Leading the Surge

With just 15 games remaining in the regular season, the Thunder are once again led by the dynamic duo of Durant and Westbrook.

By Kristina Callahan

AP Photo/ LM Otero

Spring is just days away and when the flowers begin to bloom in the Northeast, that means March Madness and the NBA Playoffs are in sight. In less than a month, the NBA will be finishing the regular season and will be days away from beginning the first round of the playoffs. The Thunder have already surpassed the 50-win mark and have two of the top six leading scorers in the NBA on their roster. Oklahoma City has already clinched a playoff spot and is just one game behind the Western Conference leaders, the Spurs.

Kevin Durant is already a three-time scoring champion. He’s currently leading the NBA in points per game as we speak with 28.3 and is shooting over 50 percent. Last night in a win against the Dallas Mavericks, the former Texas Longhorn scored 19 of his 31 points in the 4^th quarter but it was his teammates that may have won the game for the Thunder. Russell Westbrook finished the game with 35 points, which included the go-ahead jumper with 1 minute left. While it may be Durant that leads the league in scoring, Westbrook is sixth in the league with 23.4 points per game and is the Thunder’s leading scorer in the past 20 games.

With both Durant and Westbrook peaking at the right time, the Thunder are peaking at the right time. Last year, OKC fell in the Finals but they have that experience under their belts this year. If the duo keeps playing like they are, the young Durant and Westbrook may bring a reason to celebrate to Oklahoma City.

Title Contenders?

After this week, the Thunder might be able to bring a trophy to Oklahoma City

By Kristina Callahan

AP Photo/ Matt York

The Thunder had a dominant week, to say the least. OKC added four wins to their record, but they did it with an exclamation point. Those victories were won by an average of 25.5 points and all by at least 21. The average score to those games? 114-88. Last week goes on record as being the single most dominant week in Thunder history. Here are a few stats from last week’s wins:

·      The Thunder averaged 26.5 assists.

·      In the four wins, the Thunder shot an impressive 50.1 percent from the field.

·      Another promising number: 51.1 percent from behind the arc

·      It is clear that OKC can put the ball in the basket, but the 12 steals per game also shows that some defense can be played too.

As the NBA gets ready for the All-Star Break, the Thunder are peaking at just the right time. OKC hits the road to take on the Jazz, then hosts Miami before the break. Both Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook will be taking the court for the West All-Stars on Saturday night in Houston.

Fear the Beard

By Max Berger

Two weeks ago, on October 26, I said the following regarding the Houston Rockets: “…it’s the Jeremy Lin and Kevin Martin show until Martin is possibly packaged in a trade for another All Star during the season.”

Then, on October 27, the Rockets acquired 2012 Sixth Man of the Year James Harden from the Oklahoma City Thunder for the aforementioned Martin, rookie Jeremy Lamb, two 2013 first-round draft picks (from Dallas and Toronto) and a 2013 second-round draft pick (from Charlotte).

Now, it’s the Jeremy Lin and James Harden show, and this show is already getting rave reviews.

Through the first four games of the season, Harden is averaging 30.2 points per game, which is tops in the NBA, as well as 5.2 assists and 5.5 rebounds per game. Also, the other new addition to Houston’s backcourt, point guard Jeremy Lin, is feeding well off of Harden, averaging 15.3 points and 7.3 assists per game to start the season, forming one of the league’s most dynamic duos in the backcourt.

The Rockets may be only 2-2 and will not be able to win the Southwest division (the San Antonio Spurs are 4-1, which should surprise no one), but people are more excited about their prospects for the future with Harden in the red and white.

The Thunder traded Harden because they could not afford to sign him to a max contract, as current Oklahoma City stars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook already have max contracts, and Thunder forward Serge Ibaka recently signed an expensive contract extension too.

As a result, because Oklahoma City knew they couldn’t resign Harden after he becomes a free agent next offseason, they decided to trade him and get some value for him while they could, which they did. Kevin Martin is a prolific scorer, Jeremy Lamb is a promising young talent, and the draft picks could pay off in the future.

However, in my opinion, James Harden is a top-20 player in the NBA and will lead the league in scoring this year, and the Thunder traded away their chances of winning a title this year.

Oklahoma City will still contend, but Harden is a special talent, and he provides Houston with a lot to look forward to.

He signed the max deal with the Rockets, for five years $80 million, so he will be around for a while. Hopefully, Houston can coax another big time player to join Harden, Lin, and center Omer Asik for a chance to overtake the aging Southwestern Division powers and contend in the West.

For now, enjoy the ride, and to the rest of the league, Fear the Beard!