Hey everyone, I decided to do both the W2W4 and the Running Notes in one post for better or worse.  What to Watch for tonight:

1.  Since Scott Brooks became the Thunder Head Coach, he has allowed Kevin Durant to be a much bigger part of everything.  I know, not exactly the most original strategy for a head coach, but it was still something the departed P.J. Carliesemo never quite figured out.  You can find and extensive evaluation of Durant’s progress under Brooks here.  In the month of December, Durant is averaging 25.3 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists, and his is developing into the force that he was expected to be when he was drafted number 2 overall last season.  

Unfortunately, it hasn’t led to many more wins for the Thunder, who are 1-9 in December, and 3-24 overall.  The Thunder did surprise the scuffling Toronto Raptors on Friday, but they are on a pace that approaches the worst records in the history of the league.  I don’t expect them to turn that around tonight.

2.  The Thunder have a couple of players who might interest the Cavaliers at the trading deadline, however.  Joe Smith, who had a decent run with the Cavaliers last season, might be available, and is averaging 7 points and 4.5 rebounds in just 20 minutes a night.  The Cavaliers would certainly consider bring Smith back should he be bought out by the Thunder later this season, something that might be more likely if the Thunder add former Net Nenad Krstic as was rumored last week.  Smith knows the Cavalier system, and could be the source of a few extra points from the frontcourt.  

But in addition to Smith, the Thunder have some other decent big men that could contribute for the Cavaliers in Chris Wilcox and Nick Collison.  Wilcox is a big, strong, quick forward who would thrive on the receiving end of LeBron James assists, and Collison is a hard-nosed rebounder in the Anderson Varejao mold.  Between Smith, Wilcox and Collison, there is probably one decent backup big man that could be had on the cheap.

3.  Brian Windhorst of the Cleveland Plain Dealer is reporting that LeBron told him that he will consider signing an extension this offseason.  As much as I supposed this could be construed as good news for any Cavalier fan, I don’t think you can read any more into this than any other statment by James of late, be it telling New York fans to get excited about the 2010 free agency Summer, to rumblings that he would consider playing in Europe.  LeBron didn’t even say that he wanted an extension, he just said it would be a consideration over the Summer.

At the same time, the whole “Summer of 2010″ thing has been driven with the underlying idea that LeBron would be signing a maximum extension at that time.  But from my understanding of the absurdly complex NBA salary structure, LeBron could always sign an extension this Summer that would keep him in Cleveland for another year or two beyond his current contract, while still allowing him to leave soon.  For most players, leaving money on the table would be absurd, but LeBron already did that once, when he signed his first extension, so it’s not crazy to think he would do the same thing again.  And if it’s a short extension, it will keep places like New York dreaming of LeBron even while he’s winning Championships in Cleveland.

-  Running Notes later tonight, updated at least quarterly!

-  Sorry about that, I started just about as sluggishly as the Cavaliers.  There is one degree of temperature outside, that’s it, just one.  

-  In the third quarter, the Cavs are ahead 64-60, as the Thunder refuse to go away.  The Cavs are getting worked on the glass, and that’s the reason the Thunder have been able to hang around.

-  With 3:39 left in the third quarter, the Thunder are shooting 51% from the field.  The Cavaliers have not been effective in getting the Thunder out of their comfort zone.  

-  Sorry Fred, Dick Goddard jokes when talking about the Thunder are not needed nor wanted.

-  LeBron, get your butt on Jeff Green and keep him off those boards.  The Thunder now have 10 offensive rebounds and have 13 more rebounds than the Cavaliers (31-18).  The only reason this game is remotely close is because the Thunder want the ball more.  It’s not just LeBron, as Z and Varejao have only 5 rebounds combined to this point.  

-  LeBron with a 3-point play, and the Cavaliers play suffocating defense for the last few seconds, and the Cavs end the third quarter up 82-72.  This one is a long way from over, but the Cavaliers have such a talent advantage over the Thunder that OKC would have to play a perfect 12 minutes to come away with a victory tonight.  Stranger things have happened, but the late flurry by Cleveland shows how tough it is to beat the Cavs at this point in the season.

-  Guess Gibson wasn’t working on his free throws during his recovery from the toe injury, as he misses two out of three after drawing a fout on a three-point attempt.  Still, the lead is up to 13 points, and the Cavs are starting to pull away.

-  Andy picks up 3 fouls in 3 possessions and 1 minute.  That’s not a record, but it’s close.  Joe Smith must have learned some Portuguese to agitate Varejao, because since the two of them have been on the floor going against each other, Andy has been out of control.  

-  In the words of Austin Carr, “LeBron to Boobie, from deep!”  There has never been a better cross-court passer in the NBA than LeBron James.  It allows him to be more patient with the ball in his hands, even though it causes him to stop the ball movement from time to time.

-  After what can only be called a predictable fourth quarter, the Cavaliers win 102-91, and it wasn’t that close.  The Thunder were able to stick around by working hard on the glass, but they just do not have the talent to compete with an elite team like the Cavaliers.

-  Delonte West with 18 and Mo Williams with 20, covering for the fact that the bench was unimpressive and Z couldn’t find a way to work effectively.  

-  LeBron James was impressive as always, scoring 31 points while dishing off 7 assists and grabbing 4 rebounds.  He was a little lackidasical on the boards, and he didn’t get to the line (only 2 free throws all night, both on and-ones), but even on the “average” night LeBron is the best player in the league.

-  Durant, Westbrook and Green combined for 66 points, which I’m sure is encouraging for the Thunder.  That’s a decent nucleus to build around, but the Thunder are still a long way from being competitive.  I think they’ll have a much better second half of the season as the young players grow together.

Go Cavs.

This entry was posted on Sunday, December 21st, 2008 at 4:55 pm and is filed under Running Thoughts, What to Watch For. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.