Author: Mike

The Thunder woke up this morning with the longest current winning streak in the NBA at six…and back but one single game in the loss column to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the battle for the Northwest Division. Milwaukee is a talented team, but there’s no reason for this streak to end in December. This is the month the schedule made this kind of run possible. 14-3 in December is the goal. This is where a contending team takes a deep breath and resets itself mentally.

Winning isn’t a sometime thing, boys…it’s an everyday thing.

Let’s go win!

Of course you know Steven and I met at a 7-11 this summer and have been friends for life ever since. I guess Serge must have been on the bench during this sequence. Oh, wait—there he is at the right elbow.

As I watch the whole Russiagate thing unfold exactly as I thought it would with Flynn and Manafort being indicted and flipped—I’ve restrained myself from putting all that on my blog up to this point. I was raised by a courtroom lawyer, a very good one. It didn’t take Vince Bugliosi or F Lee Bailey to see where this was going. This will play out as it plays out in spite of ourselves because of one reason…the law.

So I’m sitting here and thinking America or at least I need a pep talk beyond John Kasich. Something to remind me of what it should truly mean to be an American.

This is pretty good if you’ve never seen it.

Last year, Serge Ibaka made his initial Chesapeake Energy Arena homecoming as a member of another NBA team. He ended up being the story with a career night and the game winner. Last night, his Toronto Raptors appeared in Oklahoma City rumored to be one of the best teams in the East. In case you weren’t paying attention, Serge was on the floor for 26:31. I actually never noticed him….because he didn’t do anything. In fact, the only human possibly more invisible on the floor was the Thunder’s own Alex Abrines who went for 0 points and a stunning negative 19 in 6:33 of playing time in the first half… which I would hope Billy Donovan seriously regrets ever occurred.

My points?

What Serge discovered last night was this Thunder team and that Thunder team from a year ago are worlds apart. What I hope Billy Donovan either learned or will eventually learn is that there’s no reason whatsoever for Alex Abrines to see the floor unless OKC is in a desperate situation. To Donovan’s or an assistant coach’s credit, Abrines did not see the floor in the second half.

I thought I would get my rant out of the way so that the remainder of this recap would contain nothing but gush for how the Thunder played otherwise.

At this point—we almost have to admit a corner has been turned. The Thunder are the hottest team in the NBA right now and playing the best ball. There I said it. Winners of six straight, the Thunder toyed with the Raptors on Wednesday night in a 124-107 romp which never would have been that close if Alex Abrines had stayed glued to the bench with the Thunder in front 32-23 when Russell Westbrook took his first breather.

This is the kind of shit Billy Donovan cannot do once we get to April. There was no need for Abrines to see the floor. The Thunder were rolling, the offense was humming…I play better defense than fucking Alex Abrines and it makes no sense whatsoever to put him on the floor for six minutes when he doesn’t even attempt a shot. I’m sorry, but c’mon. This isn’t the SEC, this is the NBA.

I didn’t actually plan that second rant, but I’m very passionate about how coaches manage a game.

Where was I? Okay…Russell Westbrook was once again magnificent. He’s been magnificent ever since that abortion of basketball reality which occurred in the final six minutes of regulation in Philly. I don’t know if he read my blog, or if Mo Cheeks pulled him aside, or if his father called him after that game…but make this clear…Russell Westbrook has been the best basketball player in the world since those six minutes of hell. Period.

But it’s not just Russell. Paul George and Carmelo are playing their roles to perfection in this run of games which once again has me saying…putting aside the Bad News Bears start—this Thunder roster is either the second or third best roster in the NBA.

Steven Adams. How much do you want to see me gush? I wouldn’t trade him for any center in the West. I just wouldn’t. This is probably what we would have seen from Steven last year, but we didn’t because Durant took off to Oakland to marry Draymond Green and seek human growth as a man…. and Steven’s coming out party was delayed a year after we saw it coming in the 2016 Western Conference Playoff run.

Andre Roberson does so many good things for this team you can’t give up on him. You just hope one of the assistant coaches in right there in Billy Donovan’s ear when April rolls around as far as situational subbing.

You know how I feel about Jerami Grant and Ray Felton. So…it shouldn’t take some sort of Come to Jesus realization these are the Thunder’s best seven players and in the order which I listed them. I actually agree with Billy Donovan as far as Josh Huestis and his growing minutes. I’m fine with how Pat Patterson has been used. From my point of view—Terrance Ferguson should be in the G League…so I’m not advocating him playing makes any difference. And of course…I love Nick Collison whether he plays or not.

So…here the Thunder sit at 20-15 and 12-3 in the month of December. Winners of six straight and somewhat back in the Western Conference standings in a position of relevance. This is who we thought they would be. This is those guys.

When you live in a small market and your team is streaking it’s actually charming how the whole city gets a little bounce in their collective step and vicariously feeds off the team. Our Thunder are on a roll and West Texas Crude closed almost at $60 a barrel yesterday. Not a bad month for Oklahoma City so far.

But here’s the thing, and these guys know it…they can’t take their foot off the gas pedal just because they’ve won six straight. They know this. They know it would be a felony if they don’t become the team in reality they are on paper. Sam Presti knows this. Clay Bennett knows this. And I’m pretty certain Billy Donovan knows this.

Lombardi said winning isn’t a sometime thing. It’s an everyday thing. It’s how you practice. How you think. How you conduct yourself as a man. It’s the whole package wrapped into one.

That’s the next bridge for this basketball team.

Milwaukee Bucks in Oklahoma City on Friday night.

Winning is fun.

I’m a political junkie. Not in any way am I an ideologue though. That’s too harrowing and somewhat requires a narrowed lense of life.

If you were going to pin me down, you might say I’m a fiscal conservative who’s a social liberal. I don’t vote on abortion, gay rights, or the 2nd Amendment for the most part…even though I’m clearly pro-choice, clearly believe in gay rights, and wonder who is it exactly in America that feels they don’t have enough guns currently. None of those issues drive me to vote for or against a candidate usually, because it’s very rare if ever you’re going to find a candidate who aligns perfectly with you on every issue.

I want this in a POTUS… Someone who understands the world, someone who understands America’s place in the world, someone who has enough knowledge to be Commander in Chief, and someone who aspires for all 330 million Americans to have skin in the game as far as pursuing the American Dream. I don’t necessarily stay awake at night worrying about American exceptionalism, but I do think it would be nice to have a White House which doesn’t look like a really, really bad Jerry Springer episode gone even worse.

That’s it. If the Mike Pence’s of the world and those who follow his ilk have their agenda—it’s certainly not mine in that I’m more of a New Testament kind of guy. Wouldn’t a Mike Pence-Mike Huckabee presidency be wonderful for the Christians in America? Note sarcasm dripping off my monitor as I finish paragraph.

When it gets cold, I go on voracious reading sprees. I guess I’m kind of a binge reader. This week I’ve read three excellent books in relation to our ‘current situation’ in regards to Caligula’s hostile takeover of America.

Two of the books are by two conservative and one is by a liberal. So, again I’m not an ideologue. Not in the least. I don’t read what I think I want to hear, because at this point I have no f—king idea exactly what it is I think I want to hear.

Book 1 How in the Hell Did This Happen by PJ O’Rourke. Hilariously funny book which offers a conservative’s view on how Caligula Lite pulled this off. BTW…O’Rourke endorsed Hillary. And double BTW, in case this escaped you, the Koch Brothers didn’t endorse Caligula. Their candidate didn’t win. So…Donald Trump won for other reasons, namely–Hillary Clinton came across the wrong way to a great many Americans….including women.

Book 2 Giant of the Senate by Al Franken Obviously this book was released before Franken’s resignation. Just an excellent book. One I couldn’t put down. He’ll be missed by the Dems because from my perspective he was one of the smarter senators the Dems had/have in office. He always asked the best questions during Judiciary Committee hearings. He should have been a lawyer since he was already at Harvard getting his undergrad degree. Ted Cruz at some point in his lawyer life will aspire to ask questions like Franken asked of Sessions, DeVoss, and Pruitt.

Book 3 Two Paths by John Kasich. I ended up voting for Kasich. I felt his qualifications and personality were more suited to our current needs as a nation in regards to getting pointed back in the right direction. Excellent book as well. I don’t think John Kasich has much of a chance in hell of becoming POTUS, but that’s more on what we have become as opposed to what he could contribute. He’s too boring for the dysfunctional swath of American voters who seemingly decide U.S. elections currently. But still…maybe as a nation we’ll have an epiphany of sorts at some point. Probably not, though. Larry Flynt 2020, right? But at least that would be an upgrade over Caligula.

I have to be honest, Billy Donovan doesn’t inspire me. I think he’s a wonderful man, a fine human being, and probably a five star husband and father. But he doesn’t inspire me.

I need more from a coach. I need more. But this is Sam Presti’s deal. So here’s the thing, Toronto got beat 98-93 last night in Dallas on the first night of a road back to back. OKC rested. As we know, the Thunder started this season like the Bad News Bears only in the luxury tax though. Games have to be made up in the standings.

Again, this is a run of games which not only should kick start your season, but define it later on when the Thunder get to the goal achieving part of the season.

No more excuses. No more…at least not on this blog.

NEVER GIVE A SUCKER AN EVEN BREAK AND KICK HIM WHEN HE’S DOWN. Let’s go, boys. Jump on the Raptors early, often , and put your foot on their throat and pee in their eye sockets. There is no reason whatsoever for them to think they should win this game. Good, no…great teams don’t allow inferior teams to hang around at home.

Win this game and you have the league’s longest current winning streak at six games. I could care less about Minnesota, San Anontio, Houston, and the punk ass Warriors right now. This is about you and reaching deep within yourselves and becoming the team you should be. No more excuses. Let’s go. Win!

Christopher Cross wearing the Earl Campbell jersey and singing Ride Like the Wind.

Toronto takes a six game winning streak to Dallas tonight, then visits Oklahoma City tomorrow night on the second night of a road back to back. I think the math is simple for the Thunder…win the Northwest, then see if the team can really, really get on a roll and overtake the Spurs for the No. 3 seed in the West. I hate to be blunt, but it’s apparent to me there’s no excuse for this team to flounder aimlessly anymore this season. We’ve seen what they can do when they come to an arena motivated to play the Warriors and Rockets. Again I will reiterate, a head coach has many hats he has to wear, but by the far the hat with the most importance is the motivational hat. A top third coach in any league has to have the ability to understand each of his players individually and to be able to push the motivational button of each player.

Moving forward…there’s no excuse for mediocrity with this team. Coaching voices are funny things. Each player is different. The bar on this team has been raised. Reaching your ultimate potential is what good coaching is all about. Internship period is over for Billy Donovan. Let’s go. I expect the Thunder to run the remaining table in December.

Okay. I was there somewhat behind the Houston Rockets bench on Christmas Night. I even dished out an extra eight bucks for the Thunder X-Mas Santa Cap. I was ready to go…and you know what?

So were the Thunder.

Let’s start with this. Before tip, Paul George took the microphone and gave what I thought was a heartfelt pep talk to all of us Thunder fans. It was like he was trying to say, ” I’m sorry for the season so far, but we think we’ve figured things out. Can we have a mulligan ’cause here we go.”

Then there was a rousing rendition of the national anthem. I have to admit I got caught up in the moment there singing like it was Desert Storm days and there for several minutes I almost forgot Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump waged a bitter campaign against one another recently and eventually one of these ‘people’ had to be president. I almost felt like an American again. I didn’t feel, you know…dirty.

Then you know what happened…Sam Presti’s Super Team said what the fuck and decided to make a curtain call encore in honor of their 108-91 win over Golden State… which I think actually happened sometime this past November in the year 2017.

OKC beat Houston 112-107 in what I would describe as a glorious basketball game in which the Thunder won their fifth straight and improved to 11-3 in December.

Don’t look now…but Sam Presti has a pretty good basketball team in place which is on a roll.

Super Team…Smuper Team…what are those anyway? Who amongst really thinks all that much about what Chris Bosh did and didn’t do for LeBron.

But I’ll tell you this….OKC’s Super Four were pretty good on Christmas Night against James Harden and the Rockets.

I don’t do a lot of stats on my recaps. I detest millennial metric zombies who laden down the game as if they were talking about scientific results from some recent lab experiments perpetrated on mice. Who the fuck are these people anyway? I’ve forgotten more Michael Lewis than any of these people will ever read. If they’re so smart then why can’t they explain what ‘credit default swaps’ or ‘backdoor derivatives’ really are. Moneyball was a great story. I loved it. So what? Move on. Get a life. Learn some things about the overall portrait of life. Maybe accrue an asset or two. Grow up.

Here are my stats on the night. Westbrook, Carmelo, PG ( I like him again), and Steven scored a combined 90 points on the night. Is there a metric for this? This means the rest of the Thunder roster scored 22 points. So by definition, even if not metrically endorsed….Sam Presti does indeed have something resembling a Mini Super Team on his hands.

So there’s that.

Defensively…I thought OKC was really good. Again, at the risk of being too stat oriented…I’ll write OKC held Houston to a 43.2% shooting night from the field and limited the metric chucking darling Rockets to 32.4% from beyond the arc.

Of course, this brings me to Andre Roberson because in my estimation he’s OKC’s best defender who just by chance would have difficulty throwing a basketball into the Pacific Ocean if he were standing two feet from the water and he thought he was shooting a free throw.

Andre was superb defensively as he usually is, but you knew at some point Mike D’Antoni (he’s Italian like me, right?) would put him on the line…and of course he did in the fourth period with the game hanging in the balance somewhat. In true Andre fashion, he bank shot in the first attempt, then air-balled the second attempt. D’Ant said to himself, “do it again…WTF.”

He did and Andre by the divine intervention of Rumble made one of two again and by the grace of former Thunder iconic free throw legend quasi god…Kendrick Perkins, never had to toe the line again in this Christmas Night classic. Oh, by the grace of God.

But putting the all that aside, OKC played beautifully coming down the stretch of Winning Time in the fourth period. Russell Westbrook since that freak show ending in Philadelphia has PLAYED BETTER BASKETBALL THAN WHEN HE BEAT OSCAR LAST SEASON.

Callout to Bad Little Dude…I love you. This is the way you should play. This is the template. These past games it’s like I’m young again and watching Mo Cheeks play hoops with Dr J and Moses Malone. If you revert back to that other crap…I don’t know what to say to you other than maybe you’re a masochist or something. PLEASE DON’T DO THAT AGAIN. I WANT YOU TO BEAT CUPCAKE AND KLAY MORE THAN YOU DO.

In fact, it was my voice in Sec 114 there in the waning seconds last night which was chanting…”Bring on the fucking Warriors!” And you know, as I was doing that every motherfucker in front of me turned around and high fived me. No shit. We’re brothers in this, okay?

Carmelo and PG were glorious. Beautiful, boys. Steven Adams was a monster the first half. James Harden didn’t go off which is a tribute to Andre. Jerami Grant showed he belonged on this stage.

So here the Thunder sit 19-15 and on a roll. But here’s the thing, when you start the season like the Bad News Bears you can’t be satisfied with a modest five game winning streak in December. You have to become a greedy team with an edge. With something to prove to those of us who said you’d never be super.

So–if I’m Billy Donovan there’s no way in private with my team I’m gushing today. Actually, I’m more than a little pissed because it took this long to get this out of them five games in a row. I would stare, then glare a bit today while watching film of the Toronto Raptors. Instead of acting like a Mike Gundy clone minus the dyed mullet, I’d be a bit more like Greg Popovich. I’d say some things about pride of craft and such. I’d put on my Vincent Thomas Lombardi big boy britches and say a few more things. I’d actually get on their ass today and make it clear they’re doing an injustice to themselves as men if they play like they did earlier in the season

Don’t look now, but the Toronto Raptors are in first place in the East. They’ll be here tomorrow night at the Peake. I might see if I can sneak in the building again because there’s a rumor Sam Presti might have a decent ball club on his hands.

Who would have thought?

Big game this evening. Very big week for the Thunder. From my way of thinking this is when the Thunder need to show Paul George and his agent there’s a reason for him to stay in Oklahoma City playing his basketball. Four home games this week to close out the month. I had OKC going either 14-3 or 13-4 this month. This is the time, boys. Win. Contrary to what the Fox crew panders, you can’t just hope they peak in April. The trade dead line is in mid-February. You either sell Paul George now or maybe never. Maybe..I’m wrong. We’ll see.

I was born in 1957, the same year Martin Luther King made his glorious speech. From a historical standpoint, the American Century with American exceptionalism began in 1941 and made it through the presidency of Barack Obama in 2016.

I think the American Century is still in place even after the assaults from Caligula, Bannon, and others–but 2018 is pretty much a historical year on the horizon if the American Century is to continue.

So what was the American Century? It was a time when the rest of the world looked to the United States for leadership. It was a time when America defeated the Nazis instead of making excuses for them in a Virginia city. It was a time when every member of America knew the country at some point would include them in the game as equals instead of disparaging them. We were inclusive instead of just being a club for white billionaires. It was a time when we did fabulous things. It was a time when we dreamed as a nation. As a people. It was a time we wanted every person in America to dream the American Dream… not just rich white kids who for the most part never served their country.

It was a glorious time for humanity even with all the problems. I’ve lived in a country which did the most amazing things ever in the history of mankind. It completely awes me at times…what I’ve lived through so far. I hope my son gets to feel the same thing thirty years from now.

But here’s what happened this year with the ascension of reality television’s concept of what it would be like for Caligula to be governing America circa 2017…what happened for the first time in my life is that the rest of the world no longer views America as the moral compass. Nope. That just ended with one disgraceful tweet or action compounded upon another.

Now…when I write the American Century ended, I’m not sure it permanently ended, but for right now it’s on pause. The rest of the world is watching to see if America will correct itself in 2018 and set itself back on course historically.

So…I would say this–if you want America to completely revert to the robber baron days then follow Caligula’s lead and look to Angela Merkel and China for world leadership. If you want the American Century to go beyond 1941-2018 then maybe getting your ass out to vote all across this country next November would be a smart thing to do.

I mean, at some point–the Three Generals can only do so much in holding Caligula in check somewhat. At some point, the American Electorate is going to need to grow up and maybe decide that an adult running America again isn’t a bad idea.

Don’t take what I’ve written on here on Christmas morning the wrong way. I’m thankful for what I’ve lived through in this country. I know I’ve lived a blessed life. I just hope other younger Americans get to experience the same feelings of having lived in a blessed country.