Thunder Update 8: The Season

We made it Thunder fans. We made it an entire season without the beard. Who would have thought? Not only did we make it through, but also we ended up better without him. The Thunder capture the first one seed in history, and the Rockets get the bottom of the barrel with the eighth seed. James Harden left a legacy here in Oklahoma City that will probably never be forgotten, but if you were to ask me who I wanted on the team I would say Kevin Martin every single time.

James Harden put up better numbers than Martin as the Thunder’s sixth man. In Harden’s last year as a Thunder he put up an outstanding 16.8 points per game. That is just 2.8 more points per game than Martin’s 14.0. However, Harden did average almost five more minutes per game than Martin. The reason why Martin is more valuable in my eyes is his unselfish play and his ability to make three’s at any part of the court at any time needed. Harden did have a few clutch moments, but shot an average of 39.0 percent from the three. Which is an outstanding average don’t get me wrong, it just doesn’t match up to Martin’s 43 percent. I honestly believe that if Martin got the minutes that Harden had we would put up better numbers. Martin averaged 31 minutes last year in Houston and put up 17.1 points per game. Both are great basketball players, but one represents what this team and city really is all about better than the other, and his name is Kevin Martin.

This season the Thunder finished the season with a record of 60-22. This is the first time the team has reached 60 wins since being here in Oklahoma City, and the first time in franchise history since 97. Having reached the NBA Playoffs three years in a row, improvement from the last three years seemed a bit unrealistic. But to say that this team just “improved” is an understatement. The Thunder took the number one seed in the Western Conference for the first time since they were the SuperSonics in 1994.

What is the difference between this year’s season, and the previous seasons in Oklahoma City? This year the expectations for greatness were higher than ever. That is the main difference from last year. In the past it has been to get a winning record, and then to make it to the playoffs. Or perhaps for the team to just “do good”. Now fans are wanting so much more (which they absolutely have the right to do so), they want an NBA Title. Even being the number three seed in last year’s playoffs, winning the title wasn’t even thought about until we barely escaped the Spurs. Falling just short of three more wins for the best record in franchise history, I guess you could say the team handled the pressure very well this season. All eyes will be on the Thunder and Miami to see if they will meet again in this year’s NBA Finals.

The Thunder really came together as a team this season. Last year it was all about the “big three” with Durant, Westbrook, and Harden. People have wondered who will step up into the spot of the Harden, but if you ask me, we are better without a “big three”. Russell Westbrook finished the season in seventh place for assist with 7.4 per game, which was also a career high. The “Honey Badger” also finished sixth in the league in scoring with 23.2 points per game. Kevin Durant continued to do what he does best this season, score! Durant gave up the scoring title this season to benefit his team. Durant still finished second in the league in scoring with 28.1 points per game. Durant finished behind Carmelo Anthony who played 14 less games than Durant and shot 55 more times. Serge Ibaka (AKA Air Congo) finished first in the league in blocked shots. Ibaka averaged 3.03 blocks per game, but also with an outstanding 13.2 points per game and 7.7 rebounds per game. One thing is for sure, when we are looking for the Thunder to make a push through the playoffs this year you can count on these guys to lead the team, with the help on the defensive side of the ball from Thabo Sefolosha, and help off the bench from Kevin Martin.


Here are the final standings through the entire season:
*4/18/13 Note Worthy: The Lakers and Rockets squeeze into the playoffs as the seven and eight seeds.
*Playoff qualifiers in bold

Eastern Conference Standings:

Atlantic:
New York(54-28)
Brooklyn(48-33)
Boston(41-40)
Philadelphia(34-48)
Toronto(34-48)

Central:
Indiana(49-32)
Chicago(43-27)
Milwaukee(37-43)
Detroit(28-52)
Cleveland(24-56)

Southeast:
Miami(64-16)
Atlanta(45-37)
Washington(29-53)
Charlotte(21-61)
Orlando(20-62)

Western Conference Standings:

Southwest:
San Antonio(58-24)
Memphis(54-26)
Houston(45-35)
Dallas(40-40)
New Orleans(27-54)

Northwest:
Oklahoma City(59-21)
Denver(56-26)
Utah(43-39)
Portland(33-39)
Minnesota(31-51)

Pacific:
LA Clippers(56-26)
Golden St.(47-35)
LA Lakers(45-37)
Sacramento(28-54)
Phoenix(25-57)

Sunday Biography: Kevin Durant

Kevin Durant

Kevin Durant was born on September 29, 1988. He was born and raised in Suitland, Maryland, which is just outside of Washington, D.C. He was born “Kevin Wayne Durant” just one of the four children of Wanda and Wayne Pratt. Kevin Durant signed with the university of Texas in Austin at the age of 18. Due to his extreme success, Kevin only played one season before entering the NBA draft in 2007. The Seattle SuperSonics selected Durant as the number two overall pick. During his six-year career so far Durant is a four-time NBA All-Star, and three time scoring champion.

Being born just outside of Washington D.C., Kevin is used to a very busy life, and being on the go all the time. This life pretty much sums up an NBA career. Durant was just one of the four kids in the Pratt family that loved sports. He grew up watching and playing the sport of basketball with his sister, Brianna, and his brothers Anthony and Rayvonne. Kevin’s grandmother, Barbara, was probably one of the most influential people in his life. Durant was always teased as a child in school for his height. His grandmother made him realize that his height was a blessing from God.

Durant started his successful career with the Jaguars, which is an AAU youth basketball team located in Maryland. Believe it or not, Kevin started as a point guard for the Jaguars. During his time with the team, they won two national championships. As you may know, Durant still wears number 35 on the court to this day. He wears the number 35 in honor of his AAU coach Charles Craig, who died at the age of 35.

Durant decided to sign with the Longhorns because of assistant coach Russell Springman. Springman, a Maryland native, had kept in touch with Kevin since his freshman year in high school. Durant started every game his freshman year of college and averaged 25.8 points per game and 11 rebounds per game in the 35 games they played that season. Durant received the Oscar Robertson and the Adolph F. Rupp awards that year, making him the first freshman to ever win both awards. Durant was then drafted by the Seattle SuperSonics (now the Oklahoma City Thunder) in 2007. He was selected to be a member of the NBA’s All-Rookie First Team and was named the Rookie of the Year as well. After the 2008 season the SuperSonics moved to Oklahoma City where he has since been selected as an all-star four times, and has won the NBA scoring title three times in a row. Durant has now led his team to a Western Conference Championship and to the NBA finals in 2012, and has received a gold medal in the 2012 London Olympic Games.