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Overall
Win/Loss Record (as of February 28th): 42-15 (first place, Northwest Division)
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2
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This Month:
3
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Team
Statistics and League Rank (as of February 28th)
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Individual
Statistical Leaders (as of February 28th)
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Worst Player
of the Month: Kevin Martin
 He was supposed to be the replacement for the loss of James Harden's production; however Kevin Martin has not provided that solid third option on offense as his predecessor, now with the Houston Rockets had. Although he has put forth rather respectable numbers averaging around 14 points per game, he has yet to show that he can handle the load of being that clutch performer that the Thunder will need him to be come playoff time. In January, Martin scored more than points only twice for the month, while in February, he only hit the 20 point mark. Martin has also shown the uncanny ability to completely disappear in games and his fluctuating minutes have proven that coach Scott Brooks does not consider him as reliable. Hopefully Martin will finally step out of the shadows and play the way he did in his time in Sacramento and Houston come playoff time, because they will need him to bring his A game then. |
First Player
of the Month: Russell Westbrook
 It such a pleasant surprise to see Russell Westbrook evolution from ball hogging chucker to an actual point guard. He has still shown a penchant to hoist it up when he can, but he has reined in his game to allow his teammates to catch up and contribute. Last season his teammates were more spectators than contributors on the offensive end, now they thanks to Westbrook's new found maturity, they have now become more active participants in the team's offensive schemes making the team better overall. One can even argue that it is him, not Kevin Durant that has been the team's top player as much of the team's improvement has to do with his new found devotion to being a point guard. In fact, Russel Westbrook can be considered so important that if anything were to happen to him come playoff time, it may spell disaster for the Thunder's aspirations for another NBA Finals run. |
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Analysis:
Very few teams can be considered as invincible; however, upon looking at the performance of Oklahoma City Thunder thus far this season, one can say that this team certainly deserves such a title. While other teams in the NBA have gone up and down, the Thunder have remained pretty level providing the same production and have kept winning at the same blistering pace. In the past couple of the months, OKC have been almost unstoppable losing just nine games in that span of time--just five in January and four in February. After every loss, the Thunder proved themselves quite able to bounce right back to winning and not find themselves mired in any losing streaks. So far the longest losing streak the team has had thus far has been three games--a stretch that saw them lost three straight against the Utah Jazz (2/12/2013), Miami Heat (2/14/2013) and Houston Rockets (2/20/2013); otherwise the Thunder have simply been unstoppable.
And the Thunder's dominance was not only shown in the number of game that they had won, but also the way they did it as they resembled more a devastating hurricane destroying everything in its path leaving nothing but rubble and devastation behind. The Thunder not only beat their opponents, they simply grounded them into dust winning seventeen of their eighteen games by ten or more points by an average margin of more than 18 points. Their opponents simply could not stop the Thunder's offensive juggernaut as OKC would drop an average 104 points per game allowing them to put up 100 or more points in all but seven games. Only three teams managed to weather the Thunder's offensive barrage allowing them to score 100 points or more while still coming away with the win; however, they did not beat Oklahoma City as much they manage to survive and outlast them, which was a rarity to say the least. The Denver Nuggets only managed to scrape past the Thunder in overtime by just three points despite OKC dropping 118 on them (1/20/2013) while the Houston Rockets narrowly escaped regulation by three points having to score 122 to beat the Thunder(2/20/2013); and finally the largest margin that the Thunder lost by when allowed to score at least 100 points was ten courtesy of the Miami Heat (2/14/2013). Otherwise, save for the three teams that managed to live long enough to tell the tale of the Oak City Hurricane, the rest of the Thunder's would be opponent would simply get swept away--and not to the magical realm of OZ either. The teams that had the most success were the ones that actually managed to hold the Thunder from reaching the hundred 100 point mark as OKC was just 2-4 when held under the century mark. The biggest success stories were the Brooklyn Nets, who held the Thunder to just 93 points beating them by 17 (1/2/2013); the Los Angeles Lakers, who managed to best the Thunder by nine holding them to 96 points (1/27/2013); and the Utah Jazz, who shockingly best OKC by 15 as they held the Thunder to 94 (2/12/2013). Ironically, however, despite their penchant for struggling when held under 100 points--a rarity to say the least--OKC still managed to win by scoring its lowest point total in the season of against the Portland Trailblazers narrowly beating them by just three points (1/13/2013). Otherwise, save for a scant few exceptions, it was next to impossible for ANY team, even the best in the league, could not in any way manage to hold the Thunder back. While the Thunder simply scorched the opponents leaving noting but a smoking pile of ash and rubble in their wake, it was the team's defense that virtually snuffed their opponents not even allowing them to strike a spark. In the two inaugural months of 2013, the Thunder held their opponents to just 97 points allowing just eleven of them to eclipse the 100 point mark. Thus far, OKC literally has had a vice grip upon their opponents only allowing them to shoot under .430 from the field ranking second in the league. As if they were not punishing enough on the defensive end already, in January and February the Thunder found a way to continue tightening the thumbscrews even further to not only shatter their opponents to pieces, but to further grind them into dust. They simply showed mercy as they rose like a wave from a tsunami allowing any of their opponents any daylight to get off a quality shit then come crashing upon them laying waste to everything in its path. Unlike as tsunami wave that many consider a one time phenomenon, however, Thunder have continued to relentlessly rise and crash at the same power and intensity never showing any sign of letting up.
If this is not a true example of invincibility, I do not know what is--the Thunder has certainly gone out of its way to show that they are possibly the most devastating force in the NBA next to the Miami Heat. If they continue playing at this pace as the regular season winds down to a close, they will certainly own the West come playoff and and be all but assured a second straight NBA Finals appearance, and unlike the first time, they will not be the pushovers that got rolled over by the Heat like last season. This time, the team has matured a lot since them and have developed their arsenal to be utilized at their full potential. It will not longer be a three man show as it was last season with the rest of the teams either watching as spectators or simply cleaning up all the misses. Whoever will be facing the Thunder come playoff time will now be facing a balanced well oiled machine that is able to attack all all sides giving little relief or mercy to anyone that dare to step against them. Just punch Oklahoma City's ticket to the NBA Finals already as virtually no team in the west can stop them.
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Tuesday, May 14, 2013
SDH Presents the NBA's Worst to First for January and and February: 3. Oklahoma City Thunder
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