The Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 123-118 on Wednesday night, thereby bringing an end to the Pelicans’ season and winning them the opportunity to play for the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference playoffs.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 32 points on the night, including 25 in the second half of the game to help Oklahoma City complete their comeback after what was one of the worst first halves of any game statistically this season. Guard Josh Giddey finished just behind Gilgeous-Alexander on 31 points, adding 10 rebounds and nine assists as well.

“When your leader is not flustered and under control out there, it’s a spiral effect,” Giddey reflected after the game. “Guys see that and feed off it.”

Although the Pelicans were successful in their plan to minimize Gilgeous-Alexander’s scoring opportunities, only allowing him to score seven points in the first half, Giddey explained that the Thunder was prepared for this outcome, working it into their own game plan. Instead of attempting to force his way into the game, Gilgeous-Alexander enabled his teammates to create other opportunities, finding his way into the game naturally once the opportunity arose.

Oklahoma City is set to face the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night.

The post Thunder Ends Pelicans’ Season, Set to Play Timberwolves for Eight-Seed Playoff Spot appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The Oklahoma City Thunder rookie Chet Holmgren is set to miss the entirety of the 2022-23 NFL season through injury, the team announced on Thursday. This comes after Holmgren suffered a Lisfranc injury to his right foot earlier this week.

The 20-year-old player picked up the foot injury while attempting to guard LeBron James early on during the CrawsOver Pro-Am event. It is believed that Holmgren’s injury may have stemmed from slippery court issues.

“Certainly, we are disappointed for Chet, especially given the excitement he had about getting on the floor with his teammates this season. We know Chet has a long career ahead of him within our organization and the Oklahoma City community. One of the things that most impressed us during the process of selecting Chet was his determination and focus. We expect that same tenacity will carry him through this period of time as we work together and support him during his rehabilitation,” general manager Sam Presti said of the rookie.

According to Presti, Holmgren is to undergo foot surgery in the hopes of providing a long-term solution to the youngster so that one such injury does not resurface.

The post Oklahoma Rookie Chet Holmgren to Miss 2022-23 Season With Foot Injury appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Oklahoma City Thunder’s point guard and reigning NBA MVP Russell Westbrook has done it again! The 29-year-old entered the Wednesday’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies 16 rebounds shy of averaging another triple-double in the season, and he got them in just 22 minutes on the court. With this feat, Westbrook became the first player in the NBA history to average a triple-double in two consecutive seasons. He finished the 2017-18 season averaging 25.4 points, 10.1 rebounds, and 10.2 assists.

Russ receives a big applause by fans in OKC for reaching his 2nd season straight averaging a triple-double! #ThunderUp pic.twitter.com/P7JaQWPj2n

— NBA (@NBA) April 12, 2018

In the Thunder’s final two games, against the Miami Heat and the Grizzlies, Westbrook needed to get 34 rebounds in order to average another triple-double through the season. After he grabbed 18 boards in the win against the Heat, there was no doubt that he will get what he needs in the last game of the 2017-18 regular season. Interesting thing was that Westbrook didn’t have a triple-double in the game against the Grizzlies since he ended up with 20 rebounds, 19 assists, and only 6 points.

“I’m very, very thankful and blessed to go out and compete,” – said Westbrook after the game. “Like I’ve said many, many times, I don’t take this game for granted, I don’t take going on the floor competing for granted, and God got something planned for me, man, nobody can stop it, and I always continue to follow his faith and stay faithful and stay strong and continue to do what I’m doing.“

In the 2016-17 season, during his MVP campaign, Russell Westbrook became only the second player in the history of the NBA to average a triple-double after Oscar Robertson did it in 1961–62 (30.8 points, 12.5 rebounds and 11.4 assists). Russell Westbrook also broke Robertson’s record for most triple-doubles in a season (41) by getting 42 of them.

The post Thunder’s Russell Westbrook Averages a Triple-Double for a Second Consecutive Season appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Oklahoma City Thunder announced that their guard Andre Roberson is going to miss the rest of the season after rupturing the left patellar tendon in Saturday’s win against the Detroit Pistons. Roberson successfully underwent a surgery on Sunday.

“He’s certainly a huge loss,” – said Thunder’s coach Billy Donovan after the game. “Everyone’s been able to see that since he’s kinda come back to us and what he’s been able to do defensively. And he’s found a way to be, offensively, a really effective player for us.“

The injury occurred in the third quarter of the game against the Pistons when Roberson tried to catch a lob from Russell Westbrook. His leg bent awkwardly and he hit the floor hard, staying on the ground. After being examined for several minutes, he was put on a stretcher and taken off the court. Roberson missed eight Thunder games earlier in the season due to a patellar tendinitis in his left knee.

Paul George, who himself had a season-ending injury in 2014, said he will be there for Roberson during the recovery and help him.

“I’ll be there for him along the way, try to help as much as possible, putting him in a good place with the injury,” – said George. “Because I know how it is. I’ve been down that road before. So real unfortunate. But one thing about Dre, man, he’s tough, and he’s a strong person, so he’ll definitely persevere through it.“

The injury of Andre Roberson puts the Thunder in a tough spot since he was a major part of their defense, which is ranked fifth in the NBA. Although he is considered an offensive liability due to his poor shooting skills, Roberson makes up for it by being a ferocious defender. With him on the floor, Oklahoma City Thunder allows 95.9 points per 100 possessions, but without him, their defense plummets into allowing 114.5 points per 100.

The post Oklahoma City Thunder loses Andre Roberson for the Remainder of the Season appeared first on SportzBonanza.

We are halfway through the 2017-18 NBA season (few games removed) and there is a sense that we are about to watch the same story for the second year in a row. Despite experiencing one of the most exciting NBA offseasons ever, we have the Golden State Warriors as even bigger favorites than a year ago. However, some people believe the Oklahoma City Thunder is maybe the only team that could give the Warriors trouble in the Western Conference. That’s due to their big move: once again they got themselves a Big 3 with Russell Westbrook, Paul George, and Carmelo Anthony. But, were the OK3 put together too fast?

The Oklahoma City Thunder is one of the most inconsistent teams in the league when it comes to the quality of the game they are showing. In some moments they are looking like they are invincible, and in others, like they don’t belong in the NBA at all. After an ugly star in which they were 4-7 and lost to teams like Sacramento Kings, the Thunder picked up the pace and won three straight before going into a slump again. Now they find themselves on the 5th spot in the Western Conference and with four games behind the Timberwolves. Not the place Thunder wants to be, but there is a bit promise. Is that promise enough, and can the Thunder challenge the Warriors and go for the title? Yes, but too many things have to align in order for this to happen.

First, Russell Westbrook has to know when to stop shooting. That was a major issue with Westbrook’s game this season. When the shot isn’t falling, he forces it and wastes a lot of good possessions in an attempt to score a bucket. Persistence is one of the things that makes Westbrook one of the best basketball players but also can be his biggest nemesis. He tends to hog the ball too long and it’s like he sometimes forgets that he has two All-Star caliber players alongside him. You can put Westbrook alone with a group of G-League guys and he will get you a win or two in the playoffs, but the Thunder fans are expecting much more.

Paul George has been a crucial player for Thunder on the defense and one of the reasons why the team is ranked 3rd in Team Defensive Efficiency in NBA. But, like all the OK3 members, he often struggles with an offense like he doesn’t know when it’s the right time to take over. Whether it’s too much respect for Westbrook and Anthony, or something completely else, George has to know when to be a man and prove why he is one of the best two-way players in the game.

Melo can drop 50 on a night without breaking a sweat. But, Thunder doesn’t need him to do that. Carmelo Anthony needs to do what he has been doing in the last month. Pick his shots, cut down on the iso ball and trust his teammates that they will give him the ball at the best moment possible.

Watching the rest of the Thunder players, you can get a feeling that their performance tends to mimic one of their stars. When Westbrook, PG13, and Melo are having fun, the rest of the team follow. When they are having a bad night, the rest of the team becomes even worse. If they don’t start picking up the slack when the things are going north for OK3, they’ll never be able to elevate Thunder as a title contender. The best hope for the Thunder fans is that everything bad so far was just a side-effect of getting together.

The OK3 was put together too fast and was given too much of a task to complete on such a short notice. The Thunder players were repeating through the season that they are figuring things out, and they may do so, but it will be too late when the Warriors get in their way. The only hope for Thunder to get a title is to have George and Melo stay another season and they make a run next year. This year they can only give the Warriors a good run for their money.

The post Opinion: Can Oklahoma City Thunder challenge the Warriors? appeared first on SportzBonanza.

For too many times this season, the Oklahoma City Thunder has struggled to win close games. In the Wednesday’s matchup against the Utah Jazz, however, it wasn’t even close. OKC has started the game with excellent defense and held back the Jazz at nine points while scoring 25. At the halftime, Thunder was up 16 points, but that wasn’t something to take lightly when knowing that in 14 of their previous 16 games, OKC was outscored in the third quarter.

This time, there were no such hiccups. Russell Westbrook took the backseat after scoring 20 at the halftime and let Paul George and Carmelo Anthony take care of business. The newcomers to the Thunder squad responded to the task and bagged 10 points each in the third quarter, making the rest of the game an easy stroll.

“It’s challenging, but it’s something that, if we consider ourselves being a great team, becoming a great team, that’s a step we have to take,” – said Anthony. “Coming out in that third quarter, knowing that we can’t let up, learning how to take it up another level coming out of halftime — it’s something that we’re getting better at.“

In Jazz’s defense, they were without their star player Rudy Gobert and explosive rookie Donovan Mitchell. They were led by Rodney Hood, who scored 17 points.

Considered as one of the teams that could challenge the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference, the Thunder has done almost nothing to justify it. Entering in the game against the Jazz, they were at .500, but for the team with so much star power, that was considered bad. Wednesday’s game proved that the team has a great potential and showed what they can look like if everything is going their way. Now it’s on them to show that they can play like this when everything isn’t so smooth.

The post Oklahoma City Thunder Shows That They Can Play in 107-79 Win over Utah Jazz appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Cleveland Cavaliers had one and now the Oklahoma City Thunder also decided to try and end their losing streak by holding a team meeting. Although the Thunder with a new Big 3 in reigning MVP Russell Westbrook, Paul George and Carmelo Anthony supposed to be one of the best teams in NBA, their performance so far doesn’t show it. After losing to the Denver Nuggets on Thursday night, the team has a 4-7 record now, being defeated in all of their three away games. That’s why the team decided to talk it over.

“It was just good to get everything out on the table,” – said Paul George about the meeting. “Especially where we’re at right now, it’s no good if we’re bottling it up. Because then we could carry it over to the next game and the next game. Just leave everything out in the open.“

This wasn’t the start of the season that Oklahoma City Thunder fans have been hoping for. Certainly, it isn’t the start the Thunder players expected.

“I don’t think it’s frustration among ourselves,” – commented backup PG Raymond Felton. “It’s just frustration about losing. We got a lot of guys who hate to lose, a lot of guys who are big competitors. That’s a good spirit to have. I’ll take that all day. If we’re not frustrated, then that’s a big problem.“

The Thunder will have a chance to redeem themselves when they face the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night. The Clippers will come to Oklahoma without some important players like Patrick Beverley, Danilo Gallinari, and Milos Teodosic, who are all out with injuries.

“That’s the beauty of this league and having so many games.” – said Carmelo Anthony. “I know we complain about back-to-backs but sometimes the back-to-backs are in our favor as players because you get to put that game behind you.”

The post Oklahoma City Thunder Held a Team Meeting after 4th Straight Loss appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 123-118 on Wednesday night, thereby bringing an end to the Pelicans’ season and winning them the opportunity to play for the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference playoffs.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 32 points on the night, including 25 in the second half of the game to help Oklahoma City complete their comeback after what was one of the worst first halves of any game statistically this season. Guard Josh Giddey finished just behind Gilgeous-Alexander on 31 points, adding 10 rebounds and nine assists as well.

“When your leader is not flustered and under control out there, it’s a spiral effect,” Giddey reflected after the game. “Guys see that and feed off it.”

Although the Pelicans were successful in their plan to minimize Gilgeous-Alexander’s scoring opportunities, only allowing him to score seven points in the first half, Giddey explained that the Thunder was prepared for this outcome, working it into their own game plan. Instead of attempting to force his way into the game, Gilgeous-Alexander enabled his teammates to create other opportunities, finding his way into the game naturally once the opportunity arose.

Oklahoma City is set to face the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night.

The post Thunder Ends Pelicans’ Season, Set to Play Timberwolves for Eight-Seed Playoff Spot appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The Oklahoma City Thunder rookie Chet Holmgren is set to miss the entirety of the 2022-23 NFL season through injury, the team announced on Thursday. This comes after Holmgren suffered a Lisfranc injury to his right foot earlier this week.

The 20-year-old player picked up the foot injury while attempting to guard LeBron James early on during the CrawsOver Pro-Am event. It is believed that Holmgren’s injury may have stemmed from slippery court issues.

“Certainly, we are disappointed for Chet, especially given the excitement he had about getting on the floor with his teammates this season. We know Chet has a long career ahead of him within our organization and the Oklahoma City community. One of the things that most impressed us during the process of selecting Chet was his determination and focus. We expect that same tenacity will carry him through this period of time as we work together and support him during his rehabilitation,” general manager Sam Presti said of the rookie.

According to Presti, Holmgren is to undergo foot surgery in the hopes of providing a long-term solution to the youngster so that one such injury does not resurface.

The post Oklahoma Rookie Chet Holmgren to Miss 2022-23 Season With Foot Injury appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Oklahoma City Thunder’s point guard and reigning NBA MVP Russell Westbrook has done it again! The 29-year-old entered the Wednesday’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies 16 rebounds shy of averaging another triple-double in the season, and he got them in just 22 minutes on the court. With this feat, Westbrook became the first player in the NBA history to average a triple-double in two consecutive seasons. He finished the 2017-18 season averaging 25.4 points, 10.1 rebounds, and 10.2 assists.

Russ receives a big applause by fans in OKC for reaching his 2nd season straight averaging a triple-double! #ThunderUp pic.twitter.com/P7JaQWPj2n

— NBA (@NBA) April 12, 2018

In the Thunder’s final two games, against the Miami Heat and the Grizzlies, Westbrook needed to get 34 rebounds in order to average another triple-double through the season. After he grabbed 18 boards in the win against the Heat, there was no doubt that he will get what he needs in the last game of the 2017-18 regular season. Interesting thing was that Westbrook didn’t have a triple-double in the game against the Grizzlies since he ended up with 20 rebounds, 19 assists, and only 6 points.

“I’m very, very thankful and blessed to go out and compete,” – said Westbrook after the game. “Like I’ve said many, many times, I don’t take this game for granted, I don’t take going on the floor competing for granted, and God got something planned for me, man, nobody can stop it, and I always continue to follow his faith and stay faithful and stay strong and continue to do what I’m doing.“

In the 2016-17 season, during his MVP campaign, Russell Westbrook became only the second player in the history of the NBA to average a triple-double after Oscar Robertson did it in 1961–62 (30.8 points, 12.5 rebounds and 11.4 assists). Russell Westbrook also broke Robertson’s record for most triple-doubles in a season (41) by getting 42 of them.

The post Thunder’s Russell Westbrook Averages a Triple-Double for a Second Consecutive Season appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Oklahoma City Thunder announced that their guard Andre Roberson is going to miss the rest of the season after rupturing the left patellar tendon in Saturday’s win against the Detroit Pistons. Roberson successfully underwent a surgery on Sunday.

“He’s certainly a huge loss,” – said Thunder’s coach Billy Donovan after the game. “Everyone’s been able to see that since he’s kinda come back to us and what he’s been able to do defensively. And he’s found a way to be, offensively, a really effective player for us.“

The injury occurred in the third quarter of the game against the Pistons when Roberson tried to catch a lob from Russell Westbrook. His leg bent awkwardly and he hit the floor hard, staying on the ground. After being examined for several minutes, he was put on a stretcher and taken off the court. Roberson missed eight Thunder games earlier in the season due to a patellar tendinitis in his left knee.

Paul George, who himself had a season-ending injury in 2014, said he will be there for Roberson during the recovery and help him.

“I’ll be there for him along the way, try to help as much as possible, putting him in a good place with the injury,” – said George. “Because I know how it is. I’ve been down that road before. So real unfortunate. But one thing about Dre, man, he’s tough, and he’s a strong person, so he’ll definitely persevere through it.“

The injury of Andre Roberson puts the Thunder in a tough spot since he was a major part of their defense, which is ranked fifth in the NBA. Although he is considered an offensive liability due to his poor shooting skills, Roberson makes up for it by being a ferocious defender. With him on the floor, Oklahoma City Thunder allows 95.9 points per 100 possessions, but without him, their defense plummets into allowing 114.5 points per 100.

The post Oklahoma City Thunder loses Andre Roberson for the Remainder of the Season appeared first on SportzBonanza.

We are halfway through the 2017-18 NBA season (few games removed) and there is a sense that we are about to watch the same story for the second year in a row. Despite experiencing one of the most exciting NBA offseasons ever, we have the Golden State Warriors as even bigger favorites than a year ago. However, some people believe the Oklahoma City Thunder is maybe the only team that could give the Warriors trouble in the Western Conference. That’s due to their big move: once again they got themselves a Big 3 with Russell Westbrook, Paul George, and Carmelo Anthony. But, were the OK3 put together too fast?

The Oklahoma City Thunder is one of the most inconsistent teams in the league when it comes to the quality of the game they are showing. In some moments they are looking like they are invincible, and in others, like they don’t belong in the NBA at all. After an ugly star in which they were 4-7 and lost to teams like Sacramento Kings, the Thunder picked up the pace and won three straight before going into a slump again. Now they find themselves on the 5th spot in the Western Conference and with four games behind the Timberwolves. Not the place Thunder wants to be, but there is a bit promise. Is that promise enough, and can the Thunder challenge the Warriors and go for the title? Yes, but too many things have to align in order for this to happen.

First, Russell Westbrook has to know when to stop shooting. That was a major issue with Westbrook’s game this season. When the shot isn’t falling, he forces it and wastes a lot of good possessions in an attempt to score a bucket. Persistence is one of the things that makes Westbrook one of the best basketball players but also can be his biggest nemesis. He tends to hog the ball too long and it’s like he sometimes forgets that he has two All-Star caliber players alongside him. You can put Westbrook alone with a group of G-League guys and he will get you a win or two in the playoffs, but the Thunder fans are expecting much more.

Paul George has been a crucial player for Thunder on the defense and one of the reasons why the team is ranked 3rd in Team Defensive Efficiency in NBA. But, like all the OK3 members, he often struggles with an offense like he doesn’t know when it’s the right time to take over. Whether it’s too much respect for Westbrook and Anthony, or something completely else, George has to know when to be a man and prove why he is one of the best two-way players in the game.

Melo can drop 50 on a night without breaking a sweat. But, Thunder doesn’t need him to do that. Carmelo Anthony needs to do what he has been doing in the last month. Pick his shots, cut down on the iso ball and trust his teammates that they will give him the ball at the best moment possible.

Watching the rest of the Thunder players, you can get a feeling that their performance tends to mimic one of their stars. When Westbrook, PG13, and Melo are having fun, the rest of the team follow. When they are having a bad night, the rest of the team becomes even worse. If they don’t start picking up the slack when the things are going north for OK3, they’ll never be able to elevate Thunder as a title contender. The best hope for the Thunder fans is that everything bad so far was just a side-effect of getting together.

The OK3 was put together too fast and was given too much of a task to complete on such a short notice. The Thunder players were repeating through the season that they are figuring things out, and they may do so, but it will be too late when the Warriors get in their way. The only hope for Thunder to get a title is to have George and Melo stay another season and they make a run next year. This year they can only give the Warriors a good run for their money.

The post Opinion: Can Oklahoma City Thunder challenge the Warriors? appeared first on SportzBonanza.

For too many times this season, the Oklahoma City Thunder has struggled to win close games. In the Wednesday’s matchup against the Utah Jazz, however, it wasn’t even close. OKC has started the game with excellent defense and held back the Jazz at nine points while scoring 25. At the halftime, Thunder was up 16 points, but that wasn’t something to take lightly when knowing that in 14 of their previous 16 games, OKC was outscored in the third quarter.

This time, there were no such hiccups. Russell Westbrook took the backseat after scoring 20 at the halftime and let Paul George and Carmelo Anthony take care of business. The newcomers to the Thunder squad responded to the task and bagged 10 points each in the third quarter, making the rest of the game an easy stroll.

“It’s challenging, but it’s something that, if we consider ourselves being a great team, becoming a great team, that’s a step we have to take,” – said Anthony. “Coming out in that third quarter, knowing that we can’t let up, learning how to take it up another level coming out of halftime — it’s something that we’re getting better at.“

In Jazz’s defense, they were without their star player Rudy Gobert and explosive rookie Donovan Mitchell. They were led by Rodney Hood, who scored 17 points.

Considered as one of the teams that could challenge the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference, the Thunder has done almost nothing to justify it. Entering in the game against the Jazz, they were at .500, but for the team with so much star power, that was considered bad. Wednesday’s game proved that the team has a great potential and showed what they can look like if everything is going their way. Now it’s on them to show that they can play like this when everything isn’t so smooth.

The post Oklahoma City Thunder Shows That They Can Play in 107-79 Win over Utah Jazz appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Cleveland Cavaliers had one and now the Oklahoma City Thunder also decided to try and end their losing streak by holding a team meeting. Although the Thunder with a new Big 3 in reigning MVP Russell Westbrook, Paul George and Carmelo Anthony supposed to be one of the best teams in NBA, their performance so far doesn’t show it. After losing to the Denver Nuggets on Thursday night, the team has a 4-7 record now, being defeated in all of their three away games. That’s why the team decided to talk it over.

“It was just good to get everything out on the table,” – said Paul George about the meeting. “Especially where we’re at right now, it’s no good if we’re bottling it up. Because then we could carry it over to the next game and the next game. Just leave everything out in the open.“

This wasn’t the start of the season that Oklahoma City Thunder fans have been hoping for. Certainly, it isn’t the start the Thunder players expected.

“I don’t think it’s frustration among ourselves,” – commented backup PG Raymond Felton. “It’s just frustration about losing. We got a lot of guys who hate to lose, a lot of guys who are big competitors. That’s a good spirit to have. I’ll take that all day. If we’re not frustrated, then that’s a big problem.“

The Thunder will have a chance to redeem themselves when they face the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night. The Clippers will come to Oklahoma without some important players like Patrick Beverley, Danilo Gallinari, and Milos Teodosic, who are all out with injuries.

“That’s the beauty of this league and having so many games.” – said Carmelo Anthony. “I know we complain about back-to-backs but sometimes the back-to-backs are in our favor as players because you get to put that game behind you.”

The post Oklahoma City Thunder Held a Team Meeting after 4th Straight Loss appeared first on SportzBonanza.