Oklahoma
Carmelo Anthony Dishes on Breakup Process With OKC Thunder in 2018 Offseason
The Oklahoma City Thunder pushed all-in on the 2017 offseason which netted the Bricktown boys a pair of future hall of famers in Paul George and Carmelo Anthony to retool their roster around franchise legend Russell Westbrook just one summer after Kevin Durant parted for Golden State in one of the more surprising moves in NBA history.
When the OKC Thunder made these trades to get a pair of high-level forwards, the buzz around Bricktown was palpable visions of contention danced in Thunder fans head’s as Westbrook was fresh off a historic MVP season where he willed Oklahoma City to the postseason on his own.
it is safe to say the partnership between the OKC Thunder and Anthony did not workout as the team only kept the Hall of Famer for one season where the team flamed out in the first round against the Utah Jazz, being sent home by Ricky Rubio and Donovan Mitchell in a surprising upset.
Things started out rocky as at Media Day, Anthony scoffed at the notion of coming off the bench which in hindsight would’ve maximized his role and the team. However, according to the NBA legend himself on George’s podcast this week, heading into year two the Syracuse product was willing to take on a more reduced role.
However, after a phone call with then-head coach Billy Donovan, there was no second season in Oklahoma City after all for Anthony.
“I was working with Sam [Presti], we was about to figure a deal out….Billy Donovan called me in Paris and he was like ‘We want to start developing Jerami Grant into the lineup, he is younger’, and I was like ‘Okay cool..just tell me you want me to accept that role, I am willing to work with you’, he was like ‘Nah, we don’t think it is going to work here anymore’” Anthony recounted.
As the future Hall of Famer continued to tell the story he explained how he was willing to return to Oklahoma City in a bench role behind Grant and attempt to work things out with the franchise to improve the team alongside Westbrook and George.
“I was expecting, I am coming back, I forgone free agency…I am like okay, we building something here. We got a trio, we saw what it looks like, now we have a full training camp, that is what I thought,” George explained.
According to the forwards, this move caught them off guard despite publicly the writing feeling as though it was on the wall at the time once the Jazz series concluded.
Ultimately, Grant did bloom in Oklahoma City and has since carved out a really solid career in the league. Though, the results were the same during the following postseason as Portland ousted the Thunder in the opening round of the playoffs.
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The Oklahoma City Thunder are taking on the Phoenix Suns in Game 2 of their opening-round series. The OKC Thunder are hoping that they can repeat their Sunday afternoon performance in this contest. Game 2 will be an interesting test with the Suns having more time to prepare.
Phoenix was up against a rock and a hard place in the series opener. The Oklahoma City Thunder not only have the talent advantage but the rest advantage as well. Phoenix punched their ticket to the NBA Playoffs on Friday night by staving off the Golden State Warriors on Friday night before landing in Oklahoma City on Saturday and playing on Saturday afternoon to the tune of a 119-84 blowout Thunder victory.
The NBA has seen plenty of upsets already. The Orlando Magic, Philadelphia 76ers and Portland Trail Blazers have all stolen games from the higher seed. The Thunder know they have to keep the foot on the gas in this contest.
“These series are unpredictable. No 2 games are the same. The minute you make an assumption, you are overconfident, or the minute you go down and you’re overly urgent, that can impact your ability to be present in the next game,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said pregame on Wednesday night.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are seeing the Suns make an adjustment with their starting lineup by inserting Collin Gillespie to give Phoenix a trio of ball handling scoring options alongside Devin Booker and Jalen Green. This gives the Suns hope to be able to find better shot quality against this stifling Thunder defensive unit.
Oklahoma City is healthier now than they have been all season. The Thunder only are missing rookie Thomas Sorber (ACL) who is out for the year. This allows the Bricktown Ballers to roll out their traditional first five in this contest.
Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Phoenix Suns, Game 2 Starting Lineup
Oklahoma City Thunder Starting Lineup
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, G
- Lu Dort, G
- Jalen Williams, F
- Chet Holmgren, F
- Isaiah Hartenstein, C
Phoenix Suns Starting Lineup
- Devin Booker, G
- Jalen Green, G
- Collin Gillespie, G
- Dillon Brooks, F
- Oso Ighodaro, C
The series will shift to Phoenix this weekend as the Oklahoma City Thunder hope to head into Saturday afternoon’s Game 3 with a 2-0 advantage in the series.
Stay tuned to Thunder on SI for complete coverage of the NBA Playoff run for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
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OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLA (KOKH) — The Oklahoma City Fire Department responded to a home fire late Tuesday evening, around 10:42 p.m.
According to OKCFD, fire could be seen from a window of the home located in the 4200 block of N. Phillips Avenue.
Firefighters were able to rescue an adult female from inside the home. No injuries were reported in connection with the fire.
Investigators believe that the fire may have originated from an outlet near the refrigerator that had a power strip plugged in that was supplying multiple appliances.
There was also no smoke detector present within the home.
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NORMAN — The Sooners were behind the eight ball for much of Tuesday’s game against Oral Roberts.
But one swing of the bat got them in a more favorable position.
Shortstop Jaxon Willits blasted a grand slam in the sixth inning to give No. 14 Oklahoma its first lead before eventually winning 7-6.
The Sooners trailed by as many as five runs before they rallied late.
In the first inning, Oral Roberts’ Cooper Combs hit a two-out grand slam to give the Golden Eagles a comfortable cushion. OU infielder Deiten Lachance got the Sooners on the board in the second inning with a solo home run, but ORU responded with a solo shot of its own in the next frame.
The Golden Eagles made it a 6-1 run game in the top of the fourth, and they appeared to be on cruise control. But in the bottom of that frame, OU’s rally began.
Dasan Harris made it a four-run game again with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fourth before Camden Johnson hit a sacrifice fly of his own in the fifth.
Then, in the sixth, the Sooners took their first lead of the game.
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Harris singled before Kyle Branch and Connor Larkin walked to load the bases. Willits then swung at the first pitch he saw, sending it well over the right-center field fence.
Neither team scored after Willits’ home run, as OU relief pitcher Xander Mercurius retired nine ORU batters in a row to seal the Sooners’ one-run win.
Michael Catalano started on the mound for Oklahoma, but his outing was short-lived — he gave up four earned runs on two hits and five walks in 1 ⅓ innings.
After coach Skip Johnson relieved Catalano in the second inning, six different OU arms entered the game. Reid Hensley collected the win, while Mercurius got the save.
OU improved to 28-12 overall with the win, while Oral Roberts dropped to 23-15. The Sooners are 7-3 in midweek games this season, and they clinched the season sweep of the Golden Eagles on Tuesday.
Next, the Sooners will hit the road for a three-game series against Auburn. The Tigers, ranked No. 11 by D1Baseball, are 10-8 in SEC play and took two of three games against Florida over the weekend.
The series will open on Friday, and first pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.
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