Thunder Still Upbeat Despite Being Down 0-2

Billy Donovan and Darius Bazley say the Thunder is still positive despite being in an 0-2 hole to the Rockets. We'll also tell you what Donovan has to say about the Thunder's past carrying over to this team.

Despite being in 0-2 to the Houston Rockets, the Oklahoma City Thunder remains upbeat. Forward Darius Bazley says:

"Everything's positive."..." There's just a lot of positive energy going into game three, just knowing we need to do whatever it takes to win."..." We're going into game three as if it were 0-0."

What else can you do? As cliche as it sounds, you can only win one game at a time.  But, that one victory can go a long way in helping you change the direction of the series. 

Getting back into this series is just as much about gaining a mental edge as it is designing plays on a dry erase board. The Rockets should be walking around the Grand Floridian with extreme confidence. 

James Harden and Erc Groden went 11-36 in game two, and Houston still won. Not to mention former MVP Russell Westbrook hasn't played a minute since the playoffs started, and you have the Thunder on the ropes. 

The Thunder have yet to show the Rockets they are a threat. And unless you can convince Houston to play your brand of basketball, they have no reason to doubt they'll be moving on to the semifinals. 

As dire as things may look Billy Devon is not worried about Thunder's belief in themselves.

"I feel very, very good about the competitive spirit and makeup of this team.." 

Donovan knows that being down 0-2 in the playoffs is different than anything they've faced in the regular season, but as he points out, the Thunder is clutch. 

"This team has come from behind quite a bit during the course of the season in individual games."..." I feel good about them coming back and competing tomorrow."

The Thunder has 17 comebacks when trailing after the third quarter, no other team in the NBA has more than nine. Donovan also doesn't feel that Oklahoma City's recent lack of success in the playoffs affects this team because most of his players haven't been here over the last three seasons. 

And if you want to talk history, let's not forget that in 2012, the Thunder came back from 0-2 against the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals. 

Not that something that happened eight years ago is going to impact what happens on Saturday, but neither will Damian Lillard's 37-foot jumper, which sent Westbrook to Houston and Paul Geroge to Los Angeles. 

Westbrook Probably Out

According to Mark Medina of USA Today, Russell Westbrook likely sit for game three. Here's Medina's tweet.

Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni says Russell Westbrook will do some running and shooting today at practice. No contact yet. D'Antoni on Westbrook for Game 3: "he's probably out." Rockets will determine officially by 5:30 pm ET when they have to report injuries to the league

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With more than 20 years of experience hosting local and national radio shows, Erik Gee is a fixture of Oklahoma sports media. He has covered the Oklahoma City Thunder for the past six seasons. He is also the co-host of the Pat Jones show on 97.1 The Sports Animal in Tulsa.