Monday Rewind: January 7-13

Wiggins Lights Up Thunder Again, Timberwolves Escape OKC with 119-117 Win

• I’m going to keep it real with you guys — as of this game, I no longer like the Timberwolves.
• The moment that sealed the deal was the Nerlens Noel injury.
• There’s absolutely no way what happened to Nerlens was intentional by Andrew Wiggins. But the physicality/stiff-arm were definitely something Wiggins was being allowed to get away with, so he took advantage of it.
• Here’s the play if you haven’t seen it… Ouch.

• Still. After all of that, Wiggins was just trying to make a play. It was the fact that the Timberwolves bench (including Wiggins) began smiling/laughing while a stretcher had to be brought out for Nerlens Noel.
• Remember when Carmelo Anthony was ejected for an and-1?

• As you know, the Thunder went on to lose this one despite some pretty great stat lines from the starters:

• George: 27 pts, 9 reb
• Westbrook: 25 pts (11-22), 16 ast
• Adams: 20 pts, 12 reb
• Ferguson: 14 pts (4-4 3PT)

• Wasn’t the best week of officiating in Thunder basketball history. A lot of questionable calls/no-calls in this one. Seems to be that way when these two teams get together.
• Last update from Nerlens Noel from his Instagram story:

Spurs Outlast Thunder in Double-Overtime, Win Thriller 154-147

• Was this the best game of the NBA season so far?  Incredibly competitive, high scoring…. so good the refs forgot to get involved until OT.
• I kid, I kid…. But seriously some of the calls in this one… *woof*
• After allowing Andrew Wiggins to score 40 points on Tuesday, the Thunder give up FIFTY-SIX points to LaMarcus Aldridge.
• LMA looked absolutely incredible. The Thunder would be in his hip pocket and he’d still be knocking down shots. Just an unreal performance.

• I say this very, very cautiously… But I think Terrance Ferguson may be turning a corner. Ferg is still just 20 years old, but his defense has been pretty fun to watch as of late and last week? He started hitting shots!
• Ferg hit SEVEN threes against the Spurs Thursday night. Finished the night with 21 points. (7-10 3PT)
• The Thunder finished the week 1-2 but it weirdly felt like a positive turning point for this team. One major positive: Russell Westbrook seems to be getting comfortable for the first time.
• Monster triple-double in this one: 24 points, 13 rebounds, 24 assists.
• TWENTY FOUR ASSISTS.
• The trust you can see Russell Westbrook building is really cool for Thunder fans who watch games. It’s allowing Russell to make some really wicked plays as well:

• Steven Adams rolled up his ankle in this one. It looked awkward and painful. When things got hairy late, Big Kiwi returned despite being in some obvious pain.
• MAKE THIS MAN AN ALL-STAR:

• One last thing — Paul George is given a technical late in this one. Like really late… second over-time late.
• PG gets his arm slapped on the lay-up. No call. He claps at the official while he’s beginning to trot back and argues the no-call. The whole thing lasts under three seconds but it was enough to warrant a technical during crucial moments of arguably the best NBA game of the season.
• Look, first things first… Just stop arguing. Westbrook and George both have to realize that in the grand scheme of things, it’s not going to do them much good.
• BUT… NBA refs are horrible when it comes to technicals and calls like this can be game-changing. Here are the criteria that the officials are looking for:

• So yeah. There could pretty much be 20 technicals per game… they just choose not to call them. (Until you’re in double OT against the Spurs.)

Thunder Bounce Back, Top Spurs 122-112

• The Thunder trailed the Spurs 60-51 at the half. They were headed to a four-game losing streak. Then Westbrook/Schroder happened.
• You guys keep throwing Dennis Schroder in the trade machine, but I think I’m keeping him around. The Schrödie finished with 19 points on 8-of-17 shooting, six assists, and four steals. His second half is what kept the Thunder from losing their fourth in a row.
• Westbrook absolutely dropped Marco Belinelli:

• More fun from Schroder & Westbrook:

• Terrance Ferguson capped off the week going 2-of-3 from distance in this one, which means….
• He hit 13-17 from 3PT this week. Whoaaaah.
• Also fun: Abdel Nader hasn’t missed a shot in two games. (4-4 FG @ Spurs, 6-6 FG vs. Spurs) He’s shooting 57.7 percent from three in six games in 2019.
• One more for ya: Patrick Patterson 7-of-16 from 3PT in January. Maybe we’re getting somewhere.
• Thunder get a big win and cap off the most fun 1-2 week I can remember.

Everything Else:

• Steven Adams has a new commercial for beef. It’s perfect.
• Paul George surprised everyone with the Nike PG3. The first colorway is NASA-inspired.

• The Thunder have brought back Nick Collison in a role that involved community outreach. I can’t imagine that anything but good can come of having Hair Jordan back around.
• Oh, and they’re also going to retire his #4.

• I could rant on this forever… But if you’re not a fan of this move by the Thunder, then you I’m not sure what to tell you. I’m sure fans of other organizations will question it and even make jokes about it. But Thunder fans “get it”.

Next Up

Tuesday: @ Atlanta (6:30 PM CT)
Thursday: vs. LA Lakers (8:30 PM CT)
Saturday: @ Philadelphia (2:30 PM CT)