1/5/13
The 76ers are close to ending this long west coast road
trip. The next to last stop was in Oklahoma City to take on the Thunder. The
76ers were looking for a win in this game because the next game they have
tomorrow is against a tough San Antonio Spurs team. They also wanted to play
better in this game because the last game they had against the Phoenix Suns,
they played horrendous on both ends of the floor. The Thunder have a lethal 1-2
punch in Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant plus a few solid role players in
Kevin Martin and Serge Ibaka. Durant is one of the best basketball players in
the league right now and Westbrook, albeit his lightning quick speed, has been
criticized for not being a “true point guard.” He wants to be a scorer and not
a distributer with the basketball. On top of that, he plays out of control.
The first half was surprisingly close. I thought this game
would have been decided at halftime, but I was wrong. Both teams couldn’t shoot
and both teams turned the ball over a lot. The difference was the free throw
shooting. The Thunder shot 15 free throws at halftime compared to the 76ers
five free throws. If the Thunder are in a shooting slump, the best thing they
do is attack the basket and try to draw a foul and get to the free throw line to
generate some points. The 76ers were throwing different matchups at Durant.
They had Jason Richardson guard Durant for most of the time. Other times Jrue
Holiday or Evan Turner would guard Durant. Sometimes the matchup worked and
sometimes Durant got the best of the matchup. It was surprising that the 76ers
were playing a zone defense against a team that is one of the best at making
three pointers. At halftime, the Thunder led 46-42. Durant led the Thunder with
14 points while Nick Young led the 76ers with 13 points coming off the bench.
The second half was completely different. The Thunder played
like they were the best team in the league. They made a lot of their shots,
especially from three point land. They made the 76ers turn the ball over a lot.
The 76ers as a team just looked out of sync and wanted to get ready for their
game tonight against the Spurs. The Thunder won this game by a final score of
109-85. Martin stepped up for the Thunder in this half scoring 14 of his 16
points off the bench to make this game a blowout. Durant had 26 points while
Westbrook scored 27. Ibaka had a double-double. He finished with 15 points and
10 rebounds. Nick Young finished with 21 points. Holiday scored 15 points and
dished nine assists. Dorell Wright collected 11 points off the bench. Thaddeus
Young ended with 10 points.
Overall, the 76ers showed up for one half. It was
disappointing because they were becoming a little more aggressive in past
games, and now they revert to being a passive jump shooting team. Richardson
was better in the second half of this game because he attacked the basket when
he was in a big shooting slump. He should continue to attack the basket in
every quarter and not in one half. Turner has to stop acting like he’s the man
on the court when he goes up against the best players in the NBA. He makes
himself look silly out on the court because he turns the ball over a lot and
tries these wild shots that don’t go in.
How can the 76ers be
an aggressive team? Sound off and stay tuned until next time…
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