Bernucca: Thunder’s Big Problem is Jackson, Not Westbrook or Durant

THE END OF CIVILIZATION AS WE KNOW IT: In Friday’s loss to the Clippers, the Lakers were still in a defensive huddle when the ball was inbounded and Blake Griffin dunked.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, after the defending champions surrendered a lead Friday at Phoenix and took their first loss of the season:

“I know we are supposed to be 82-0. I am guessing we are going to lose more games before the season is over.”

TANKS A LOT!: You can add former 76ers coach Larry Brown to the list of people who aren’t on board with general manager Sam Hinkie’s scorched-earth tanking rebuilding plan in Philadelphia. Speaking at media day for the American Athletic Conference, the current coach of SMU said, “I hate what’s going on in Philly. They don’t have a basketball person in the organization. It makes me sick to my stomach. These analytics, they don’t mean squat to me. Throw it up against the wall and see if it sticks. To say that these analytics guys have the answer is crazy. It doesn’t apply to basketball. Everybody uses the data you get, but that’s what coaching is. Maybe it will work, I don’t know. But it’s a shame what those fans are going through waiting to see if it will.” To be fair, the last time the Hall of Famer was relevant as an NBA coach was a decade ago with Detroit.

LINE OF THE WEEK: Klay Thompson, Golden State vs. LA Lakers, Nov. 1: 34 minutes, 14-18 FGs, 5-7 3-pointers, 8-9 FTs, five rebounds, two assists, one turnover, 41 points in a 127-104 win. One day after signing a maximum four-year, $70 million extension, Thompson set about earning his money with a career high against childhood idol Kobe Bryant. If you didn’t see their duel in the third quarter, you missed something.

LINE OF THE WEAK: Eric Gordon, New Orleans vs. Dallas, Nov. 1: 34 minutes, 0-6 FGs, 0-1 3-pointers, 0-0 FTs, one rebound, one assist, zero steals, zero blocks, four fouls, two turnovers, zero points in a 109-104 loss. It was the first donut since his first month as an NBA player for Gordon, who also is somehow a max player.

TRILLION WATCH: The heroes of zeros are already in midseason form. Shaun Livingston of Golden State had a 4 trillion in his season debut Wednesday at Sacramento, Jimmer Fredette of New Orleans had a 4 trillion Saturday vs. Dallas and rookie Zach LaVine of Minnesota had a 5 trillion Thursday vs. Detroit. But they were obliterated by Xavier Henry of the Los Angeles Lakers, who somehow had a 9 trillion in Saturday’s track meet at Golden State and is the early season leader in the clubhouse.

GAME OF THE WEEK: LA Clippers at Golden State, Nov. 5. Unlike many games on ESPN, both teams will be rested, having been off two days. The first meeting of the season between the division rivals resumes the hostilities of the previous two years, which included a near brawl and multiple ejections last Christmas.

GAME OF THE WEAK: Orlando at Philadelphia, Nov. 5. The 76ers host unbeaten Houston on Monday and the Magic visit Chicago on Tuesday, so it’s extremely likely that both teams will still be winless entering this game. The good news is that only one team can keep alive its dreams of going 0-82.

TWO MINUTES: As a player, Jason Kidd was as smart as they come. So how does a guy who once stole a point by dribbling into the opposing coach not see the obvious late-game strategy for his team? In Milwaukee’s season opener at Charlotte, the Bucks led by four with 15 seconds left and the Hornets were out of timeouts, meaning they could not buy up to the frontcourt. Twice, Kidd had the opportunity to have a player foul Kemba Walker while he was dribbling in the backcourt. And twice Kidd chose not to, eventually getting burned by Walker’s tying 3-pointer. The Bucks ended up losing in overtime.  “Bad teams lose these types of games and this is something we are going to have to get over all year,” Bucks guard Jared Dudley said afterward. … In four seasons alongside LeBron James, Chris Bosh never had a game with at least 25 points and 15 rebounds. In Miami’s season-opening win over Washington, he had 26 and 15. … Paul Pierce was ejected from Washington’s home opener Saturday vs. Milwaukee, and coach Randy Wittman put part of the blame on the time it took for officials to determine a clear path foul despite the assistance of the NBA’s newfangled replay center in Secaucus, N.J. “I thought this new replay system was supposed to be fast,” he said. “That might have been the slowest replay for a breakaway foul that I’ve ever seen. And, once you see it, it wouldn’t take you but a second to say that’s a breakaway.” … It took the Pistons less than a week to tumble to the bottom of the Eastern Conference and even less time for coach Stan Van Gundy to lose patience with starting point guard Brandon Jennings. In each of Detroit’s first two games, Jennings started but sat the entire fourth quarter in favor of backup D.J. Augustin. “You go with the guys you think give you the best chance to win,” Van Gundy said. Jennings had eight points, eight assists and five turnovers in 36 minutes over the first two games. “I’m not frustrated,” he said. “It is what it is. I don’t make the decisions.” Jennings was better in Saturday’s loss to Brooklyn, collecting 18 points and nine assists in 36 minutes. But given his uneven play and the early  shooting woes of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (11-of-42 overall, 2-of-16 threes), the Pistons may have the worst backcourt outside of Philadelphia. “A lot of that is on me, because I still don’t have a handle on what this team can do offensively,” admitted Van Gundy, whose team is last in the league in scoring (86.7 ppg) and 3-point shooting (.219). … When Andre Iguodala came off the bench in Wednesday’s season opener at Sacramento, it marked the first time in his career that he did not start. Since entering the NBA in 2004, Iguodala had started in every one of his 807 games. … The Cavaliers are kidding themselves with the idea of playing second-year guard Matthew Dellavedova down the stretch of games. And replacing the waived A.J. Price with Will Cherry isn’t the answer. … The last time the Lakers started a season 0-4, 
Dwight Eisenhower was in the White House, the Dodgers were in Brooklyn, Jerry West was in college and the Lakers were in Minneapolis. It was the 1957-58 season, when they lost their first seven games en route to a 19-53 finish. Through four games, the Lakers are allowing a league-worst 118 points per game, nearly 13 more than any other team. They also are permitting foes to shoot better than 50 percent from the field and surrendering a startling 1.53 points per shot, also league worsts. … Steve Kerr played for both Phil Jackson and Gregg Popovich, spent two extended stints analyzing NBA games for TNT and in between was general manager of the Phoenix Suns for three years. That is a pretty good resume for becoming a head coach, but none of that experience could have prepared him for one important aspect of the job. Kerr lost his voice during his debut Wednesday in Sacramento. “I always laughed at Doc (Rivers) and (Tom) Thibodeau. Now it all makes sense,” Kerr said afterward. “I got nothing left.”

Trivia Answer: Boris Diaw with the Phoenix Suns on Oct. 29, 2008. … Happy 40th Birthday, Tariq Abdul-Wahad. … Someone tell Byron Scott that Mike Brown was fired after a 1-4 start.

Chris Bernucca is the managing editor of SheridanHoops.com. His columns appear Monday during the season. You can follow him on Twitter.