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Thunder At A Glance – 22 August 2018

Posted on August 22, 2018 by Alex Roig

Alex Kennedy (HoopsHype) interviews Jerami Grant about this upcoming season: “I’ve definitely had my ups and downs when it comes to my shooting. I’ve shot the ball well one year, then [my percentage] may go down a little bit the next year. Then it may go up again and then down again the following year. One thing I’ve learned from experience is that you have to get game reps in during the summer. This summer, I’ve been trying to get as many game reps in as possible, shooting the ball quickly and trying to get a lot of pick-up in to simulate real-time game speed. There’s a big difference between shooting in workouts and shooting in games, which is why I’m trying to get games reps this summer.”

Nick Gallo (OKCThunder.com) on Jerami Grant, the finisher: “To be fair, some of Grant’s growth is just natural, and has come with physical maturation and added experience. He was just 22 years old when he joined the Thunder on November 1, 2016. Heading into his third year, he’s a 24-year-old with 6,621 minutes of regular season playing time in 303 professional games. Confident in his role and his abilities, Grant has earned the trust and formed bonds with team leaders like Russell Westbrook and Steven Adams, along with Paul George, who also re-signed with the Thunder this offseason.” Continue reading →

NTTB Thunder Rumblings – 14 August 2018

Posted on August 14, 2018 by Alex Roig

Erik Horne (NewsOK) on the Thunder signing Tyler Davis to their final 2-way contract: “Davis (6-foot-10, 265 pounds) averaged 13.4 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game in three seasons at Texas A&M. Davis’s signing was first reported by Shams Charania of Yahoo! Sports.”

Alex Miller (Dallas News) looks at Tyler Davis’ draft journey: “Davis went undrafted in June’s NBA Draft, but soon signed a deal with the Brooklyn Nets and stayed with the team through Summer League action. In four Summer League games with the Nets, Davis averaged 11.0 points and 4.5 rebounds per game.”

Berry Tramel (NewsOK) on the Thunder having a case of the Mondays: “One side effect is more games on week nights. One benefit is fewer home games bunched together. One of the major commitments of Thunder ticket-holders is time. When the Thunder hosts three or four home games in a seven- or eight-day span, it taxes fans’ ability to get to the arena.” Continue reading →

NTTB Thunder Rumblings – 07 August 2018

Posted on August 7, 2018 by Alex Roig

Berry Tramel (NewsOK) looks at the Vegas win odds: “A few things to remember. This isn’t a prediction. An NBA team or two will reach the extremes on both ends. But Vegas can’t account for that. It can’t predict that the star-studded Warriors will win 69 games. Few teams in NBA history will do that. Vegas can’t predict that Atlanta will win 14 games. Few teams in NBA history will do that. The Warriors might very well approach 70 wins again, and the Hawks might threaten the all-time worst record. But this isn’t a prediction. This is a process by which Las Vegas tries to remove as much money from your wallet as it can.”

David Aldridge (NBA.com) says Oklahoma City had the best offseason: “This is real simple: with Roberson on the court last year, OKC’s opponent offensive rating was 99.2; when he was off, it was 110.7. The Thunder was a near-elite defensive unit when Roberson played and was awful when he didn’t. His Real Defensive Plus-Minus, per ESPN.com, was 4.34, second only to Utah’s Rudy Gobert (5.06). So when Roberson ruptured his patellar tendon in late January, the Thunder’s ability to use George as a weakside defender who could freelance and use his length to create deflections and turnovers (because Roberson had the strong side absolutely locked down) went away.” Continue reading →

NTTB Thunder Rumblings – 11 July 2018

Posted on July 11, 2018 by Alex Roig

Adrian Wojnarowski (ESPN) on the imminent departure of Carmelo Anthony from the Thunder: “The Thunder are working on trade scenarios in which Anthony, 34, would be moved as an expiring contract and waived, becoming a free agent once his $27.9 million 2017-18 salary clears waivers. Oklahoma City needs Anthony to waive his no-trade clause, which he has done to facilitate his exit, league sources said.”

Brett Dawson (NewsOK) says Terrance Ferguson’s summer league struggles are part of the developmental plan: “Ferguson came here to work on expanding his game, on playing with the ball as well as off it, on showing more than just spot-up jump shots and a transition finishes. But growing means learning, and the Thunder staff has taught him a lot. That’s why, Ferguson said, assistant coach Darko Rajakovic pulled Ferguson aside at a recent practice and preached patience.” Continue reading →

NTTB’s Thunder Rumblings – 02 July 2018

Posted on July 2, 2018 by Alex Roig

Royce Young (ESPN) on how the gamble the Thunder took on Paul George a year ago paid off: “But at a private party on Saturday hosted by Russell Westbrook at a mansion near Lake Arcadia, music from echoing off the tall Oklahoma oak trees, George walked onstage, fresh off a private jet, and grabbed the microphone.”

Brett Dawson (NewsOK) on the Thunder’s interest for a big man this offseason: “Though Paul George and Jerami Grant are committed to Oklahoma City, the Thunder still has moves left to make. Reports indicate Oklahoma City at least is taking a look at backup centers on the free-agent market.” Continue reading →

NTTB Podcast – Episode 35 (Live Free Agency Frenzy)

Posted on July 1, 2018 by Alex Roig

On Episode 35 of the NTTB podcast, we discuss the following topics:

Scared Money Don’t Make None
Russell Westbrook flies from Hawaii to Oklahoma City voluntarily
Paul George re-signs with the Thunder
Jerami Grant re-signs with the Thunder
Where LeBron ends up
I thought LeBron was supposed to be the first dominoe
Other free agency signings as they happened live
And again, Scared Money Don’t Make None

Intro/Outro music provided by OSC Productions

Thank you for listening. We will be doing a podcast once a week. If you have any Thunder or NBA related questions, make sure you hit us up on Twitter (@alexroig_NTTB or @Montero_A13).

We are on ITunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, and Tune In under the NTTB Podcast. Make sure you leave us a 5-star review if you can. As always, Thunder Up!

https://www.buzzsprout.com/111153/739799-episode-35-live-free-agency-frenzy.mp3?download=true

NTTB Rumblings – 15 May 2018

Posted on May 15, 2018 by Alex Roig

Happy Draft Lottery Day!!!!!

Fred Katz (Norman Transcript) evaluates the season that was for Russell Westbrook: “The superstition started back in another era, when Tumbleson would honor a couple of greats with double-circles: Westbrook and Kevin Durant. During the 2016-17 season, only Westbrook received the double-circle. Paul George and Carmelo Anthony entered double-circle territory at the beginning of this past season, but Tumbleson went back to doing just Westbrook after the team’s 8-12 start. He figured becoming too indiscriminate with the double-circle was bad luck.”

Katz also evaluated the season that was for Alex Abrines: “Oklahoma City switched everything on defense with those lineups, and the Jazz hunted Abrines during said moments. Specifically, they found ways for the 25-year-old to defend Mitchell, who sliced OKC all series. But Abrines actually held his own.” Continue reading →

NTTB Rumblings – 08 May 2018

Posted on May 8, 2018 by Alex Roig

Tim Bontempts (Washington Post) looks at the biggest questions facing the Thunder this offseason: “It ended with Russell Westbrook taking 43 shots for the second time in as many years in a playoff game – both Thunder losses – and getting into confrontations with fans at halftime and after the game. It ended with Thunder Coach Billy Donovan going down with the Carmelo Anthony ship, playing the fading star with the season on the line when all evidence suggested the team would be better with Anthony on the bench.”

Albert Dadson (Hoops Habit) on the Thunder’s options for Carmelo Anthony moving forward: “Anthony wants to be more involved in the Thunder’s offense if he comes back. The problem with trying to get rid of Carmelo Anthony is the fact that he will have the final say in his status for next year thanks to a player option for the final year of his contract.” Continue reading →

NTTB Rumblings – 07 May 2018

Posted on May 7, 2018 by Alex Roig

If you are a true Thunder fan on Twitter, than you know who Nanae Yamano is (by Kaz Nagatsuka of the Japan Times): “Sometimes nonverbal means of communication can connect you to the world. And social media makes it so much easier nowadays. Saitama Prefecture housewife and amateur artist Nanae Yamano has proven that with her cute drawings of NBA players.”

Brett Dawson (NewsOK) on how the Thunder have prepared for the cost to bring back Paul George: “In 2012, it traded James Harden rather than sign him, a move that’s been widely criticized in hindsight — and no doubt is one reason why skeptics wonder if the Thunder will pay the cost to remain competitive. But it was a younger franchise then, coming off its fourth season and third playoff appearance in OKC. It hadn’t built the equity it has now, and the financial future of the league looks different.”

The new episode of the NTTB podcast is up. Give it a listen. Continue reading →

First Round Preview vs. the Utah Jazz

Posted on April 13, 2018 by Alex Roig

westbrook mitchell

I’ll be honest with you. These last few days have been refreshing. I haven’t had to worry about the Western Conference standings. I haven’t had to worry about not knowing what Oklahoma City Thunder team was going to show up on a night to night basis. I didn’t have to stress about a Paul George shooting slump. Or worry about Carmelo Anthony aging exponentially before our eyes. Or any other plethora of things I’ve worried about this season.

All season long we’ve heard this would be a work in progress. That this process would take time. And with how this team was pieced together over the summer, that request for patience was not a far-fetched one. Many fans view NBA transactions like they view transactions on NBA 2K. If you put Good Player A together with Good Player B, then both players will be good on the same team. But in reality, that’s not always how it works. The process of putting three alpha dogs together and telling them to play as a team is not something that happens instantly. There’s a chemistry that needs to naturally develop, especially when you think of the other variables on the roster. Continue reading →