Thunder Up! Rebuild in OKC [NBA 2k22]

[ZSmit88]

Re: Thunder Up! Rebuild in OKC [NBA 2k22]

Funny seeing how challenging this game was for you at the start compared to now. That was definitely a beat down on the Suns, which could happen from time to time, but not the most fun when it starts happening regularly.

[R1zzo23]

Re: Thunder Up! Rebuild in OKC [NBA 2k22]

Funny seeing how challenging this game was for you at the start compared to now. That was definitely a beat down on the Suns, which could happen from time to time, but not the most fun when it starts happening regularly.

As was the hope, I have grown with this Thunder team to represent OKC coming of age and becoming a legitimate basketball team. Unfortunately it seems to be happening a bit sooner than I would have liked. I think things will be different in the playoffs when we are tasked with having to stop elite scorers 4 times in a series.

At the month’s end I’ll have to update the standings and take a look at where our current draft picks stand. I’m pretty sure we have the Pistons’ 1st unprotected which means a legit shot at Victor Wembanyama. If we add him, we would have to be considered a title favorite going forward.


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[studbucket]

Re: Thunder Up! Rebuild in OKC [NBA 2k22]

How were you able to neutralize Jokic so well? And why are the Suns so bad?

[R1zzo23]

Re: Thunder Up! Rebuild in OKC [NBA 2k22]

How were you able to neutralize Jokic so well? And why are the Suns so bad?

Chet really made things difficult for Jokic, but I also feel they weren’t aggressive enough to give him the rock. They did early as they constantly had him setting high screens and forcing the switch but after the first half they weren’t feeding him the rock.

What I have started doing to make life more difficult is playing more defense on the ball rather than using someone like Bazley as a help defender when he’s guarding a non-shooting big. I started that with the 2nd half of the Suns game and that’s when Boomer started getting hit against SGA but they were already too far behind.

The Suns outside of Ayton and Booker are horrendous in my franchise. CP3 is a non-threat on offense (at least against us) because SGA is just bigger, faster and stronger. Crowder regressed horribly and Cam Johnson was matched up on someone like Dort or Bazley so he wasn’t all that effective on defense. Their bench outside of Cam Payne had zero threats.


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[R1zzo23]

Re: Thunder Up! Rebuild in OKC [NBA 2k22]

Sorry for the lack of updates to those who are following. This is not dead in any way, time is just at an all-time low. Between two sick children at home and day care closing earlier for the time being, my gaming time has been cut almost completely out. Looking forward to getting my next game in as the Thunder continue their march to the playoffs!


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[R1zzo23]

Re: Thunder Up! Rebuild in OKC [NBA 2k22]

Zion, Pelicans Slam Home Huge Road Win Over Upstart Thunder





It was the Zion Williamson (30 pts, 12 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk) show early and often in OKC as he was finishing dunk after dunk on the hapless Thunder defense. Missing just two of his 17 shot attempts, there wasn’t much the home team could do to stop him from scoring at will.



Never one to back down from a challenge, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (36 pts, 3 reb, 10 ast, 1 stl) rose up and threw one down over Zion to keep the crowd into the big Western Conference matchup.



The Thunder struggled from deep, so Tre Mann (3 pts, 1 reb, 1 stl) celebrating one of the seven triples that actually fell for OKC wasn’t much of a surprise. The lack of outside shooting is what really held the Thunder back from making this a much more competitive game.



Between guarding Zion and then Brandon Ingram (18 pts, 7 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk), Darius Bazley (8 reb) had his work cut out for him all night long. With an isolation at the top of the key, Ingram easily broke Bazley down of the dribble, losing him in the process and knocked down the long two.



SGA was doing damage from all over the floor - in the paint, pull-ups from the mid range as well as from deep - as the Pelicans could not stop him from scoring. The Thunder combo guard had 36 points on 17-20 shooting including knocking down both of his three-point attempts. If he can up his attempts a hair more without losing efficiency, there’s no denying he could push the 30-point plateau on a regular basis.



Though Zion led the way for the most part, C.J. McCollum (16 pts, 4 reb, 8 ast) was the veteran leadership the Pelicans turned to down the stretch as he hit three of his eight buckets in the final quarter. With the Thunder making a serious run and cutting the deficit to just six, McCollum was able to take Josh Giddey (2 pts, 4 reb, 11 ast, 2 blk) off the dribble and calmly finnish with the lefty lay in to settle the Pelicans.

[R1zzo23]

Re: Thunder Up! Rebuild in OKC [NBA 2k22]

Holmgren, Thunder Storm Back for Win Over Clips





Early in the game Paul George (15 pts, 7 reb, 2 ast, 5 stl) and the Clippers got any shot they wanted, including easy walk-in layups and dunks due to multiple defensive miscommunications by the Thunder.



After knocking down his second three of the first quarter, Kawhi Leonard (19 pts, 5 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl) looks puzzled at the defense wondering why they won’t cover him.



Looking to find some easy offense going towards the rim, Josh Giddey (8 pts, 8 reb, 10 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk) was able to find a cutting Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (23 pts, 6 reb, 12 ast) for the easy finish on the backdoor cut.



After getting down 19 at the half, the Thunder came out determined to get stops and it all started with Chet Holmgren (34 pts, 21 reb, 2 ast, 6 blks) as he completely shut down the paint with six blocks, all in the second half.



While the Thunder were making a run in the 3rd quarter, Leonard hit one of his patented pull-up jumpers in traffic to quiet the storm.



Holmgren was getting a workout as he was routinely doing pullups on the rim as he was on the receiving end of plenty of dimes from SGA and Giddey as the OKC ball handlers dismantled the Clipper bigs in the pick-and-roll.



This poster dunk Chet had over Marcus Morris Sr. (4 pts, 2 reb, 1 ast) gave the Thunder their first lead of the game, bringing the entire home crowd to their feet and was the unofficial beginning of the end for the Clippers.



After missing his first three three-pointers, Tre Mann (15 pts, 2 reb, 2 ast) connected on all five of his triples in the second half including his third in as many possessions here.



As the Clippers cut the lead to just four late in the game, SGA got Marcus Bagley III (14 pts, 5 reb, 3 stl, 1 blk) on an isolation and connected on a pull-up jumper with the shot clock winding down to ice it.

[RolePlayer]

Re: Thunder Up! Rebuild in OKC [NBA 2k22]

You got Chet playing like a modern Wilt out here

[R1zzo23]

Re: Thunder Up! Rebuild in OKC [NBA 2k22]

You got Chet playing like a modern Wilt out here

Ya man, he’s unreal in this game and was exactly what we needed on this roster. I can’t imagine what we would have looked like if we didn’t get him and ended up with Banchero. I think Holmgren’s size is hard to handle in 2k

I shutter to think what we will look like next season if the Pistons land the #1 pick and it conveys to us to take Victor Wembanyama.


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[studbucket]

Re: Thunder Up! Rebuild in OKC [NBA 2k22]

What was the difference between the 1st and 3rd quarters? Was it bad luck? Bad matchups? Impatience?

[R1zzo23]

Re: Thunder Up! Rebuild in OKC [NBA 2k22]

What was the difference between the 1st and 3rd quarters? Was it bad luck? Bad matchups? Impatience?

Two biggest differences: we hit shots when we were open and we were better defensively in challenging shots. Way less open jumpers for them gave us a chance to get drops and make a huge run.


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[HarkTheSound]

Re: Thunder Up! Rebuild in OKC [NBA 2k22]

Hope the kiddos have gotten around to feeling better!

Interested to see a rookie report at some point this season to see how Chet's numbers are stacking up against the rest of the class. Hell, he's probably blowing every veteran big man's numbers out of the water as well.

[R1zzo23]

Re: Thunder Up! Rebuild in OKC [NBA 2k22]

Kuminga, Warriors Slam Home Big Dub Over Thunder





After having a couple games without having Josh Giddey (12 pts, 8 reb, 11 ast, 1 blk) having a less than expected scoring output, they tried to get him involved and aggressive early. Driving on Klay Thompson (17 pts, 2 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl), Giddey finished with a sweet finger roll. Though it wasn’t an offensive explosion for the Aussie, his involvement early had him on triple-double watch early in the game.



The main cog in the Thunder offense, Chet Holmgren (30 pts, 14 reb, 1 blk) went at both Jonathan Kuminga (13 pts, 6 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl) and James Wiseman (15 pts, 15 reb, 2 blk) all game long. Against Wiseman he used his basketball IQ to get open on the move or when slipping the pick-and-roll. Against Kuminga, he used his size and strength to play big.



The scoring punch off the bench from Jordan Poole (19 pts, 5 ast) was exactly what the Warriors needed as he drilled this triple in the first quarter to give the Warriors some life. The Thunder did the impossible and held Stephen Curry (15 pts, 3 reb, 10 ast) scoreless in the first half, but Poole’s shooting kept the game close.



With Kuminga and Wiseman patrolling the paint all night long, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (28 pts, 4 reb, 10 ast, 2 stl) went to the floater more than he had any other game on the season. Showing off his incredible touch, he had the floaters dropping from just inside the free throw line, making him nearly impossible to stop when on the attack.



But going to the floater one too many times caught up to him as Wiseman wised up and was able to time his ascent and swat a 3rd straight SGA floater attempt into the 2nd row.



Being held scoreless in the first half, the Thunder wanted to make it a point to hold him down as long as possible in the second. Unfortunately, that lasted all of 18 seconds as Curry drained a triple to start his scoring outburst over the last two quarters. Knowing that they harped on it in the locker room, Darius Bazley (6 pts, 5 reb, 1 stl) gives Shai a look as if he was saying “didn’t we just talk about this?!?”



Late in the 3rd, Josh Giddey was out there leading four bench players and tasked with not only making plays for others but leading the offense in a scoring effort as well. To finish the quarter, Giddey had a personal 6-0 run capped off by a towering 1-handed dunk to cut the Warrior lead to just three.



Giddey and his bench mob opened the 4th quarter against the Warriors’ bench. Running offense beautifully, Giddey found Tre Mann (13 pts, 3 ast) on a flare screen for a wide open triple. The Thunder were able to race out to a five-point lead before Golden State brought their starting lineup back in.



With so many shooters on the floor at all times, the Thunder defense was stretched thin around the perimeter all of the second half which left open lanes for cutters on the weak side. Keldon Johnson (11 pts, 5 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl) easily beat Aleksej Pokusevski (6 pts, 6 reb, 3 blk) on a backdoor cut for the two-handed flush and the foul.



With a three-point to open the second half, Curry poured in ten of his 15 points in the 4th quarter as he routinely was able to lose his defenders sprinting off of screens all over the floor. With his ability to create space off the bounce and around screens, coupled with his incredible footwork, found Curry drilling practice jumpers throughout the 4th quarter.



The Warriors hit the Thunder with an absolute flurry of threes in the 4th quarter and were playing uptempo to keep the foot on the gas. Off a rebound, Curry quickly moved the rock up the floor to a sprinting Klay Thompson who caught, set his feet and fired a deep triple off the left wing before the Thunder defense even had a chance to cross half court and pick him up. A timeout by OKC found them in need of stops and buckets as they trailed by six with just under two minutes remaining.

After back-to-back stops and buckets by SGA and Holmgren, the Thunder were able to cut the lead to just five with roughly one minute remaining. Another stop could potentially give the Thunder the lead!



Jordan Poole wasn’t about to let the Warriors get stopped three straight possessions in crunch time. After SGA got hung up on a Wiseman screen, Poole pulled up for a three that hit nothing but net and gave the Dubs a 5-point advantage.



Trailing by five with just 40 seconds remaining, Gilgeous-Alexander pulled up and nailed a three to pull back within a bucket. The Warriors called a timeout immediately. Both teams then traded quick misses, leading to the Thunder having to foul and put Poole on the line for two. After he missed the first free throw, he hit the second to give the Warriors a 3-point advantage. Awful execution down the stretch led to a prayer heave by Giddey that barely grazed the rim and saw the Warriors escape with a win.

[R1zzo23]

Re: Thunder Up! Rebuild in OKC [NBA 2k22]

Hope the kiddos have gotten around to feeling better!

Interested to see a rookie report at some point this season to see how Chet's numbers are stacking up against the rest of the class. Hell, he's probably blowing every veteran big man's numbers out of the water as well.

Son is still up once or twice a night because of a cough but other than that, kids are back to health. Thanks for asking!

We are just at the end of January, so I usually do a standings review at the end of the month and want to get a prospect report out on Victor Wembanyama as well. I'll do a rookie statistics leader as well so we can all see how far and away Chet's numbers are from other rookies.

To be completely honest, Holmgren is a lock to win Rookie of the Year (obviously) but I think he's in serious contention for not only Defensive Player of the Year but also 1st Team All-NBA center. Those types of accolades would be insane!

[kibaxx7]

Re: Thunder Up! Rebuild in OKC [NBA 2k22]

Nice to see Holmgren ballin' here when we won't see him in real life for a while.