By Michael Doutey
The Oklahoma City Thunder finished the regular season with a 137-123 win over the Memphis Grizzlies. The Thunder move to 48-34 on the regular season. Somehow, with all the ups and downs this crazy season provided, the Thunder find a way to host an opening round playoff series after Portland beat Utah late Wednesday night. That means the Thunder will host the Jazz either Saturday or Sunday inside the Chesapeake Energy Arena. Now, we don’t know when Game One will be, but hopefully that will be released early tomorrow. Just to show how crazy the Western Conference Playoff race has been, the Thunder started the day in seventh place and finish in fourth. Here are tonight’s five observations from OKC’s dominant win over Memphis.
1. Corey Brewer Update
In the fourth quarter, Corey Brewer shot a corner three and was incidentally rolled up on by Mario Chalmers. Brewer was down in a lot of pain and gingerly limped off the floor. He ended up being ruled out for the remainder of the game with a sprained knee. After the game when the media was allowed in the locker room, I saw Brewer walking without a noticeable limp, no ice on the knee and no trainers watching over him. Paul George said Brewer felt good after the game. Corey will be further evaluated in the morning.
2. Goodbye Mr. Thunder?
Before the final game, typically a player from the team will address the crowd to thank them for their support during the season. Tonight, Russell Westbrook took the mic and before he was done, he brought Nick Collison up so the crowd could recognize everything Collison has done for the franchise. It was also a moment for Westbrook to publicly acknowledge what Collison has meant to him. It was an awesome moment. Collison got in the game, shot the three throws for Brewer, missing them all. The crowd was juiced, waiting to explode with a make. But fans would have to wait. Later, Collison got his chance again. Collison was fouled missing the first but making the second. The crowd was euphoric, knowing this might be it for the cities most adored player. After the game Nick was noncommittal about the future, not wanting to say if this was it or not. But I feel like this was it for #4.
Mr. Thunder scores likely his last point as an NBA player. Incredible career and possibly the… https://t.co/AbJCDROBOn
— Michael Doutey (@mike_doutey) April 12, 2018
3. Mr. Triple Double 2.0
All Westbrook needed was 16 rebounds to secure his second straight season averaging a triple double, something no other NBA player has ever accomplished. With some help from some generous teammates, Russ grabbed his 16th rebound early in the third quarter. The crowd went nuts. Russ casually raised his hand, thanking the crowd for their support. Some will rip Russ for padding stats. Maybe he is. But honestly, who cares? It would be one thing if OKC lost games when Russ garnered a triple double, but OKC has won at a very high rate when that happens. This is historic stuff. No one else has ever accomplished what Westbrook has the past two seasons. The legend of the triple double machine will be remembered forever in NBA history. Enjoy what we are witnessing, because we will never see another phenomenon like this in our lifetime, let alone in our city. Russ finished the game with 20 rebounds (a career high), 19 assists (with five turnovers) and scored just six points.
4. PG Found His Shot
In the final game of the season after struggling the past month so with his shot, PG was red hot shooting. PG scored 40 points while shooting 13-20 from the floor and an incredible 8-14 from three. PG was a deadeye shooting in the first half, scoring 26 points on 9-10 shooting, including 5-5 from three. He was nuts in this one. He slowed his near perfect shooting in the second half. PG was 4-10 overall and 3-9 from three for 14 points in the second half. Still, PG was great shooting tonight. All Thunder fans should want was the he found his shooting stroke before the playoffs began. Hopefully this will get him going again.
5. T-Ferg Finishes Rookie Year With a Bang
With Alex Abrines in the concussion protocol and the availability of Corey Brewer unknown, that leaves the Thunder very short at shooting guard. That might mean rookie Terrance Ferguson could be called upon to play some major minutes in this playoff series. But Ferg has played well lately when he’s had his number called. In his regular season finale, Ferg scored 12 points on 4-8 shooting. All his shots came from three point land and he was really confident taking those shots. He made a huge three in the Miami game in the fourth quarter. He is a guy who has really shot the ball well the last quarter of the season and his defense has been better and better. It is not ideal for OKC to count on him in the postseason, but he is heading into the playoffs playing well.
We now wait for the day and time when the Thunder play next. What we do know is that the Thunder will play the Utah Jazz and OKC will have home court advantage in round one.
