terrence Williams - 4

Rebounds
Al Horford - 14
Brook Lopez - 11
Jeff Green - 8
Kevin Durant - 7
Derrick Favors - 6

Video Highlights
Westbrook strips the ball off Harris and takes it all the way to the basket.


Brown completes a 4 point play.

----
Green also had 4 blocks.

[Andrew]

Another big double double from Horford, who seems to be just gobbling up the boards now. Looks like you flat out dominated from the second quarter onwards, nice job.

[Phil89]

I was a bit worried going in against Lopez, but Horford stepped up and outplayed him.

One more game left before the first monthly update. I'm interested to see where my guys are in the respective categories.

[Phil89]

29/11/10

Homesick Mayo heads back to Memphis




Less than a year after joining the Thunder, OJ Mayo has today completed a stunning return to Memphis.
The 23 year old shooting guard stated his desire to be closer to his family in West Virginia as the reason behind the move.
"I appreciate everything that I've experienced with this team, but I believe the situation off the court is starting to affect my game."
"I thought it was best for everyone that I pursued this move. It's not fair to the team for me to continue playing when my mind is elsewhere."
Mayo is averaging just 19.2 points per game this season, down from his 25.9 per game last season.
Backup guard Daequan Cook will join Mayo in Memphis as part of the deal.

The Thunder received guard James Harden, center Hasheem Thabeet and the Grizzlies 2011 draft 2nd round pick in return.
Harden, who was drafted at number 3 by Oklahoma City in the 2009 NBA draft, was shipped out last December to make cap room.
He gets a second shot at securing a starting place with the Thunder and is hoping to make more of an impact this time around.
"I was pretty disappointed at getting traded, but I'm going to take this second chance with both hands."
"I know these guys well and know what they're capable of achieving. It's up to me to lift my game to their level."

Despite giving up a 1st round draft pick to bring Mayo to Oklahoma City, the Thunder will feel the deal was worth it.
Mayo was a key member of the Thunder's surprise championship win last season. Second in scoring behind Durant.

Given the circumstances, Oklahoma City will be happy with this deal as Mayo was unlikely to re-sign next season.
Especially considering they wouldn't have had any cap room to sign a replacement in the off-season.



Oklahoma City
OJ Mayo - 23 years old - SG - 7.04m - 1 years (83)
Daequan Cook - 23 years old - SG - 3.13m - 1 year (72)


Memphis
James Harden - 21 years old - SG - 9.51m - 2 years (80)
Hasheem Thabeet - 23 years old - C - 10.59m - 2 years (67)
2010 2nd Round Draft Pick


--------------------

Depth
C - Horford, Thabeet, Collison
PF - Green, Ibaka
SF - Durant, Brewer
SG - Harden, Brown
PG - Westbrook, Matthews, Law

Inactive
Mullens, Roe

[Phil89]

30/11/10

Oklahoma City Thunder [13-4] vs New York Knicks [8-8]

Harden plays well in return



OKC - 20 27 31 35 113
NYK - 18 25 29 26 98

Player of the Game: Jeff Green


OKC _______ NYK
43-84 - FGM/A - 43-86
8-18 - 3PTM/A - 2-6
19-19 - FTM/A - 10-13
26 - Rebounds - 41
27 - Assists - 21
7 - Blocks - 7
13 - Steals - 2
9 - Turnovers - 18
8 - Fouls - 12


Top Scorers
Raymond Felton - 38
Jeff Green - 26
Kevin Durant - 24
James Harden - 22
Amare Stoudemire - 20
Danilo Gallinari - 12
Al Horford - 12

Assists
Russell Westbrook - 11
Raymond Felton - 8
Amare Stoudemire - 4
Danilo Gallinari - 4
Al Horford - 4
Jeff Green - 4

Rebounds
Amare Stoudemire - 16
Anthony Randolph - 6
Al Horford - 6
Jeff Green - 6
Tiago Splitter - 5

Video Highlights
Harden takes it the length of the court after a Horford rebound.


Thabeet throws it down.

[Phil89]

1/12/10

Conference Standings

Eastern Conference
1. MIA* | 16-4 | N/A | .800
2. CLE* | 11-5 | 3.0 | .688
3. ORL | 14-6 | 2.0 | .700
4. CHA | 10-7 | 4.5 | .588
5. TOR* | 10-7 | 4.5 | .588
6. ATL | 11-8 | 4.5 | .579
7. NJN | 11-10 | 5.5 | .524
8. PHI | 9-9 | 6.0 | .500
----------------------------------------------
9. NYK | 8-10 | 7.0 | .444
10. DET | 6-7 | 6.5 | .462
11. BOS | 7-9 | 7.0 | .438
12. IND | 6-9 | 7.5 | .400
13. MIL | 6-10 | 8.0 | .375
14. WAS | 5-12 | 9.5 | .294
15. CHI | 6-12 | 9.0 | .333


Western Conference
1. OKC* | 14-4 | N/A | .778
2. DEN | 13-5 | 1.0 | .722
3. LAL* | 11-5 | 2.0 | .688
4. POR | 11-5 | 2.0 | .688
5. NOH* | 11-6 | 2.5 | .647
6. PHX | 11-7 | 3.0 | .611
7. DAL | 10-9 | 4.5 | .526
8. UTA | 9-9 | 5.0 | .500
----------------------------------------------
9. SAC | 7-11 | 7.0 | .389
10. GSW | 6-10 | 7.0 | .375
11. MEM | 6-13 | 8.5 | .316
12. LAC | 7-13 | 8.0 | .350
13. HOU | 5-15 | 10.0 | .250
14. MIN | 5-13 | 9.0 | .278
15. SAS | 3-15 | 11.0 | .167

* = Division Leader

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------


League Leaders

Points Per Game
1. Mo Williams - CLE - 30.4
2. Amare Stoudemire - NYK - 29.7
3. Ben Gordon - DET - 28.8
4. Chris Paul - NOH - 28.1
5. Danny Granger - IND - 27.9

14. Kevin Durant - OKC - 24.3

Rebounds Per Game
1. Carl Landry - CHA - 12.9
2. Chris Bosh - MIA - 12.6
3. Andrew Bynum - LAL - 12.3
4. Nene - DEN - 12.1
5. Pau Gasol - LAL - 12.0

-. Al Horford - OKC - 9.0

Assists Per Game
1. DJ Augustin - CHA - 10.5
2. Russell Westbrook - OKC - 10.3
3. Stephen Curry - GSW - 10.2
4. Derrick Rose - CHI - 10.0
5. Chris Paul - NOH - 9.9

Steals Per Game
1. Kevin Durant - OKC - 2.4
2. Leandro Barbosa - CHA - 2.3
2. Rajon Rondo - BOS - 2.3
4. Monta Ellis - GSW - 2.2
5. Caron Butler - GSW - 2.1

Blocks Per Game
1. Andrew Bynum - LAL - 3.5
2. Al Horford - OKC - 3.1
3. Dwight Howard - ORL - 2.9
4. Pau Gasol - LAL - 2.8
4. Nene - DEN - 2.8


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Awards

Players of the Month
East
Chris Bosh - MIA
25.4 PPG - 12.9 RPG - 1.5 APG - 1.6 BPG - 1.4 SPG

West
Al Horford - OKC
17.4 PPG - 9.0 RPG - 3.9 APG - 3.1 BPG - 1.6 SPG

Rookies of the Month
East
Dirk MacDermott - ATL
5.0 PPG - 7.2 RPG - 0.5 APG - 1.5 BPG - 0.4 SPG

West
Ignacio Carlos - MEM
5.3 PPG - 1.2 RPG - 5.4 APG - 0.0 BPG - 0.3 SPG


MVP Candidates
Chris Bosh - 24.6 PPG - 12.6 RPG - 1.5 APG - 1.5 BPG - 1.4 SPG
Amare Stoudemire - 29.7 PPG - 11.6 RPG - 4.9 APG - 1.6 BPG - 0.5 SPG
Carmelo Anthony - 24.6 PPG - 7.7 RPG - 6.3 APG - 1.2 BPG - 1.9 SPG
Dwyane Wade - 24.3 PPG - 3.8 RPG - 4.2 APG - 1.6 BPG - 2.0 SPG
Chris Paul - 28.1 PPG - 2.0 RPG - 9.9 APG - 0.2 BPG - 1.6 SPG


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Transactions

05/11/10 - Oklahoma City sign free agent Wesley Matthews.
30/11/10 - Oklahoma City trade O.Mayo and D.Cook to Memphis for J.Harden, H.Thabeet and 2nd Round Pick.

[kibaxx7]

OMG, Spurs with the worst record What's their roster?

[Andrew]

Interesting to see you make that deal. Would Harden's performance in the Rookie Challenge have anything to do with it?

[Phil89]

2/12/10

Oklahoma City Thunder [14-4] vs Washington Wizards [5-12]

Poor shooting costs Wizards against Thunder



OKC - 23 26 18 33 100
WAS - 14 12 25 22 73

Player of the Game: Russell Westbrook


OKC _______ WAS
45-87 - FGM/A - 32-89
3-11 - 3PTM/A - 1-9
7-8 - FTM/A - 8-10
41 - Rebounds - 37
29 - Assists - 15
18 - Blocks - 2
9 - Steals - 4
10 - Turnovers - 15
9 - Fouls - 5


Top Scorers
Gilbert Arenas - 27
John Wall - 22
Kevin Durant - 18
James Harden - 18
Jeff Green - 15
Al Horford - 12
Serge Ibaka - 12
Russell Westbrook - 10
Shannon Brown - 10

Assists
Russell Westbrook - 14
Gilbert Arenas - 8
Al Horford - 5

Rebounds
Al Horford - 11
Andray Blatche - 9
JaVale McGee - 8
Jeff Green - 8
Serge Ibaka - 7
Kevin Durant - 6
Yi Jianlian - 5

Video Highlights
Green sinks his favoured top of the key three pointer.


Horford blocks Yi.

[Andrew]

Seems Horford has settled in and you're using him effectively. Good to see you atop the league and keeping up the winning ways.

[Phil89]

OMG, Spurs with the worst record What's their roster?

It's pretty much the same. They added Belinelli in the off season though. It's probably all his fault.

Interesting to see you make that deal. Would Harden's performance in the Rookie Challenge have anything to do with it?

Maybe.

I didn't really want to trade him in the first place. But I needed to so I had cap room to re-sign Green and then sign Horford.

Seems Horford has settled in and you're using him effectively. Good to see you atop the league and keeping up the winning ways.

Some big surprises so far. Cleveland doing well in the east. Boston & Chicago not doing so well. Houston & San Antonio not doing so well in the west.

Not sure why the Bulls are playing so poorly. Noah, Boozer and Rose are all averaging double-doubles.

[Andrew]

That's the sim engine for you. San Antonio's performance is really surprising, has anyone been injured?

[Phil89]

Antonio McDyess and James Singleton are day-to-day for the Spurs. Haven't noticed any of their starters being injured though.

[Phil89]

4/12/10

Oklahoma City Thunder [15-4] vs Utah Jazz [9-9]

Thunder win tight game in Utah



OKC - 28 30 30 31 119
UTA - 31 21 31 32 115

Player of the Game: Deron Williams


OKC _______ UTA
43-89 - FGM/A - 46-96
7-20 - 3PTM/A - 7-21
26-33 - FTM/A - 16-22
36 - Rebounds - 41
24 - Assists - 27
7 - Blocks - 11
11 - Steals - 2
18 - Turnovers - 20
11 - Fouls - 17


Top Scorers
Deron Williams - 35
Kevin Durant - 27
Al Jefferson - 22
Al Horford - 21
Shane Battier - 18
Shannon Brown - 16
Russell Westbrook - 14
James Harden - 13
Paul Millsap - 12
CJ Miles - 11
Mehmet Okur - 11
Jeff Green - 10

Assists
Russell Westbrook - 16
Deron Williams - 14
Shane Battier - 5

Rebounds
Paul Millsap - 14
Al Jefferson - 11
Jeff Green - 11
Al Horford - 9
CJ Miles - 5
Deron Williams - 5

Video Highlights
Harden knocks down an open three.


Westbrook blocks Williams' three point attempt, then Durant takes it all the way to the basket.

[Andrew]

Looks like a good, competitive game.

[Phil89]

6/12/10

Massive 3 team trade grabs headlines across league



Oklahoma City general manager Sam Presti has today pulled off arguably the biggest deal of his career.
The man who who has put together this NBA championship winning team has worked his magic again.
The Thunder have finally gotten the rebounding big man they have been craving all season, in the form of Brook Lopez.

The deal involves 3 teams: Oklahoma City, New Jersey and Miami. It sees 7 players switch teams.
The Thunder get Lopez from the Nets, as well as veteran guards Ronald Murray and Eddie House from Miami.
New Jersey acquire All-Star forward Jeff Green, center Nick Collison and the Thunder's 2011 first round draft pick.
The Heat receive forward Travis Outlaw from the Nets and guard Acie Law from the Thunder.

7 ft tall Lopez is coming out of contract at the end of the season and had signalled that he wouldn't re-sign with the Nets.
Rather than risk losing him for nothing, the Nets decided to test the trade waters and finally agreed this mega deal.
They are currently 7th in the east and wanted to complete this deal now so there will be no distractions in the run in to the playoffs.

The deal is another sign that Oklahoma City are shaping their roster to combat the height of the Lakers and Mavericks.
They signed Al Horford from free agency in the summer in the hopes of having a dominating rebounder.
Although showing glimpses, he has largely failed to be that player. He is averaging just over 9 rebounds per game.
With this trade Horford will be able to move back to his natural power forward position and concentrate more on his offense.
A lot of scoring pressure is on Kevin Durant now that Green and OJ Mayo are gone. The pair averaged 38 points per game between them.

Miami will be satisfied with this deal. They shipped out two expiring veterans for two solid bench players in their prime.
Some observers were shocked that the Heat and Thunder were involved in a trade together considering they were rivals in last seasons Finals.

Lopez is expected to be available for the Thunder's home game tomorrow against the Dallas Mavericks.



Oklahoma City receive

Brook Lopez - 22 - C - $3.08m - 1 year (87)
Ronald Murray - 31 - PG - $5.85m - 1 year (77)
Eddie House - 32 - PG - $1.40m - 1 year (70)


New Jersey receive

Jeff Green - 24 - SF - $47.85m - 5 years (84)
Nick Collison - 30 - C - $8.40m - 4 years (68)
2011 1st round draft pick


Miami receive

Travis Outlaw - 26 - SF - $21.00m - 3 years (78)
Acie Law - 25 - PG - $8.94m - 4 years (71)

[Phil89]

7/12/10

Oklahoma City Thunder [16-4] vs Dallas Mavericks [10-10]

All eyes on Lopez as Thunder beat Mavericks



OKC - 28 28 31 26 113
DAL - 30 24 24 30 108

Player of the Game: Brook Lopez


OKC _______ DAL
44-103 - FGM/A - 47-92
3-13 - 3PTM/A - 6-15
22-22 - FTM/A - 8-11
34 - Rebounds - 33
27 - Assists - 29
17 - Blocks - 15
17 - Steals - 3
20 - Turnovers - 29
10 - Fouls - 12


Top Scorers
Kevin Durant - 29
Al Horford - 24
Rodrigue Beaubois - 21
Brook Lopez - 20
Dirk Nowitzki - 19
Brendan Haywood - 16
Jason Terry - 15
Jose Barea - 14
Jason Kidd - 12
James Harden - 12
Russell Westbrook - 10

Assists
Russell Westbrook - 14
Jason Kidd - 13
Jason Terry - 6
Dirk Nowitzki - 4
Brook Lopez - 4

Rebounds
Brook Lopez - 9
Dirk Nowitzki - 9
Brendan Haywood - 7
James Harden - 7
Kevin Durant - 5
Rodrigue Beaubois - 5
Tyson Chandler - 4
Al Horford - 4
Serge Ibaka - 4

Video Highlights
Durant throws it down emphatically.


Durant sets up Lopez for an easy alley-oop dunk.

-----
Horford had 5 blocks, Ibaka had 4.

[Andrew]

In the mood for a few trades following the deadline?

That gives you a lot of size (and talent up front), I'm guessing Ibaka should get some quality minutes off the bench as well. Hope House and Murray can help bolster your perimeter attack, too.

[Murat]

Green traded - FAIL.

[Phil89]

In the mood for a few trades following the deadline?

That gives you a lot of size (and talent up front), I'm guessing Ibaka should get some quality minutes off the bench as well. Hope House and Murray can help bolster your perimeter attack, too.

It may have had something to do with it.

Depth
C - Lopez, Thabeet, Mullens
PF - Horford, Ibaka
SF - Durant, Brewer, Roe
SG - Harden, Brown
PG - Westbrook, Matthews, Murray, House

Red = inactive

Usually the first two in each position get playing time in each game. Probably 70/30 in favour of the starters.
I've been thinking of turning off auto-subs because the AI keeps putting Brewer in at SG ahead of Brown because he has a higher rating.
I just fear that I'll forget about it and go a half without any rotation.

Green traded - FAIL.

I know. But you can't get quality players unless you sacrifice some of your own.

[Andrew]

It's hardly "fail" worthy considering the cap flexibility and getting Lopez in return.

[Phil89]

I think I've got about $46m in guaranteed contracts for next season. Enough room to sign a big name.

Though I may re-sign Lopez, Westbrook and Brown. They seem like decent enough players.
Murray and House are my only other expiring contracts.

[Phil89]

9/12/10

Busy week of trades across the league



It has been one of the biggest trade weeks in NBA history, which has seen 30 players from 16 teams traded.
7 teams from western conference and 9 from the eastern conference took part in the deals.
Oklahoma City, Portland, LA Clippers, Houston, Phoenix, Denver and Utah in the west.
New Jersey, Miami, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Toronto, New York, Atlanta and Washington in the east.
Some were trading for picks to start rebuilding, some were cashing in on expiring stars.
And some were looking for that last piece of the puzzle as they head towards the playoffs.
This flurry of trade activity was set off after Oklahoma City acquired Brook Lopez from New Jersey.

Oklahoma City receive

Brook Lopez + Ronald Murray + Eddie House

New Jersey receive

Jeff Green + Nick Collison
+
Thunder's 2011 1st round draft pick

Miami receive

Travis Outlaw + Acie Law
-----
In the deal that started the craziness, Oklahoma City finally got the rebounding big man they've been searching for.
The Nets decided to trade Lopez after he had signalled an unwillingness to re-sign at the end of the season.
Miami helped facilitate the deal and dumped a couple of expiring veterans for solid young bench players.

---------------

Portland receive

Gerald Wallace

Charlotte receive

Joel Przybilla
+
Blazers' 2011 1st Round Draft Pick
-----
The Blazers decided to improve their roster for their push towards the playoffs, adding a versatile forward who will help them on both ends of the floor.
The Bobcats begin looking to the future, shedding Wallace's long-term salary and adding a draft pick.

---------------

Los Angeles receive

Mo Williams

Cleveland receive

Baron Davis
+
Clippers' 2011 1st Round Draft Pick
-----
After 2 seasons of playing second fiddle LeBron in Cleveland, Williams sees himself joining a Clippers team with it's own budding superstar in Blake Griffin.
Williams will add much needed scoring for the Clippers. He averages 28.6 PPG this season, as opposed to Davis who was only scoring 11.6 PPG.

---------------

Phoenix receive

Aaron Brooks

Houston receive

Goran Dragic
+
Suns' 2011 1st Round Draft Pick
-----
With veteran All-Star point guard Steve Nash's contract expiring at the end of the season, the Suns decided to bring in a ready made replacement.
Houston look to be rebuilding their roster around Kevin Martin. With Yao Ming leaving in the summer, he is the only shining light for the Rockets.

---------------

New Jersey

Deron Williams

Utah receive

Derrick Favors + Devin Harris
+
Nets' 2011 1st Round Draft Pick
-----
After seeing the Knicks get another All-Star in Carmelo Anthony, Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov decided to bring in his own superstar in Deron Williams.
The deal shocked everyone in the league and came right out of left field. It seems the Jazz were worried about having a Melo situation of their own next season.
This deal lessens the disappointment of losing star center Brook Lopez to the Thunder just a couple of days before.
The Jazz will look to Harris and center Al Jefferson to guide them to the playoffs now that their franchise player is a Net.

---------------

Toronto receive

James Johnson

Chicago receive
Raptors' 2011 1st Round Draft Pick
-----
Johnson, the 16th pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, couldn't break into the Bulls' regular rotation. He should get more time in an inexperienced Raptors team.

---------------

New York receive

Carmelo Anthony + Chauncey Billups + Renaldo Balkman

Denver receive

Danilo Gallinari + Raymond Felton + Wilson Chandler + Timofey Mozgov
+
Knicks' 2011 1st Round Draft Pick
+
Knicks' 2011 2nd Round Draft Pick
-----
In a trade saga that rivals LeBron's 'decision', Carmelo Anthony has finally been traded to New York. They gave up half of their roster, but they got him.
Now with 2 All-Star players they will look to challenge the likes of Miami and Boston at the top of the eastern conference.
Denver come away from this minus their franchise player, but with solid replacements and draft picks for the future.

---------------

Portland receive

Chris Bosh

Miami receive

Brandon Roy
-----
In what seems to be reactionary move, the Blazers have traded scoring for height. Sending Brandon Roy to Miami in exchange for Chris Bosh.
With the Thunder joining the likes of the Lakers, Kings and Suns as another tall team in the west, the Blazers decided to adjust their roster.
Roy will join LeBron and D-Wade in Long Beach. If they can make it work, the Heat will arguably have the most potent offense in the league.

---------------

Washington receive

Mike Bibby + Maurice Evans + Jordan Crawford
+
Hawks' 2011 1st Round Draft Pick


Atlanta receive

Kirk Hinrich
-----
Looking to upgrade their backcourt for a playoffs run, the Hawks added sharp-shooter Kirk Hinrich to their roster.
Hinrich should be an improvement over Bibby at both ends of the court and give them good scoring off the bench.