Make Some Noise - An Oklahoma City Thunder Association

[oBsCeNe_Legend]

Making Some Noise - An Oklahoma City Thunder Association

System: Xbox 360
Difficulty: Pro
Game Sliders: mkharsh33's sliders
Game Length: 11 Minutes
Simulated Length: 12 Minutes
Season Length: 82 Games(will sim games at random)
Salary Cap: On
Trade Deadline: On
Allow CPU Trades: On
Chemistry: On
Player Roles: On

[oBsCeNe_Legend]

2009-2010 Season Rewind

2009–10: The turnaround season:
Starting their 2nd season in Oklahoma City, the Thunder were hoping for improvements. But what came this season nobody expected from the young team. Oklahoma City did not make any major moves in the offseason, other than drafting James Harden from Arizona State University with the third overall pick in the NBA Draft. The Thunder selected Rodrigue Beaubois with the 25th pick in the 2009 draft before immediately trading him to the Dallas Mavericks for the 24th pick, C Byron Mullens from Ohio State. The team then added veterans C Etan Thomas and G Kevin Ollie. The last major change to their roster occurred on December 22, 2009, when the team traded for Eric Maynor from the Utah Jazz. Maynor immediately supplanted Ollie as the backup point guard.

From the outset the young team looked determined and cohesive. The increasing leadership of Kevin Durant, along with the growing experience of the Thunder's younger players, were encouraging signs that the Thunder were improving. The 2009–2010 season included several victories over the NBA's elite teams, including a 28-point blowout over the Eastern Conference champion Orlando Magic and a 16-point blowout of the reigning NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers. Road victories over the San Antonio Spurs, Utah Jazz, Miami Heat, Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks greatly enhanced their reputation. Though they hovered around .500 for the first half of the season, they eventually went on a 9-game winning streak that sent them into serious playoff contention. Kevin Durant became the youngest player in league history to win the scoring title, averaging 30.1 points per game while playing in all 82 games.

The Thunder finished 50–32, more than doubling their win total from 2008-09. They finished fourth in the Northwest Division and eighth in the Western Conference playoff standings, and earned a spot in the 2010 NBA Playoffs. On April 22 the team secured their first playoff win as the Oklahoma City Thunder when they defeated the defending-champion Los Angeles Lakers 101–96. This was also the Thunder's first playoff win at the Ford Center. However, the Thunder were eliminated by the Lakers in the first round of the playoffs, 4 games to 2.

[oBsCeNe_Legend]

2010-2011 Season Preview

2010–11: Building on success

Key Losses:
G Kevin Ollie
Asst. Coach Ron Adams
Key Additions:
G Morris Peterson
G Daequan Cook
C Cole Aldrich

Okay folks, raise your hand if you predicted that the Oklahoma City Thunder would win 50 games last year and nearly push the defending champions to a seventh game in the playoffs.

If you're raising your hand, please put your hand down. You're lying.

Indeed, nobody could have predicted the Thunder would rise so quickly. Sure, we all knew they would become a force eventually, led by Kevin Durant and a host of promising young talent, but we figured it would take a year or two. We figured it would take time for Durant to go from star to superstar. We figured Russell Westbrook was too young to run the point, and we figured there would be growing pains defensively for such a young team. Instead, Durant made the leap, Westbrook was excellent and the team's defense was among the best in the league.

The Thunder slipped a bit at the end of the regular season, but honestly, you could not have asked for more from them. The question now is whether they can make another leap and truly become an elite team. As any NBA person will tell you, it's much easier to go from 23 wins to 50 wins than it is to go from 50 wins to 60 wins. Can the Thunder avoid the dreaded "second-year curse" that's affected many young, rising teams in the recent past?

Durant (30.1 ppg, 7.6 rpg) has committed to improving his defense and playmaking, but he knows his role: This team only goes as far as his ratchet can carry them … After KD, Russell Westbrook (16.1 ppg, 8.0 apg) had a breakout summer with Team USA and is now considered one of the 10 best point guards in the League, and Jeff Green (15.1 ppg, 6.0 rpg) rounds out OKC’s version of a “Big Three”.

High expectation fill the the air in Oklahoma City, but there is a lot the team needs to improve upon. If they cannot then welcome to Bust City, Thunder. They play in a tough division, it should be fun to watch. In the words of NFL star Terrell Owens; "get yo popcorn ready!".

[oBsCeNe_Legend]

Depth Chart

Oklahoma City Thunder Depth Chart - 2010
	STARTER	2ND	3RD	4TH
PG	Russell Westbrook	Eric Maynor	Royal Ivey
SG	Thabo Sefolosha	James Harden	Daequan Cook	Morris Peterson
SF	Kevin Durant
PF	Jeff Green	Nick Collison	D.J. White
C	Nenad Krstic	Serge Ibaka	Cole Aldrich	B.J. Mullens

[Mr.Tonji]

Following homes -- i was tempted to take OKC before Hornets. But I didn't want to ruin the team with some trades (since I wasn't really sure what to look for, I mean minus the Center and SF role), so decided to stick with Hornets instead. Still, good luck on your season man.

[parker987]

I am following this because Thunder is my favorite team and KD is my fav player

[oBsCeNe_Legend]

Quote: Originally Posted by Mr.Tonji

Following homes -- i was tempted to take OKC before Hornets. But I didn't want to ruin the team with some trades (since I wasn't really sure what to look for, I mean minus the Center and SF role), so decided to stick with Hornets instead. Still, good luck on your season man.

Thanks man, yeah I wasn't sure if I wanted to use OKC because they're pretty good, but after playing a few games that aren't as great as they are in real life. I don't plan to destroy this the team or anything but I will try to add a few role players here and there.

Quote: Originally Posted by parker987

I am following this because Thunder is my favorite team and KD is my fav player

Thanks. Durant is a beast in the game and I know I'm going to have a ton of fun using him, but I don't plan on averaging like 40 points a game either lol.

[oBsCeNe_Legend]

Durant & Deng Put On An Opening Night Show
@

Oct 27, 2010 - CHI at OKC
TEAM	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Chicago Bulls (0-1)	25	37	28	20	110
Oklahoma City Thunder (1-0)	33	30	31	23	117

In a battle of two up and coming rising teams in the NBA it was an exciting one. Even though the Thunder controlled the tempo for majority of the game was the Bulls kept it interesting for the most part. In a game that was headlined by two of the games most promising Point Guards, the show was stolen by Kevin Durant(when isn't it?) and Luol Deng. Though both Rose and Westbrook had stellar performances.

Deng hit a career high 7 3PT shots as he scored a career high 41 points. The most opening night points scored by a Bull in a long time. Deng's 41 and Rose's near triple double was unable to push the Bulls past the young talented Thunder.

Kevin Durant was not about to take a back seat to anybody, Durant went off for 45 points and 10 boards. The most Durant has scored in a homer opener in his young career. There were only 2 other Thunder players in double digit points, Russell Westbrook and Jeff Green, their "Big 3". Both scoring 21 points respectively.

The Big Three scored 87 of the team's 117 points. The reason the Thunder won was because of their ability to get to the free throw line. The Thunder went to the line 42 times and converted 35 of them. Compared to the Bulls mere 16 attempts and 13 makes. It was the 3's that kept the Bulls close with 11 of them, 7 coming from Deng. The Thunder committed 14 turnovers to the Bulls 11. The Thunder will travel to Detroit to take on the Pistons in 2 days.

Player Stats

OKC:
Kevin Durant - 45 points, 10 rebounds
Russell Westbrook - 21 points, 9 assists, 8 rebounds
Jeff Green - 21 points, 8 rebounds
Serge Ibaka - 9 points, 6 rebounds, 3 blocks, 3 steals


CHI:
Luol Deng - 41 points, 7-12 3PT
Derrick Rose - 20 points, 14 assits, 9 rebounds
C.J. Watson - 15 points, 4 steals
Carlos Boozer - 13 points, 9 rebounds

My Jordan Player of The Game

Kevin Durant - 45 points, 10 rebounds