Category: OKC Thunder Blog

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Thunder sign Corey Brewer

The OKC Thunder signed free agent guard/forward Corey Brewer today.

According to the Norman Transcript, it is a minimum-salary contract.

Brewer (6-9, 186) has appeared in 765 career games (291 starts) and registered career averages of 8.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.24 steals in 23.2 minutes with Minnesota, Dallas, Denver, Houston and most recently the Los Angeles Lakers. The 11-year NBA veteran holds the sixth-best steal-to-turnover ratio off the bench in NBA history (1.10) and ranks sixth among active players in steal percentage (2.68).

More from the Norman Transcript: “The Thunder have been on the lookout for a wing ever since starting shooting guard Andre Roberson suffered a season-ending knee injury Jan. 27. Brewer struggled to find playing time with the 27-34 Lakers, averaging 3.7 points while shooting 45 percent from the field and 18 percent from 3-point land in 12.9 minutes a game, but he fits the body type and style Oklahoma City values. ”

The 2011 NBA Champion was originally drafted 7th overall by Minnesota in the 2007 NBA Draft and this season has appeared in 54 games (two starts) with the Lakers, averaging 3.7 points and 1.7 rebounds in 12.9 minutes per game.

In three years at the University of Florida, Brewer helped guide the Gators to two National Championships (2006 and 2007), appearing in 108 games (106 starts) and averaging 11.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.63 steals in 27.2 minutes. The Tennessee native was also named NCAA Most Outstanding Player in 2007 and was selected to the NCAA All-Tournament Team in 2006 and 2007.

Paul George says he is happy being with OKC

Is Paul George’s long-term future with OKC? Or elsewhere, like perhaps in Los Angeles? That will remain a lingering question, certainly through the summer. Here’s the Norman Transcript reporting:

Paul George feels “a real brotherhood” with Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony, he told ESPN’s Rachel Nichols in a sit-down interview, which aired Sunday.

Talk of the Los Angeles Lakers has surrounded the five-time All-Star, who will become a free agent at the end of this season. The Lakers are not only George’s hometown team. He also requested to be traded there when he informed the Indiana Pacers he would not be re-signing come 2018 free agency.

George has, however, been complimentary of the Oklahoma City Thunder since the team traded for him over the summer.

“I obviously would’ve loved to go home. That was ideal when it was that time,” George told Nichols. “But now, being here and playing alongside Russ, playing alongside Melo, I feel a real brotherhood with those guys. If we’re here right now, then where can we be next year? Where can we be the year after that?”

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Thunder giving up many 3-points lately

The Thunder defense is clearly not as good with Andre Roberson out. Here’s the Norman Transcript reporting on what’s been going on:

The Thunder have been allowing a bunch of 3-pointers all season, a reaction to personnel changes over the summer and to a 2016-17 defense which gave up a higher percentage of its field-goals allowed at the rim than any other team. The Thunder help more aggressively from the weak side now in an attempt to take away driving lanes. When the strategy isn’t executed well, it’s prone to allowing easier 3s.

The issues have become more exaggerated of late.

“I think it’s just player movement,” Paul George said. “That’s the element of defense that we’re struggling at, understanding guys are moving and causing us to move around.”

The Thunder have allowed 31.5 3-pointers per game over their past eight, up from their seasonal average. Even worse, opponents are making 12.9 of those a game, good for nearly 41 percent. The makes and the percentage are the NBA’s second-worst and fourth-worst figures, respectively, over that time.

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Andre Roberson out for rest of season

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The Thunder, who this season have relied primarily on defense to get their wins, will be without their main defensive stopper at the guard/forward spot, Andre Roberson, for the remainder of the season. Here’s the Norman Transcript reporting:

Oklahoma City Thunder shooting guard Andre Roberson underwent successful knee surgery Sunday, the team announced. The Thunder expect him to miss the remainder of the 2017-18 season.

Roberson ruptured his left patellar tendon during the third quarter of Saturday’s 121-108 win over the Detroit Pistons. The injury occurred when he planted his left leg awkwardly while trying to jump for an alley-oop from Russell Westbrook. Instead of receiving the ball and finishing the play, he flipped in the air and landed hard on his backside. After a few minutes on the ground with trainers and teammates around him, Roberson left the court on a stretcher.

The Thunder’s defensive stopper missed eight games because of left patellar tendinitis from Dec. 31 to Jan. 17. Rookie wing Terrance Ferguson started in his place during seven of those. Ferguson started once again Sunday against the Philadelphia 76ers. Roberson also received plasma injections in his knee during the offseason.

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Paul George replaces DeMarcus Cousins on 2018 NBA All-Star team

DeMarcus Cousins has suffered a nasty injury that will end his season.

He’s on the Pelicans, a Western conference team.

So, his replacement on the Team LeBron 2018 NBA All-Star team has to be from the West as well.

Adam Silver has made his decision. It’ll be OKC Thunder forward Paul George.

For more info, read this: Paul George named NBA All-Star game injury replacement for DeMarcus Cousins

No All-Star spots for Carmelo Anthony or Paul George

Russell Westbrook has been chosen as a reserve for this year’s NBA All-Star Game, the league announced Tuesday. With Paul George, Carmelo Anthony and Steven Adams falling short of making the team, Westbrook is the only Oklahoma City Thunder player to be named a reserve. No Thunder players will start.

This will be the seventh All-Star appearance of Westbrook’s career. The last time he missed out on the game, excluding his injury-ridden 2013-14, was during 2010, his second season.

Westbrook was averaging 24.8 points, 9.7 rebounds and a league-leading 10.1 assists heading into Tuesday night’s game against the Brooklyn Nets, bringing him close to a triple-double average for what would be a second consecutive season. He became the second player in NBA history to average a triple-double last year.

“If I make it, then that’ll be a blessing,” Westbrook said of All-Star last week. “If I don’t, then I’ll go on vacation with my family.”

— Norman Transcript

Thunder score 148 points vs Cavs

The Thunder offense has been disappointing most of this season. But the Cavs defense has been absolutely miserable, and it only seems to be getting worse, at least via the eye test. With Kevin Love playing just three minutes due to illness, LeBron and the rest of the Cavs put up 124 points Saturday afternoon, yet still lost by 24. Here’s the Oklahoman reporting:

The third quarter started, and LeBron James, seeking an illustrious mark, was stuck on nine points.

James was isolated against Paul George — who was nearly a Cleveland player last summer until trade talks broke down between the Cavs and Pacers. George expertly stayed in front of the driving James, with him and Steven Adams meeting James at the rim. Another miss, James’ fourth within six feet of the rim.

Nothing came easy for the king in a 148-124 Thunder blowout.

James needed 25 points to become the seventh player in NBA history to reach 30,000 career points. Instead, James was subbed out with 6:37 left in the fourth quarter and the Thunder ahead by 26.

James finished with 18 points on 8-of-17 shooting, 0-of-4 from 3-point range.

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Raptors vs Thunder an anticipated matchup

The Raptors are 23-9, which is the second best record in the Eastern conference. The Thunder are 19-15, tying them for the West’s 5th best winning percentage – though OKC are on a five-game winning streak and have been recently playing their best basketball of the season. The two teams battle tonight in OKC. It’s a matchup worth watching. Here’s the Norman Transcript reporting:

The Toronto Raptors have run through the Eastern Conference with a similar core and thus, a similar type of isolation-heavy offense over the past few years. But the Oklahoma City Thunder’s next opponent will look different than many fans might expect come Wednesday night.

Even with players like point guard Kyle Lowry and binge scorer DeMar DeRozan carrying over, the Raptors have implemented far more motion into their offense this year. They’re taking 36 percent fewer mid-range shots. And lately, DeRozan, who spent the first eight years of his career dominating on long 2s, has taken his success to the 3-point line. He’s hit 13 triples over the past three games.

It will be a special task for OKC defensive stopper Andre Roberson, who has guarded DeRozan well historically, but who will have to deal with a different type of player come Wednesday.

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Carmelo Anthony misses game with sore back

The Thunder won on Sunday, against a vastly inferior opponent in the Mavericks. OKC did this without the services of center Steven Adams or forward Carmelo Anthony. Here’s the Oklahoman reporting:

Carmelo Anthony’s back had been bothering him, but not enough to miss a game.

That changed on Sunday, suddenly and late.

Less than an hour before the Thunder tipped off a 112-99 win against the Dallas Mavericks, Oklahoma City announced Anthony would sit with back soreness. Thunder coach Billy Donovan said he didn’t know until about an hour before tip that Anthony would be out.

“The one thing I really admire about Melo is, he loves to play,” Donovan said after the game. “Even for a guy that’s been in the league in his 15th year, he loves to play. He went through the walk-through. He tried to do everything he could to get himself to play.”

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Thunder an excellent defense team so far

Logic suggested that the Thunder, who boast three offensive stars, would be better offensively than defensively. But through these first three weeks of the regular season, it’s been the reverse. Here’s the Oklahoman with more:

The focus came right away, to hear the Thunder tell it.

It had assembled this offseason as a collection of big-name offensive talent — Paul George, Carmelo Anthony, Russell Westbrook — but its fresh start had been focused on stops.

There was, the Thunder say, a defensive mindset from day one…

Statistically, the Thunder ranks among the NBA’s best defensive teams. It allows 97.6 points per 100 possessions, the second-best mark in the league. No team gives up fewer points in the paint than the Thunder’s 37.6 per game.

But there have been signs of slippage in the past two games, losses to Boston and Portland in which OKC has allowed 103.6 points per 100 possessions.

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