KD and Russ Take Over Constantinople
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It’s always good to see that reaction… although it looks so much better in the Thunder whites back in April.
Kevin Durant and Russel Westbrook are in the land of the Ottomans and the Eastern Orthodox Church: Asia Minor, better know as Turkey. And at the FIBA World Championships in Istanbul (was Constantinople, now it’s Istanbul), Turkey Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook and forward Kevin Durant have been lighting up the international stage.
Team USA, led by Kevin Durant, are competing in the World Championships, and is hopeful for its first gold medal in the tournament since 1994. Recording wins over Croatia, Slovenia, and Brazil, the US looks poised to win Group B. Coach Krzyzewski, who has been Team USA’s coach for several years as well as coach of the Duke Blue Devils Men’s Basketball team, is used to working with young guys with lots of talent and pushing them to their potential . This year, without the superstars he had in the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic Games, he is going to have to get everything his players have to conquer some of the better teams in the world championships. This team, without those big names of that 2008 Olympic “Redeem Team,” is catching a lot of flak, and there is quite a bit skepticism about whether this team truly can bring home the gold.
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Coach K has a lot on his plate if he wants to take this young team to the gold medal game.
Saturday, in Istanbul, Team USA routed Croatia 106-78, in an effort that saw the reserves and starters sharing most of the game. Durant had a team-high 14 points, and Russell Westbrook finished with eleven. USA played well as a team, looking extremely clean and sharp, dominating the whole way through, shooting 55.4% from the floor, dishing out 22 assists, and, despite their lack in size, grabbed 38 rebounds, 1 more than the Croatian team. They also held Croatia to only 6 points in the second quarter, bringing their A game on both the offensive side and defensive side of the ball.
Sunday, Team USA did not have the same team effort they did against Croatia, but still won pretty handily against Slovenia. A double-digit lead was closed to 5 in the waning minute of the 2nd, but an offensive surge behind, you guessed it, Kevin Durant, opened the game back up, and Team USA was never in any danger again. Durant had a game-high 22 points and added 4 of each rebounds, assists, and steals. Westbrook also got good work in, posting 11 points of his own, along with 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal. Perhaps the most impressive stat was the fact that Team USA double Slovenia’s rebounds, 50-25. Solvenia was also held under 40% shooting from the field as a team, once again showing the versatility of Team USA. They almost broke triple digits, winning 99-77.
Monday included a bit of a scare for Team USA, as they faced a very strong Brazilian team, featuring NBA star Leandro Barbosa of the Toronto Raptors. The starters got almost all the minutes for both teams, and the game went down to the wire, as Barbosa missed a layup in the final seconds. The two teams combined for 26 steals (USA-15, Brazil-11), and neither team shot particularly well, with shooting percentages for both a spot above 40%. Durant’s game-high 27 points were integral in the win, however, his 7 turnovers are a spot of worry. Durant is not the type of player who typically loses the ball, so those 7 turnovers come as an unfortunate surprise. Look for him to bounce back, though. Durant also tied for a game-high 10 rebounds, something he did quite frequently for the Thunder last season. Westbrook did not have a lot to offer, recording 2 points off of free-throws and adding 1 steal in his 13 minutes. Though they trailed for most of the first half, Team USA came back to win 70-68, staying one step not failing behind, but giving up several ties, to Brazil in a 9-point 4th quarter.
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Westbrook added a good 13 minutes on the defensive side, but Brazil’s quickness cut down on his ability to slash the lane.
Team USA continues Group B play tomorrow, Wednesday, September 1st at 11:00 AM Central Time against Iran (1-2). As long as Team USA comes out and does business they should have no problem against Iran, save a political debate. Look for Durant to do his thing, as he always does, and look for Westbrook to continue to slash the lane and get easy points at the basket in his 10-15 minutes. The game is televised on ESPN.
57 days left. It’s getting tough to wait, this is better than a Christmas countdown.
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-j
The Serbian Sultan of Swat
Well, as an American I don’t think I will ever understand the amount of bad blood and rivalries in Eastern Europe. I thought college football rivalries, such as The Red River Rivalry (OU-Texas), the Iron Bowl (Bama-Auburn), or The Game (Mich-OSU) was bad. But the Eastern Europeans have bad blood on lock.
For instance, those of you who closely followed the playoffs, even after the Thunder…sigh…lost, you might remember Games 5 and 6 of the Western Conference Finals when Goran Dragic of the Phoenix Suns and Sasha Vujacic of the Los Angeles Lakers had it out for each other. They’re both Slovenian, but you can definitely see some bad blood between those two. Talk about being gutsy on a national stage like that, while everyone closed their eyes and hoped tomorrow the Orlando Magic might actually put up a fight like everyone knew they could.
Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals, Sasha Vujacic throws an elbow, Goran Dragic milks it for all it’s worth:
Vujacic and Dragic Bad Blood (from YouTube)
Rivalry: It’s a Beautiful Thing. Listen to the last part of this video when Oklahoma City’s “Beat LA” chants come back.
The point is that in this country we embrace our melting pot of cultures. And what better way to truly cherish our multi-culturalism than through sports. Sports is one thing that really brings this country together (except in rivalries, haha). It’s something that we can all share in and enjoy. Thus, we must embrace it.
Getting back to the Thunder, I’d like to visit another Eastern European incident in the FIBA World Championships featuring the Thunder’s own Nenad Krstic. Now, granted our boy goes a little bit over-the-top, and might need a few lessons from Coach Bob Knight on throwing the chair, but I think it shows a lot of character in Nenad. Sure, it’s dangerous and doesn’t need to happen, and yeah, maybe it’s a little bit of bad PR for the Thunder. But hey, if I’m KD, Jeff Green, Russ, or any of the other guys, I want Nenad on my team if a brawl breaks out, he’ll fight tooth and nail for you. And you have to remember, it’s starting the fight that’s really bad. Nenad ends this one, so it’s alright.
If you still haven’t seen the Serbia-Greece fight at the FIBA World Basketball Championships, here’s a YouTube link:
Nenad Krstic Defends Teammates and Serbian Pride…at the expense of a 3-game suspension
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If you’re not afraid to throw a chair, you won’t be afraid to say “no” to a 7-foot Spaniard.
Eastern Europeans. They play with pride.
37 days until preseason, and 58 until the season. Just enough time to have a football appetizer.
-j
Thunder: Draft and the New Guys
First off, I’d like to introduce myself. My name is Justin Wright and I am the newest writer for ThunderUpReport.com. A little background information about myself: I am currently a student at the University of Oklahoma, and I am from Oklahoma City. I’ve always loved Oklahoma City; I’ve had this weird passion about my hometown for the longest time. Then, in 2008 when the Sonics moved to Oklahoma City and became the Thunder, my love of Oklahoma City was amplified like no other. My passion for this team is only exceeded by my love for the city.
On a not so introductory note, the Oklahoma City Thunder have had a very eventful offseason. For starters, the draft caused a lot of buzz around the team as Same Presti and the front office looked to put an imposing big man down low. You may remember the trouble the Thunder had down low all season. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love the team’s starting line-up. I think it is one of the things that makes this team unique, having a very quick, shooting minded team that will play tough defense. However, that line-up made it hard to compete against the…sigh… champion Los Angeles Lakers. Of course dual 7-footers isn’t a problem the Thunder will have to face often. The poster boy for the 2010 Oklahoma City Thunder Draft experience is definitely Cole Aldrich. Aldrich had a dominating career up in Lawrence, KS, averaging 11.3 points and 9.8 rebounds per game his junior year on a Kansas Jayhawks team that likely had more talent than the dismal Timberwolves this past season. Aldrich also set a school record for most blocks in a season with 125. Aldrich will be a hard-nosed defender, though, which is where his value lies for the Thunder. Though he stands at only 6’11″, he adds important height to the Thunder bench. He will, presumably, be able to use his body to force guys out of the lane and make guards and forwards have to take jumpshots. Cole Aldrich will join the ranks of Nenad Krstic and Air-Congo himself, Serge Ibaka. Cole Aldrich will join Serge as the dominant shot blocker down low, depending on how many minutes he gets, sitting at the 4 spot for Thunder centers.
Of course Cole Aldrich came at the expense of two draft picks, the 21st and 26th picks Quincy Pondexter and Craig Brackens. Aldrich is a much better fit for the team, adding depth to the big men as well as a lot of leadership potential, as Aldrich was, along with Sherron Collins, one of the true leaders of the Kansas Jayhawks last season. Pondexter would have been riding the bench being defensive specialist Thabo Sefolosha (always gotta make sure I spell that one right, haha) and second year guard James “The Beard” Harden. Aldrich also had an inch and 15 pounds on former Iowa State Cyclone Craig Brackens, making him just that much more valuable to the team, especially down the road. The trade also brought in veteran Mo Peterson, who will be back up to Kevin Durant.
The Thunder also picked up guard Eric Bledsoe from Kentucky and Magnum Rolle from Louisiana Tech, but traded them to the Clippers and Pacers, respectively.
A few other names that will be joining the Thunder ranks: 4th year man Royal Ivey (former teammate of Kevin Durant’s), and another 4th year man Daequan Cook (via tradewith the heat for the 32nd pick).
Sam Presti obviously knows what he’s doing. He, along with poster boy (though it’s hard to call the Durantula a boy), Kevin Durant, have fresh new contracts and are looking forward to the 2010-2011 season. It’s good to see we addressed our lack of a true back up to Kevin Durant, as our only other small forward was Jeff Green, who since the 2008-2009 season has been a converted power forward.
The regular season is really close! Get excited. 39 days until preseason. And, of course, only 60 days until the Thunder are 1-0.
Thunder up!
-j
