Blazers v. OKC Game Preview (10/29/14):
Our Last game: Let’s not talk about that. If misery’s your game, here ya go.
http://www.nba.com/video/channels/playoffs/2014/05/14/0021300225-por-sas-recap.nba/
Their Last game: It wasn’t lifting a trophy.
Game 6 of Western Conference Finals.
Our last game vs. other team (season series)
POR finished the year with a
98-95 loss to OKC, but were 2-2 against the Northwest Division champs and Western Conference Finalists. Things got a bit chippy, though, after the last contest.
Durant had 36 points and 10 rebounds as the Thunder evened the series against the Blazers 2-2 in their final regular-season meeting. Jeremy Lamb had 19. For the good guys, Nicolas Batum had 18 points for Portland, in the midst of losing five-in-seven. Robin Lopez finished with 17 points and 14 rebounds for his 19th double-double.
LaMarcus Aldridge, who missed a mid-range jumper in the final seconds that could have salvaged the win for Portland, was asked what he thought of Durant's comment.
Other Last year’s team + Changes to their roster (
Author's Note: this only for the first 10 games or so until opponents get a 2014-15 identity)
Following up on their run to the WCF (where they lost to the eventual Champion Spurs in 6) they went into the offseason with the 21st and 29th picks in the NBA draft. They selected Mitch McGary from Michigan and Josh Huestis from Stanford. "He brings energy, passion, and great basketball IQ and toughness what we value" said Presti on drafting McGary. Oklahoma City also signed Semaj Christon in the draft and Sebastian Telfair in FA. But they lost a major piece in Thabo Sefolosha who agreed to a 3/$12M deal with the Atlanta Hawks. They then signed Anthony Morrow to a 3/$10M contract. Lance Thomas, a 6’8” defensive-minded wing whose work ethic and tenacity has impressed Mike Krzcyzewski @ Duke and Monty Williams in NOLA, worked his way onto the roster.
Injury Updates: Kevin Durant (Jones Fracture) out about 6 weeks. Guard Anthony Morrow sprained his MCL in his left knee during Thursday's practice. He will miss the Thunder opener Wednesday. Kendrick Perkins day-to-day with a quad injury and generally just being Kendrick Perkins.
McGary (fracture in his left second metatarsal) is expected to miss approximately six weeks. With injury announced Oct. 9, he’s probably about 3 weeks left from returning. Reggie Jackson and Jeremy Lamb have also
missed a large portion of camp along with Nick Collison (only 11 minutes all preseason, but presumably healthy now) and Serge Ibaka.
Two injuries today, actually. Reggie Jackson twisted an ankle and Jeremy Lamb hurt his back. Both questionable for Wednesday.
Matchups: I think the entire league is going to watch Russell Westbrook v. Damian Lillard (regardless of if Wes Matthews or Nick-Oh-Lah is guarding RW). Consensus is that RW is going to look like 2004 K*be out there gunning for his in order to keep OKC relevant.
My gut feel is: No Way, Jose. Not against us on Opening Night. He averaged a shot every 2 minutes in the preseason, even with trying to get the younger guys some run. He shot 37% while doing so. I don’t think he keeps that up all year (I think, personally, more shots at a better clip, but still) and I don’t see too many areas of weakness other than perhaps our backups against Reggie Jackson, in which case Stotts will go back to his Starters-In Blankie.
I’m also interested in seeing a real-life bench rotation and what it means for 2014-15. I think Kaman and Blake have taken the bulk of the backup 4-5 and backup PG minutes, which leaves some time at the 2/3 for CJ, Wild Will and Barton to fight over and a few minutes at the 4 for whoever of Freeland or Leonard makes the best matchup. I don’t see Crabbe or Claver getting out of suits and I don’t know what Robinson did to get the Beautiful Central Oregon Treatment. (Get it? LaPine? French for “so deep on the bench that splinters…? Nevermind)
Give-a-Rip (City) Factor—a.k.a. why you should watch:
Uh, it's Opening Night. Legit Blazer basketball hasn't been played in 5 months. But if you need reasons:
As stated already, RW v. Dame has the potential to be epic. OKC doesn’t have the horses right now to handle LMA, but even if they do, Kaman has the potential to go 14/8 in 20 bench minutes against their bench. I want to see how much the bench provides in support of the best starting 5 in the league – last year they were a league-worst 23 ppg. Between Kaman, Blake and the bench mob du jour, the Blazers should do much, much better and keep the starters much, much fresher for those 4-in-5 trips coming up starting in December. I think you’ll see starters matched with bench play rather than wholesale subs—specifically Blake in with LMA and Dame in with Kaman. No truth to the rumor that Coach McScribbles called up to suggest to Coach Stotts a “White Team” of Blake, Claver, Leonard (“I shoot 3s now!), Freeland and Kaman. Though if it does, HCP will be getting twittered (tweeted?) on the air about it. The other bench item to watch for is how much Blake can keep the main offense running, even with some subs in. “No! Mo” no longer is around to dribble the air out of the ball before freezing out wing players and doing his high-beta thing, so it could get very interesting.
Current Power Rankings:
NBA.com: (6) The loss of Kevin Durant could be a critical blow to OKC's title hopes, but not if Russell Westbrook has anything to say about it. Often criticized, Westbrook has a chance to silence his critics while leading the Thunder in KD's absence. Serge Ibaka, Reggie Jackson and Jeremy Lamb will need to pick up some of the scoring slack, but there's no reason to think that the Thunder cannot remain in the playoff picture until Durant's return. The reigning MVP will be sorely missed, but Oklahoma City is fortunate to have another top-five star on its roster. It's Westbrook's time to shine.
ESPN: (5) The Thunder aren't known for fervent free-agent pitches, but they went hard after Pau Gasol. Have to confess we spent a fair bit of the summer imagining what Pau might have done for KD, Russ and Serge, even though they still sit on the short list of true title contenders if all three stay healthy.
Fox: (4) The true reality of Kevin Durant’s foot fracture is that it won’t mean much come April. That’s the beauty (and often the bore) of the 82-game marathon. Prediction: Come NBA playoffs, the story will be about how Russell Westbrook and the rest of OKC grew without Durant and how “it’s helping them now."
CBSSports (preseason): (2) If Adams plays more minutes than Kendrick Perkins (they were about even last season), the Thunder will have a higher ceiling offensively. On the other end of the floor, they'll need the younger guys -- Reggie Jackson, Jeremy Lamb and Perry Jones -- to make up for Thabo Sefolosha's departure on the perimeter.
Covers: (9) The loss of Kevin Durant for the first 20 games or so drops the Thunder one spot from where I would have had them originally. Expect another division title to come with relative ease.
Links to other team’s site(s): . Thunder Home Page:
http://www.nba.com/thunder/
Thunder "#1 Fan Page".
http://okcthunder.info/
(Link here to GrandpaBlaze's Prediction Game)
(Link here to Mediocre Man's Over/Under Game)
Final Thoughts: First game of the season, at the Moda Center, featured game on ESPN, us at full strength and them, uh, not…I think it’s one we gotta come up with a W from to set the tone. Yeah, 9 of the first twelve are at home, but they’re against some of the powerhouses of the league (OKC, GSW, DAL, LAC, CLE). A good win against a depleted yet determined contender will keep the excitement going. I don’t know how much goodwill will carry over in ticket sales if the team gets off to some close losses, but something like 5-7 regardless. The time for moral victories passed as soon as SAS blew us out of the building last May. Season starts off right in an offensive explosion---Good Guys 115, Thunder 98. McWhatevers for everyone!
And if this is your first time on RipCityTwo, welcome. Here's a microcosm of what's to come:
- VS –
BLAZERS' GAME NOTES 
