office was realistic about their goals: Continuing to develop young

players, establishing a defensive identity and being competitive were

some of the areas to focus on. Getting off to a 1-10 start, not much

has been accomplished.

"We've hit a rough stretch to start the season," general manager

Sam Presti said. "We're capable of playing much better basketball. Our

focus is to get better. We clearly have some work to do."

--Five games in seven nights doesn't leave much room for practice.

In fact, it doesn't leave any. Conserving energy becomes the focus,

which isn't necessarily a good thing for a young team that could use

any extra teaching time. The Thunder finally practiced for the first

time in a week Tuesday and, despite some choppiness, the workout

served its purpose. P.J. Carlesimo actually said the practice went

longer than expected.

"Wasn't great, but it was a good practice," P.J. Carlesimo said.

"We got better. Guys worked hard. We didn't get much shooting in but

they went hard."

QUOTE TO NOTE: "Good teams take things from every game they play.

That's what we're striving to be, is a good team. We have the talent.

Now we just have to get the experience and get the consistency that

the good teams have." -- C Robert Swift.