Author: Mike

What should we think about this OKC Super Team which wasn’t organically put together like the Durant-Westbrook-Harden Super team of 2012?

Being 4-6 and being the current 12th seed in the West doesn’t so much bother me because the Thunder save the Utah game have been in position to win every game they’ve played in so far. It’s not like Clay Bennett and his ownership group didn’t payroll a roster with upside–so I’m not hitting the panic button just yet.

But if the Thunder drop two more in a row then the ‘seriously concerned’ button comes on my Thunder dashboard Friday night after the Clippers game.

To date, as I wrote the Thunder are currently the 12th seed in the West and every Daily Thunder Regular Season Contest bracket sheet is probably hurting somewhat because of this fact unless somebody had them at No. 9 or No. 10. Delve even deeper, and you’ll observe OKC is the only team in the West without at least one win against another Western Conference team to date.

One thing about the Durant Era is very clear, those teams never lost many games in a row and usually bounced back from a loss with a vengeance, albeit the three straight they lost to the Warriors in the Western Conference Finals, and we saw what happened there as Durant said I’d rather play with Steph.

But to date, these conference losses aren’t coming against the Warriors, Spurs, Rockets, Clippers or even the Grizzlies. This 0-5 slate against the West so far has come against Utah, Minnesota (twice), Portland, and the feeble Kings.

Yeah, I know, Billy Donovan under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement isn’t allowed to ever raise his voice with any of the Three Superstars, but he might in a gentle tone remind them before tip tonight if they don’t win any games against Western Conference teams this season they’re not making the playoffs. And, I’m almost certain Adam Silver wouldn’t grant them a special exemption to play as an Eastern Conference team in post season.

So what Billy Donovan might need to do in accordance with the terms of the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement is pull Westbrook, George, Carmelo, and Steven Adams aside away from the rest of the team and say something pretty much like this,” You guys are each making over $20 million and playing like the four biggest pussies in the league. You hold my future as coach of this team in your hands. Players make the coach, always have, always will. So if you’re not going to do one fucking thing I’m asking you to do then tell me straight up right now so Presti can figure out an exit amount and I can go coach college ball again somewhere like say…. North Carolina.”

It’s a star driven league and players make the coach.

Always have, always will.

Pretty simple. No overthink needed.

Seems except for me and Erik Horne there’s lots of white guys covering the Thunder here in Oklahoma City. Btw…I don’t consider myself white any longer as a protest statement to Caligula being elected POTUS. Consider it my John Carlos moment. White guys who voted for Trump don’t get it. I’m prolly the only white dude in Edmond who voted for Barack twice. It must be the John Marshall in me. White dudes don’t feel the game like we do. It’s who we are. Tramel no bruh. Royce Young no bruh. Bret Dawson not even close to being a bruh. Anyway…I came across these three guys doing this video on NBA Super Teams and it cheered me up.

Well, you, know…when you really think about it Super Teams in the NBA don’t always come thru as planned. There’s just too damn much to think about as far as egos, stats, legacies, etc.

The swarmish little Fox wannabee bruh Brian Davis wants you to think this is going to turn out like the 2012 LeBron/Dwayne/Bosh Super Team, but I gotta be candid…I’m not getting a good vibe ten games in.

Russ is too stubborn. Carmelo has been on bad teams for too long. And Paul George is trying to be too nice.

Here’s what I would do if I were coaching this bunch. I’d say quit fucking thinking so much and play the game you love with passion and reckless abandon. You’re not going to beat the Golden State Warriors anyway. Quit trying to be something you’re not, turn it loose, play like you did when you were a kid and have some fun out there. Too much thinking is going on. Read and react. Communicate. Move the ball. Head on a fucking swivel. I’d then put the Al Pacino video on for them and tell it’s time to start winning.

All these white people trying to make this so over complicated. I say…if you’re going down in flames, go down in style. Quit playing scared of failure.

This game might qualify as one of my lowest moments in ten years of watching the Thunder play basketball. It depressed me almost as much as the Trump presidency to see this team with this much potential play this bad this early in a season which may or may not hold much hope for the Thunder being relevant in April.

Disgraceful is the word I feel most inclined to use. The Thunder’s collective performance was disgraceful.

Sam Presti and Billy Donovan need to have a closed door meeting sometime today if they haven’t already. The question Sam Presti needs to ask of Billy Donovan is if he thinks he can effectively coach this basketball team moving forward.

From what I witnessed on Tuesday in a disgraceful performance at Sacramento is maybe he can’t. Ten games in it appears his team isn’t listening and the body language is bad…as in superstar prima donna NBA bad. You don’t see players do this with Greg Popovich or Steve Kerr or even upcomer Brad Stevens. They wouldn’t stand for it.

I’m trying to be fair. I really am.

This Kings team was 1-8 entering tonight and losers of seven straight games. The notion OKC could lose this game never entered my mind. In fact, when OKC went up 25-10 after the first period I started clicking my remote to catch parts of the new ESPN 30/30 film Nature Boy. The film was about pro wrestler Ric Flair. Since I’m not really a pro wrestling fan the story fascinated me. I knew about Hulk Hogan, Junkyard Dog, Rowdy Roddy Piper and the such, but I had no idea Ric Flair’s life was so depressing. Such a sad movie, but if I had to guess, I’m almost certain Donald Trump created his persona from in part…Ric Flair. Don’t laugh.

Anyway, back to the Thunder in Sacramento. After the first period—it was pitiful. This team didn’t look like they’d practiced or looked at film or had a walkthrough or even cared how they played. It was a disgrace.

It somewhat reminded of a game back in Year 1 when OKC played like this and PJ Carlesimo never coached another Thunder game. But if you look up and down that Thunder bench you won’t see a young Scott Brooks or a Monty Williams in wait. So—I’m not sure what Sam Presti does. I love Mo Cheeks, but he’s never gotten it done in several opportunities of being an NBA head coach.

OKC scored 16 points in the second period. Then after talking about it in their locker room they followed this with scoring 16 points in the third period. At one point the Thunder trailed by as many as 12 points, but made a run, got within one point, and then of course folded their tents when it mattered coming down the stretch.

Steven Adams and Jerami Grant were decent, the rest of the team was a dumpster fire.

The final score was 94-86 as if it mattered.

Collectively, OKC’s Super Three shot 15-54 on the night. The ball did not move. There were times I’d sit there counting endless seconds of dribbling by either Westbrook, Carmelo, or Paul. I had OKC down for 15 assists as a team. I just don’t get it. These three guys can move to Los Angeles tomorrow and they’re not winning a ring there unless they play the game the right way.

I don’t know what to say beyond this. I really don’t. If as a coach you can’t get your team to listen to you then you shouldn’t be coaching the team. But having written that–I’m not exactly sure who I would suggest Sam Presti talk to about coaching his three superstars.

OKC at Denver on Thursday night.

Basically, the setting for this Saturday night is OU needs a win over TCU, period. Just a win because that’s all this season has been since Iowa State beat OU 38-31 over a month ago before anybody really knew Iowa State was pretty good.

Just like that ESPN 30/30 film where Jimmy Valvano and N.C. Wolfpack win, survive, and advance in somehow winning the 1983 NCAA Basketball Championship.

Win, survive, and advance.

I was there at that 2008 Tech game and it was awesome. Best environment ever for an OU home game as Sam Bradford clinched his Heisman and the polls leapfrogged OU over Texas into the national championship game matchup with the Florida Gators.

This is what Baker Mayfield wants from the OU fans on Saturday night when the Horn Frogs invade Norman.

And my guess is…he’ll get it.

I love the look on Leach and Graham Harrell’s faces as this is going down.

Usually—this isn’t a homer blog, but this week it is.

BOOMER!

Win, Survive, and Advance. Probably my favorite ESPN 30/30 film. Just a great story. The ending when the team reunites years later is incredible.

If you don’t follow Oklahoma football you probably don’t know there have been five Heisman Trophy winners to date from OU. In this order they go…Billy Vessels ( Bud Wilkinson), Steve Owens (Chuck Fairbanks–who went on to coach the Patriots), Billy Sims (Barry Switzer), Jason White (Bob Stoops), and Sam Bradford ( Bob Stoops).

After last week-end’s games, Baker Mayfield is the leading candidate for this year’s Heisman Trophy heading into the second week-end of November. Mayfield has been a back to back finalist the two previous years and would become OU’s sixth Heisman winner if he ends up winning the award.

His coach, 33 year-old Lincoln Riley, became the first coach in OU history to win eight games or more in his first season as OU’s head coach in Bedlam. When you watch this team play every week it’s clearly a symbiotic relationship between quarterback and coach. Each an extension of the other. The defense still has a multitude of problems, but each week they just find a way to win games in the second half. And as it turns out, the loss to Iowa State isn’t a disgrace in that the Cyclones are one of the biggest national feel good stories of this college football season.

TCU at OU this week-end in what should be a game which is a polar opposite of what we just saw in Bedlam. OU won’t just be given oceans of space by the TCU defense, this game should be a different animal. Gonna have to fight for those inches. Scratch, claw, and bleed for that extra inch.

For me. I love this, I won’t be able to fall asleep tonight and it’s only Monday. We used to play this in our hockey locker rooms. Billy Donovan might want to start playing it to see if his team will wake the fuck up. Just a thought.

Well, another Bedlam has come yet again with O State team owner T Boone Pickens losing yet once again to his tormentors… the Oklahoma Sooners. In case you’re not keeping track—Boone is now 2-11 versus OU and in reality is really 1-12 because the game where Big Game Bob lost his mind and repunted to Tyreke Hill shouldn’t count as a win.

Dear Boone,

Not that I don’t somewhat share your concern for your team not being able to beat the worst OU defense I’ve ever seen in OU football history, but it comes with the territory when you purchase the ownership share of a Big 12 football franchise for half a billion dollars.

Dude, when you over pay for a commodity and it doesn’t pan out it goes with the territory of free market entrepreneurship.

How anyone would have paid this much for a franchise which under the coaching tenures of Jimmy Johnson and Pat Jones beat OU a total of zero times during their combined stays at O State is beyond me. But Mike Holder talked you into it and you own it.

Now as some in the know privately know…Les Miles and his family wanted to stay at O State beyond his four years, but you chased him off because you wanted Les to report to you daily with the stuff Jerry Jones demands of Jason Garrett.

So with Mike Gundy and his warts….. his losses to OU, his mangling of the English language during the Rant, his mullet, the flirtations with Arkansas and Tennessee, and his seemingly never ending feud with you… this is of your doing and nobody else.

But putting the losses to OU aside and the fact he won’t play anybody that’s any good in non-conference play….he’s actually done a pretty decent job and seems like a decent man.

So here’s my advice following this year’s Bedlam loss…don’t say a word.

Not one single word.

Jerry Jones has Jason Garrett, you have Mike Gundy. It is what it is. Que sera…sera, what ever will be will be.

Another tough night for the Thunder as they fell 103-99 to the Trailblazers on Sunday night in Portland. OKC drops to 4-5 on the season and has still yet to win a game against either a Northwest Division or Western Conference opponent. Of OKC’s four wins to date, three came against Eastern Conference teams who probably won’t make the playoffs and the one quality win came against the Milwaukee Bucks who should make the playoffs. OKC got blown out at Utah, lost two close games to Minnesota, and lost this close game to Portland. To date, OKC has not played a game against an elite team from the West unless you’re giving Minnesota too much credit this early in the season.

Another lethargic performance by OKC’s starters. Steven Adams was brutal and basically played one of the worst games I’ve seen him play with the Thunder. Russell Westbrook had another tough shooting night and missed three free throws at the game’s most critical moment in the final minute of play. Carmelo Anthony got ejected on a questionable Flagrant 2 call in the third period after starting the game red hot shooting the ball. I thought for the second straight game Paul George was OKC’s best player on the floor.

OKC’s bench was pretty good actually as Ray Felton was outstanding and Jerami Grant was his rock solid self again. The problem wasn’t OKC’s bench, it was basically Carmelo getting ejected, Russell struggling at crunch time, and Steven Adams playing like he was hung over. That’s a lot of payroll getting outplayed by a non-contender like Portland.

For a team who on paper has one of the top five rosters in the NBA this isn’t a great start especially the way the team has been playing late in close games.

Super Team this—Super Team that, you gotta bring your A game mentally and physically to the arena to win games in this league.

OKC at Sacramento on Tuesday night. It’s early, but a loss to the feeble Kings coupled with a 4-6 start wouldn’t be a good thing despite the gentle warm things Brian Davis whispers into Thunder ears on the local Fox telecasts.

Might be time for Billy Donovan to say fuck a few times in the locker room and throw a chair… if NBA coaches are allowed to do such things under the collective bargaining agreement.

Always remember…it’s a star/agent driven league.

This call was complete bullshit. They don’t make this call in the North Edmond Little Girl’s Rec Soccer league. Total bullshit. Just me talking out loud as a former hockey coach, but in a situation like this I go to war for my player and if I get ejected then that’s just the way it goes and Mo Cheeks finishes the game. Just saying. Great opportunity to light a fire under your team missed by Billy Donovan. An elbow wasn’t thrown, it was there in a natural position to command space on the play.

Whoa….seriously, whoa. It took 62 points to finally subdue Oklahoma State in what was essentially an elimination game at both the Big 12 Championship Game and National College Football Playoff level…but the Sooners are still breathing in control of at least their own Big 12 Championship destiny.

OU entered as a road underdog, yet hung 62 on Mike Gundy’s feeble defense as the now 8-1 Sooners host TCU next Saturday for first place in the Big 12 regular season championship.

It was like watching the Dodgers vs. the Astros in Game 6. Just when you thought the other guy couldn’t go yard one more time…they went yard. If you’re a Woody or Bo pre-millenial purist this game made you want to puke, but if you like the high octane Big 12 it was vintage stuff. One haymaker begats another haymaker.

It was rookie coach Lincoln Riley’s first Bedlam and he came thru as a southwest rock star Sooner cult hero in victory while Mike Gundy dropped to 2-11 versus the Sooners. Take away Big Game Bob’s disastrous decision to repunt to Tyreke Hill three years ago and Gundy is 1-12 in Bedlam as a head coach.

Riley becomes the first head coach in OU’s storied football history to post eight or more wins in his first season. And that list of former OU coaches includes Bennie Owens, Bud Wilkinson, Barry Switzer, and Bob Stoops who between them have captured seven national championships.

So now OU hosts Gary Patterson and his TCU Horn Frogs in what should be a preview of the Big 12 Championship Game at Jerry’s World in December. Unlike O State, TCU has a legitimate defense and this won’t be a video slugfest. This will more resemble traditional football where people actually get tackled and put on the ground.

And once again next Saturday it will be win, survive, and advance for Lincoln Riley, Baker Mayfield, and their Sooners.

There’s only one Oklahoma, only one—and this is what Boone Pickens never calibrated as he was dropping upwards of half a billion into the O State coffers.

I’m going to tell it like I see it on this blog…period. I’ve listened and read the local takes from others who write or talk about the team before getting on here this morning. As Billy Donovan said in his postgame it was a game of two halves. OKC won the first half 55-37. Boston won the second half 64-39. Just so Billy D and his team know… it’s the second half which matters most because you know that’s when NBA games are usually decided. Anotherwords, good teams usually have a run or two in them even when they’re trailing at half.

So why would OKC go into a coma after one half of play? Why would that happen? None of OKC’s three stars have ever won a ring. So there in no way should ever be an issue with competitive complacency from this team. Quite the opposite should be true…Westbrook, George, and especially Carmelo Anthony should be playing with a chip on their collective shoulders in search of NBA championship validation.

What happened in that OKC locker room at halftime? Were they laid back drinking pina coladas and talking fashion trends?

Let’s call it like it is right now. OKC played like a championship contender the first twenty-four minutes, then didn’t bother to show up in the second half. They loafed on defense. The ball didn’t move. It was ugly iso ball with the team only garnishing 4 assists the entire second half. This is why for the most part the NBA is a star driven league versus being a coach driven league. That being it appeared OKC couldn’t have possibly listened to anything Billy Donovan said to them in the second half of this game…because if they did then Billy Donovan should be fired this afternoon.

I put this one on Russell Westbrook. It’s his team. You gotta take ownership of what you want to be as a team. You have to take pride in playing the right way. You don’t owe that to the fans, you owe it to yourself.

Again–this is pretty damn simple. Teams which loaf on defense and don’t move the basketball are usually done after one round of the NBA Playoffs. As in ‘Gone Fishing’ or on the golf course.

After the Warriors won their first ring—you know what they went and did…they won 73 games the next season without Kevin Durant.

You know what the Warriors did this past playoff run with Kevin Durant—they won their second ring and went 16-1 in post season play. My point? These guys are competitive motherfuckers and it matters to them how they play the game.

The Golden State Warriors don’t just compete against the other 29 teams in the league, they compete against themselves and the notion they want to become this era’s historic dynasty. How they play ‘Matters To Them’.

So…OKC is now 4-4 after eight games. Like I said before on here the record itself isn’t a big deal this early in the season if steady incremental improvement occurs. Effort to me should be there every game and for 48 minutes. Sure, it’s the NBA and it’s an 82 game marathon, but this game was at home and the Thunder were coming off two days of rest and pretty much healthy. Correct me if I’m wrong…but I don’t believe anywhere in the NBA bylaws where it states teams can’t play hard for 48 minutes.

Boston, which is pretty much a new team itself, has now won seven games in a row holding opponents under 95 points a game for seven straight games. Plus, they lost Gordon Hayward for the season in their season opener.

It pretty much comes down to playing hard and playing smart. Not complex.

OKC at Portland on Sunday evening.

The Thunder have a big game tonight at home versus the Boston Celtics. With a win, OKC can improve to 5-3 and have a three game winning streak in the works. So far into this young season the Thunder have emerged as one of the better defensive teams in the league. This should be of no surprise with the addition of Paul George, the re-signing of Andre Roberson, and the continual evolution of Jerami Grant. Throw Steven Adams’ defensive versatility into the mix and the fact Russell Westbrook was at one time a defense first guard—and you have the makings of a very good defensive team.

The Philly Sixers have always been my favorite team in the East. Like from the first grade to the present. It probably started for me with Billy Cunningham and Hal Greer–then went thru Dr. J and Maurice Cheeks–and in the present seeing all these young players assembled in Philly trying to restore the Sixer brand.

So what does Jerami Grant bring to the Thunder? He brings a freakish athletic frame and a versatile game. He can run the floor. He can defend. He can rebound. He can score, and unlike Andre Roberson, he’s not horrible from the line. He can be Billy Donovan’s do anything sub from the bench and play various positions on the floor in either a conventional lineup set or playing with a small ball unit.

Consider if OKC needs a unit on the floor to get a stop against the Warriors–Billy Donovan has the luxury of putting Westbrook, George, Adams, Grant, and Roberson on the floor together. Name five better defenders on the same team in the West currently. You might go…. Thompson, Durant, Draymond Green, Iguodala, and Za Za with the Warriors. To get these five I had to sit Carmelo and Steph, but still it was fun to do from a defensive standpoint.

What Sam Presti did this summer besides adding Paul George and Carmelo Anthony to the team was to turn OKC into one of the best defensive teams in the league.

Say what you want about the Warriors ability to score the ball, but defensive guru Ron Adams has the Warriors playing defense when it matters. The Warriors defense is a big part of why they are who they are currently.

I love Jerami Grant as a player. He reminds me a bit of Stacy Augmon back from his UNLV days. Moving forward–I’m hopeful Billy Donovan expands his role even more.