Tag: Oklahoma City Thunder

Doc Rivers: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is going to be a ‘superstar’

The Clippers coach sees big things in the future for the Oklahoma City guard.

Long before Thunder fans got a glimpse of the player that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander could be, Doc Rivers already knew what he had.

Gilgeous-Alexander had to wait 10 games until earning his first start during his rookie season with the Clippers. From there, he never looked back.

SGA turned in a second-team All-Rookie year, playing in all 82 games while averaging 10.8 points and 2.8 rebounds per contest. He set the franchise record for points by a rookie in a playoff game with 25 in a Game 4 win over the Warriors in the first round.

That’s what it was so hurt so much for Los Angeles to give him up in the trade for Paul George.

According to The Athletic, Doc Rivers and the Clippers were “heartbroken” when the Thunder asked for SGA to be included in the deal.

“It’s tough because he’s such a great kid,” Rivers said. “It’s the price of doing business in the NBA. It’s a trade you have to do, right? But, you know, as excited as I was when we knew that the whole deal was going through, when Lawrence (Frank) told me that Shai’s name was still in it, you were sad, disappointed. He’s such a good kid. 

Per Jovan Buha, Rivers believes that Gilgeous-Alexander is going to be “a superstar”. Those sentiments are echoed by his former teammate, Lou Williams. 

“I think Shai is gonna be a star,” Williams said. “I’m just happy for him that he’s finally striding. He’s made so many jumps just over the summer working on his game, working on his body. You can see the difference in how he’s played. He’s grown. I’m so happy for him.” 

Gilgeous-Alexander didn’t have his best game in a Thunder uniform during his return to Los Angeles Monday. He scored 11 points on 4-of-10 shooting in Oklahoma City’s 90-88 loss to the Clippers.

But his start to the season has been better than most expected. He’s leading the team in scoring at 19.7 points per game while hitting 45.9% of his shots from the floor.

The Thunder believe that with time, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander can be a franchise player in the NBA.

Doc Rivers certainly thinks so.

Lakers star Anthony Davis says shoulder is ‘better, getting back to 100%’

Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis believes that his shoulder is getting better even though he’s dealt with some discomfort.

The Los Angeles Lakers are back on the court Tuesday night as they’ll face off against Chris Paul and the Oklahoma City Thunder who are playing on the second night of a back-to-back following last night’s loss to the L.A. Clippers. But a potentially beleaguered Thunder team wasn’t one of the only positives to come out prior to Tuesday’s match-up. It appears one of their stars was feeling even better at Lakers shoot around on Tuesday morning.

Anthony Davis says that his shoulder his ‘recovering’ and that he’s getting “closer to 100%,” according to Tania Ganguli of the Los Angeles Times. Davis injured his right shoulder earlier in the season coming up short on a dunk attempt and appeared to tweak it in a game a few weeks later.

While it’s impossible to know how connected the two are, Davis having an issue with the shoulder connected to his shooting hand has coincided with a drop in his shooting efficiency. Davis has gone on the record to say that he doesn’t care about getting shots and cares more about winning games, but his shoulder feeling better could be a sign of an improvement to come for Davis when it comes to shooting the ball.

Considering the Lakers already have an NBA-best 11-2 record and the best defense in the NBA, that prospect is a scary one for the rest of the league.

Doc Rivers reflects on Chris Paul’s time with the Clippers

After Monday’s game, Rivers credited Chris Paul and his ‘Lob City’ teammates with helping to ‘restart’ the Clippers franchise.

With all the talk surrounding Paul George facing his former team in the Oklahoma City Thunder and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Danilo Gallinari returning to Los Angeles, it got almost got lost that Chris Paul was going up against his former franchise too.

And Paul showed out. He led the Thunder with 22 points hitting a pair of free throws with 31.5 seconds remaining that nearly gave Oklahoma City the win.

Paul spent six years with the Clippers between 2011 and 2017. The ‘Lob City’ era as it was known, didn’t bring home an NBA Championship, but it did produce “five straight seasons of 50 or more wins, including a franchise-record 57 wins during the 2013-2014 season”, as noted by Clutch Points.

Doc Rivers was Paul’s coach then. He’s still the Clippers coach now. And on Monday night, he gave CP3, along with his teammates during the Lob City era, credit for building the foundation upon which the team is now built.

“It was great,” replied Rivers on Paul’s time in L.A. “Obviously … None of us won a title, but him, Blake, DJ started this franchise in a lot of ways. Or restarted it. They started a tradition of winning. The next step is being THE winner, but there shouldn’t be a negative at all in that.”

According to Tomer Azarly, Paul’s memories weren’t quite as rose-colored. But Paul still has good things to say about the years he spent in L.A.

“Oh, that’s a long, long, long, long story, you know what I mean,” Paul said with a smile. “But it was a good time. I stay in contact with them guys. Everybody’s on different paths now, but it was a fun time.”

Paul and the Thunder will face the Clippers three more times during the regular season, the next game coming on Sunday, Dec. 22, and it will be broadcast on NBATV.

Success in the post is helping fuel the Los Angeles Lakers offense

LeBron James and Anthony Davis are posting up a lot, which is working out very well for the Los Angeles Lakers offensive attack.

The Los Angeles Lakers are having a better start than many anticipated from them, even with a home-heavy schedule hosting a lot of the teams who are expected to be at the bottom of the league by season’s end. The defense, in particular, has been the biggest headline as they currently lead the NBA in defensive rating.

But over the last few weeks as they’ve maintained that defensive excellence, the Lakers have found some more success on the offensive end. After ranking as low as No. 19 on offense earlier in the season, the Lakers are now No. 10 in offensive efficiency. And one key part of their success has been the post-game.

As I wrote in the aftermath of the opener against the Clippers, the Lakers were smart to utilize the post in that game but simply went to that well too often. They posted up nearly 25% of the time against the Clippers, but they’ve since tailed that back to posting up just 13% of the time, which is still the second-highest rate in the NBA.

According to Synergy Sports, the Lakers are the No. 2 most efficient team when scoring out of the post, including pass outs, getting 1.094 points per possession. That’s a much higher mark than they see out pick-and-rolls and isolations, speaking to their general lack of guard play.

A big part of that is the post efficiency is the scoring ability of LeBron James and Anthony Davis playing in the post but also their ability to find open shooters like Davis did against the Hawks. Only the Philadelphia 76ers post-up more often than the Lakers, but they’re nowhere near as efficient, ranking No. 11 in efficiency. The passing and shooting for the Lakers has allowed them to turn those post up plays into great shots.

The passing has been great from both Davis and LeBron, while LeBron’s efficiency in the post has been masterful. Among players who have posted up at least 20 times this season, Synergy has LeBron as the most efficient post scorer in the league (1.32 points per possession) by a wide margin ahead of Charlotte’s PJ Washington (1.167) and Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid (1.118).

Although the post hadn’t been much of a weapon over the past few years for the NBA’s best teams, the Lakers are leaning into their size to bring a mix of modern efficiency and throwback post play that currently has them with the best record in the league.

Thunder-Lakers odds: LA Lakers heavy home favorites

Previewing Tuesday’s Oklahoma City Thunder at Los Angeles Lakers sports betting odds, with NBA matchup analysis, picks and tips.

The Oklahoma City Thunder (5-8) play the second half of a back-to-back in Los Angeles Tuesday when they face the Western Conference-leading LA Lakers (11-2) at Staples Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 10:30 p.m. ET. We analyze the Thunder-Lakers odds and lines, with NBA betting advice and tips around the matchup.

Place a legal sports bet on this NBA action or other games at BetMGM.

Thunder at Lakers: Key injuries

Thunder

  • SG Hamidou Diallo (knee) day-to-day
  • SG Andre Roberson (knee) out

Lakers

  • SG Avery Bradley (leg) out
  • C DeMarcus Cousins (knee) out

Thunder at Lakers: Odds, lines, picks and betting tips

NBA odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full set of today’s betting odds. Odds last updated at 1:50 p.m. ET.

Prediction

Lakers 122, Thunder 98

Moneyline (ML)

The Thunder come off of Monday’s 90-88 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers as whopping +425 underdogs. The Lakers will win this game as the superior team in all areas of the floor, but the -589 odds are far too chalky with a $10 bet returning a profit of just $1.70. It’s not worth even the incredibly low risk.

The Lakers have won four straight games and are 7-1 at home for the season. Additionally, they last played Sunday in a 122-101 win over the Atlanta Hawks. The have the skill, home and rest advantage over a Thunder squad now 0-5 on the road following Monday’s loss.

Line/Against the Spread (ATS)

The LAKERS (-10.5, -115) are 9-4 overall against the spread and 6-2 at home ATS. The Thunder are 8-5 overall and 3-2 on the road after covering Monday against the Clippers.

Los Angeles outscores its opponents 110.8-100.6 points per game with OKC losing by an average score of 105.8-105.6. The Thunder have played two back-to-backs so far this season and lost the second half each time.

Take the home side ATS with the same $10 bet returning a profit of $8.70 should the Lakers win by a minimum of 11 points.

Over/Under (O/U)

Take the OVER 210.5 (-106). The low projection reflects the tired Thunder and their low 90-88 score against the Clippers Monday night, but the Lakers will approach 120 on their own and easily put this one over the number.

LA is just 6-7 against the Over/Under on the year and falls an average of six points shy of the projection, but it hit 120 points in three of its last four games. OKC is now 5-8 against projections while falling an average of seven points short. It put up 119 points in two of its last four outings.

Want some action in this one? Place a bet at BetMGM now. For more sports betting tips, visit SportsbookWire.com.

Esten’s NBA betting record: 31-33

Follow @EstenMcLaren and @SportsbookWire on Twitter.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services.  Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

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Lakers, LeBron James welcome Chris Paul and Thunder for Tuesday tilt

LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers look to win their fifth straight game against a tough Thunder team on a back-to-back.

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The Los Angeles Lakers are back on the court Tuesday night and their favorable home schedule in the early season gives them yet another advantage heading into their game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Thunder played a grinder last night against the Los Angeles Clippers, where they lost 90-88 in part thanks to a late replay challenge by head coach Doc Rivers. The Thunder are definitely a tougher squad than the Atlanta Hawks team that just did the same back-to-back, so the Lakers must be prepared for a much more put-together professional team.

LeBron’s best bud Chris Paul and second year guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander make up a phenomenal backcourt on both ends of the floor, which has helped the Thunder post an above-average defense even after losing Paul George in the summer. Steven Adams can still anchor the defense and will be a formidable foe for the Lakers centers in the middle. Danilo Gallinari also gives them a solid option on the wing to score.

However, the biggest issue the Thunder have, as they showed against the Clippers, is a sluggish offense. Even though they have Adams, they’re not a good offensive rebounding team and they currently play at the No. 25 slowest-pace in the league.

The Lakers have done their job over the first month of the season, beefing up on a favorable schedule and getting a few teams at home on the second night of a back-to-back. While the Thunder are a much more professional unit than the one the Lakers faced Sunday against Atlanta, While it will be tougher, The Lakers should continue the trend of taking care of business against overmatched opponents.

Paul George scores dagger to drop Thunder 90-88

The former Oklahoma City star hit a go-ahead-three with 25 seconds remaining to lift the Clippers over the Thunder on Monday night.

Paul George once again came up big when his team needed him the most. Unfortunately for the Thunder, that team is no longer Oklahoma City.

The former Thunder center drilled a go-ahead three-pointer with 25 seconds left in the game to lift the Clippers to a 90-88 victory over OKC late Monday night.

As has been the theme all season, the Thunder was in this one at the end.

A pair of ex-Clippers, Danilo Gallinari and Chris Paul, put Oklahoma City ahead with under a minute to play. Gallinari first made a 3 with 52.5 seconds remaining to tie the game at 86, then Paul hit two free-throws at the 31.5 mark to make it 88-86 OKC.

Then came the shot by George.

Paul told reporters, including Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman, after the game he blamed himself for allowing George to take the game-winner.

“If I get through the screen that’s a tougher shot. And you know PG, he makes big shots like that, so that’s on me.”

Paul led the Thunder with 22 points. Three other players were in double-digits; Gallinari scored 14, Dennis Schroder came off the bench to add 12, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander chipped in 11.

Both Gallinari and Gilgeous-Alexander were welcomed back warmly and received a tribute video from the Clippers.

Oklahoma City doesn’t have any time to dwell on Monday’s loss. Their West Coast road trip continues Monday night as they return to the Staples Center on Tuesday to take on the Lakers.

Patrick Patterson relishing opportunity with Clippers as Thunder visit L.A.

The former Thunder forward talked about the end of his time in OKC ahead of Monday’s matchup between the Clippers and Oklahoma City.

While you can’t go home again, you can always visit.

For former Oklahoma City Thunder forward Patrick Patterson, “home” for his last two seasons will actually be “away”, as the team he played for prior to his new club, the Los Angeles Clippers, visits Staples Center Monday evening.

Enthusiastic to be in his new home after seeing his role with the Thunder diminish and then effectively dry up, Patterson doesn’t look back with ire at how his last opportunity ended.

As his playing time began to shrink, and recent arrival Markieff Morris’ grow while the team’s fortunes grew increasingly worse, it would be easy to be resentful. But the Washington (D.C.) native doesn’t blame Morris, or the organization for how his tenure with OKC turned out.

“I don’t think it was just one thing,” Patterson said of the Thunder’s end-of-season collapse, and his eventual ejection from the rotation, which saw him sitting 24 of the team’s final 29 games, according to The Oklahoman’s Joe Mussatto.

“Coaching staff, not everyone on the same page from the heads up top to the players on the bottom, added the Kentucky product. “Effort on the players’ part. Focus, playing together, playing good solid defense with communication. We missed a lot of shots. We didn’t capitalize on opportunities.”

Relishing his next opportunity to play along recent champion Kawhi Leonard and All-Star forward Paul George, Patterson is embracing playing for the Clippers this season. “Finding a role again, finding a group of guys who push and believe in me and challenge me,” he explained as key elements of his new situation that most appealed.

“Just being happy, having fun. I think all that contributes to a new, clean slate and that’s what I have here right now.”

Patterson looks forward to seeing his new teammates in Los Angeles, and plans to catch up with them before the game. Don’t expect him to give his former franchise a light touch come gametime, however.

“It’ll be all smiles until the ball is thrown up in the air and that clock starts,” offered Patterson on how he’ll be approaching the game.

If history is any judge, the Thunder should take him at his word.

LeBron’s passing is up and Davis is getting more passes than LeBron’s past running mates

L.A. Lakers star LeBron James is leading the NBA in assists and Anthony Davis is receiving more passes than any of his previous teammates.

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It might seem obvious considering that he’s leading the NBA in assists for the first time in his historic 17-year career, but LeBron James is passing the ball more than he has before in his career. And to add to that, nobody in LeBron’s history of past teammates received more passes on a nightly basis than Anthony Davis currently does next to The King.

Bryan Kalbrosky dug into the numbers for HoopsHype earlier on Monday and discovered that Davis is receiving 25.2 passes per 36 minutes from LeBron James. That’s the highest average of any LeBron teammate since that data has become available on NBA.com.

Obviously, it’s still early in the season, so this could change slightly but Davis looks well on his way to surpassing Kyrie Irving’s high mark of 22.3 passes per 36 minutes in 2015-16.

If things continue going the way they are, even Kyle Kuzma could pass Irving’s high mark as well. Davis has been a well of assists for LeBron and that doesn’t figure to change anytime soon, but there are also a couple of other aspects at play when looking at this passing increase.

First of all, LeBron is playing point guard more than he ever has because of injuries and the Lakers general lack of point guard depth. Second, the pace of play (possessions per game) has been steadily increasing over the last five years which of course leads to a higher volume of shots and passes.

Still, the stat that Kalbrosky dug into indicates a big reason why LeBron is leading the NBA assists. Even though Davis hasn’t been his normally efficient self, he won’t be short on opportunities as long as he and LeBron stay on the court.

Thunder-Clippers odds: LA Clippers handily favored vs. OKC

Previewing Monday’s Oklahoma City Thunder at Los Angeles Clippers sports betting odds and lines, with NBA matchup analysis, picks and tips.

The Oklahoma City Thunder (5-7) visit the Los Angeles Clippers (8-5) Monday at Staples Center for a 10:30 p.m. ET tip-off. Both teams are coming off wins in their last games. We analyze the Thunder-Clippers odds and lines, with NBA betting advice and tips around the matchup.

Place a legal sports bet on this NBA action or other games at BetMGM.

Thunder at Clippers: Key injuries

Thunder

  • SG Hamidou Diallo (knee) day-to-day
  • SG Andre Roberson (knee) out

Clippers

  • PG Patrick Beverley (calf) questionable
  • SF Kawhi Leonard (knee) questionable
  • SG Landry Shamet (ankle) out

Thunder at Clippers: Odds, lines, picks and betting tips

NBA odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full set of today’s betting odds. Odds last updated at 11:30 a.m. ET.

Prediction

Clippers 120, Thunder 108

Moneyline (ML)

The Clippers are laying -500 odds despite the potential absences of Leonard and Beverley. SF Paul George has scored 70 total points over his first two games in L.A. and is plenty capable of shouldering the load without his fellow stars.

Los Angeles is 7-1 straight up at home while OKC is still looking for its first road win in its fifth try. The Clippers have outscored the opposition 114.5-108.0 on average. The Thunder have a neutral point differential and play to an average scored of 107.1-107.1. Both teams were victorious their last time out, with the Clips beating the Atlanta Hawks 150-101 at home and the Thunder topping the Philadelphia 76ers 127-119 in overtime.

The home team will win this one whether or not Leonard and/or Beverley are active, but the -500 odds are far too chalky. Monitor this line as it will improve if the two players are ruled out, but the spread is the better play.

New to sports betting? A $10 wager on the Clippers to win would return a profit of $2.

Line/Against the Spread (ATS)

Back the CLIPPERS to win by double digits and cover the spread of -8.5 with -129 odds. LA is 8-5 ATS and covers the number by an average of 3.2 points per game. OKC is 7-5 ATS and covers by an average of one point per game.

The Clippers are 7-1 ATS at home while the Thunder are just 2-2 on the road.

Over/Under (O/U)

The Thunder are 5-7 against the O/U while the Clippers are 5-8. Both teams fail to reach the projected total by an average of more than three points per game. Take the OVER 222.5 (-115). Both teams are rested and George will continue his hot start against his former team. We’ll likely need just one of Leonard or Beverley to be active in order to top this number with ease.

Want some action in this one? Place a bet at BetMGM now. For more sports betting tips, visit SportsbookWire.com.

Esten’s NBA betting record: 30-29

Follow @EstenMcLaren and @SportsbookWire on Twitter.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services.  Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

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