Chris Paul’s 30 PT Performance Leads OKC To Victory Against Portland (119-106)

Chris Paul’s 30 PT Performance Leads OKC To Victory Against Portland (119-106)

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by | Jan 19, 2020 | Featured, NBA

The Oklahoma City Thunder were able to dominate the short-handed Trail Blazers who traded away three players before the game. The Trail Blazers were only able to suit up to eight players on the night to take on the Thunder. After the loss against Miami, it was clear that OKC wanted to come out extremely aggressive. It helped that the Thunder were able to get Steven Adams back in the lineup after missing a couple of games. Adams didn’t do much on the stat sheet but his presence in the paint was definitely noticed. The combination of Steven Adams and Nerlens Noel was able to hold Hassan Whiteside to only 6 points on the night. The Thunder were able to show that with a complete frontcourt they can put up big numbers inside the paint. Tonight Oklahoma City had 64 points in the paint combined to the 42 points for Portland. This was a true bounce-back game for the Thunder overall and it started with the amazing play of Chris Paul. CP3 was in his bag all night long and it didn’t matter where he was shooting from on the court as he finished with 30 points. The Trail Blazers had no answer for Chris Paul all night as he was able to get his mid-range and three-point shot going early. When Chris Paul plays like this the Thunder look unstoppable because he gives this team a boost of confidence like a true leader can do. Chris Paul shot 11-15 from the field and was looking for his shot all night long as he had the young guard Anfernee Simons and Damian Lillard taking turns guarding him. Chris Paul’s one of the most clutch players in the NBA and showed that he can still get it done when his numbers called.

 

 

Without Danilo Gallinari and Terrence Ferguson, other players had to step up to help the Thunder capture this win as well. One of the players that stepped up was Darius Bazley as he was able to defend Carmelo Anthony and grab a career-high 10 rebounds with extended minutes. The Thunder as a unit knows their identity and each player takes their role seriously. Nerlens Noel was another bright spot on the night as he finished with 15 points with 5 rebounds. Nerlens has been able to develop his game throughout the season as he’s been looking a lot more confident in the pick and roll. Speaking of the pick and roll that’s exactly what Shai Gilegous-Alexander was able to use to beat the Trail Blazers. Every time the Trail Blazers went under the screen Shai made them pay on the night. It’s amazing the growth he continues to show throughout the season and that continued tonight. Shai finished with 22 points on the night and flourished in attacking the rim like he always does with grace/finesse. This was a true overall effort from the Thunder as all three of their guards finished with a combined 67 points on the night. This Thunder team is fun to watch and it was great to see them get back in the winning column after beating the Trail Blazers. The Thunder were able to limit the Trail Blazers offense as it only came from Damian Lillard and Gary Trent Jr.

 

 

 

The Trail Blazers came into this game short-handed after the trade made earlier in the day but they still had Damian Lillard. Any time you have a scorer and all NBA players like Damian Lillard in your lineup you’re going to have a chance to at least compete in the game. Tonight Dame Time didn’t show up in OKC as the lead was at 20 points at one point late in the game. The Trail Blazers needed someone else to step up to help Lillard with McCollum out the game with an ankle injury. Gary Trent who was hooked up to an IV earlier in the day to get over his cold/flu was balling out of his mind on his birthday. Gary Trent Jr was able to add in 30 points to help the 34 points that Lillard put up tonight. Gary was able to hit some big three-pointers that helped keep them in the mix before the game got out of hand. It was going to take more of a full team effort from the Trail Blazers and that didn’t happen. The second half the Thunder made adjustments to stop Lillard from getting the same looks he had in the first half. The Thunder were doubling Lillard and making sure to deny him the ball. Carmelo Anthony was able to play some significant minutes but finished with 9 points on the night. The Trail Blazers were going to need more from Melo if they were going to win this game and it didn’t happen this time. Overall the Trail Blazers did as much as you can with only eight players but they still weren’t able to stop Chris Paul from his terrific shooting night. The OKC Thunder will be heading to Houston to play the Rockets on MLK day as they try to get that 25th win on the season.

Jan 19, 2020 No Comments
SR – NBA Primetime Preview: Los Angeles Lakers at Houston Rockets

SR – NBA Primetime Preview: Los Angeles Lakers at Houston Rockets

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by | Jan 19, 2020 | Featured, NBA

Saturday Night Primetime NBA Basketball has made its much-anticipated return into the ABC airways, and what better way to start the weekly tradition off with a bang. The 33-8 Lakers finally get to see what they look like when matched up with the Houston Rockets and all NBA fans will have their questions answered at 8:30 p.m. ET as the best backcourt in the NBA, composed of league-leader in scoring James Harden and 2017 League MVP Russell Westbrook do battle with the most the leading all-star vote-getter LeBron James and his new-look Lake Show squad.

But this one won’t be fully packed with superstardom, as Anthony Davis is to miss his fifth-straight game due to a lingering back issue sustained from a fall against the Knicks a week ago.

Tonight’s battle – the first primetime Saturday game of the year, if you had to be reminded – could act as the perfect little reprieve in the H-Town, since all sports news coming out of Houston hasn’t been all sunshine and rainbows as of late, to put it euphemistically in regards to the Texans blowing a 24-0 lead against the Chiefs in the playoffs and the looming possibility of the Houston Astros’ 2017 title being stripped due to sign-stealing and a whole lot of other shenanigans.

The Rockets, specifically are reeling from a rare home loss to the Trail Blazers in which Damian Lillard and Carmelo Anthony lit them up from just about everywhere on the floor, while MVP favorite James Harden couldn’t buy a basket with his 3-12 night from the field, so a chance to turn things around against the best team in the West doesn’t sound like the easiest task in the world, but a possible one worth the effort.

Los Angeles isn’t quite walking into this Western contest unscathed, either. They suffered a weird home loss to the visiting Orlando Magic, letting Markelle Fultz drop a triple-double and game-clincher in their face in its waning seconds. The Lakers are obviously prohibitive favorites in the West and those kinds of games happen every once in a while, but no defensive slip-ups are to be allocated against a Rockets team that we all know can fire away from downtown with a sense of proclivity. LA starts off this cross-country road trip with a trip to Houston, and their next stop is going to be in Boston on MLK day, so this result is needed if they’re to kickstart another winning streak on the right foot.

Jan 19, 2020 No Comments
OKC Thunder Come Up Short Against The Miami Heat (115-108)

OKC Thunder Come Up Short Against The Miami Heat (115-108)

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by | Jan 18, 2020 | Featured, NBA

The OKC Thunder were coming into tonight’s game against the Miami Heat following a loss against Toronto Wednesday. After getting hurt in action against the Raptors Steven Adams wasn’t available tonight. The Thunder would be missing Steven Adams in the paint tonight as the Miami Heat had 44 points in the paint. One player that was very impressive tonight for the Miami Heat was Bam Adebayo who was bringing the ball up the court as a playmaker. Bam has a lot of different aspects to his game that he’s yet to showcase and he did just that tonight. The Thunder had a little trouble adjusting to Bam bringing the ball up as a point guard. With Bam bringing the ball up it opened up the lane for him to attack and also he found a lot of his teammates for better basketball plays. This Miami Heat team has playmakers and they were able to get the ball in the spots they needed to execute. Bam finished the game with 21 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists while continuing to improve his game on a nightly basis. Bam’s a tough guard for any big because he can score and defend with the best of the bigs in the NBA. Tonight he made it tough on the Thunder bigs Muscala and Noel. The Miami Heat play scrappy and they defend throughout all 48 minutes of the game. This team is built to mold around the playing style of Jimmy Butler and they have done an amazing job of that. Jimmy Butler made it tough on any Thunder defender who guarded him as he finished with 14 points but added 10 rebounds with 7 assists. Even if Butler isn’t scoring he’s so much of a threat that the Thunder had to double him sometimes which left players like Kendrick Nunn wide open. Jimmy Butler’s one of the best two-way players in the NBA and showed that tonight against the Thunder. Having a player of Jimmy Butler’s caliber on the team gives a young player like Kendrick Nunn a chance to showcase some confidence. Nunn was able to take advantage of the open opportunities that he was given by the Thunder tonight. Nunn showed a lot of confidence in his jumper and going to the rim with ease as he had a team-high 22 points for the Miami Heat. Kendrick Nunn’s game is like a seasoned veteran and he was able to showcase his skills against the Thunder tonight. The Miami Heat had a 22 point lead on the Thunder and they almost blew it as OKC was able to claw back and get back down by three points. The Miami Heat let the Thunder back in this game with poor play down the stretch and letting Danilo Gallinari go off from three-point land.

 

 

All month of January it seems as though the Oklahoma City Thunder has been playing catch up in games. Something about the drama and the adrenaline of trying to come back down from a large margin excites them. The Thunder trailed by 22 points tonight against the Heat and were able to get within three points but just didn’t get it done down the stretch. Tonight the Thunder had a very balanced attack against the Heat as they had six players in double figures. When Danilo Gallinari has it going from the three-point line as he did tonight going 7-12 it makes this team tough to beat. Gallinari had his game going all night and the Heat couldn’t do anything to stop him as Gallinari kept the Thunder in a position to win. The Heat tried putting multiple players on Gallinari while defending the three-point line but it didn’t work out too well. The Thunder guards were given a chance to flourish in this one as Dragic and Nunn couldn’t defend Shai, CP3, and Dennis. Those three combined for 50 points on the night and each had their moment. A lot of the teams that OKC has played recently have players with the height that are trying to stop them from getting to their spots on the court. Tonight wasn’t the case because all three of the guards were able to do what they wanted scoring and playmaking. If the three guards play with aggression and are constantly attacking it helps the Thunder a lot as they put the defense on their heels. Tonight the guards weren’t able to set the tone as they usually do against other teams. The thing that hurt the Thunder in this game was the fact that they allowed 15-second chance points to the Miami Heat. The rebounding was an issue without Steven Adams but you still have to play the game. The Thunder played a great game once they settled in on the defensive end. If OKC can get out the hole from the start of games they can have the momentum and set the tone. On this stretch of games, the Thunder have been down early instead of having the lead early. The Thunder defense was able to slow down Jimmy Butler as they tried to make sure that someone else beat them instead. Kendrick Nunn was the player that hit some big shots for the Heat and a lot of his shots came on loose ball kick-outs that the Thunder missed out on. Defensively the Thunder has to come together and take it personally to make sure they can get chances to lead to points. Oklahoma City plays great when they let their defense create offensive opportunities and they didn’t do that tonight.

 

The Thunder will be playing tomorrow night against the Portland Trailblazers in a back to back as they look to get their 24th win of the season against Carmelo, Dame, and CJ.

Jan 18, 2020 No Comments
SR – NBA Primetime Preview: Portland Trail Blazers at Dallas Mavericks

SR – NBA Primetime Preview: Portland Trail Blazers at Dallas Mavericks

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by | Jan 18, 2020 | Featured, NBA

ESPN’s second game of the night will showcase a star-filled supernova as the Mavericks look to defend home court versus the road-trippin’ Portland Trail Blazers on their first night of a back-to-back, taking place at 9:30 p.m. ET. Portland is looking to make it 2-0 on the year in Dallas, after previously winning their last matchup on the road against Luka Doncic’s Mavs by a score of 121-119 back on October 27.

These Blazers are really trying to salvage what’s left of a season that’s spun into a tailspin at year’s beginning and if last night was any indication of what these Mavericks are in for tonight, this could be a really intriguing game to keep your eyes glued on for a couple of hours. Last night’s win over the Rockets inside the Toyota Center wasn’t quite the revenge victory Carmelo Anthony had in mind, but it was easily one of the signature wins for a Portland team that’s severely missed them, now six games under .500.

Damian Lillard’s 25 points and Melo’s efficient 18 points off a 70 percent shooting night clamped up league-leading scorer James Harden to what was probably his worst game this year at only 13 points off 3/12 shooting. The team effort was telling enough that this Blazers team, equally awash with all-star infrastructure and injuries to some of their most prominent pieces in Jusuf Nurkic, Zach Collins and others, is capable enough of righting the ship and supplanting the Blazers back in the playoff hunt. They’ll have the utmost opportunity to flex their potential against this Mavericks team that’s still without a completely healthy Kristaps Porzingis, finally upgraded to a game-time decision Friday afternoon.

Dallas didn’t quite finish off the Sacramento Kings last night, only beating their Western rivals by four via a 127-123 score as Doncic just so happened to follow protocol and drop another sick triple-double with 25 points, 15 rebounds and a stunning 17 assists, his career-high in dishes. For a team that’s so depleted in bigs, all will be even more difficult to coach around for Terry Stotts if Porzingis suits up and takes the floor since they’ll practically have no other answer to the 7-foot Lithuanian stretch big (other than Hassan Whiteside, maybe) that can destroy any defensive scheme both inside and outside of the paint.

Still, things are finally starting to come together for this Blazers backcourt, now at the No. 2 spot for the highest-scoring backcourts in the league. Tonight’s duel between Rick Carlisle’s vaunted backcourt composed of Tim Hardaway Jr. and Doncic versus Dame and CJ McCollum shouldn’t be anything short of an entertaining way to kick off the weekend, so be sure to grab your favorite beverage and snack, kick back and enjoy Blazers vs. Mavs at 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Jan 18, 2020 No Comments
SR – NBA Primetime Preview: Denver Nuggets at Golden State Warriors

SR – NBA Primetime Preview: Denver Nuggets at Golden State Warriors

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by | Jan 17, 2020 | Featured, NBA

For the second game of Thursday’s TNT doubleheader, the Turner Sports crew heads out to the Bay for a Western Conference contest between the visiting Denver Nuggets and the hosting Golden State Warriors that’s sure to be entertaining enough for all fans to palate as their tip-off is at 10:30 p.m. ET, right after the conclusion of the Bucks/Celtics game.

The Nuggets can’t allow any slip-ups to below-.500 competition in the midst of a hotly-contested fatal four-way between them, the Jazz, the Clippers and Rockets for the right to the second seed in the West behind the leading Lakers since Denver is only holding a 1.5 game-sized space that’s separating them from the mentioned latter. Keeping up the momentum against a 9-33 Warriors squad that sure to be in the running for a high lottery pick at season’s end sounds easy on paper, but these resilient Warriors always find a way to arise anxiety among fans of higher-touted Western teams.

And also, this is the first game of a back-to-back for the Nuggets, so some rust may be felt especially since they aren’t going to roll out a completely healthy starting five tonight. (Some food for thought and maybe a little source of motivation for the Warriors: The Nuggets have been a slow-starting team this season, and they’re 22nd in points per game in first quarters.)

Golden State is in the basement of basements out West after pelting all competition in their path in seasons past behind the scary combination of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, KD and whoever else, but have played competitive basketball this season without all that star power while possessing some key wins against the Rockets and Trail Blazers worthy enough to brandish on their seasonal resume’.

That win against Houston on Christmas day was their only win against a team above .500 this season, so with a roster compact with guys that are auditioning for a rotation spot with GSW’s stars returning from injury, they’re going to play hard against a Nuggets team that’s going to be without Jamal Murray for a couple of weeks after he sustained an ankle sprain last night against the Hornets.

Game two tips off on TNT at 10:30 p.m. ET on TNT.

Jan 17, 2020 No Comments