Thunder head coach Scott Brooks told reporters today, "we’re ready," when asked about his team just after shoot-around, "it’s good that it’s here, our guys are ready. We had a great four or five days of work and now it just comes down to going out there and playing with instincts and playing great basketball."
It may be a little more complicated than that but Scotty’s point is well taken and he’s said it many times this season with his, ‘it’s easy to play hard, it’s not easy to always play well,’ speech.
He’s confident his team will bring all they have tonight against the Miami Heat and he’s also sure that his guys, as distracting as all this NBA Finals stuff can be, are not distracted.
"There’s no question it’s different, but it’s a good different, we love being in this situation."
The Thunder practiced today, just like they do on every game day, inside the INTEGRIS Health Thunder Development Center in north Oklahoma City. Yesterday they practiced, as they have not done at all this season, inside Chesapeake Energy Arena. On practice days, both teams will work at the arena so that it will be easier for the thousand strong throng of media to cover the action. But Brooks even saw a benefit in that.
"It was actually kinda nice, I was a little worried about practice yesterday but it was nice going down to the arena and just seeing it so that tonight when we go there we’re not overwhelmed with all the media attention."
At practice yesterday and at shoot-around today players didn’t seem to be distracted or uncomfortable at all. They seemed locked in and ready to go.
"Just like any other," point guard Russell Westbrook said when asked how shoot-around was today, "we didn’t change nothin’ we just came in and went over their things and get ready to play tonight."
"We’re ready, we’re ready," echoed Serge Ibaka, "we’ve been waiting for this day for like a week and we’re working hard to be ready so we’re ready and excited to play."
The entire country and the rest of the basketball world seems excited and ready to watch too. Most of the media here are picking the Thunder to win the series in six or seven games.
Game 1 of that journey will tipoff at 8:07 tonight.
Check back later in the day and I’ll update you on what’s happening at The Peake here on 1340thegame.com or http://www.facebook.com/1340TheGame
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- Randy Renner
