Clips Nation - Clippers-Thunder game coverage: Rolling ThunderWhat it do babyyyhttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/47967/clipsnation_fave.png2014-02-23T16:02:05-08:00http://www.clipsnation.com/rss/stream/52027152014-02-23T16:02:05-08:002014-02-23T16:02:05-08:00Clippers-Thunder: random post-game rants
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<figcaption>Kevin C. Cox</figcaption>
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<p>It was a big game between the Clippers and the Thunder, and I have more to say about it, on subjects ranging from Scott Foster to Jared Dudley to Scott Brooks' decision to intentionally foul in the second quarter.</p> <p>The game recap for the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.clipsnation.com/">Clippers</a> 125-117 win over the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.welcometoloudcity.com/">Thunder</a> was already north of 1200 words and I still had a few more things to say. I figured I'd get the basic recap out there and then put some more cantankerous stuff in a separate post.</p>
<p><b>The Foster Follies</b></p>
<p>I don't remember having a problem with referee Scott Foster per se in the past, but man was he noticeable in a very bad way in this game. The Clippers won a close game on the road, despite picking up three technical fouls and getting a few very strange calls along the way, almost always coming from Foster.</p>
<p>The first T was on coach <span>Doc Rivers</span>, and although he went on to say a bit more, the courtside microphones actually picked up exactly what he said directly before he was T'd up by Foster.</p>
<p>Doc: "They just did the same thing to Jamal [Crawford]. Come on Scott. Come on." <Tweet!></p>
<p>What? Since when is that worthy of a technical foul? What exactly is a head coach allowed to say if he's not allowed to say that? Rivers was understandably even hotter after that, and Foster had to come over to tell him to sit down: Doc might well have been ejected had associate head coach <span>Alvin Gentry</span> not intervened to get the coach to back off, though Rivers did <a href="http://www.beyondthebuzzer.com/2014/02/23/doc-rivers-says-f-referee-vs-thunder-gif/" target="_blank">drop a juicy F bomb</a> as he was walking away.</p>
<p>Foster also issued a technical foul to <span>Chris Paul</span> for complaining about a call on <span>Blake Griffin</span> when <span>Russell Westbrook</span> was completely out of control and tripped over his own feet.</p>
<p>The three second violation Foster called on Griffin in the final three minutes would have been the play of the game had the Clippers not come back to win. With Fisher defending Griffin in the post and having already committed about five separate fouls on the play, Griffin finally received an entry pass and Foster finally blew his whistle. The broadcast went to commercial as Mike Tirico and Hubie Brown announced the foul on Fisher saying that Griffin would be at the line after the time out. Instead, it was Thunder ball as Foster had instead called a three second violation, much to the bemusement and bewilderment of the announcers. The fact is that Griffin did have one foot in the lane for more than three seconds (as Fisher was shoving him with both hands) and that by the letter of the law it was a three second violation (as indeed it was multiple fouls on Fisher by the letter of the law). The fact that Blake was actually COMPLETELY OUT of the key by the time he caught the pass and Foster blew the whistle just contributed to the general surrealism.</p>
<p>Perhaps my favorite Foster moment was of relatively minor impact, but falls into my peeve category of officials making calls they have no business making because they don't have the proper angle. On a third quarter Clippers possession, <span>Matt Barnes</span> took a fairly desperate shot that grazed the rim, and then dug out the offensive rebound. The shot clock reset, and Foster, <i>standing on the exactly opposite side of the floor from where the ball had hit the rim</i>, stopped play to verify that the reset was justified. The other members of the crew looked at him like he had two heads -- well, yeah, Scott, it hit the rim, we were standing right here looking at it and while you were over in BFE blowing your whistle. <span>DeAndre Jordan</span> was alone in the paint when Foster whistled the play dead, and I'm not saying that Barnes was going to get him the ball, but I am saying the Clippers would much have preferred attacking a scrambled OKC defense than inbounding from the sideline against a set D.</p>
<p>I'm not sure if Foster thought OKC might still have a chance in the final seconds or if he just wanted the attention of everyone in the building one last time, but the offensive foul he called on Crawford at the end was just a joke. Fisher was moving and took the contact on the outside of his left shoulder -- that's an obvious block, not to mention that Fisher was more or less giving a foul there just to stop the clock. Foster was still feeling pretty pissed off at the Clippers, for whatever reason, when he made that call.</p>
<p><b>Jared Dudley approaches <span>Ryan Gomes</span> territory</b></p>
<p>It wasn't that long ago that the Clippers had a player who was supposed to be a pretty good shooter and a pretty good defender, a glue guy who would provide solid if unspectacular play from the starting small forward position. But for some reason in L.A. he couldn't shoot at all, and then it turned out he wasn't actually a very good defender, couldn't rebound a bit, and generally did little or nothing to help the team. Glue guys do the little things even if they aren't great scorers -- so what do you call a non-scorer who can't do any of the little things? I'd like to coin the term, the goo guy. Rather than holding things together, they just gum up the works.</p>
<p>Ryan Gomes started 62 of 76 games during his first season in L.A. He struggled shooting the ball, and by the second half of his second season with the Clippers he never got off the bench. By that second season his confidence was so far gone that he more or less refused to shoot, even when he was wide open. The Clippers eventually requested amnesty waivers on him, and he's played 34 minutes of NBA basketball since March of 2012.</p>
<p><span>Jared Dudley's</span> recent performances are beginning to remind me more and more of Gomes. He's not scoring much (he hasn't been in double figures in over a month, 18 straight games) but almost more disconcerting, he's not even shooting. He's 7-35 from three point range since January 22, and he just looks like a player with zero confidence. He went to the free throw line at the start of the fourth quarter with a chance to stem the tide of a Thunder run that was 13-4 at the time and missed a pair. I'm about ready to see all of his minutes go to <span>Reggie Bullock</span>, who at least played aggressive defense and wasn't afraid to shoot the ball today (though he was 0-4). Or is it time to take a look at <span>Ronnie Brewer</span>?</p>
<p><b><span>Scott Brooks</span> plays Hack-the-DJ and loses</b></p>
<p>Obviously you all know how I feel about intentionally fouling as a basketball strategy. I've <a href="http://www.clipsnation.com/2014/2/8/5393114/hack-the-dj-got-you-down-theres-an-easy-fix" target="_blank">advocated for a rule change</a> for the good of the game to keep stupid head coaches from inflicting this pain on the fans. A national TV contest that the rest of the time featured some of the most wide open and fun attacking basketball of the season, for a few terrible moments in the second quarter was stuck in the always scintillating quagmire of watching the second worst free throw shooter in the NBA shoot free throws.</p>
<p>Coaches don't seem to have figured out that this is a loser as strategies go. But what's most amazing to me is that there are a handful of coaches who employ the strategy while they are in the lead. The one and only thing that intentionally fouling indisputably does is create more possessions. Any other perceived benefit of the strategy -- whether it limits the opponent to fewer total points, whether it disrupts the opponent's offensive rhythm, whether it disrupts the opponent's rhythm more than your own rhythm -- is open to debate. When you are behind, the strategy is at least having the affect of extending the game and giving you more chances to reduce the deficit. When your team is ahead, the idea is little more than voodoo, coaches saying to themselves "I have a feeling this is going to work."</p>
<p>Brooks ordered his players to begin fouling Jordan with a little less than five minutes remaining in the first half and the Thunder up four. At first the strategy seemed to work -- Jordan missed a pair and the Thunder scored, Jordan made one of two and the Thunder scored -- and suddenly it was a seven point lead. So huzzah for weaselly disregard for the spirit of the game!</p>
<p>Not so fast. The Clippers then proceeded to reel off 23 points in the final 4:15 of the half. Seems like maybe, perhaps, by telling his team NOT to play defense and to foul instead, his team stopped playing defense.</p>
<p>WHO COULD HAVE SEEN THAT COMING?</p>
<p>Note to coaches: if it is your goal to keep your opponent from scoring points, <i>encourage your team to play good defense</i>. Telling them to do things other than playing good defense is counterproductive in the process of limiting opponent scoring.</p>
<p>I am surprised I am compelled to point that out, but there it is.</p>
<p>The icing on this hack-a-cake is that Russell Westbrook gave the first two intentional fouls on Jordan, and then when he picked up a third trying to defend Chris Paul he had to be removed for the final couple minutes of the half. Oh gee, you mean those intentional fouls count as personal fouls too? Well that's another disadvantage I guess. Who knew?</p>
<p>Brooks then had the audacity to lament his team's inability to defend without fouling during a halftime interview, according Lisa Salters' sideline report. ARE YOU EFFING KIDDING ME!? You gave up 19 free throws in the first half, Scotty? Well boo hoo. Nine of those free throws were taken by Jordan, and six of those were after intentional off the ball fouls! Given that you have an active strategy of giving free throws to Jordan, I'm not quite clear how 19 first half free throws is a problem.</p>
<p>Jordan finished the game a respectable 6-11 from the line including a crucial pair of makes in the fourth quarter. Good for him.</p>
https://www.clipsnation.com/2014/2/23/5440370/clippers-thunder-random-post-game-rantsSteve Perrin2014-02-23T14:02:03-08:002014-02-23T14:02:03-08:00Clippers win gunfight at OKC Corral, 125-117
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<figcaption>Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Blake Griffin and Chris Paul were good but not great, so the Clippers rode 60 points from Jamal Crawford and Matt Barnes to a huge away win over the best team in the West.</p> <p>On an afternoon when their two superstar players, <span>Chris Paul</span> and <span>Blake Griffin</span>, combined to shoot an unspectacular 11-27 from the field, the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.clipsnation.com/">Los Angeles Clippers</a> still managed to get a crucial road win over the team with the best record in the NBA, the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.welcometoloudcity.com/">Oklahoma City Thunder</a>. Who needs Paul and Griffin when <span>Jamal Crawford</span> and <span>Matt Barnes</span> are combining to score 60?</p>
<p>It's not a particularly sustainable recipe for success, counting on Barnes to make six of his first seven three pointers (he finished 6-10 on the day) but I'll take the W. I guess I don't feel quite so sheepish about it given that <span>Derek Fisher</span> came off the Thunder bench to make his first five three pointers, a couple of them pure heat checks that went in. (Why the 39 year old Fisher is taking heat check threes on that team is a different question.) In the final analysis, Barnes' unsustainable production was more or less balanced by Fisher's and the Clippers still manged to win the game.</p>
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<span class="blog-links-star"><img src="http://cdn2.sbnation.com/assets/3608771/star.png"></span> The view from Oklahoma City <span class="blog-links-star"><img src="http://cdn2.sbnation.com/assets/3608771/star.png"></span>
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<div class="blog-links-compact-link-container"><a href="http://www.welcometoloudcity.com?utm_source=sbnation&utm_medium=bloglinks&utm_campaign=blogs">Oklahoma City Thunder blog Welcome to Loud City</a></div>
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<p>When the Thunder made four three pointers (three by Fisher and one a straight unfair pull up from <span>Kevin Durant</span> to end the third quarter) in the midst of an 18-4 run to cut a 15 point Clippers' lead down to one point, it didn't feel like it was going to be a win. Nor did it help that referee Scott Foster seemed to be doing everything he could to help the Thunder, including a bizarre three second violation on Blake Griffin in the final three minutes of a tie game. But despite the subsequent Durant three that gave the Thunder their first lead of the second half, the Clippers kept their composure and closed the game on a 13-2 run for their biggest road win of the season.</p>
<p>It was the fifth time this season that the Clippers have taken a two game losing streak into a game, and the fifth time they've come away with a win. They have yet to lose three straight in the <span>Doc Rivers</span> era, which may or may not be significant in the big picture.</p>
<p>Griffin's struggles were not insignificant in the game. It was arguably his worst outing of the 2014 calendar year in 26 games. He managed to score 20 points, but was only 6-15 from the field, and unlike the vast majority of his games for the last three months, he never seemed to figure out the OKC defense. <span>Serge Ibaka</span> and <span>Nick Collison</span> and <span>Steven Adams</span> played him physically and he failed to find the space to use his quickness against them. He did get to the line frequently, where he was 7-10, and he also handed out six assists.</p>
<p>Right up until game time, Paul was considered 50-50 to play because of a sprained thumb and while he shot better than he had in the last two games (he was 5-12 Sunday after being 5-23 since the All Star break) he was not the offensive force he can be. He did however flirt with a triple double, adding 12 assists and eight rebounds.</p>
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<div class="pullquote">Both Crawford and Barnes came within a point of their season high</div>
<p>The additional offensive load in what turned out to be a shoot out was shouldered by Crawford (36 points) and Barnes (24), with each of them coming within a point of their season high, and <span>DeAndre Jordan</span> who added 18 points on 6-6 from the field. The Clippers' three non-All Star starters combined to shoot 27-40 and make 11 three pointers -- an effective field goal percentage among the three of them of over 81%. It was a good thing too, as the bench was once again missing in action, outscored by Fisher 15-9 (and by the OKC bench 31-9).</p>
<p>I don't watch Oklahoma City every day of course, but I think it's probably fair to say that the team was better while Westbrook was out injured than they are at this specific moment, trying to reintegrate him. Obviously they have to do it and they'll be better in the long run for having down so, but he struggled with his shot for the second straight game, and he can't really bring himself to change his hyper-aggressive nature. He finished the game 3-13 from the field and scored 13 points in 25 minutes, and while there were several questionable shots along the way, one in particular stands out as particularly Westbrookian. The Clippers led by four with 40 seconds remaining after a crucial basket by Crawford. At the time Durant was 15-30 for 42 points, not to mention that he's the best offensive basketball player on the planet. Westbrook took the inbounds pass, dribbled into the front court, and shot a contested three with 35 seconds left. Getting a quick shot was a good idea -- not letting Durant actually touch the ball? Not so much. Griffin grabbed the rebound and Paul made two free throws to put the game out of reach.</p>
<p>The Thunder have been by far the most impressive team in the Western Conference this season in terms of their results, but their crunch time lineup in this game certainly didn't look impressive, at least not to my eyes. Am I the only one that feels like closing with three point guards (Westbrook, Jackson and Fisher), Durant and Ibaka is questionable? Brooks was probably just playing the hot hand in Fisher, but even so -- who is the fifth guy you want on the floor there? <span>Perry Jones</span> barely got off the bench today. Brooks doesn't appear to trust Jeremy Lamb. They were without <span>Kendrick Perkins</span> in this game, but he's clearly not the answer. Durant will win you a lot of games, but can he win them all with that group? We'll see.</p>
<p>It's a great win, if not necessarily a great recipe for winning. As they did against a high power Portland offense before the All Star break, the Clippers defense gave up a ton of points in the game, but got some crucial stops down the stretch. When they were able to get the ball out of Durant's hands, no one else managed to hurt them down the stretch. (I'll give Westbrook the late three he made all day long -- he's 30% on the season and on his career, and if it gave him confidence to hoist more jump shots in the final two minutes, so much the better.) Durant certainly gave them an unexpected bonus when he missed a pair of foul shots, but the Clippers defense earned the rest of their stops.</p>
<p>A win like this certainly eases the sting of back-to-back losses to the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.poundingtherock.com/">Spurs</a> and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.grizzlybearblues.com/">Grizzlies</a>, but one still gets the impression that the Clippers have yet to play anything close to their best basketball. With confirmation that <span>Glen Davis</span> will sign with the team later today, the bench will be a very different and hopefully much improved entity in a few weeks. <span>J.J. Redick</span> will at some point return to the starting lineup and Crawford will slide back to his familiar sixth man role, and Crawford and Davis will make a reserve unit that currently looks terrible suddenly look pretty formidable. After a win like this one and seeing the potential improvements on the horizon, it's easy to get excited about the teams prospect in the postseason.</p>
https://www.clipsnation.com/2014/2/23/5440098/clippers-win-gunfight-at-okc-corral-125-117Steve Perrin2014-02-23T11:32:14-08:002014-02-23T11:32:14-08:00Clippers-Thunder second open half
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<p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.clipsnation.com/">Clippers</a> hold a six point lead, 72-66 after a torrid shooting first half. One feels as if the Clippers should be ahead by more, but we'll take the lead I guess.</p>
https://www.clipsnation.com/2014/2/23/5439834/clippers-thunder-second-open-halfSteve Perrin2014-02-23T09:45:02-08:002014-02-23T09:45:02-08:00Clippers-Thunder open thread
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<figcaption>Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>The Clippers face the Thunder, owners of the best record in the NBA. Can they contain Kevin Durant? Can Chris Paul break out of his shooting slump? Can the Clippers make some threes? They'll need to do all three for a win.</p> <table align="center" cellpadding="5" border="1" cellspacing="5" class="sbnu-legacy-content-table"><tbody>
<tr>
<th align="center" colspan="3" bgcolor="silver">2013/2014 NBA Regular Season</th>
</tr>
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<td width="240"><center><img alt="Bvv028jd1hhr8ee8ii7a0fg4i_medium" src="http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/472353/bvv028jd1hhr8ee8ii7a0fg4i_medium.gif"></center></td>
<th align="center" width="20">vs</th>
<td width="240"><center> <a target="_blank" href="http://cdn0.sbnation.com/assets/100663/khmovcnezy06c3nm05ccn0oj2.gif"><img src="http://cdn1.sbnation.com/assets/100663/khmovcnezy06c3nm05ccn0oj2_medium.gif" class="photo" alt="Khmovcnezy06c3nm05ccn0oj2_medium"></a> <br id="1393140560919">
</center></td>
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<td width="240"><center><b>37-20</b></center></td>
<th align="center" width="20"><br></th>
<td width="240"><center><b>43-13</b></center></td>
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<tr>
<td align="center" colspan="3" bgcolor="silver"><b>February 23rd, 2014, 10:00 AM</b></td>
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<tr>
<td align="center" colspan="3"><b>Chesapeake Evergy Arena</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center" colspan="3"><b>ABC, KFWB 980 AM, KWKW 1330 AM</b></td>
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<th align="center" colspan="3" bgcolor="silver">Win-Loss Breakdown</th>
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<td align="right" width="240"><b>17-9</b></td>
<th align="center" width="20">East</th>
<td width="240"><b>17-5</b></td>
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<td align="right" width="240"><b>20-11</b></td>
<th align="center" width="20">West</th>
<td width="240"><b>26-8</b></td>
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<td align="right" width="240"><b>23-5</b></td>
<th align="center" width="20">Home</th>
<td width="240"><b>23-4</b></td>
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<td align="right" width="240"><b>14-15</b></td>
<th align="center" width="20">Road</th>
<td width="240"><b>20-9</b></td>
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<td align="right" width="240"><b>13-13</b></td>
<th align="center" width="20">.500+</th>
<td width="240"><b>17-7</b></td>
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<td align="right" width="240"><b>24-7</b></td>
<th align="center" width="20">.500-</th>
<td width="240"><b>26-6</b></td>
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<td align="right" width="240"><b>5-5</b></td>
<th align="center" width="20">L10</th>
<td width="240"><b>7-3</b></td>
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<th align="center" colspan="3" bgcolor="silver"><b>Probable Starters</b></th>
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<td align="right" width="240"><b><span>Chris Paul</span></b></td>
<th align="center" width="20">PG</th>
<td width="240"><b><span>Russell Westbrook</span></b></td>
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<td align="right" width="240"><b><span>Jamal Crawford</span></b></td>
<th align="center" width="20">SG</th>
<td width="240"><b><span>Thabo Sefolosha</span></b></td>
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<td align="right" width="240"><b><span>Matt Barnes</span></b></td>
<th align="center" width="20">SF</th>
<td width="240"><b><span>Kevin Durant</span></b></td>
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<td align="right" width="240"><b><span>Blake Griffin</span></b></td>
<th align="center" width="20">PF</th>
<td width="240"><b><span>Serge Ibaka</span></b></td>
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<td align="right" width="240"><b><span>DeAndre Jordan</span></b></td>
<th align="center" width="20">C</th>
<td width="240"><b><span>Steven Adams</span></b></td>
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<th align="center" colspan="3" bgcolor="silver"><b>Advanced Stats</b></th>
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<td align="right" width="240"><b style="text-align: start; ">97.99 (9th of 30)</b></td>
<th align="center" width="20">Pace</th>
<td width="240"><b>97.55 (11th of 30)</b></td>
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<td align="right" width="240"><b style="text-align: start; ">108.5 (3rd of 30)</b></td>
<th align="center" width="20">ORtg</th>
<td width="240"><b>107.2 (6th of 30)</b></td>
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<td align="right" width="240"><b style="text-align: start; ">102.2 (11th of 30)</b></td>
<th align="center" width="20">DRtg</th>
<td width="240"><b>99.4 (4th of 30)</b></td>
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<tr>
<th align="center" colspan="3" bgcolor="silver"><b>Injuries/Other</b></th>
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<td align="right" width="240"><b style="text-align: start; "><span>J.J. Redick</span> (hip) out</b></td>
<th align="center" width="20"><br></th>
<td width="240"><b><span>Kendrick Perkins</span> (strained groin) out</b></td>
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<tr>
<td align="right" width="240">
<b>Chris Paul (sprained thumb) in</b><br>
</td>
<th align="center" width="20"><br></th>
<td width="240"><br></td>
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</tbody></table>
<p> </p>
<p><b>The Back Story (The season series is tied, 1-1):</b></p>
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<td style="text-align: center; "><b>Date</b></td>
<td><b>Venue</b></td>
<td><b>Final</b></td>
<td><b><br></b></td>
<td><b><br></b></td>
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<tr>
<td style="text-align: center; "><b>11/13/13</b></td>
<td><b>Los Angeles</b></td>
<td><b><a href="https://www.clipsnation.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Clippers</a> 111, <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.welcometoloudcity.com/">Thunder</a> 103</b></td>
<td><a target="_blank" href="http://www.clipsnation.com/2013/11/13/5102962/la-clippers-ibaka-less-okc-thunder-111-103-chris-paul-blake-griffin-kevin-durant"><b>Recap</b></a></td>
<td><a target="_blank" href="http://www.nba.com/games/20131113/OKCLAC/gameinfo.html"><b>Box</b></a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center; "><b>11/21/13</b></td>
<td><b>Oklahoma City</b></td>
<td><b>Thunder 105, Clippers 91</b></td>
<td><a target="_blank" href="http://www.clipsnation.com/2013/11/21/5132244/out-of-sync-clippers-fall-to-thunder-105-91"><b>Recap</b></a></td>
<td><a target="_blank" href="http://www.nba.com/games/20131121/LACOKC/gameinfo.html#nbaGIboxscore"><b>Box</b></a></td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
https://www.clipsnation.com/2014/2/23/5438676/clippers-thunder-open-threadSteve Perrin2014-02-23T01:19:09-08:002014-02-23T01:19:09-08:00Clippers-Thunder preview: Losing streak
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<figcaption>Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>The Clippers take a two game losing streak into Oklahoma City. They haven't lost three straight in the Doc Rivers era, but they'll have to play their best to avoid a loss to the Thunder.</p> <table align="center" cellpadding="5" border="1" cellspacing="5" class="sbnu-legacy-content-table"><tbody>
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<th align="center" colspan="3" bgcolor="silver">2013/2014 NBA Regular Season</th>
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<td width="240"><center><img alt="Bvv028jd1hhr8ee8ii7a0fg4i_medium" src="http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/472353/bvv028jd1hhr8ee8ii7a0fg4i_medium.gif"></center></td>
<th align="center" width="20">vs</th>
<td width="240"><center> <a target="_blank" href="http://cdn0.sbnation.com/assets/100663/khmovcnezy06c3nm05ccn0oj2.gif"><img src="http://cdn1.sbnation.com/assets/100663/khmovcnezy06c3nm05ccn0oj2_medium.gif" class="photo" alt="Khmovcnezy06c3nm05ccn0oj2_medium"></a> <br id="1393140560919">
</center></td>
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<td width="240"><center><b>37-20</b></center></td>
<th align="center" width="20"><br></th>
<td width="240"><center><b>43-13</b></center></td>
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<tr>
<td align="center" colspan="3" bgcolor="silver"><b>February 23rd, 2014, 10:00 AM</b></td>
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<td align="center" colspan="3"><b>Chesapeake Evergy Arena</b></td>
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<td align="center" colspan="3"><b>ABC, KFWB 980 AM, KWKW 1330 AM</b></td>
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<th align="center" colspan="3" bgcolor="silver">Win-Loss Breakdown</th>
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<td align="right" width="240"><b>17-9</b></td>
<th align="center" width="20">East</th>
<td width="240"><b>17-5</b></td>
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<td align="right" width="240"><b>20-11</b></td>
<th align="center" width="20">West</th>
<td width="240"><b>26-8</b></td>
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<td align="right" width="240"><b>23-5</b></td>
<th align="center" width="20">Home</th>
<td width="240"><b>23-4</b></td>
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<td align="right" width="240"><b>14-15</b></td>
<th align="center" width="20">Road</th>
<td width="240"><b>20-9</b></td>
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<td align="right" width="240"><b>13-13</b></td>
<th align="center" width="20">.500+</th>
<td width="240"><b>17-7</b></td>
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<td align="right" width="240"><b>24-7</b></td>
<th align="center" width="20">.500-</th>
<td width="240"><b>26-6</b></td>
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<td align="right" width="240"><b>5-5</b></td>
<th align="center" width="20">L10</th>
<td width="240"><b>7-3</b></td>
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<th align="center" colspan="3" bgcolor="silver"><b>Probable Starters</b></th>
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<td align="right" width="240"><b><span>Chris Paul</span></b></td>
<th align="center" width="20">PG</th>
<td width="240"><b><span>Russell Westbrook</span></b></td>
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<td align="right" width="240"><b><span>Jamal Crawford</span></b></td>
<th align="center" width="20">SG</th>
<td width="240"><b><span>Thabo Sefolosha</span></b></td>
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<td align="right" width="240"><b><span>Matt Barnes</span></b></td>
<th align="center" width="20">SF</th>
<td width="240"><b><span>Kevin Durant</span></b></td>
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<td align="right" width="240"><b><span>Blake Griffin</span></b></td>
<th align="center" width="20">PF</th>
<td width="240"><b>Serge Ibaka</b></td>
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<td align="right" width="240"><b><span>DeAndre Jordan</span></b></td>
<th align="center" width="20">C</th>
<td width="240"><b><span>Steven Adams</span></b></td>
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<th align="center" colspan="3" bgcolor="silver"><b>Advanced Stats</b></th>
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<td align="right" width="240"><b style="text-align: start; ">97.99 (9th of 30)</b></td>
<th align="center" width="20">Pace</th>
<td width="240"><b>97.55 (11th of 30)</b></td>
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<td align="right" width="240"><b style="text-align: start; ">108.5 (3rd of 30)</b></td>
<th align="center" width="20">ORtg</th>
<td width="240"><b>107.2 (6th of 30)</b></td>
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<td align="right" width="240"><b style="text-align: start; ">102.2 (11th of 30)</b></td>
<th align="center" width="20">DRtg</th>
<td width="240"><b>99.4 (4th of 30)</b></td>
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<th align="center" colspan="3" bgcolor="silver"><b>Injuries/Other</b></th>
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<td align="right" width="240"><b style="text-align: start; "><span>J.J. Redick</span> (hip) out</b></td>
<th align="center" width="20"><br></th>
<td width="240"><b><span>Kendrick Perkins</span> (strained groin) out</b></td>
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<td align="right" width="240">
<b>Chris Paul (sprained thumb) in</b><br>
</td>
<th align="center" width="20"><br></th>
<td width="240"><br></td>
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</tbody></table>
<p> </p>
<p><b>The Back Story (The season series is tied, 1-1):</b></p>
<table border="0"><tbody>
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<td style="text-align: center; "><b>Date</b></td>
<td><b>Venue</b></td>
<td><b>Final</b></td>
<td><b><br></b></td>
<td><b><br></b></td>
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<td style="text-align: center; "><b>11/13/13</b></td>
<td><b>Los Angeles</b></td>
<td><b><a href="https://www.clipsnation.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Clippers</a> 111, <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.welcometoloudcity.com/">Thunder</a> 103</b></td>
<td><a target="_blank" href="http://www.clipsnation.com/2013/11/13/5102962/la-clippers-ibaka-less-okc-thunder-111-103-chris-paul-blake-griffin-kevin-durant"><b>Recap</b></a></td>
<td><a target="_blank" href="http://www.nba.com/games/20131113/OKCLAC/gameinfo.html"><b>Box</b></a></td>
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<tr>
<td style="text-align: center; "><b>11/21/13</b></td>
<td><b>Oklahoma City</b></td>
<td><b>Thunder 105, Clippers 91</b></td>
<td><a target="_blank" href="http://www.clipsnation.com/2013/11/21/5132244/out-of-sync-clippers-fall-to-thunder-105-91"><b>Recap</b></a></td>
<td><a target="_blank" href="http://www.nba.com/games/20131121/LACOKC/gameinfo.html#nbaGIboxscore"><b>Box</b></a></td>
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</tbody></table>
<p> </p>
<p><b>The Big Picture:</b></p>
<p>The Clippers have lost two games in a row since the All Star break. They haven't lost three straight under <span>Doc Rivers</span> -- but there's a first time for everything and Oklahoma City has the best record in the league and the best home record in the Western Conference so I'm not optimistic that they'll be able to halt the skid today. If they do hope to win, they're going to have to see Chris Paul emerge from a terrible shooting slump the past two games, and he'll have to overcome a sprained thumb to do so. They'll also have to hit some three pointers, which they haven't been able to do at all lately. In the six games J.J. Redick has been out of the lineup the team has shot just .318 from deep. The lion's share of the offense of late has been coming from Blake Griffin and Jamal Crawford; they've been consistently good, but they really have to get some help. Paul will have to step up today, they'll have to hit some perimeter shots, and they'll need to get something -- anything -- from the second unit. If they don't get those things, the first three game losing streak of the season is inevitable.</p>
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<span class="blog-links-star"><img src="http://cdn2.sbnation.com/assets/3608771/star.png"></span> The view from Oklahoma City <span class="blog-links-star"><img src="http://cdn2.sbnation.com/assets/3608771/star.png"></span>
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<div class="blog-links-compact-link-container"><a href="http://www.welcometoloudcity.com?utm_source=sbnation&utm_medium=bloglinks&utm_campaign=blogs">Oklahoma City Thunder blog Welcome to Loud City</a></div>
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<p><b>The Antagonist:</b></p>
<p>I was wrong about the Thunder. Wrong, wrong, wrong. I thought they'd take a step back after losing <span>Kevin Martin</span> in the off-season, but instead they've withstood the loss of Martin AND the loss of Russell Westbrook for most of the season so far -- and if anything they've been better. In my defense, I didn't realize that Kevin Durant was going to become the perfect scoring machine. Kevin Durant is to scoring what the alien is to killing, only instead of acid he has ice water in his veins. The Thunder have used their length and quickness to play elite defense all season, and on offense they can always turn to Durant. Blake Griffin had an unbelievably productive January, but he never had a chance at Conference Player of the Month because Durant was so far off the charts. Durant averaged 36/6/6 on 55% shooting in January -- are you effing kidding me? The Thunder got Russell Westbrook back on Thursday, and although things didn't go well in his first game back, that probably had more to do with a motivated Heat team than with Westbrook. The Clippers can hope that the Thunder will struggle to integrate Westbrook back into the flow after playing so well with <span>Reggie Jackson</span> starting, but the bad news is that OKC will be looking to bounce back strong from their worst defeat of the season.</p>
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<p><b>The Subplots</b></p>
<ul>
<li> <b>Comparison of key metrics.</b> The Thunder have the best claim to elite status on both sides of the ball this season going by efficiency numbers. They have the fourth best defense in the league, and the sixth best offense -- no other team is as high in both categories. The Clippers defense meanwhile has been sinking and is down to eighth.</li>
<li> <b>Baby blues.</b> The Clippers will be wearing their baby blue sleeved uniforms for the first time this season. I knew they wore them on Sundays, but I had assumed it was only Sunday home games. This is their only Sunday road game of the season, so I'm not sure if this is a one off or if the plan was to wear them on Sunday's regardless of location. I'm not crazy about light blue versus white -- not a lot of contrast out there -- but I'm not crazy about the unis in general, so whatever. The good news, if you're looking for it, is that two of the Clippers' most impressive wins of the season, including the annihilation of Philadelphia two weeks ago, have come in the baby blues. Of course that was Philadelphia and this is Oklahoma City.</li>
<li> <b>Early start.</b> NBA basketball at 10 AM Pacific time. Wow, that's early. I don't know about you, but my entire day could be made or ruined by just after noon. Not only do I have a Clippers game, but Tottenham plays at 8 AM. <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.poundingtherock.com/">Spurs</a> are three points behind Liverpool, who play at 6 AM. If the Reds win, and Spurs and Clippers lose, my entire day will be shot before I get off the couch. On the other hand, if things go right it could be the best day ever!</li>
<li> <b>Free agent help.</b> We know that the Clippers are already pursuing the new bought out <span>Glen Davis</span> and will try to sign other free agents to bolster their lineup for the stretch run. Oklahoma City will also look to add some veteran help. <span>Danny Granger</span> hasn't really been linked to the Thunder, but he would seem like a logical target for a team that could use a reliable scorer off the bench. It might not be Granger, but I would expect that the Thunder will add someone.</li>
<li> <b>Shumpert.</b> The Clippers considered trading for the very available <span>Iman Shumpert</span> at the trade deadline. Things became complicated when Shumpert injured his knee on Wednesday night before the Thursday deadline, but the Clippers and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.postingandtoasting.com/">Knicks</a> kept talking right until the last minute before the deal came through. The Thunder had shown some interest in acquiring Shumpert themselves, and in the aftermath, some have suggested that Doc Rivers had dragged out the discussion just to run out the clock and keep Shumpert away from OKC. But he wouldn't do that. Would he?</li>
<li> <b>Westbrook back.</b> All-NBA point guard Russell Westbrook has missed 30 of Oklahoma City's 56 games so far this season -- but he hasn't missed any of their meetings with the Clippers. After coming back early from off-season knee surgery in time to play in two November meetings, Westbrook has again returned just in time from another knee surgery to face the Clippers. In his first game back, Thursday against the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.hothothoops.com/">Miami Heat</a>, Wussell looked pwetty wusty in shooting 4-12 in OKC's worst defeat of the season. </li>
<li> <b>Bad loss.</b> The fact that the Thunder suffered their worst loss of the season the last time out could be interpreted as good news or bad news for the Clippers, but I'm guessing it ain't good. Does it indicate that they'll be out of sync for a time as they integrate Westbrook back into the lineup? More likely they just ran into a Miami buzzsaw on Thursday, and they'll be extra focused to bounce back strong against the Clippers.</li>
<li> <b>Perkins out.</b> Coincidentally, Kendrick Perkins missed the first meeting of the season between these two teams way back in early November in L.A. and he'll miss this one also. He strained his groin Thursday against the Heat and will be out at least a week. Perkins isn't huge loss for the Thunder -- he's not exactly the most productive center in the league, more like the least productive -- but he is another big body. The game he missed in L.A. also saw Serge Ibaka ejected just before halftime, which left the Thunder woefully thin in the front court (Ryan Gomes started the second half at power forward!). Steven Adams will start in Perkins' place and <span>Nick Collison</span> is a solid backup as well. The Thunder may also go small some with Durant or <span>Perry Jones</span> at the four.</li>
<li> <b>Ibaka and Griffin.</b> Something about Blake Griffin definitely gets under <span>Serge Ibaka's</span> skin. Last season he picked up two flagrant fouls against Griffin, and in the first meeting this year he was ejected for an altercation just before halftime. The OKC fans will be on Griffin from the start, despite the fact that he's a hometown hero for them. Can Ibaka keep his cool against Griffin? Can Griffin be effective without getting into foul trouble himself? Bear in mind, this is Ibaka's first look at Griffin since he's stepped up his game in the past three months.</li>
<li> <b>Paul.</b> Chris Paul has made just 5-23 from the field since the All Star break, an unmitigated disaster for the Clippers in facing good teams. To make matters worse, he sprained his thumb at the very end of the Memphis game after everything had already been decided. He's going to play through the thumb injury, but who knows how much it will affect him, especially in addition to the residual soreness in his shoulder that seems to be bothering his shot right now. The Thunder have the best record in the NBA -- there is simply no way the Clippers can beat them on the road if Paul doesn't shoot well, so hopefully he can break out of his slump despite the nagging injuries.</li>
<li> <b>Clippers bench.</b> The Clippers bench has been just awful during J.J. Redick's latest injury absence. While Chris Paul was out, we tracked the Clippers' record without him, but perhaps we should be tracking the record without Redick (it's 16-11 by the way, far worse than their 12-6 record without CP3). I'm certainly not suggesting that Redick is better nor more important than Paul -- the schedule has had a lot to do with wins and losses during their respective absences of course -- but without Redick available the Clippers do seem to have their rotations sent into disarray. <span>Darren Collison</span> has been much better as a starter than as a reserve, while Jamal Crawford has been much better as a reserve than as a starter. When Redick is out, Crawford is starting and the bench more or less disappears -- especially when Collison is bad as he has been lately. The Clippers got just seven points from their reserves in Memphis Friday night. That's a disaster, but it's hard to imagine how things are going to be much different in Oklahoma.</li>
<li> <b>The three ball.</b> The Clippers are 27th in the NBA in three point percentage -- and that's <i>with </i>J.J. Redick. Without him things get far worse. When you consider that Rivers was constructing the team to feature the long ball prominently this has got to be far and away the biggest disappointment this season. As it happens, they've been much worse from deep than last season's team. Dudley is way off his career numbers, Barnes has been terrible, and Redick has missed almost half of the games. If they can make a few in Oklahoma City today -- and certainly it's a possibility -- it will make a huge difference.</li>
<li> <b>OKC roster additions.</b> This off-season the Thunder added three players to their roster: rookies Steven Adams and <span>Andre Roberson</span> and former Clipper <span>Ryan Gomes</span> (since waived) who played in Germany last season. That is to say, none of the OKC roster additions were actually in the NBA last season. It's a research project that is beyond my resources and patience, but I'd venture to guess that it's one of the first times since the advent of free agency that a team has entered the season without adding at least one player from a different NBA roster.</li>
<li><span><b>Sefolosha.</b> Thabo Sefolosha has made a career of playing defense and hitting the open three pointers that inevitably come his way playing with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. But after making .419 last season and .437 the season before that, he's way down to .336 this season. It's difficult to say whether this season or last season is the outlier.</span></li>
<li> <b>Best in the West.</b> Three seasons ago, when the Clippers began the season 5-21 and then went 27-29 over the final four months, some of us wondered if they were on the OKC track, as the Thunder had had a very similar in-season improvement in 08-09 before winning 50 games and making the playoffs the following season. Trading for Chris Paul accelerated the Clippers rise, but overall it's been surprisingly similar in terms of results. With teams like the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/" style="background-color: #ffffff;">Mavericks</a> and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.silverscreenandroll.com/" style="background-color: #ffffff;">Lakers</a> finally succumbing to the effects of age, and a similar fate awaiting San Antonio eventually, it could be the Clippers and the Thunder battling for Western supremacy for many years to come (though the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.thedreamshake.com/" style="background-color: #ffffff;">Rockets</a> and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.goldenstateofmind.com/" style="background-color: #ffffff;">Warriors</a> and Wolves and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.brightsideofthesun.com/">Suns</a> and Blazers may have something to say about that -- man the West is tough).</li>
<li> <b>Restbwook's woes.</b> Wussell Restbwook has had some major struggles against the Clippers. In his career against the LAC, he's shooting .369 from the field in 20 games, his worst shooting against any Western Conference opponent. He has had games of 1-12, 1-11 and 3-14 among other dreadful outings against the Clippers. He's only scored 20 or more in six of 18 career games, and one of those was that 3-14 game where he got to the line a lot. He is a combined 12-31 in two meetings with the Clippers this season, which is actually a little above his career percentage against LA, believe it or not.</li>
<li> <b>Defending Durant.</b> Durant is simply a terrible matchup for each and every defender in the NBA -- that's a big part of what makes him so good. He's got the length of a seven footer, the quickness of a guard and scoring ability of a demi-god. No one can guard him; that's why he continually leads the league in scoring (he's leading by 3.5 points per game so far this season). Barnes is tough and will work hard, but has had a tough time staying in front of players this season; Dudley is smart and tenacious and we know he'll work hard. Both of these choices are less than ideal. In the last meeting, Blake Griffin took the assignment a couple of possessions, but it was probably rookie <span>Reggie Bullock</span> who did the best job. Now, that was a very small sample size and probably a fluke, but we may see Bullock out there to defend Durant some today.</li>
<li> <b>Small ball</b>. In the first meeting, the Clippers had a nice run over the final 14 minutes of the game playing mostly small ball. That was driven in part by the fact that Perkins missed the game and Ibaka missed the second half, so OKC didn't have quality bigs to call on which forced them to go small. The Thunder liked playing Durant at the four last season, but haven't done it as much this season, partly because Kevin Martin is gone so there's less incentive to get another small on the floor.</li>
<li> <b>Connections.</b> Blake Griffin was born and raised in Oklahoma near Oklahoma City and played his college ball at OU in Norman. Thunder coach Scoot Brooks was on the Clippers for about a month in January 1999, though he never got into a game. The freshly departed <span>Byron Mullens</span> began his NBA career with the Thunder, where he barely played in his first two seasons in the league. Chris Paul played his first two seasons in Oklahoma City while the Hornets were displaced from New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Darren Collison and Russell Westbrook were teammates at UCLA, where Collison started at the point pushing Westbrook to shooting guard. Doc Rivers coached Kendrick Perkins at Boston, where they won a title together and might have won another had Perkins not torn his ACL in the playoffs.</li>
<li><b>Get the OKC perspective at <a href="http://www.welcometoloudcity.com/" target="_blank">Welcome to Loud City</a>.</b></li>
<li> <b>Shakespearean reference:</b><br><b><a href="http://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/views/plays/playmenu.php?WorkID=macbeth" target="_blank">Macbeth</a> -- <a href="http://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/views/plays/play_view.php?WorkID=macbeth&Act=4&Scene=1&Scope=scene" target="_blank">Act IV, Scene 1</a> -- </b><b>Macbeth </b><br><i>Then live, Macduff: what need I fear of thee? <br>But yet I'll make assurance double sure, <br>And take a bond of fate: thou shalt not live; <br>That I may tell pale-hearted fear it lies, <br>And sleep in spite of <b>thunder</b>. <br>[<b>Thunder</b>. Third Apparition: a Child crowned, with a tree in his hand] <br>What is this <br>That rises like the issue of a king, <br>And wears upon his baby-brow the round <br>And top of sovereignty?</i> </li>
</ul>
https://www.clipsnation.com/2014/2/23/5438558/clippers-thunder-preview-losing-streakSteve Perrin