Game 16: Detroit Pistons (8-7) @ Former Seattle Supersonics (10-6)

[Liqourish]

Kevin Durant/Russell Westbrook and the teammates they freeze out against your Detroit Pistons.

I expect Reggie to try to do too much to prove himself against the team and teammates who didn't want him.

[Snakebites]

Yikes. Tough one to see on the schedule. Would be the game of the year if we won it.

[ducler]

[DBC10]

This is going to be an explosive game.

I expect KCP to guard Russ as usual since he gets the best of the guards. Nobody is going to stop KD, this is likely a loss.

Plus Russ is basically averaging a triple double.

[ComboGuardCity]

Mr. November


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[Blkbrd671]

RJ's statement game. I'm excited because i feel the guys are going to show up. They know how much this game means to RJ and i am sure there going to want a win. RB and KD going to come out too, going to be interesting to see who we match up with both those players. I'm hoping for a fun shoot out and Dre destroying kanter.

[dVs33]

This is going to be a tough one.
I hope Reggie plays his natural game and moves the ball. If he tries to make a statement, he's going to fail and take the team down with him. He needs to play smart.

[Maker_84]

OKC is soooo damn big and long everywhere, think they beat the Pistons by 15+

[MotownMadness]

WI would say this is a lost but we seem to play better against good teams so who knows. Westbrook and Durant are just a force of a duo though.

[JD43320]

With the way Jackson left the Thunder I fully expect Westbrook to go into absolute beast mode and destroy him. I like RJ but he's pretty emotional and going back to OKC, being booed non-stop and having to deal with Westbrook trying break him every play is going to lead to a very ugly game from Reggie. On the bright side we get to see Singler play against the Pistons instead of for them. He's the one ex-Piston we don't have to worry about lighting us up. To win this one it's going to take a 30-30 game from Andre, Ersan, KCP and Tolliver all drilling their 3's and Stanley having a break out game.

[mattao313]

Reggie needs to stay aggressive. If we get the walk the ball up dribble in a circle Reggie we gonna get blew out. Simple as that.

[Cowology]

So the one major advantage we typically have (rebounding) will be neutralized against a team that shoots much better than we do? Oh, and Reggie will probably play hero ball on the road. Wouldn't be surprised if we lose big, although we've proven we can play with just about anybody on any given night so who the hell knows.

[zeebneeb]

So the one major advantage we typically have (rebounding) will be neutralized against a team that shoots much better than we do? Oh, and Reggie will probably play hero ball on the road. Wouldn't be surprised if we lose big, although we've proven we can play with just about anybody on any given night so who the hell knows.

Ah, the joys if having a young team who hasn't fully turned the corner to maturity yet.

It does make for an emotional season though doesn't it?

Beat great teams, lose to bad teams. Win big on the road, lose big at home. It's a roller-coaster for sure. I'm just excited to see these guys in the playoffs and how each player reacts, and performs under the immense pressure it provides.

Not yet though. Let the crazy regular season go on.

[engelbert321]

I have a good feeling about this game

[RipCity32]

I think Westbrook is going to absolutely break down our defense. MCW scored at will early in that game in the paint, I think Westbrook can and will do the same.

We go down early, slightly recover but never make a full comeback.

I hope I'm wrong though lol.

[whitehops]

we've seemed to play to our competition level (beating the hawks, cavs, bulls, heat and losing to the kings and lakers) so while we may not win i am expecting a competitive game.

i think stopping penetration from durant and especially westbrook (no easy task obviously) will be key. westbrook loves to attack the rim which could get drummond in foul trouble.

[Liqourish]

I want to see us go to Andre early and often. Getting into the paint, working inside out, and also trying to get their bigs into foul trouble, can only help us knock down shots later in the game.

[Snakebites]

This is the second best team we've played so far behind Golden State, and we've got them on the road.

We've proven we can play with anybody- at home. We beat Cleveland, Miami, and Chicago- at home. The only road win of note that we have is against Atlanta, and we kind of got the drop on them in day one of the season.

This one could be very ugly.

We get to see our rookie trying to guard Kevin Durant though. That could be either totally demoralizing or a tough night with moments of defensive brilliance. Let us hope for the latter.

[Liqourish]

http://espn.go.com/blog/okc-thunder/post/_/id/852/kevin-durant-happy-for-reggie-jackson-despite-rough-ending

“Reggie's doing well in Detroit," Durant said. "We had a rough ending last year with Reggie, but I can just think about when he first got here how hard he worked, how great of a teammate he is and every guy wants that opportunity [to be a starter]."

Durant said hasn't spoken with Jackson since Orlando Summer League, when both were in attendance to support their respective teams.

"It was tough," Durant said of Jackson's ending with the Thunder. "I didn’t like some of the stuff he said in the media and how he went about it, but at the end of the day you’ve got to respect a guy who wants that opportunity and I can appreciate a guy who wants that opportunity."

"I wish he would've went about it a little better, Durant said, "but Reggie is always going to be a brother to me and I'm excited we get to play against him tonight and glad he got the opportunity."

If Durant is being honest, maybe the door hasn't closed on a Reggie/Durant relationship.

[Todd3]

http://espn.go.com/blog/okc-thunder/post/_/id/852/kevin-durant-happy-for-reggie-jackson-despite-rough-ending

“Reggie's doing well in Detroit," Durant said. "We had a rough ending last year with Reggie, but I can just think about when he first got here how hard he worked, how great of a teammate he is and every guy wants that opportunity [to be a starter]."

Durant said hasn't spoken with Jackson since Orlando Summer League, when both were in attendance to support their respective teams.

"It was tough," Durant said of Jackson's ending with the Thunder. "I didn’t like some of the stuff he said in the media and how he went about it, but at the end of the day you’ve got to respect a guy who wants that opportunity and I can appreciate a guy who wants that opportunity."

"I wish he would've went about it a little better, Durant said, "but Reggie is always going to be a brother to me and I'm excited we get to play against him tonight and glad he got the opportunity."

If Durant is being honest, maybe the door hasn't closed on a Reggie/Durant relationship.

Durant coming to the D

I didn't think about it at the time, but Reggie outplaying Wall has to make us look a little more attractive now too, if he was considering signing there to play with him.

Drummond knows Durant from team USA as well. Let the recruiting begin...