OKC Thunder Finally Well-Positioned for Playoff Push and Saturday NBA Takeaways
Despite playing without reigning MVP Kevin Durant on Saturday, the Oklahoma City Thunder continued showing signs that the perennial contenders are hitting their playoff stride.
Behind 33 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds from All-Star MVP Russell Westbrook, the Thunder ran their NBA-best winning streak to five games with a 110-103 triumph over the Charlotte Hornets.
OKC got double-doubles from both Serge Ibaka (16 points, 12 boards) and newcomer Enes Kanter (13 rebounds, 10 points). Five Thunder players reached double-digit points, with D.J. Augustin (12) and Dion Waiters (10) each clearing the mark off the bench.
But, as has often been the case this season, Westbrook masterfully played the role of Mr. Everything for the Thunder.
It was Westbrook's second straight game with at least 30 points and 10 assists. As ESPN Stats & Info noted, no other point guard has hit those numbers as often as OKC's electric floor general this season:
With Durant sidelined by soreness in his surgically repaired right foot, the Thunder needed everything they could get out of Westbrook. Durant missed the team's first 17 games after suffering a Jones fracture in his right foot during training camp and has only seen action in 27 of the team's 55 contests. But there's hope that this most recent absence isn't something that will linger.
"He's not at risk," Thunder general manager Sam Presti said before the game, per ESPN.com's Royce Young. "He's just sore."
If the Thunder can keep Durant on the floor, they should be able to put a stranglehold on their postseason spot.
At the trade deadline, OKC cut ties with the punchless Kendrick Perkins, replaced him with the far more potent Kanter and saw immediate results. The Thunder also moved on from disgruntled guard Reggie Jackson, whose presence had reportedly become a source of discontent both inside the locker room and out on the court.
"We felt like everybody wanted to be here except for one guy," Durant said Thursday, via Young.
Earlier this month, Jackson's agent asked Presti for a trade, league sources told Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski. That certainly didn't help the reserve guard's relationship with his teammates, but as Young explained, Jackson's wavering on-court effort helped move him out the door:
"The trade request was the final straw, but Jackson's play spoke louder than anything. A premier finisher, the 24-year-old stopped attacking the basket with regularity ... He stopped the ball, searching for long step-back jumpers ... He was often nothing more than a traffic cone defensively. Jackson went from a game-changing Sixth Man of the Year candidate to an inconsistent liability at times.
"
The Thunder no longer have to deal with that distraction or try to compensate for Perkins' one-way play. They also may be clear of any playoff threats, as the Phoenix Suns gutted their lineup at the trade deadline and the New Orleans Pelicans saw theirs torn apart by injury (more on that later).
Provided Durant can get healthy, Oklahoma City might have the top two-man tandem in the league. After Thursday's trade, the Thunder also boast a deep, talented roster that can strike from all angles. They seem impervious to anything the basketball gods throw their way at this point: injuries, trades, dissidents, etc.
It's scary to think how far this team can climb. Just know wherever it lands will include a playoff ticket.
Around the Association
New Orleans Can't Win ... Even When It Does
Health problems have repeatedly ravaged the New Orleans Pelicans over the last year-and-a-half like a broken record. Despite handling the Miami Heat in a 105-91 win, the Big Easy had to endure the sad song once again.
Hardwood superhero Anthony Davis, he of the historically significant 31.2 player efficiency rating, per Basketball-Reference.com, was the first to lock horns with the malicious injury bug. With a little over three minutes remaining in the first quarter, the Brow re-injured his right shoulder during a collision with Heat center Hassan Whiteside.
Davis originally hurt his shoulder against the Chicago Bulls on Feb. 7 and missed New Orleans' last two games before the All-Star break. He did not return to Saturday's contest.
Disaster soon became something even worse for the Pelicans.
Less than three minutes into the second quarter, a right knee injury forced sweet-shooting sixth man Ryan Anderson off the floor.
Both Davis and Anderson will undergo MRI testing to assess the damage, per Bleacher Report's Ethan Skolnick:
New Orleans still survived Saturday thanks in no small part to Miami's malfunctioning offense. The Heat shot just 41.8 percent from the field and 29.4 percent from deep, while coach Erik Spoelstra trotted out his 22nd starting lineup of the season.
But as Bourbon Street Shots' Mason Ginsberg noted, this night quickly became about something bigger than wins and losses:
The Pelicans are already playing without starting point guard Jrue Holiday (stress reaction in lower right leg) and sitting two games behind the red-hot Thunder for the No. 8 seed out West. For the second straight season, health problems could doom New Orleans.
Injuries are the worst.
Bulls Still Searching for Championship Form
The NBA doesn't deal in style points, so the standings will have nothing but good things to say about the Chicago Bulls' 112-107 win over the Phoenix Suns.
But for Windy City fans searching for positives in this performance, there weren't many to find. Pau Gasol had his typical double-double (22 points, 14 rebounds), but Jimmy Butler and Derrick Rose needed 28 shots for their 35 combined points.
Normally, a Tom Thibodeau-led team won't overly concern itself with offense. But this hasn't been a typical Thibs squad all season. The Bulls sit 13th in defensive efficiency, and as K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune noted, that number won't improve after this effort:
The Suns, playing for the first time with newcomer Brandon Knight, got whatever they wanted offensively. They connected on 53.4 percent of their field-goal attempts and 40.0 percent of their long-range looks, well above their season averages of 46.2 and 36.0, respectively.
At this point, the Bulls will take all the wins they can get. They are still holding onto the East's No. 3 seed but only sit three games above the sixth-seeded Milwaukee Bucks.
Consistency will be key if Chicago hopes to reach its full potential. As Saturday's performance showed, this team hasn't found that yet.
Rockets Win Without James Harden Going Berserk
The Houston Rockets have found a simple recipe for their success this season: lockdown defense and James Harden’s offensive wizardry.
More often than not, the Bearded Baller is at his best. It’s hard to lead the league in scoring and be entrenched in a two-man race for MVP without some consistency.
But Harden can occasionally be human, and when he is, Houston typically struggles to survive. He entered Saturday averaging 29.6 points with a .467/.426/.887 shooting slash in Rockets wins and “only” 22.8 points on .427/.292/.820 shooting in their losses.
He had 20 points, shot 5-of-12 from the field and misfired on four of his six three-point attempts Saturday. And yet, the Rockets rolled to a 98-76 win over a Toronto Raptors team that had won 10 of its last 12 games.
A couple of things happened to make that possible.
Reserve swingman Corey Brewer poured in a season-high 26 points. Toronto’s starters not named James Johnson combined to shoot 9-of-34 from the field. And, of course, Harden had one ridiculous tear in him, piling up 16 points on 5-of-6 shooting in the third quarter alone.
It was a brutal game to watch overall, as the two teams combined for 50 turnovers (25 each) and 10-of-47 three-point shooting.
But if you’re a fan of the Rockets, you found sweetness in the midst of that largely repulsive play. Harden is going to have his off nights every now and then, and there’s comfort in knowing that Houston might pull through some of his infrequent displays of mortality.
Clippers Quietly Heating Up
In the overcrowded Western Conference, there is a tremendous amount of pressure on each playoff hopeful every time out. But the Los Angeles Clippers were breathing easy before they’d even heard coach Doc Rivers’ halftime speech.
With 1:58 remaining in the first quarter, the Clippers trailed the Sacramento Kings, 29-19. A three-point bomb from Doc’s son, Austin Rivers, sparked a 16-0 run for L.A., and the team never looked back.
The Clippers ran the Kings out of Staples Center in a wild second quarter that left analysts gasping for breath, as Bleacher Report’s Fred Katz noted:
Those are remarkable numbers, but a few were even more incredible. The Clippers poured in 66 points during the first half, and only four of them came from All-Star point guard Chris Paul. The floor general entered intermission shooting just 2-of-6 from the field.
But this 126-99 win was a total team effort, from a group that doesn’t have injured All-Star Blake Griffin (elbow surgery) and lacked the assets needed to address its widely criticized supporting cast.
Everything clicked for the Clippers, who have now won four straight games—all over Western Conference opponents.
DeAndre Jordan continued his rebounding onslaught, tracking down 15 errant shots in 20 minutes. He’s averaged 20 boards per game over his last four outings. Rivers, J.J. Redick and Jamal Crawford combined for 75 points and 10 threes.
L.A.’s roster looks a little light on paper, but this type of effort shows how special this team can still be. The quartet of Paul, Jordan, Crawford and, when he’s healthy, Griffin is going to make the Clippers a tough playoff out.
But they can be so much more if the complementary players provide this type of support.
Quote of the Night
Thunder center Steven Adams seems like the best friend everyone should have.
He’ll don a mustache to make you laugh. He’ll participate in the most off-the-wall secret handshakes you can think of.
And, apparently, he’ll start planning your birthday festivities months in advance.
You don’t even have to be his best friend for him to do that last part, either. Kanter just joined the OKC crew, and Adams is already laying the groundwork for what we all can imagine will be an epic birthday bash for the newcomer, per Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman:
We have to get invited to this party.
Unless otherwise noted, statistics used courtesy of NBA.com.
