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Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Blunder Mid Season Report Card

Well, it's that time of year folks! Step right up and get your Blunder grades!

What a difference a year makes, huh? After Bennett's poaching and first year disaster, Durant and Co have quietly managed a very respectable and competitive season in the dustbowl.

Coaching; B. Scotty Brooks has the team playing well. Is it his coaching, or is it a matter of letting them loose and seeing what happens? SO far that has worked. However, the Zombie Sonics have not yet played any games under pressure. As the season winds down and post-season spots hinge on his coaching and team execution, we will see what Brooks and the Blunder are truly made of. Too early to tell.

Team: 30-21. Upside: One of the surprises of the season, for sure. All Star (and future ex-Blunder) Kevin Durant (29.7 ppg, 7.4 rpg) is playing lights out and carrying this team. Westbrook (16.5 ppg, 7.5 apg) and Green (14.5 ppg are contributing solidly as well. The supporting cast is a mixed bag with no real standouts. Durant gets an A.

Downside: Durant leads the team in rebounding - that is not necessarily a good sign. He is not a big guy and cannot be forced into a physical game...it will eventually hurt his real value – scoring. Come playoff time his supporting cast needs to step it up and be able to rebound and play disciplined half-court sets. Wide open play is great to watch but fundamental play and veteran leadership usually wins out in the playoffs. The Blunder do not have a legit veteran presence to guide them. Riding Durant will win games in the short term, but in the longer run they need an inside presence and a skilled vet to guide the team in crunch time.

Green needs to get more involved in assists. He averages less than two a game and has more turnovers (85) than assists (83) for the season. He's learning and will improve. Westbrook 16.5 ppg, 5.0 rpg, and 7.5 apg is having a solid year and will only get better.

Overall team: B

Outlook: The second half of the season will get very interesting for the Blunder. They have thrived while playing pressure-free basketball and flying under the radar. They get practically no national exposure, a blessing for a young team. However, teams will not take them lightly and will be better prepared for them in the second half - no more sneaking up on teams. This is where their true colors (coaching, etc) will be revealed. The on-court trio of Durant/Westbrook/Green are solid. After that it's a big drop off in production.

Playoff scenario: They are well positioned for a playoff run. The biggest challenge this team will face now is pressure. Can they handle it after nearly three seasons of zero expectations? The media attention will pick up in the second half. I expect this team to play around .500 the rest of the way (48 wins is my expectation) and that could get them into the playoffs. They could be a dangerous team, or they could fold under the pressure. It remains to be seen. They cannot afford to get a first round match-up with the Lakers, so positioning will be everything. They could spell trouble for some teams, but not the Lakers. The grind and physicality of the playoffs could also force an early exit and be an eye opener for the young Blunder.

Presti: A. Good job keeping the ship afloat. He's a good executive who had the rare privilege of blowing up a team to build a new one. It's too bad it came at Seattle's expense, but that is not his fault. It's Bennett's.

Ownership: F. Bennett sucks.

Overall grade: B

More Corndogs! More Losses! More Blunder!

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

So you "expect" 48 wins now?

Remember when you had a poll saying anyone predicting 50-60 wins (only 2 more than yo

Anonymous said...

So you "expect" 48 wins now?

Remember when you had a poll saying anyone predicting 50-60 wins (only 2 more than yo

auroraave said...

Dear fan;

Thank you for continuing to enjoy the OKCBlunder blog. I see that you have no thoughts or critical commentary on my analysis of the Zombie Sonics. That's a darned shame. I guess ehat they say is true about OKC fans not really supporting the team. Oh well. Glad my posts can keep you updated...likely far better and fairly than something as hilariously tilted as say, the OKCNews. Now that 'paper' is hilarious to read.

Thanks for supporting OKCBlunder and please continue to read and contribute. A mind is a terrible thing to waste!

Anonymous said...

You are pathetic rave. Your hate towards a city you have never been to disgusts me. I loved Seattle until this situation, and the ugly comments made towards the people of OK. I have no sympathy for you or your city now. Enjoy your blog loser, looks like I am one of 5 people that read it, and it will be down to 4, as I won't be back. We don't sell out, but with less people in our state than you have in the metro Seattle area, we do pretty good. The difference is we go to games and support our team even win the wins are few, unlike Key Arena from 2000 on.

Anonymous said...

i see even the chinese fans love this site. LOL! where on this post is he trashing OKC? seems like he's actually giving the blunder a good review...and you are insulted by that? get your shit together, man.

Todd said...

Jawa, I am impressed by your (sort of) non biased review of an up and coming team. They sure have gelled quicker than I thought. I figured 40ish wins this year & make a playoff run this year.
I was at the Dallas Game last week & you could really tell they are a team that (seems to) really like each other.

Good Job on the Review.

PS:OKC stopped being the dust bowl in the 40's

Anonymous said...

anyone know what the chinese guys said?

Anonymous said...

Yao Ming in da house!