OKC Topic Thunder

An OKC Thunder Podcast & Blogsite

ClickTown – August 19th, 2019

Posted on August 19, 2019 by okctopicthunder

clicktown

Read the latest Thunder happenings here on ClickTown.

Nick Friedell (ESPN) with an in-depth look at Darius Bazley’s unique path to the NBA: “While some endorsers get a taste of that with their sneaker companies, Bazley got far more up-close experience, not just getting a tour on a quick visit, but having the opportunity to spend days sitting in meetings, doing product testing and contributing in meaningful ways beyond just picking a sneaker he liked. In true 21st century NBA fashion, Bazley also got to learn about building a personal brand from New Balance’s digital and social teams, even using his Instagram account to provide insight into what his internship was like.”

Per EuroHoops, Billy Donovan went overseas to meet with Danilo Gallinari and Dennis Schroder: “I am here to meet with Danilo Gallinari who is our new player in Oklahoma City. Before arriving here, I was in Germany and met with Dennis Schroder. We like to meet with our players during the summer in their home countries and of course, it’s great to see them competing at this level.” Continue reading →

Thunder At A Glance – 20 February 2019

Posted on February 20, 2019 by Alex Roig

Topic: Thunder podcast brethren Stephen Dolan (Thunderous Intentions) looks at the fit of Markieff Morris on the Thunder: “The reason I’ll be mentioning Patterson a lot is in my opinion, Morris will be taking most, if not all of his minutes. According to Basketball Reference, Morris has played exactly zero minutes at anything other than power forward or center in his entire career, actually playing more at the five this season. Morris will not be playing any 3. Morris is a big. With that said, and Shams reporting a significant role, anything close to 20 minutes a game will come largely out of Patterson’s 14.7.”

Berry Tramel (NewsOK) looks at the story du jour for the Thunder: Morris’ fit on the team: “Markieff Morris has spent no discernible time as a designed perimeter player. That’s at both Phoenix and Washington. That’s different from Marcus, who has played for the Rockets, Suns, Pistons and now Celtics. Basketball-reference.com estimates that 52 percent of Marcus’ career has been played as a wing, with 44 percent at power forward and four percent at center.” Continue reading →

Thunder At A Glance – 12 December 2018

Posted on December 12, 2018 by Alex Roig

Isaiah Freedman (Welcome to Loud City) on whether the Thunder are currently title contenders: “OKC can match up with anyone defensively, and while their offense has not been the most efficient in the league (it hovers around league average), they are only a Russ or PG explosion away from rendering that stat useless. We still have not seen this team at full strength, and if Roberson can get back to playing all-world defense by the time the playoffs come around, the Thunder will be a true force to be reckoned with.”

Patrick Redford (Deadspin) on Paul George’s 2-way ability and how it’s helping the Thunder: “It’s working! Really well! George is averaging 24.3 points, 7.8 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 2.2 steals per game, all of which are career-highs. All of the other advanced metrics point to this campaign as George’s best statistical season, which is impressive coming next to Westbrook, a man who likes to have the ball in his hands at all times, always, unconditionally. To his credit, Westbrook has backed down this year, using the rock on only 31.9 percent of Thunder possessions, a rate comparable to his first All-Star season in 2010-11. Westbrook also leads the league in assist percentage, and has cleaned up his shot selection. As he’s chilled out, George has stepped up, and their games complement each other perfectly; Westbrook explodes into the lane and creates chaos, George hits shots, cleans shit up, and exploits mismatches.” Continue reading →

Thunder At A Glance – 11 December 2018

Posted on December 11, 2018 by Alex Roig

Jonathan Tjarks (The Ringer) on how the best offense for the Thunder is a great defense: “Oklahoma City is built around an overwhelming amount of length and athleticism. After getting off to an 0-3 start, it doubled down on both its strengths and weaknesses by benching Patrick Patterson for Jerami Grant, an all-world athlete and inconsistent shooter. Grant, at 6-foot-9 and 220 pounds with a 7-foot-3 wingspan, is a hyper-athletic wing who can defend players at all five positions. A frontcourt of Grant, Steven Adams, and Paul George stifles opposing teams, regardless of who the point guard is. That trio has a net rating of plus-13 in 373 minutes with Westbrook and plus-14 in 313 minutes with Schröder.”

Royce Young (ESPN) recaps the Thunder’s win against the Jazz, where Paul George excelled and Russell Westbrook struggled: “I just talked to [Westbrook] in the back [of the locker room] and told him, ‘It’s an 82-game season,’ and I told him, ‘I got your back,'” George said. “He’s had me on plenty of occasions where I had an off night and Russ took over offensively and put the game on his shoulders. I’m his counterpart, and I’ve got to do the same for him. It’s a long season, there’s going to be games like that. Special thing, good thing about this team: We’ve got two guys that can fill it up on a nightly basis. But he’s fine, it’s nothing he’s gotta get coached through. He’s been a scoring leader. He knows how to score the ball.” Continue reading →

Thunder At A Glance – 10 December 2018

Posted on December 10, 2018 by Alex Roig

Another week gone by. Another Weekly released by the Topic: Thunder Podcast crew where we discuss the three-game road trip, possible Khris Middleton trades, the current debacle in Houston, and look forward to an upcoming 4-game slate against Western Conference playoff contenders.

Erik Horne (NewsOK) on the Thunder hosting their 11th annual Holiday Assist: “A young, bespectacled boy named Cody Hardee dangled off the front of the shopping cart as the Thunder center pushed along from the electronics section to toys and then back. It didn’t take long for Adams to know who was in charge. He was happy to help.” Continue reading →

Thunder At A Glance – 03 December 2018

Posted on December 3, 2018 by Alex Roig

The Topic: Thunder podcast crew released another Weekly this past weekend, in which they preview the upcoming 3-game road trip, hand out quarterly season awards, and discuss the Andre Roberson setback.

Jon Hamm (Bleacher Report) on Oklahoma City and Russell Westbrook realizing that the reins needed to be released if the team was to be more successful: “In the 13 games Westbrook has played, he’s accounted for only 39 percent of the team’s assists. That number approached 50 percent in the previous two seasons. Surrendering the ball more often to George and Schroder makes the Thunder offense more dynamic.” Continue reading →

Thunder At A Glance – 09 November 2018

Posted on November 9, 2018 by Alex Roig

Dylan Huntzinger of the Topic: Thunder Podcast gives you the recap of the Thunder’s win over the Rockets.

Erik Horne (NewsOK) looks back on the Thunder’s 7th victory in a row: “Teams like the Rockets and Warriors will more than certainly finish the season with more 3-pointers made and better field goal percentages than the often-off-shooting Thunder. But you’ll be hard-pressed to find a team that makes the Rockets and Warriors grimace more than the Thunder, who pushed its winning streak to seven games and swept a back-to-back for the second time this season with relative ease.” Continue reading →

Thunder At A Glance – 23 October 2018

Posted on October 23, 2018 by Alex Roig

Dan Devine (The Ringer) on whether its time to panic in OKC: “The questions got louder after OKC got flambéd Sunday night, giving up 131 points at home to a perhaps fun but still likely quite bad Sacramento team. But while it’s not ideal to be allowing 110.5 points per 100 possessions to start the season—or allowing a dominant 37-point fourth quarter to the Clips on Friday—it’s not all that bad in the context of the NBA’s early-season offensive surge.“

Matt Burnham (Welcome To Loud City) on the Thunder’s sputtering start: “As humans, it is natural to react instinctively. Critical thinking is a skill. Evaluating the reality of a situation is a skill. We often find ourselves caught up in the moment and act as if a brief period of chaos is a representation of the entire picture. We like answers. We like jumping to conclusions. The puzzle is not put together yet and the idea of pieces laying around makes us tremble in anxiety.” Continue reading →

Thunder vs. Clippers preview (Game 2 of 82)

Posted on October 19, 2018 by Alex Roig

clippers

When: Friday, 19 October 2018 at 9:30 pm CST
Where: Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA
TV: FSOK
Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM, 640 AM, 930 AM (Spanish))
Line: LAC -3.0 | O/U: 214

It almost seemed like moral victories were the worst type of losses last season. To have a team that was expected to make a ton of noise as constructed, only to be an inconsistent mess only solidified the point that moral victories were useless last season. None of the losses felt like victories, while a handful of the wins felt like losses. It was a frustrating season all around. Continue reading →

Thunder At A Glance – 09 October 2018

Posted on October 9, 2018 by Alex Roig

Chris Murch (OKC Thunder Wire) on Billy Donovan being a fan of the preseason schedule: “So what we can do is take these four games and then be able to use that week to really look and evaluate of things we have to continue to grow in and get better in, things we’re doing well, we want to continue doing.”

Nick Gallo (OKCThunder.com) with a preview of tonight’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks: “That process has been going well, despite the fact that the Thunder has had more than its share of injuries during U.S. Cellular Training Camp. Two starters in Russell Westbrook, Andre Roberson and Abdel Nader have missed every preseason game, Paul George missed one game due to a personal matter and Terrance Ferguson has had to leave early from two contests. Despite the adversity, the Thunder’s next-man-up mentality has served the group well, and the team has been able to press on in its growth as a unit.” Continue reading →