Oklahoma City Thunder – The Official Website/Blog of Mike Fratello

Gameday Dish

January 31 by Mike Fratello Leave a Comment

The Oklahoma City Thunder, owners of the best record in the league at 37-10, come to Brooklyn tonight for their only outer-borough appearance of the year.

The Thunder’s newly anointed ‘Slim Reaper’ Kevin Durant is on an amazing streak even for him. The one-time Texas Longhorn has scored over 30 points in each of the last 12 contests, something not done since T-Mac went 14 games over 30 in the ’02-’03 campaign. KD is averaging 38 ppg over this span of a dozen 48s.

Without PG Russell Westbrook, Durant’s sizzling play has led OKC to a nine-game winning streak, longest in the Association.

Coach Scott Brooks’ guys went to South Beach on Wednesday night to play the defending champs and came away with a 112-95 W after trailing early by 18 points. PF Serge Ibaka poured in 20 points and the second-oldest player in the league, Derek Fisher, had a season-best 15 points in the Sunshine State victory.

Even with the Thunder’s spectacular play of late, no team in the NBA has less than 3 losses in January except for the Brooklyn Nets. The 20-23 Nets are 10-2 this month with both defeats administered by the Toronto Raptors.

In fact, Brooklyn last played on Monday night when Toronto ended their 5-game winning streak with a 104-103 home loss. Paul Pierce shot for a season-high 33 points, but missed a tough 3-bomb at the buzzer.

These two sides matched up on January 2^nd in Oklahoma City with Brooklyn earning their best win of the season to that point. The Nets’ team D kept KD from going off, holding him to only 24 points. In fact, since Xmas, this was one of only 2 occasions that the NBA scoring leader failed to break 30. Not only did coach Jason Kidd’s team play tough D, but they came back from a 10-point deficit in the final seven minutes and won 95-93 when Joe Johnson’s jumper at the buzzer connected. In addition, PG Deron Williams scored a season-high 29 points in the Sooner State upset.

Tune in to YES Network at 8PM ET to see if Brooklyn can come away with the win against an OKC team that has yet to lose on the road to an Eastern Conference foe.

Filed Under: Gameday Dish Tagged With: Brooklyn Nets, Oklahoma City Thunder

Fratello’s Fantasy Pick

January 23 by Mike Fratello Leave a Comment

Golden State Warriors v Oklahoma City Thunder When 3X NBA All-Star Russell Westbrook put up a triple-double in a Christmas day thrashing of the Knicks at MSG, Oklahoma City fans surely thought their super-athletic ringleader was close to 100% after two off-season right knee surgeries.

However, just two days later it was announced that Westbrook had arthroscopic surgery on that same knee and would be sidelined until the All-Star break.

Into this lead-guard void stepped 6’3”, third-year PG Reggie Jackson.

The Boston College product had performed admirably in the 2013 Playoffs after Westbrook was injured. 23-year-old Jackson played in all 11 postseason contests and started 9 of them. In those 11 games, he averaged 13.9 ppg, 4.9 rpg and 3.6 apg while shooting 48% from the field and an impressive 90% from the line.

So far in the 2013-14 campaign, Jackson has played in all 43 games and started all 18 since Westbrook’s most recent surgery.

Forced into a very difficult role in the PG-heavy Western Conference, Jackson has made great strides, and his game has matured. “Mr. OKCtober” appears very comfortable at the helm, understanding there are nights when he needs to distribute the ball and nights when he needs to pick up the scoring slack.

In the month of January, Jackson has averaged 16.1 ppg, 4.6 apg, 3.7 rpg and 1.7 spg in 32.7 mpg. He has season highs of 27 points (2X), 8 dimes (2X), 7 boards (4X) and 6 steals.

OKC’s Reggie Jackson might not be the straw that stirs the Thunder’s drink like the former NY Yankee, but he is a valuable asset on a championship-driven squad. Jackson has earned Coach Scott Brooks’ confidence, and he will continue to build on the experience he’s gained and the assurance he’s developed. So even after Jackson is relegated back to the pine once Westbrook returns, look for this up-and-comer to continue to get 25-30 minutes of action a night.

Filed Under: Fratello's Fantasy Picks Tagged With: Oklahoma City Thunder, Reggie Jackson

Gameday Dish

January 2 by Mike Fratello Leave a Comment

Portland Trailblazers v Oklahoma City Thunder The Brooklyn Nets and Oklahoma City Thunder have both played in 31 contests so far this season. Both sides recently lost one of their two best starters to injuries. And both squads lost to their opponents on Tuesday. However, their similarities end there.

Coach Scott Brooks’ guys lead the Western Conference at 25-6 and possess a home record of 14-2. Coach Jason Kidd’s team sits at 9-21, which is good for the second worst mark in the 30-team league.

Tonight the Nets will wrap up a 3-game road swing that has pitted them against the top 3 records in the NBA. On Saturday the Nets fell to Indiana 105-91 after trailing by just 2 at the half.

On Tuesday, they were manhandled 113-92 in San Antonio. Starting big man Kevin Garnett had 2 points and zero FGs. It was only the second time in KG’s 19-year career that he failed to score from the field.

Brooklyn’s lone win in their past seven games was at home against the sole team in the league looking up at them, the Milwaukee Bucks. In all the major team categories, the Nets rank in the 20’s. They must make a shift, whether it be mental, physical or via trade, to help get back on their predicted track and salvage this season.

Brooklyn Nets v San Antonio Spurs

A good start tonight would be pounding, hounding and surrounding the glass at both ends, as they rank 28^th in team rebounding while the Thunder occupy the top spot in boarding.

In addition, with All-Everything PG Russell Westbrook on the shelf for a while, tonight would be a great time for PG Deron Williams and SG Joe Johnson to flash their multiple All-Star credentials and put the pressure on the Thunder’s depleted backcourt.

Are some of Brooklyn’s players past their primes? Yes. Is the Brook Lopez injury devastating to this season’s current outlook? Yes. Were the Nets touted as an Eastern Conference heavyweight too soon after forming their newest nucleus? Yes.

But with 49 regular season games remaining, Brooklyn still has time to flip their fortune and grab one of the weak East’s top 8 spots. A Brooklyn victory this evening would reignite their campaign and stand out as the best W of the season for the Nets.

Tune in to the YES Network at 8PM ET to see if the Nets can bounce back and stop the Durant-led Thunder storm.

Filed Under: Gameday Dish Tagged With: Brooklyn Nets, Joe Johnson, Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder