Thunder but will there be lightning
September 5th 2008 06:32
And so the Oklahoma City Thunder are here, replacing the paupers of the NBA, the Seattle Supersonics. While moving to Oklahoma City will be great for this ball club, their roster is very very young and will need some years before it can challenge the bodies and experience of the nba with any dominance. That being said, this team could well be the next Portland, come out and shock veteran teams with a style of play that is exciting and unexpected.
I must confess that before I wrote this piece I thought that Russell Westbrook (the Sonic's - now Thunder's - 4th pick in this years draft) was a big big mistake for this team. He only began his rise late in college and how he could ever be picked before 7th pick Eric Gordon who appears the whole package in a guard, some like myself, found astounding.
However, I was wrong. The season hasn't started yet, and all Westbrook has done is played Summer league against teams without nba players, but he is going to join Durant as the face of this team. As all point guards should, he leads the team, in summer league action he dominated, his team only faltering when the coach called him to the bench for a rest. Durant is a scorer we all know from seeing his rookie season in which he nailed 20 ppg, being the shining light for a struggling franchise. Westbrook is a point guard, through and through, in the mould of Chris Paul, who some doubted initially ( he was only drafted 3rd overall, yet was the runner up MVP last season). Westbrook is quick, he can score, he can pass, and he is the perfect fit for a team that needs a Chris Paul.
All Oklahoma City needs is another very good player and they could be the next big three in three or four seasons, perhaps a monstrous big man would fit well in a team whose tallest player is 6'10 and heaviest is 255 pounds (about the weight of LeBron).
While this season may be more of a sunshower, I believe as long as no one gets injured there will definitely be some electricity in this team.
I must confess that before I wrote this piece I thought that Russell Westbrook (the Sonic's - now Thunder's - 4th pick in this years draft) was a big big mistake for this team. He only began his rise late in college and how he could ever be picked before 7th pick Eric Gordon who appears the whole package in a guard, some like myself, found astounding.
However, I was wrong. The season hasn't started yet, and all Westbrook has done is played Summer league against teams without nba players, but he is going to join Durant as the face of this team. As all point guards should, he leads the team, in summer league action he dominated, his team only faltering when the coach called him to the bench for a rest. Durant is a scorer we all know from seeing his rookie season in which he nailed 20 ppg, being the shining light for a struggling franchise. Westbrook is a point guard, through and through, in the mould of Chris Paul, who some doubted initially ( he was only drafted 3rd overall, yet was the runner up MVP last season). Westbrook is quick, he can score, he can pass, and he is the perfect fit for a team that needs a Chris Paul.
All Oklahoma City needs is another very good player and they could be the next big three in three or four seasons, perhaps a monstrous big man would fit well in a team whose tallest player is 6'10 and heaviest is 255 pounds (about the weight of LeBron).
While this season may be more of a sunshower, I believe as long as no one gets injured there will definitely be some electricity in this team.
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