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Just mail it in already OKC, dont you want a higher pick in the draft?
Malik Rose: “I don’t think we’re” packing it in
Malik Rose sounds off on Thunder's lopsided losses
Thunder forward Malik Rose has played on championship teams and lottery teams in his 12 NBA seasons. He's seen it all and he doesn't think the Thunder has packed in for the season, despite consecutive lopsided home losses. But Rose doesn't want to see any more opponents throw alley-oops when they're up 25 points. And he says its time the Thunder did something about it.
by Darnell Mayberry
Malik Rose sat expressionless at his locker, staring across the Thunder’s dressing room while still in full uniform after many of his teammates had already showered, dressed and ducked out for the evening.
His only hope after a 117-99 embarrassment to the Indiana Pacers was that his Oklahoma City teammates haven’t officially packed it in.
“I don’t think we’re doing it,” said Rose, the 13-year veteran forward and the lone Thunder player with championship experience. “Until I see for sure I’ll say we’re not.”
Only hours earlier at the team’s morning shoot-around, it was Rose who all but guaranteed a different effort against the Pacers, assured we’d see a different Thunder team than the one that allowed the Portland Trail Blazers to bully their way to a 35-point drubbing two nights earlier inside the Ford Center.
“The effort is going to be really good,” Rose said Sunday morning. “I’m looking for us to really rebound from that loss.”
The Thunder trailed by as many as 27 points. Oklahoma City lost its last lead after the Pacers took a 2-1 advantage with 1:29 gone by.
Thunder coach Scott Brooks, assuming his team also would come out with much better effort, said he was stunned. Rose said he was angry.
“The way to avoid being labeled as packing it in is to fight through it,” Rose said. “Have some pride and not let guys throw alley-oops and shoot 3s when they’re up 25 or 30 points. We got to send a message and not let that happen. Nothing dirty or flagrant. But there are certain unwritten rules in sports. You don’t steal second up 10 runs. You don’t play-action pass up four touchdowns. You don’t throw lobs up 30. That’s what I’m really disappointed about.”
Rose continued. He talked about how a “deflating feeling” has crept inside the locker room after yet another team came into the Ford Center and outplayed the Thunder both individually and collectively.
“As a team, once we get that deflated feeling we don’t know how to rebound and pump ourselves back up,” Rose said. ”And that’s what I want to see us do over these last six games.”
But who’s going to put an end to it? Who on this team has the heart, ability and esteem to say ‘Enough’ and demand that others follow their lead?
Desmond Mason has been lost for the season to a knee injury. Kevin Durant still is not a vocal leader. Russell Westbrook is a rookie. Jeff Green, while tough, is far from an enforcer. And Nick Collison is a quiet veteran who leads by example.
“It’s one thing to say it. It’s another thing to do it out on the court,” Rose said. ”We have guys who are well capable of doing that. We haven’t gotten a concerted effort from enough people on the court at one time to generate some momentum from it. But we have plenty of vocal leaders. We have plenty of emotional leaders. We have plenty of leaders period. We just need people to do it, to follow.”
When asked if he thought his young teammates understood the importance of finishing the final six games strong, Rose paused, then sighed.
“I hope so,” he said. ”But if not they’ll soon learn it.”
Just mail it in already OKC, dont you want a higher pick in the draft?
Tuesday: Spurs (49-27) at Thunder (21-55)
Express-News
Time: 7 p.m.
TV: FSNSW
Radio: WOAI-AM 1200, KCOR-AM 1350
STARTING LINEUPS
POS - SPURS - THUNDER
PG - 9 Tony Parker (6-2, 8th yr) - 0 Russell Westbrook (6-3, 1st yr)
Westbrook ranks 4th in scoring, 2nd in assists and steals among rookies.
SG - 28 Roger Mason Jr. (6-5, 5th yr) - 2 Thabo Sefolosha (6-7, 3rd yr)
Mason averaged six ppg. in three games coming off bench.
SF - 4 Michael Finley (6-7, 14th yr) - 35 Kevin Durant (6-9, 2nd yr)
Durant scored 56 points in Thunder’s two wins over Spurs in March.
PF - 21 Tim Duncan (6-11, 12th yr) - 22 Jeff Green (6-9, 2nd yr)
Duncan had six points, on 2-for-7 shooting, in Sunday’s loss to Cavs.
C - 15 Matt Bonner (6-10, 5th yr) - 12 Nenad Krstic (7-0, 5th yr)
Krstic made 8 of 11 shots, game-winner, as Thunder beat Spurs Mar. 31.
SPURS RESERVES
12 Bruce Bowen, F, 6-7, 13th yr
3 George Hill, G, 6-2, 1st yr
90 Drew Gooden, F, 6-10, 8th yr
11 Jacque Vaughn, G, 6-1, 12th yr
40 Kurt Thomas, C/F, 6-9, 14th yr
5 Ime Udoka, G/F, 6-5, 5th yr
7 Fabricio Oberto, C, 6-10, 3rd yr
THUNDER RESERVES
4 Nick Collison, F/C, 6-9, 6th yr
9 Malik Rose, F, 6-7, 13th yr
31 Robert Swift, C, 7-1, 4th yr
25 Earl Watson, G, 6-1, 8th yr
5 Kyle Weaver, G, 6-6, 1st yr
21 Damien Wilkins, G/F, 6-7, 5th yr
8 Chucky Atkins, G, 5-11, 10th yr
3 D.J. White, F, 6-9, 1st yr
COACHES
Spurs: Gregg Popovich
Thunder: Scott Brooks
INJURIES
Spurs: Manu Ginobili (stress fracture, right distal fibula) is out.
Thunder: Desmond Mason (hyperextended right knee) is out.
PROJECTED INACTIVE PLAYERS
Spurs: Ginobili, Oberto
Thunder: Mason, Swift
NOTABLE
Spurs lost at Ford Center on March 16, blowing a 17-point lead and losing by two, 78-76. ... Thunder Rookie D. J. White, who hadn’t played all season after suffering fractured jaw that required surgical repair, made his debut in Sunday loss to Pacers, making 7-of-8 shots and scoring 15.
- Mike Monroe
OKC Thunder: No playing out the string
Spurs at Thunder ‘We’re still coming in and working hard,’ Durant says
BY Mike Baldwin
"Packing it in” is a sports term associated with non-playoff teams that sometimes perform with less emotion late in a season.
Oklahoma City has resembled a play-out-the-string team in lopsided home losses to Portland and Indiana, but Thunder forward Kevin Durant said that’s not the case.
"That’s absurd,” said Durant. "That’s an insult to us. That’s unprofessional. There are a lot of words I could use to describe how that is. Nobody in this organization is thinking like that.”
Durant vowed months ago a young team with no shot at the postseason would never play for NBA Draft lottery balls. Oklahoma City backed it up, playing close to .500 basketball in January (7-7) and March (7-8).
But the last two games have looked like apathetic, early season losses under former coach P.J. Carlesimo.
"I know we’ve had a bad last two games, but teams go through that,” Durant said. "A lot of teams go through that, whether it’s early or late (in the season). We’re not mailing it in at all. We’re still coming in and working hard, trying to improve.”
Thunder coach Scott Brooks said he takes it personally when his team doesn’t give full effort. Brooks expects much better effort tonight against San Antonio.
"At any level — elementary school, high school, college or pro, the easiest thing to do is play hard,” Brooks said. "We’re missing the easy thing right now. The hard part is playing well.”
Following a 3-29 start to the season, the Thunder could have "packed it in” months ago. Instead, Oklahoma City was 18-24 since New Year’s Eve. Then came the two clunkers this month.
Thunder television analyst Grant Long, who played 14 seasons, said all NBA players say they won’t "pack it in,” but it’s easier said than done.
"You have to fight to stay professional, play hard every game and not cash it in early because you have an obligation to your team and your organization,” Long said. "Sometimes you see some coaches play their bench guys and weed out some starters.”
Brooks has no plans to bench starters, pointing out the same starting five defeated the Spurs last week in San Antonio.
"It’s still there,” Brooks said. "It’s not like we’re waiting for the season to end. If that was the case, we wouldn’t have done it against one of the best teams, on the road, following two road losses.
"We came back and played (the Spurs) tough, played them physical. We’ve just had two bad games along with two bad shooting games There’s no way around that. I’m disappointed. The players are disappointed.”
Veteran forward Malik Rose said all non-playoff teams must battle complacency toward the end of the season.
"The way to avoid it is to have pride and the fight (to play hard),” Rose said. "Don’t let anyone embarrass you. It’s not fun having guys just come down and fire up 3s when you’re down 20 or 30.”
The last two games are a new experience for Thabo Sefolosha, acquired in a trade from Chicago in mid-February. With Sefolosha in the starting lineup, the Thunder was 9-10 before 35- and 19-point losses to the Trail Blazers and Pacers.
"We really need to find the iden y of this team again,” Sefolosha said. "We have a good group of guys. We need to finish strong for pride.”
Referee Assignments
Tue. Apr. 7
San Antonio @ Oklahoma City: S. Javie; K. Fehr; S. Wall
Ginobili-less Spurs pay a visit to Thunder
(Sports Network) - The San Antonio Spurs return to the hardwood tonight in Oklahoma City after being dealt a serious blow to the team's championship hopes on Monday.
The Spurs, who currently hold the third seed in the Western Conference playoff standing and lead Houston by just one-half game in the Southwest Division, learned that star swingman Manu Ginobili would be unavailable for the rest of the season, including any possible playoff run.
According to the Spurs, Ginobili felt stiffness in his lower right leg during Sunday's loss to Cleveland and underwent a CT scan and an MRI on Monday, which revealed an increased marrow edema and a stress fracture in his right distal fibula.
There is no timetable on how long the NBA's reigning Sixth Man of the Year will be out of action.
Ginobili missed the first 12 games of the 2008-09 season following offseason surgery on his left heel, and was on the sidelines for 19 games between February and March with a right ankle injury. Sunday was the Argentine's sixth game back from his latest setback.
For the season, Ginobili averaged 15.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 44 contests for the Spurs.
San Antonio fell to 1-1 on a three-game road trip in Cleveland on Sunday when LeBron James led all scorers with 38 points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out six assists as the Cavaliers cruised to an easy 101-81 win over the Spurs.
Tony Parker had a team-high 24 points for San Antonio, which was unable to build off a 126-121 win at Indiana on Friday.
Drew Gooden went for 15 points off the bench and Michael Finley, Matt Bonner and Roger Mason Jr. chipped in with eight points apiece for the Spurs, who have dropped three of their last four overall,
Tim Duncan was limited to six points and seven boards in the game.
The Thunder, meanwhile, lost for the fifth time in six games on Sunday when Danny Granger posted 24 points as Indiana rolled past Oklahoma City, 117-99, at the Ford Center.
Kevin Durant poured in a game-high 25 points for the Thunder, who have lost nine of their last 12 games overall. Nick Collison added 15 points, while rookie star Russell Westbrook had 11 points with seven rebounds.
San Antonio, which is 23-15 on the road, won the opener of the season series between the two clubs but Oklahoma City rebounded to win two straight, including a 78-76 triumph at the Ford Center on March 16.
The national preview has been updated with the Manu news.
San Antonio (49-27) at Oklahoma City (21-55) Preview
By Dan Pieringer
After suffering their biggest loss in nearly three months their last time out, the San Antonio Spurs are likely more concerned with the loss of one of their best players.
One day after announcing Manu Ginobili will miss the remainder of the season and playoffs, San Antonio will try to bounce back Tuesday against the lowly Oklahoma City Thunder, who have won the teams’ past two meetings.
San Antonio (49-27) said Monday that Ginobili won’t return to the court for the rest of the season because his right ankle injury has gotten worse. Ginobili missed 19 games after the All-Star break to heal a stress reaction in his right distal fibula. He returned March 25, but tests showed the injury is now a fracture.
Ginobili, averaging 15.5 points in 44 games, scored four before his ankle stiffened toward the end of Sunday’s 101-81 loss at Cleveland, San Antonio’s third defeat in four games. It was the second-largest margin of defeat for the Spurs this season, behind only a 109-87 loss at Philadelphia on Jan. 16.
“I look at it as a challenge right now for our team. It’s about at ude,” coach Gregg Popovich said Tuesday. “We can do the best possible job we can of continuing to believe in each other and put out the effort that’s required to win basketball games or we can feel sorry for ourselves and say, ‘Well, gosh, without Manu it’s going to be really difficult to reach our goals.’
“That’s not how the team is built, I don’t think, character-wise.”
The Spurs lead the Southwest Division by a half-game over Houston but have fallen two games behind Denver for the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference.
“We have to play better,” said Tony Parker, who scored 24 against the league-best Cavaliers. “We have to stay positive. That’s the main key right now.”
A meeting with the Thunder (21-55) may look like a favorable way for the Spurs to get back on track, but Oklahoma City has played San Antonio well this season. After dropping the series opener 109-104 on the road Dec. 14, the Thunder took a 78-76 home win over the Spurs on March 16 and won 96-95 in San Antonio last Tuesday night.
Kevin Durant was Oklahoma City’s leading scorer in both wins, and he’s averaged 28.0 points and 8.0 rebounds in the season series. Fellow second-year forward Jeff Green has added 19.7 points per game in those three contests.
“I don’t know why we play so hard (against San Antonio),” Durant said after scoring 31 and shooting 12-for-19 in last week’s win. “I think we cause some matchup problems because we have Jeff Green at the 4 and he’s very versatile at that position. But it’s always fun playing the Spurs.”
The Thunder haven’t had as much fun playing other teams lately. Though they’ve won both meetings with the Spurs since March 11, they’ve dropped nine of their other 10 games in that stretch, including a 117-99 home loss to Indiana on Sunday night.
“That wasn’t the compe ive spirit I wanted to see out of our team tonight,” coach Scott Brooks said. “We have to play better and harder and with more spirit.”
Brooks was especially disappointed with his team’s defensive effort after it gave up at least 100 points for the fifth time in six games.
“Defense is all about pride. Pride about stopping your man,” he said. “We can’t play without defense. We can’t run up and down the court without defense. You have to stop the ball and keep the ball out of the lane, we didn’t do that tonight.”
Parker has been just as critical of the Spurs’ defensive struggles. San Antonio, third in the league in scoring defense at 93.5 points allowed per game, has given up an average of 111.0 through two games of a three-game road trip.
“It’s tough,” said Parker, averaging 20.3 points and shooting 52.1 percent against the Thunder this season. “We have to make stops. The bottom line is we have to make stops so we can get some transition, get some easy baskets.”
Spurs vs. Thunder: Pre-game primer
Offensive Rating: Thunder: 102.8 (29th), San Antonio: 108.4 (13th)
Defensive Rating: Thunder: 109.5 (20th), San Antonio: 104.5 (5th)
Pace: Thunder: 93.5 (8th), San Antonio: 88.5 (26th)
Boy, thank goodness we get to play the Spurs again. I was getting tired of all this losing crap.
Those last two games were rough. For a minute there I thought it was November again. It doesn’t help that one of the best teams in the league comes in after just suffering one of their biggest losses of the season in Cleveland and oh yeah, OKC’s beaten them the last two and kind of sort of embarrassed them so I think they’ll be playing with a little added vengeance. So that’s not good.
But with this Thunder team you can never tell. A game that seems like a gimme they lose by 15. A game that looks like they’ll have no shot, they win. So tonight? All bets are off.
Obviously thoughts are leaning toward the team playing with a lack of desire and want-to as they’ve really got nothing to play for except ping-pong balls. But Kevin Durant said otherwise.
Well, he’s saying the right thing. But let’s see some proof. The last two the team just looked uninterested. Sure there were guys giving some good effort at times (Russell Westbrook, looking at you) but as a whole the usual fervor wasn’t there. An NBA season is long and I could definitely see a team as young as the Thunder mentally wearing down as well as physically. I’m sure playing every night could take a toll. This isn’t forgiveness for the last two, but I’m just saying, it happens.“That’s absurd,” Durant told the Oklahoman. “That’s an insult to us. That’s unprofessional. There are a lot of words I could use to describe how that is. Nobody in this organization is thinking like that. I know we’ve had a bad last two games, but teams go through that. A lot of teams go through that, whether it’s early or late (in the season). We’re not mailing it in at all. We’re still coming in and working hard, trying to improve.”
Regardless of what happens the rest of this season, I am really excited to watch Shaun Livingston and D.J. White. Something tells me both these guys are going to be solid contributors and it’s fun to get to take in the new guys. I get excited when I see them get up to go to the scorer’s table. Especially Livingston. I’ve been really impressed with him in his first two. White will get a good taste of big boy ball with a little alone time with Duncan. So that’ll be fun.
Manu Ginobili is done for the season so obviously he won’t play but all the usual suspects will be there. Westbrook did an excellent job on Tony Parker last week in San Antonio holding him to just eight points on 4-8 shooting. Tim Duncan had 21 and 12 the last time out and will be fairly well rested after having a couple days off. We’ve seen the Spurs quite a bit here the last few weeks so there’s not much to breakdown that we don’t already know. Get ready to play tough defense, grind out possessions and if you want to be in it, you’ve got to stop them.
So even though the Spurs have every reason in the world to win tonight, I truly don’t know what to expect. On one hand it makes sense for OKC to come out with fire while the Spurs are flat without Manu. On the other the Spurs could be out for blood because of the last two games and the blowout loss in Cleveland while OKC is bummed out. Who know. I guess that’s why we’ll watch.
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