Less than 12 months ago, on Dec. 31, 2008, the Oklahoma City Thunder won their fourth game of the 2008-09 season, against 29 losses. The calendar turned to a new year, and their fortunes flipped accordingly: they won seven games in January, and ended the season with 23. Nearly a year later, they stand 15-14 – just 1 ½ games behind Utah for the Western Conference’s final playoff spot.
After Sunday’s practice at the PNY Center, Nets coach and GM Kiki Vandeweghe pointed to the Thunder’s turnaround as the latest of many examples of a developing team struggling through the first half of the schedule before breaking through late and carrying the momentum from there. He credited the Thunder for sticking to a plan of allowing its young core of Kevin Durant, Jeff Green and Russell Westbrook to play through mistakes, even though the losses kept coming: totaling 121 in two years.
“Could they have won more games letting the veterans go, retarding the growth of a Durant?” Vandeweghe asked, rhetorically. “Yeah, they probably could have won a few more games, but that’s not the path they chose. It took them two years to get there; we’re trying to do it within a year, but it’s a tried-and-true method (of) almost force-feeding your guys. And that’s what they did in Oklahoma, they force-fed their guys and they got good results.”
The Nets will find out exactly how much Oklahoma City has progressed on Monday, when the Thunder visit the IZOD Center at 7:30 p.m. (Buy Tickets). They enter on a two-game win streak, having turned back the Suns and Bobcats in recent contests, led by 68 points from Durant. The third-year forward is averaging 27.8 points on .458 shooting, adding 6.8 rebounds and 3.0 assists, though he’s firing away at only a .312 clip from three and committing 3.59 turnovers per game.
It’s been a steady progression for Durant, who’s increased his scoring from 20.3 PPG as a rookie, and the same can be said of Green and Westbrook. The 6-foot-9, 235-pound Green can play either forward position, and does so while posting 14.8 PPG and 6.2 RPG, and the wildly athletic Westbrook chips in 16.4 points, 6.8 assists and 4.9 rebounds, though his shot can be inconsistent (.398 FG%, .282 3P%).
“From when I was playing them in Dallas until now, all the younger guys have started to grow up,” said Nets point guard Devin Harris. “Durant is a star on his own, and I think the four-man from Georgetown, Jeff Green, he’s a tremendous talent as well. They have a great point guard (in Westbrook) who’s very talented, and shooters that surround him. They have one of our old players, Nenad Krstic, who’s playing very well for them. They’re a very deep team and they play hard. They’re a young team with a lot of energy, and they’re talented too.”
Boone Out, Goes for MRI
With all the injuries this season, it’s almost unsurprising to learn that the Nets had another player miss practice. This time it was Josh Boone, who’s got a sore left knee and went for a precautionary MRI. Vandeweghe said that all indications pointed toward Boone being fine, but everyone will have to wait for the MRI results to be certain, so keep an eye on that tomorrow.
As for those in recovery, Chris Douglas-Roberts (sprained ankle) is definitely out, along with Eduardo Najera (sore back) and Jarvis Hayes (strained hamstring), though Rafer Alston (sore back) practiced and should return. The team is admittedly bringing Hayes along very, very slowly – he looked fully capable during the late-practice scrimmage. Vandeweghe said Hayes is unlikely to play this week.
“Even though practice is hard, a game is higher intensity, and we want to make sure that he really is healthy and moving well,” Vandeweghe explained. “We just can’t take a chance with it, because if it gets hurt again, it could be the year, and we don’t want that.”
Yi’s the Subject of Attention – Again
With a second straight impressively aggressive outing, Yi Jianlian’s play earned many a mention. Devin Harris said the dunking display wasn’t unexpected – he’s seen Yi jump as high as Sean Williams at times – and credited Cliff Robinson, among others , for helping Yi maintain that attitude. Vandeweghe explained the need for continued effort by making an example of Carl Landry, who put up 26 points and nine rebounds in Houston’s win on Saturday.
“You’ve got to maintain that energy,” Vandeweghe said. “That’s what you need to play that game. You saw a guy last night in Landry – he was in the D-League, he was passed over numerous times, he sat a lot. He just kept working and working and working and working. Now he has a fire that won’t go out. Should he be doing what he’s doing on paper? No. But he gets it done because that’s what burns inside of him. That to me is where you want to get to.
For his part, Yi acknowledges the game is slowing down around him and allowing him to react instead of think:
“It's just reading the defense and playing the game. You can't think too much during the game or before a shot.“
Motivational Speaking
As for how Vandeweghe keeps his players playing well despite the defeats, the coach had this to say:
“You just keep working and once you do break through, then you have a feel for how to win. Learning how to win is a skill, too. Everybody who has been on this team has won at different levels. They’re all winners, but now it’s habit. To me, winning is just a habit, and we’ve got to, as a team, relearn that habit.”
