oklahoma Vs Magic S.L.

[moeroadkill]

Run down of the players

Thunder 88, Magic 77

 

One thing we definitely learned about Serge Ibaka: He is not a myth. He actually exists. And he was much better than I anticipated in every way. I expected a raw, athletic talent with hardly any refined skills. His offensive game was much more polished and crisp than I expected (13 points on 6 of 8 shooting). I figured he’d be a “score by dunk only” kind of player. But the first bucket was scored by Serge on a nice drop step post move. He was really solid in the post. He’s also much quicker than I thought. A couple of times he caught the ball at the free throw line and was able to take two dribbles and get around his man en route to the basket. He also had a little jumper, which was something I didn’t see coming as he swished a nice 12-footer. He turned the ball over some, but honestly, that was to be expected. It’s his first game over here and I’m sure he was pressing some, but I was very impressed.

 

James Harden is a serious player (17 points in 21 minutes). Forget Summer League perspective, the dude can play. His slashing ability is outstanding. He can create shots for teammates at will. He looks so smooth and so intelligent on the court. He hs such a feel for the game and his court vision is incredible. He may already actually be the best passer on this team. His mid-range jumper was off a little in the first half, but that’s no biggie because we know he can shoot. He didn’t force anything and took all solid shots. He knocked down a couple open threes off Russell Westbrook penetration and also hit a sweet 22-footer off a pick set by Ibaka. The first thing Harden did when he entered was drop a slick little backdoor bounce pass to Westbrook to which Russ was fouled and made both free throws. I’m excited.

 

Probably the most surprising thing was how polished B.J. Mullenslooked offensively. I never imagined him having college three-point range, but he was confident in that shot and knocked it down multiple times. His form was good and he even displayed a nice back-t0-the-basket turnaround jumper. He was a little weak on the glass, a bit turnover prone and Greg Oden-like in in his fouling, but again, first game against professional opponents. He was very weak on help defense though. A guy his size should have more of an influence blocking shots, yet he wasn’t to be seen on a lot of rotations.

 

One thing I want to point out is that I couldn’t tell D.J. White (who also played well with 13-9) and Serge Ibaka apart at all (not in a racist they-all-look-the-same way). Partly because a “3″ and “9″ look kind of similar on a blurry webcast feed, but also because their games are kind of similar. Their movements are fairly comparable and their games mimic each other in a way.

 

I think Shaun Livingston is about to put Earl Watson either at the end of the bench or on the trading block really soon. He really looks like he’s getting everything back and I love the combo of him and Westbrook on the court together. Livingston is the slow, steady point man and Westbrook is the hectic, reckless attacking point guard. I think they complement each other really well.

 

Russell Westbrook was really forcing things early. A couple turnovers, a couple ill-advised drives and some hesitation to shoot. I was discouraged a little. But reader okcnba left this wise comment: “You mean the turnover problems haven’t stopped after 2 months of not playing? NO WAY!”

David Thorpe added this comment about Westbrook via Twitter: “Westbrook is 3 steps ahead of his teammates. He misses KD and Green.” I think he definitely got acclimated to the speed of the game more in the second half because he slowed down and made better decisions. While he played more than I thought he would (33, team high), I think it was good for him to have to change gears and adapt to the teammates he had on the floor. He did finish with 22 points, nine assists and five rebounds, had four turnovers (three in the first half) and hit 16 of 18 from the line after all. Pretty good game.

 

Kyle Weaver somehow is the most unnoticed player on this team. Someone will make a shot and you’ll say, “Who was that? Livingston? Oh, that was Weaver? I didn’t even know he was in.” Both he and Robert Vaden didn’t make much of an impression. Weaver is a nice player but he just doesn’t seem to have a big-time impact when he’s on the floor.

 

I think it’s a Summer League rule to have at least one player on each team that is going to play out of control for the majority of the game. Makes things interesting. You never know when you’re going to get that wild, out of control, hilarious shot from somebody. Keeps you watching.

 

The sequence of Harden stealing the ball, passing ahead to Westbrook on the fly and Westbrook dropping a perfect dime back to Harden for a flush was a thing of beauty. If that doesn’t get you excited about what could be this year, nothing will. Well, maybe that and the thought of Robert Swift in someone else’s uniform.

 

i didnt get to watch the game slept in but from the sounds of things mullens and harden played very well, no real surprise about Brook, didnt hear much about vaden but hopefully he'll hit the tomorrow.

[Flight]

Good to hear that Ibaka is playing well.

 

 

Any news on Hardin?

[KurbyFX]

Who did the run down?

[moeroadkill]

Any news on Hardin?

Hardin only saw a few mins and from wat iv read didnt do anything. i cant see the box scores because u have to download them?

Hardin was a nice player at Cal and a guy that has NBA-type athleticism and an ideal NBA body. But his game is incredibly raw and there’s no real rhyme to to his offensive reason. He battled a foot injury in Turkey last year which cut into his playing time and ended up getting him released by the team. He caught on with another in Greece and played well for the rest of the year. He’s big, very strong and very athletic, but he’s got little to no offensive game. A good week could earn him a spot on Tulsa’s roster.

 

Who did the run down?

www.dailythunder.com

Edited July 7, 2009 by MoeRoadKill