Thunder Update 5: Eric Maynor Trade

The Oklahoma City Thunder are now on a three game losing streak. The Thunder lost in Utah last Tuesday by a score of 109-94. After flying back home to the "Peake" the next Thursday, they suffered a 110-100 loss to the Miami Heat. Kevin Durant did out score LeBron with 40 points, but it wasn't enough to push through the rest of the Heat and their explosive defense. OKC had almost an entire week off due to the all-star break until they played in Houston last night. Oklahoma City got off to a slow start trailing 36-29 at the end of the first quarter. The Thunder rallied a come back and headed into halftime with the 62-57 lead. Oklahoma City would lead for the entire third quarter and until the 1:11 mark of the fourth quarter. The Thunder had a 12 point lead with 4:30 minutes remaining in the game. With Nick Collison fouling out and Kevin Durant not being able to through a rock into the ocean, OKC just couldn't hold on to the lead. The Thunder lost a heartbreaker with the final score being 122-119. In spite of the tough loss, Kevin Durant recorded his second career triple double. He finished with the stat line of: 16 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists. Thabo Sefolosha was the performer of the game with 28 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assist.

Oklahoma City will play their next game on Friday night in the "Thunder Dome" against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The game will be played at 7:00pm. The Thunder have not lost four games in a row since Russel Westbrook joined the Thunder. OKC has beaten the Timberwolves in 13 out of their last 14 meetings. The Thunder are 2-0 this season against Minnesota. The first match up was a rather close game with the final score being 99-93. As for the second matchup, not so close, the Thunder won by a score of 106-84. Oklahoma has not lost four in a row since the 2008-2009 season. We have won sixteen straight home games against Western Conference teams. On top of all this, the defense will be greatly improved with the return of Kendrick Perkins from his knee injury. Oklahoma will have to stay focused after the departure of teammate Eric Maynor who was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers.

On Thursday, February 21, just minutes before the trade deadline Eric Maynor was traded to the Portland Trailblazers. Maynor did lose his job as back up point guard to Reggie Jackson 25 games into the season. Maynor averaged less than 11 minutes per game in the 37 games he played for the Thunder this year. Eric Maynor was traded for for 2.2 million dollar trade exception and the draft rights of Giorgio Printezis. Giorgio Printezis was drafted in 2007 as the 58 overall pick. His draft rights have been tossed around from team to team until finally landing here in Oklahoma City. Giorgio Printezis is currently playing in Athens for the Olympiacos. Eric Maynor will have a better career in Portland and receive much better playing time. Also just before the trade deadline we were informed that Ronnie Brewer will be traded to Oklahoma City for a second round draft pick in the 2014 draft. Ronnie Brewer will bring to the table just as much defense as Thabo Sefolosha as well as a whopping 3.6 points per game. If your looking for Ronnie Brewer to bring the leadership and team chemistry that Dereck Fisher did last season, your not gonna find it. It will be interesting to see how the Thunder bring the new team together as they make a push to return to the NBA Finals again.

Giorgio Printezis left, Ronnie Brewer right.


Here are the current standings through 54 games:
*2/21/13 Note Worthy: Washington passes Orlando for third place in the Southeast division.
Eastern Conference Standings:

Atlantic:
New York(32-19)
Brooklyn(33-22)
Boston(28-26)
Philadelphia(22-30)
Toronto(22-33)

Central:
Indiana(33-21)
Chicago(31-22)
Milwaukee(26-27)
Detroit(22-34)
Cleveland(17-37)

Southeast:
Miami(37-14)
Atlanta(29-23)
Washington(15-37)
Orlando(15-39)
Charlotte(13-41)

Western Conference Standings:

Southwest:
San Antonio(43-12)
Memphis(35-18)
Houston(30-26)
Dallas(24-29)
New Orleans(19-36)

Northwest:
Oklahoma City(37-12)
Denver(32-18)
Utah(28-22)
Portland(25-24)
Minnesota(18-28)

Pacific:
LA Clippers(39-17)
Golden St.(31-23)
LA Lakers(26-29)
Sacramento(19-36)
Phoenix(18-37)