Thunder Up
By Alex Horowitz
For the first time since Russell Westbrook’s rookie season, the Oklahoma City have stumbled out of the gate. Currently sitting at 5-13 and 3rd place in the Northwest Division, the Thunder have much reason for optimism; their sights are set on an NBA championship this season.
Why would a team with such a poor record have such a lofty goal? Having two of the league’s most talented players in reigning MVP Kevin Durant and the aforementioned Westbrook certainly helps. Unfortunately for OKC, both stars have missed the majority of this young season. Westbrook did not make his debut until last week versus the Knicks, while Durant played his first minutes in Tuesday’s loss in the Big Easy.
It may already be a month into the season, but then again, it is ONLY a month into the season. The Thunder have plenty of time to get their act together and will climb their way atop the Western Conference standings at ease. As usual, the conference is stacked with contenders such as Memphis, Houston, San Antonio, and Portland, but among those clubs, only the Spurs have more playoff experience than this young Thunder team.
Yes, even though OKC has been among the league’s elite since 2010, they are still a relatively young group of players. Their average age of 25.8 years is ninth youngest in the association. But don’t let that fool you; the Thunder are a team with a veteran-like attitude. They will not fret over a difficult start to the season, because they understand it’s a process, a grind, and that many more months of regular season play are yet to be played. When asked about turning around the team’s season around, Durant oozed with confidence
“We’ve got a great locker room, we’ve got a great team, we’ve got a great group of guys. No doubt,” Durant said. “We’ve really got to put on our hard hat every game and grind ’em out, (via Royce Young, NBA writer for ESPN.com).
Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook will have to lead if OKC wants to win a championship (Via AP)
Westbrook added onto Durant’s optimistic attitude, understanding the reality of where the Thunder current stand in relation to the remaining length of the season.
“How many games we got left? Sixty-something?” Westbrook said. “How many games we out of eighth place? Five, six? Not worried” (via Royce Young).
A tough start and a bad stroke of luck has doomed the Thunder to start their seventh season in the Sooner State. But backed by the leadership of its star players, the team appears to be in good hands. Larger goals lie ahead as they aim to win their first championship since their Seattle days, while a healthy starting lineup will attempt to reestablish the chemistry they’ve flawlessly executed throughout the past several years.
Lil Wayne once featured in his song “Kobe Bryant” that no one was starving for a world championship more than Kobe. Today, that title now falls on Kevin Durant. In Oklahoma City, it’s finally #ThunderUp time again.
Alex Horowitz is a senior at Briarcliff High School and is an aspiring sports writer. As a lifelong sports fan, he has rooted for the New York Knicks, New York Mets, and Detroit Lions. You can follow him on Twitter @alexhorowitz3
Houston, We Have A Problem
By Christian Pierre-Louis
The Los Angeles Lakers hit 16 3-pointers against the Houston Rockets, but the last one meant the most.
With 1.3 seconds remaining, Steve Blake caught a short inbound pass from Jodie Meeks and drained his fourth 3-pointer of the night. Suddenly, the score was 99-98, and the Lakers held on for the final second and three-tenths to hand Dwight Howard an embarrassing loss against the Kobe Bryant-less Lakers.
Steve Blake hit a huge game winning 3-pointer to take down Dwight Howard and the Houston Rockets (Via Getty)
Later in the game, Howard was repeatedly sent to the free throw line using the hack-a-Howard strategy, a strategy that Lakers’ fans painfully lived through last season. Howard finished 5-16 from the charity stripe, and his 15 points and 14 rebounds were overshadowed by his 31 percent foul shooting and four turnovers.
For Lakers fans, it was a case of déjà vu in more ways than one.
Watching Howard miss free throws late in the game was a familiar sight, even if it was welcomed for a change. Also, watching Howard lose the ball on careless turnovers was an all-too-familiar memory for fans watching at home.
This time, though, Howard wasn’t on the Lakers, so all of his mistakes were being celebrated across Laker Nation.
Aside from Howard, the Lakers were the same bunch they’ve been all season long. After getting out to a massive 17-point first half lead, the Lakers found themselves trailing at the end of a close ball game.
Howard’s consistent misses at the line allowed the Lakers to stay in the game, as LA ran out of ammo from behind the arc. Including Blake’s game-winner, the Lakers only made three field goals in the last five minutes of the game.
One of those field goals came via Meeks, who led the Lakers with 18 points on 5-7 shooting from behind the arc. The Lakers’ bench outscored the Lakers’ starters once again, but that didn’t seem to matter by the time everyone got into the locker room.
On a Thursday night in Houston, the Los Angeles Lakers won their first road game of the season, embarrassed the man who spurned their team, and made the Laker fans proud.
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Christian Pierre-Louis is a journalism major at Seton Hall University. He is a HUGE fan of the, LA Lakers, NY Giants, and NY Yankees. He is also an assistant sports producer at Seton Hall’s radio station WSOU 89.5 FM. You can follow him on twitter at @CPL_78.
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