Oklahoma City Thunder [0-6] Team Update

[Pistol]

Platform: Xbox 360
Season Length: 58 Games
Difficulty: Superstar
Team Chemistry: 46%
Team Captian: Kevin Durant
Division: --
Conference: --


Starters
Pg Russell Westbrook
Sg Thabo Sefolosha
Sf Kevin Durant
Pf Nick Collison
C Brad Miller


Bench
Sf Jeff Green
Pg Earl Watson
Sg Damon Jones
Pf DJ White
C Mouhamed Sene
SG Kyle Weaver
Sf Luc Richard Mbah a Moute

Reserves

Sf Desmond Mason
Pg Chucky Atkins

[Pistol]

-reserved-

[Pistol]

-reserved-

[Pistol]

Wow...Tyson Chandler failed his physical and the trade was cancelled, lol...so should I act as if it did happen like a 'what if' situation?

[Robert]

Nope you should Take Chandler off the Thunder and put him back on the Hornets!Naw its your call and you should d 29 games so atleas you could do multiple seasons

[Pistol]

Nope you should Take Chandler off the Thunder and put him back on the Hornets!

If I do that Im not totally sure I would continue using the Thunder due to their weak team, but it would be interesting progressing with them through multiple seasons I suppose. I'll wait for more peoples opinions

you should d 29 games so atleas you could do multiple seasons

Yea Im like 75% on a 29 game season 25% on a 56 game season depends on what everyone wants to see I suppose. 82 i just too long. Thanks for the comment

[Robert]

Well i'm not telling you to take Chandler off the team but me I personally like doing Dynasty/franchises with weak teams and turing them into Contenders like now I am playing with the Bobcats in year 6 I think? and we have been to the finals 2 straight years and before that we made it 2 the ECF .We are on a 35 game winning streak and this looks like the year we going to win it but i just like turing bad teams to good teams

[Pistol]

yea, i pretty much the same way. And congrats on the success, lol, Bobcats are my fav team...I really hope you kept Felton, Wallace, and Okafor

[Robert]

So have you decided yet?

[Pistol]

58 games. No Chandler. Thunder here we go.

[Mark.]

Good luck with this mate, now with Thabo in the squad the team is even more interesting.

[kibaxx7]

Good to see you playing with Sefolosha & Rose.

[Robert]

58 games. No Chandler. Thunder here we go.

Yes! and be prepared with a challenge are you thinking about trading anyone?

[Pistol]

Some games will be up in a little bit :]

Good luck with this mate, now with Thabo in the squad the team is even more interesting.

Yea I like Thabo and this team had a hole at the 2 before getting him so thats one less trade i need to make.

Good to see you playing with Sefolosha & Rose.

Yea Sef-o-losh is gonna get a lot of minutes and chances to prove he can be a starter inthe league. Rose on the other hand will only be a big expiring contract used as trade bait.

Yes! and be prepared with a challenge are you thinking about trading anyone?

Oh I have already played some games and can tell already this is gonna be tough. I also have a minor trade idea for now to help down low...there might be a chance of me pulling off a blockbuster a little down the line. As of right now Im trying a different starting five pretty much every game to try find what best fits this team.

[Robert]

Man post some game recaps !

[Pistol]

Hawks beat down Thunder in first game at Oklahoma City.


Hawks - |31|26|29|26|Total - 112
Thunder - |17|14|20|20|Total - 71

Recap - 'Beat Down' is an understatement. The Hawks came out quick and once they got a lead they never looked back. Once the first half was over and they were up 57-31, they sat their starters the rest of the game. The bench for the Hawks still held it down while outscoring the Thunder 55-40. The crowd showed up and was noisy from the get go, but they soon began to fade as the Thunder were embarrassed. After the game Thunder coach, P.J. Carlesimo said of his teams performance, "It was hard to sit out there for the whole game and watch what was being played out. They made us look like we don't belong in the Nba. Our guys are going to need to work a lot harder if we plan on winning any games this year."

POG - Atlanta Hawks - A. Horford - 20pts/5reb/2blk

Atlanta Hawks Top Performers
F. Murray - 17pts/4reb
A. Law - 13pts/8ast
Z. Pachulia - 10pts/5reb/1blk

Oklahoma City Thunder Top Performers
K. Durant - 25pts/4asst
R. Westbrook - 11pts/7asst
J. Green - 4pts/5reb/2blk

Thunder show improvent in second home stint, but still fall to Spurs.


Spurs - |23|22|14|32|Total - 91
Thunder - |18|23|18|26|Total - 85

Recap - The Thunder came out to win and they didn't give up all night. They stayed within five the whole first quarter. This game Coach Carlesimo brought out a new starting five by taking out Thabo Sefolosha and inserting Mouhammed Sene. "The move was to strictly try and compete with the size of the Spurs. It had nothing to do with Thabo's previous performance," said the Thunder coach of his change. This gave them Westbrook/Durant/Green/Collison/Sene. The move seemed to be working as Sefolosha played much better off the bench getting to double digits in scoring. Going into the fourth quarter the Thunder had actually managed to tie the game. Once in the fourth quarter though, the Spurs veteran ability kicked in and they outscored the Thunder by six.

POG - San Antonio Spurs - Tim Duncan - 16pts/13reb/3blk

San Antonio Spurs Top Performers
T. Parker - 25pts/9ast
B. Bowen - 18pts/6reb/3blk/2stl
M. Finley - 10pts/8ast

Oklahoma City Thunder Top Performers
J. Green - 30pts/5reb
R. Westbrook - 14pts/10ast/3stl
K. Durant - 17pts/3ast

Oklahoma City goes back to old Habits and gets destroyed by Raptors.


Raptors|30|32|32|26|Total - 120
Thunder|20|15|20|24|Total - 79

Recap - The Thunder started off this game with another line-up change in order to try and create a better rotation. Thabo Sefolosha and D.J. White were inserted into the starting line-up and Jeff Green and Nick Collison were taken out. "Collison has been struggling down low and I thought this would be a good wake up call for him. In Green's case, he is very electric and I thought having an extra blast off the bench would help down the stretch. Suppose it didn't help much," this was a comment on the line-up changes after the game from Coach Carlesimo. Once again the Thunder were being beaten so bad a team sat their starters the whole second half. Right now fans are wanting Carlesimo's head.

POG - Toronto Raptors - Roko Ukic - 26pts/8ast

Toronto Raptors Top Performers
M. Banks - 18pts/8ast
C. Bosh - 10pts/2blk
J. Kapono - 14pts

Oklahoma City Thunder Top Performers
K.Durant - 21pts
R. Westbrook - 13pts/15ast
D. White - 12pts/3reb

[Robert]

Man you know that blockbuster trade you were talking about it might be a good time to do that!

[Alejandrov011]

The opponent PG always torchs you. Maybe you need a stopper and a strong C. You need to trade right now

[Pistol]

Man you know that blockbuster trade you were talking about it might be a good time to do that!

Ha tell me about it...but like any blockbuster it takes work and teams arent helping me out right now so we will have to wait see what happens.

The opponent PG always torchs you. Maybe you need a stopper and a strong C. You need to trade right now

I have a bad habbit of double teaming with my PG on the opponents big men, so they just kick it out to his man, lol. I also have ideas for a 3pt shooter and a mediocre big man to just help out down low. A team update is on the way.

[Robert]

Yeah well on the bright side your probaly gonna get a tp 5 draft pick but no its way to early to tell . And besides maybe the raptors you lost to very good teams

[Pistol]

OKC Thunder Update

Here are 9 things about the Thunder you should know or at least think about.

1) Head Coach Security?

Story - On a scale of 1-100, Coach P.J. Carlesimo's joc security lays somewhere between 60-65. It's one thing to start the season 0-3, but he went the extra step and got destroyed in all three games. Not only did the team get beat down, but all the losses came at home. What happened to home court advantage? Plus Carlesimo can't seem to make up his mind on who is going to start for him and who isn't. Better hurry Carlesimo or the only thing people are going to remember you by in Oklahoma City, is being the first coach fired in the 08-09 NBA season.

2) Here's a quick FACT.

Story - The OKC Thunder are last in the league in scoring after their first three games. They have only managed to score 78.3ppg, while the rest of the league is in the high 80s and above. This could be in large part to their horrid .188 3pt%. They have no legit outside threat, sure Kevin Durant can hit the occasional three, but they are missing that Jason Kapono type guy that is lights out from behind the arc. They also don't have a big guy down low that can post up and score in the paint. Yea Jeff Green and D.J. White will yack it on the fast break, but they get pushed around when they post up. Don't even get started on Mouhammed Sene or Nick Collison.

3) Help Down Low!!!

Story - The Thunder have been getting beat down due in large part to second chance buckets, or lack there of. While they can buy an offensive rebound, their opponents continiously get second and many times third chance buckets. The Thunder do a horrible job of boxing out and attacking the boards. Their rebound leader? Jeff Green who is only averaging 4.0rpg. What about Nick Collison who averaged 9.4rpg last year? Collison's rebound stats have dropped and so far this year he is only averaging 3.3rpg. Pretty sad eh? Well he's the third highest rebounder on the team. As a team the Thunder average only 18.7 rpg, which is last in the NBA. Who is second to last? The Portland Trailblazers and they average 35.3!

4) Early ROY Favorite?

Story - There is one positive thing coming out of this season so far and that is Russell Westbrook's performances. Westbrook doesn't care about what the score is, he goes balls-to-the-walls during every minute of every quarter. The kid shows a great ability to attack the rim and has a knack for finding the open man more so than not. Westbrook this season so far is averaging 12.7ppg, 10.7apg, and 2.0spg. These are great numbers and he shows no signs of slowing down, but if theThunder continue to lose game after game, it could hurt his chances of winning the ROY award.

5) Trade Rumors

Story - As many people may have noticed, the Thunder need help in many areas. There are two spots that they are looking to improve right away though and are currently addressing those problems. The first one is a hot hand from behind the arc. Right now Kevin Durant, Damein Wilkins, and Earl Watson are about all they have from outside and none of them are lights out. Rumored names are Matt Carroll of the Dallas Mavericks, Rashad McCants of the Sacramento Kings, and Daquan Cook of the Miami Heat. Expect a move to be made soon. The second issue they need to address is their gapping hole down low. Currently Mouhammed Sene and Nick Collison are doing a horrid job down low of helping out in the scoring department or rebounding department for that matter. Minor names have been mentioned such as Cleveland Cavalier Anderson Varejao, but the Thunder have been quietly working their way towards making an Amare Stoudemire move. They seem to be willing to pull out all the stops, but time will only tell.

6) Player Morale News

Story - You can expect players to be unhappy during rough times, but add in putting a player on the I.R. that is better than half the active players and you have a bigger issue. Joe Smith was put on the inactive roster at the beginning of the year and there are no signs of him seeing any action anytime soon. Smith has openly said he wants to be traded immediately and that he has never been more unhappy than he is now. Also unhappy are bench player Damein Wilkins and Chucky Atkins. Wilkins believes that he should be seeing much more time, considering he was promised the 6th man role. Atkins on the other hand was not promised minutes and has recieved none, but he seems to think he is deserving of much better treatment. Both players should be watched and will most likely be moved.

7) Thunderous Trade Block

Story - The Thunder not only have their disgruntled players on the block, but they have a player that was supposed to have a sloid career. Nick Collison has been pretty consitent that past couple years, but this year he seems to show a lack of motivation. This has sadly put Collison on the block and a pre-paid airline ticket to anywhere else in the country. Don't expect him to be moved right away seeing as the Thunder are thin down low as it is. Another noteworthy player of beeing traded is Malik Rose and his big expiring $7+ million contract. He could go to a team looking to free up space for free agency this summer.

8) Whose next?

Story - So far the Thunder have played three games and in all three games they used a different starting line-up. Coach Carlesimo is still trying to find the perfect fit and can't seem to make a commitment towards a faster paced team or a team with a true power forward and center. Only two players gave started in all three games and those palyers are Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant. Jeff Green, Thabo Sefolosha, Nick Collison, and Mouhammed Sene have all started in at least two games. D.J. White recieved a nod against the Raptors due in part to Nick Collison starting off weak. Here are the three starting line-ups used so far:
vs Hawks...Westbrook - Sefolosha - Durant - Green - Collison
vs Spurs...Westbrook - Durant - Green - Collison - Sene
vs Raptors...Wesbtrook - Sefolosha - Durant - White - Sene

9) The Next Big 3?

Story - Yea that's right, we're askin if these guys could posses the next Big 3. I'm talking about Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant, and Jeff Green. These three guys show tons of potential and all seem to have a great future in the NBA. If the Thunger can keep these three guys together who knows what the future hold for them, but 0-3 sure is heck won't be featured. They average a combined 48.7ppg which is more than half of the total team 78.3ppg. Once rookie Westbrook gets more comfortable with Durant and Green, this trio will be a formidable wall to face in the NBA.

Your OKC Thunder
Top 3 PPG
- K. Durant 21.0
- J. Green 15.0
- R. Westbrook 12.7
Top 3 RPG
- J. Green 4.0
- M. Sene 3.7
- N. Collison 3.3
Top 3 APG
- R. Westbrook 10.7
- K. Durant 3.0
- E. Watson 2.7
Top 3 SPG
- R. Westbrook 2.0
- K. Weaver 1.0
- J. Green 1.0
Top 3 BPG
- M. Sene 2.3
- J. Green 1.3
- N. Collison 1.0

[Robert]

Ma you really do need a good big man your top rebounder only gets 4 a game!

[kibaxx7]

Nice articles As Robert said, you need a 3-point threat and a big man right now. Drop by my association if you have time man

[Pistol]

Ma you really do need a good big man your top rebounder only gets 4 a game!

I told ya man...this team is super weak down low and the Suns are not like the real life Suns...they are not giving up Amare, so Im gonna look for a veteran center for now probably and then draft a C in the off-season.

Nice articles As Robert said, you need a 3-point threat and a big man right now. Drop by my association if you have time man

Mos-def...I love your association, lol...by far my favorite to keep up on :] and its an honor knowing your reading up on mine, lol.

[Fresh8]

Tough break man, 0-3 ain't too flattering but I'm sure you can win some games soon!