OKC - Five-peat! Final summary

30/12/13

Raptors & Wizards further gear up for free agency



It's been a busy week of player movement in the league, with several high profile veterans joining new teams.
Both Toronto and Washington released multiple players as they look ahead to next season's free agency period.

Lewis, Scola, Douglas & Howard waived by Wizards



Washington have ended a busy week of wheeling and dealing by waiving Rashard Lewis, Toney Douglas, Luis Scola and Josh Howard.
With their primary focus seemingly now next season's free agency period, several players agreed to be released and find new clubs.
A couple of days after being released, Lewis announced on Twitter that he'd agreed to sign with the conference-leading Miami Heat.
Apparently they felt that after losing Dwyane Wade to Chicago they needed to add another scorer. Lewis is a cheap answer for them.
He will join Gilbert Arenas, Mickael Pietrus, Austin Daye and Jordan Hill on a talented Heat bench. He is averaging 9 ppg this season.

Scola reached an agreement with Phoenix a day after Lewis signed with Miami. He will give them an extra big man in their rotation.
Height is clearly an issue for the Suns as they already traded for forward Crawford Mayer from Oklahoma City earlier in the season.
Travis Outlaw is their starting power forward, whilst Spencer Hawes is their only recognised center. They also have Udonis Haslem.

Howard sign with Boston a day after being released. The Celtics are desperate to add anyone who can help them make a playoff push.
He will join the likes of Kirk Hinrich, Jason Maxiell and Brandon Wright on the Celtics bench and hope to contribute solid numbers.
Things aren't looking too good in Boston as they sit in 13th spot with a 13-19 record. They have lost 6 of their last 10 games.

Douglas was recently acquired from Sacramento in the Blatche trade. He reached a mutual agreement with the Wizards to be released.
With Washington unofficially giving up on this season in order to get a high draft pick, Douglas wanted to sign with a playoff team.

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Dalembert & Murphy released by Raptors



Toronto also released two veterans on Tuesday in Samuel Dalembert and Troy Murphy, who were recently acquired in a trade with Boston.
The pair were involved in the trade which saw Kendrick Perkins return to the Celtics. Both were on the last year of their current contracts.
Murphy agreed to a deal with the Lakers the day after being released. He will join Salmons, Robinson and Randolph on their bench.
Joining the Lakers means that he will team up with former Pacers team mate Danny Granger, who signed with them during the off-season.

Dalembert signed with Milwaukee the following Monday. He will fill a crucial backup role for Andrew Bogut that they had been lacking.
Their bench looks pretty solid now with TJ Ford, Ryan Anderson, Daequan Cook, Kosta Koufos, Ian Mahinmi and now Dalembert.
They are currently in 10th spot in the eastern conference with a 15-15 record and looking to make a mid-season push into the top 8.

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Bulls sign trio as they prepare for playoffs



A week after acquiring superstar Dwyane Wade in a trade with Miami, the Bulls have filled out their roster ahead of the playoffs.
They've signed veterans Caron Butler, Richard Jefferson and Baron Davis for the rest of the season. They have a combined age of 100.
The trio last played for the Clippers, Blazers and Rockets respectively. This could be their last shot at winning a championship.
Chicago are sitting pretty in second place in the eastern conference with a 22-8 record, just half a game behind leaders Miami.
They now have a fairly deep bench with Beno Udrih, Kris Humphries, Ronnie Price, Sean Williams already providing backup roles.

Interesting moves by the Bulls. Nice touch mirroring a few recent real life moves, too.

I try to work in real life deals whenever possible.

Shame that Grant Hill and Kevin Garnett weren't able to join the Bulls. Apparently they would rather sit in free agency than take a $700k pay cut.

1/1/14

December 2013 Summary



December saw Oklahoma City retain top spot in the western conference despite going on an inconsistent run of games.
Miami regained their familiar top spot in the eastern conference as a result of winning 10 of their 11 games in the past month.
Of course the biggest news story of the month was Dwyane Wade demanding and then getting a trade to his hometown Bulls.
It's a trade that could have triggered a new rivalry between the teams that are first and second in the eastern conference.

The league is experiencing a revival of the dominant big men. The top five MVP candidates this season are all big men.
It's almost a return to the 90's when names like Ewing, Olajuwon, Robinson, Mourning, Mutombo, and Shaq were starring.
These days it's Al Jefferson, Amare Stoudemire, Chris Bosh, Paul Millsap and LaMarcus Aldridge who are leading the way.
Stoudemire and Millsap in particular were voted the players of the month is their respective conferences during December.
Aldridge's great form, teamed with fellow star Brandon Roy, has propelled the Blazers into outright second place out west.
The biggest gain were made by Utah. The Jazz climbed from 11th spot all the way to 4th and are looking strong.
At the other end of the spectrum the Nets and Bobcats have fallen from one end of the playoff berths to the other.

Conference Standings

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League Leaders

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Monthly Awards

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MVP Candidates

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League Transactions

Looks like the league is pretty competitive so far this season.

Certainly is. The three top teams in the east are pulling a little gap on the rest. It will be interesting to see if Cleveland can tag along and if the Nets can catch up again. I'm happy to see Portland and Memphis doing well in the west as they're teams that I like (and helped build to a certain extent). Would love to see the Bucks make the playoffs as well with all my former players.

It's slightly annoying to see Houston, Philadelphia and Washington struggling again. Not unrealistic with the players they have, but it would be nice to see them make the playoffs at some point. Especially as they all have a top draft pick on their roster.

2/1/14

Oklahoma City Thunder [20-10] vs Washington Wizards [8-22]

Thunder storm home to beat Wizards



OKC - 31 31 26 39 127
WAS - 31 31 30 27 119

Player of the Game: John Wall
(30pts, 10ast, 6reb)


OKC _______ WAS
49-90 - FGM/A - 50-101
3-14 - 3PTM/A - 4-14
26-28 - FTM/A - 15-19
43 - Rebounds - 35
20 - Assists - 22
10 - Blocks - 7
6 - Steals - 5
17 - Turnovers - 14
13 - Fouls - 18


Top Scorers
Kevin Durant - 34
Marcus Thornton - 33
John Wall - 30
Derrick Rose - 23
Courtney Lee - 22
Blake Griffin - 20
James Harden - 17
Roy Hibbert - 16
Yi Jianlian - 15

Assists
John Wall - 10
Derrick Rose - 6

Rebounds
Roy Hibbert - 13
Jeremy Robert - 9
Yi Jianlian - 8
Blake Griffin - 8
Kevin Durant - 6
Dion Ward - 6
John Wall - 6
James Harden - 5

Video Highlights
Rose gets past Wall and lays it in.
Flash
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They led by 12 with 4 minutes left then put Wall on bench for final 2 minutes and I went on a big run. I guess Wall was tired.
They then brought him back on with 40 seconds left and he fouled out.

very nice stuff Phil

Good win. As far as point guard domination goes, those numbers aren't too bad; it doesn't hurt that it's a player who probably would put up numbers like that, too.

I didn't really think that it was weird that Wall played so well. He is their best player and it seemed logical that he would have the ball for most of the game.

That's what I meant. In this case, point guard domination issues actually made for more realism.

3/1/14

Thunder and Heat prepare to engage in battle again



The Heat and Thunder meet in Miami tomorrow night in the first of two meetings this season. The game has been sold out for weeks.
It will be the first chance for the Heat to see how their new-look team matches up against their biggest rivals for a championship.
Ever since Dwyane Wade left for Chicago the question on everyone's lips has been "Are the Heat now good enough to beat the Thunder?"

After four years of failure at the hands of the Thunder, Miami have made several roster changes this season. Some were forced upon them.
Interestingly they signed former Thunder guard Gilbert Arenas at the start of the season. Perhaps looking for some inside knowledge.
Their new-look frontcourt could pose problems for Roy Hibbert and Blake Griffin. The pair have struggled with rebounding this year.
Chris Bosh and Tyson Chandler are the best rebounding duo in the league. It'll be interesting to see if they can exploit this advantage.
Newly acquired point guard Raymond Felton should provide greater defensive pressure to Derrick Rose than Mario Chalmers did.
They've also recently added forward Rashard Lewis after he was released by Washington. He will give them more bench scoring.

Michael Beasley may have a point to prove in the city where he spent two seasons. He signed with the Thunder on a 2 year deal.
He was traded in a salary dumping deal with Minnesota that allowed the Heat to sign LeBron James and Chris Bosh and re-sign Wade.
This season he is one of the leading candidates for the sixth man of the year award. He is averaging nearly 15 points per game.

It'll definitely be interesting to see if those moves have made them more competitive.

4/1/14

Oklahoma City Thunder [21-10] vs Miami Heat [21-7]

Durant's big night isn't enough as Heat win



OKC - 20 35 31 38 124
MIA - 32 22 36 40 130

Player of the Game: LeBron James
(26pts, 7ast, 5reb, 2blk, 2stl)


OKC _______ MIA
46-85 - FGM/A - 56-94
4-16 - 3PTM/A - 6-14
28-36 - FTM/A - 12-17
22 - Rebounds - 33
21 - Assists - 30
10 - Blocks - 12
6 - Steals - 5
27 - Turnovers - 26
12 - Fouls - 22


Top Scorers
Kevin Durant - 46
JR Smith - 34
Raymond Felton - 27
LeBron James - 26
Blake Griffin - 24
Derrick Rose - 17
James Harden - 14
Rashard Lewis - 14
Tyson Chandler - 12
Michael Beasley - 12
Gilbert Arenas - 9

Assists
Raymond Felton - 9
Blake Griffin - 8
Derrick Rose - 8
LeBron James - 7
JR Smith - 6

Rebounds
Tyson Chandler - 8
Howie Jeffries - 6
LeBron James - 5
Rashard Lewis - 5

Video Highlights
Rose makes his way into the paint for an easy basket.
Flash

Harden sinks an open corner three.
Flash
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Bosh missed most of the second half with 5 fouls. I still couldn't rebound properly though.

Looks like another great battle between you two, though we're more accustomed to seeing you come out on top more often than not. Looks like the trade hasn't worked out too badly for them.

It's slightly worrying that Bosh barely played any minutes because of foul trouble too. Lewis seems to be a good signing as well.

Roy Hibbert is annoying me lately. How can someone that tall be so bad at rebounding. I'm sure it's mostly my fault though.

6/1/14

Oklahoma City Thunder [21-11] vs Orlando Magic [16-16]

Thunder make sure they don't leave Florida empty-handed



OKC - 31 38 33 32 134
ORL - 27 30 24 45 126

Player of the Game: Blake Griffin
(30pts, 13ast, 4reb, 2blk)


OKC _______ ORL
46-83 - FGM/A - 50-96
2-8 - 3PTM/A - 7-13
40-44 - FTM/A - 19-25
30 - Rebounds - 25
32 - Assists - 24
15 - Blocks - 9
10 - Steals - 11
22 - Turnovers - 18
17 - Fouls - 24


Top Scorers
Jordan Farmar - 40
Kevin Durant - 33
Blake Griffin - 30
James Harden - 27
JJ Redick - 24
Derrick Rose - 17
Roy Hibbert - 16
Rodrigue Beaubois - 16
Greg Oden - 13
Jason Thompson - 12

Assists
Blake Griffin - 13
Derrick Rose - 10
Jason Thompson - 7
Jordan Farmar - 7

Rebounds
Anderson Varejao - 7
Roy Hibbert - 6
Kevin Durant - 6
Greg Oden - 5

Video Highlights
Durant pulls off a nice move.
Flash

9/1/14

Oklahoma City Thunder [22-11] vs Dallas Mavericks [10-24]

Thunder stage another amazing comeback to win in Dallas



OKC - 14 29 30 30 103
DAL - 30 20 19 28 97

Player of the Game: Kevin Durant
(34pts, 2reb, 1blk, 1stl)


OKC _______ DAL
39-90 - FGM/A - 38-78
5-21 - 3PTM/A - 5-13
20-25 - FTM/A - 16-22
38 - Rebounds - 41
13 - Assists - 18
7 - Blocks - 10
8 - Steals - 2
12 - Turnovers - 19
17 - Fouls - 17


Top Scorers
Kevin Durant - 34
Jose Barea - 25
Antoine Wright - 21
James Harden - 16
Irwin Currie - 15
Derrick Rose - 14
Dominique Jones - 10
Taj Gibson - 9
Jason Richardson - 9
Rou Hibbert - 8
Blake Griffin - 8

Assists
Jose Barea - 8
Blake Griffin - 6

Rebounds
Blake Griffin - 12
Taj Gibson - 10
Craig Smith - 10
Roy Hibbert - 9
Irwin Currie - 7
Howie Jeffries - 6

Video Highlights
Durant with a spectacular dunk after a nice pass from Griffin.
Flash

Harden gets past Richardson with some nice moves.
Flash
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I trailed by as much as 19 early in the second quarter. Unexpectedly it was Billups who sparked the comeback.

That's more like it. Great effort in the second half against Dallas.

11/1/14

Oklahoma City Thunder [23-11] vs Houston Rockets [1-22]

Young saves Thunder from embarrassment in Houston



OKC - 22 29 38 37 126
HOU - 27 30 29 25 111

Player of the Game: Rolf Young
(32pts, 1reb, 1ast, 1blk, 1stl)


OKC _______ HOU
46-86 - FGM/A - 46-94
6-17 - 3PTM/A - 4-15
28-29 - FTM/A - 15-19
24 - Rebounds - 35
23 - Assists - 25
12 - Blocks - 14
14 - Steals - 2
21 - Turnovers - 22
14 - Fouls - 16


Top Scorers
Rolf Young - 32
Gerald Wallace - 28
James Harden - 25
Kevin Durant - 21
Jan Richards - 21
Jrue Holiday - 20
Blake Griffin - 15
Michael Beasley - 14
Chuck Hayes - 13
Dave Brown - 11
Derrick Rose - 10

Assists
Jrue Holiday - 12
Derrick Rose - 7
Eric Maynor - 4
Gerald Wallace - 4
Jan Richards - 4

Rebounds
DeAndre Jordan - 11
Dave Brown - 7
Chuck Hayes - 6
Jrue Holiday - 5
Blake Griffin - 5
Roy Hibbert - 4
James Harden - 4

Video Highlights
Maynor finds Beasley open and he sinks the three.
Flash

Looks like Young has found his niche as a spark plug off the bench, an x-factor player who can step up when you need scoring in a hurry.

I like to think of him as a poor man's Carmelo Anthony. He's come on and scored quickly in a few games this season. A very handy player to have.

It's a shame that I have Durant (Poor me, right? ) because I feel that Young could be a star in this league.

It's a nice problem to have.

13/1/14

Oklahoma City Thunder [24-11] vs New Orleans Hornets [20-16]

Hornets hold off late Thunder charge



OKC - 14 25 34 36 109
NOH - 24 29 30 31 114

Player of the Game: Rudy Fernandez
(37pts, 3reb, 3ast, 2stl)


OKC _______ NOH
46-85 - FGM/A - 48-96
2-10 - 3PTM/A - 3-11
15-18 - FTM/A - 15-19
32 - Rebounds - 36
17 - Assists - 29
16 - Blocks - 5
10 - Steals - 9
21 - Turnovers - 18
13 - Fouls - 11


Top Scorers
Rudy Fernandez - 37
Kevin Durant - 31
Blake Griffin - 27
Jose Calderon - 22
Derrick Rose - 21
Marc Gasol - 20
Pau Gasol - 12
Ersan Ilyasova - 11
James Harden - 9

Assists
Jose Calderon - 13
Derrick Rose - 10

Rebounds
Marc Gasol - 13
Roy Hibbert - 10
Pau Gasol - 9
Blake Griffin - 7
Howie Jeffries - 5

Video Highlights
Beasley misses, but Jeffries is there to clean up.
Flash

Last edited by Phil89 on Tue Nov 20, 2012 4:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.

That's a tough way to lose, so close to completing the comeback. Looks like it turned out to be a fairly even game, you weren't dominated on the boards, free throws and field goals were basically even...I'm guessing a couple of second chance baskets for the Hornets were all that made a difference in the end.