Let’s start with this. Not to be cruel, but Andre’s free throw shooting against Houston in last season’s playoffs was in a word…feeble. Seriously feeble. I don’t write this to be cruel because Andre is a wonderful defender, excellent rebounder, and chock full of every intangible a coach could hope for with the exception my sixty year old ass could beat him in a free throw shooting contest. I’m very consistent shooting free throws…pretty much at a 72-75% clip. But I’m not a shooting coach or anything, so let’s do this. Let’s take a look back at last spring versus the Rockets and see if we can detect anything wrong with Andre’s stroke.
That was genuinely brutal. Is it the stroke or is it just mental? I’m saying both. Now let’s take a look at his shooting stroke from the field.
Now let’s watch the free throw coach for the stars give Andre some suggestions on technique.
That’s seems a bit much to think about, I never think about those things. Maybe take some of that, mentally refresh, pause, think of a beautiful naked woman, release, and swish. That’s how to do it. That’s what I do at the YMCA shooting free throws. You should be hovering somewhere in that 70-72% range from the line so as you can stay on the floor to guard Klay Thompson, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, and Jimmy Butler. I know you can do this, Andre.
The NBA is a league dominated by Golden State currently. Dynasty is not too strong of a word if they stay healthy. I like Steve Kerr. He’s a nice fit for this team. But as we’ve seen over the past several years they win with Kerr, Luke Walton, and Mike Brown. They’re very good and structured for the modern era of NBA basketball. Nice interview. This is a dude I could sit down with and talk to about a myriad of things. I can see why his players like him.
Well…if Tillerson didn’t, we do know this—he fucking should have. Oh, I wake every morning exhausted from all this winning Caligula has heaped upon us. Not one singular to date thing has been done except the filling of a judgeship which should have already been filled by Merritt Garland. Not one singular thing.
I’ve come to my own conclusions about America the past twelve months. We in no way should be deporting Hispanics or banning Muslims. What we should be doing is deporting around twenty million or so of the white idiots who voted for this piece of shit douchebag.
Where do we send them? Who would take them? What would it cost? I haven’t figured all this out, but this is what needs to done. These people are not coachable. Not redeemable. Maybe the LSU Alumni Association would take them. Sorry… Jimmy Carvelle.
Make America Great Again…Deport a Deplorable.
Tell me it wouldn’t take balls to put that bumper sticker on my truck in Oklahoma. I might just do it.
This evidently caused a great deal of stress with Tillerson. Funny to see Tom Price there since he was last week fired for financial fraud and corruption. The other idiot standing besides Caligula is former Texas governor Rick Perry who never should have left Dancing With the Stars. Oh, boy. Tillerson should be okay…it’s not like Caligula looked out at the Boy Scouts and told them he moved on her heavily and tried to fuck her like a bitch.
Here’s the thing, as Golden State comes into this season they should be riding the quest of a threepeat in search of a fourpeat. Take away Draymond Green’s ejection two years ago and that’s where the NBA is currently. That being, the Golden State Warriors being the hated champions with twenty-nine other teams wishing they were them.
I haven’t done my Western Conference bracket sheet yet, but here’s the truth, while OKC, Houston, San Antonio, and Minnesota all got better…so did the Warriors. As if they needed more offensive firepower, that’s exactly what they did this off season in adding more offense to their mix with the additions of Nick Young and Omri Casspi. Unless an injury bug hits the Warriors, they will be better as well.
The thing which bothers me the most about the Thunder is what do you do with Andre Roberson. Of the teams I just mentioned including Golden State, all of their guard tandems feature two way backcourts, none of these teams have to close their eyes when their shooting guard touches the ball. Those other shooting guards are Klay Thompson/Warriors, James Harden/Rockets, Danny Green/ Spurs, and Jimmy Butler/TWolves. I love everything Sam Presti did and I love Andre Roberson’s game other than his shooting, but that’s part of being a shooting guard. Namely, scoring the ball enough to keep the other team honest.
If I’m an opposing coach my take on OKC is still the same even with the additions of George, Melo, Patterson, and Felton….I’m either going to foul Roberson early in the possession or not guard him at all once the possession becomes half court.
As the opposing coach I’m going to write on the board…’Make Andre Roberson Beat Us.’ I’d do exactly what Steve Kerr does by using the extra defender to congest the lane and take away the rim from Adams and Westbrook. Would you rather have those two at the rim or Roberson with the ball in his hands? Duh.
Billy Donovan is going to have to work through this somehow. He’s going to have to become a situational savant on the bench. Those four other coaches don’t have to work through any of that. And remember what happened last season in the first round against Houston, Mike D’Antoni simply said to his team, ‘Make Andre Roberson Beat Us.’ Pretty simple.
So that’s the one thing which gives me a feeling of unrest about the Thunder and why I can’t decide whether to pick them second or fourth on my Western Conference bracket sheet.
My heart says second, but my reason says fourth. And fourth means you’re on the Warriors side of the bracket.
Before we got a team in Oklahoma, the Philly Sixers were easily my favorite NBA team. I was never a Celtics or Lakers fan per se. I watched all their games, but the Sixers had my heart. It started with Hal Greer and Billy Cunningham, then made a turn through the Dr. J era, Charles Barkley, and then Allen Iverson. Some truly great players made their careers in Philly.
So as a Philly fan who’s now a passionate Thunder fan/blogger, I was thinking how fortunate I’ve been to watch some truly great point guards–and don’t forget those two years New Orleans played here in OKC, I got to see Chris Paul win Rookie of the Year and evolve as one of the best point guards in the league.
My favorite NBA team of all-time is the 1983 Sixers team who swept the Lakers in four games to win the NBA Championship. My second favorite team is the 2012 OKC Thunder who lost in five games to LeBron in Miami. My third favorite team is the 1977 Portland Trail Blazers who actually beat my Sixers in six games. That Portland team was perhaps the best passing team I’ve ever seen and coached by Jack Ramsey, who was at one time the Philly head coach. Small world.
So now everyone is saying Westbrook is just a heavier version of Allen Iverson. I don’t think so. There are parts of Iverson in Westbrook’s game, but there are parts of Mo Cheeks and probably Russell’s father inside of Westbrook’s game as well.
Westbrook is completely adaptable to the talent around him. Lest Cupcake and his brother Tony forget–Le Cupcake won four scoring titles in OKC, had that rare gem 40-50-90 season, won an MVP, made it to four conference finals and one NBA finals. What I’m saying is Westbrook held his game back to facilitate Durant. If Durant, his handlers, and brother Tony want to rewrite history that’s their call. As someone who watched all of this–I’d put more of OKC’s inability to get over the top on OKC’s starting shooting guards during the Durant Era, and btw even though I think Andre Roberson is a great kid this still concerns me. Golden State has Klay Thompson, the Thunder have a shooting guard who can’t make free throws. Do the math in a best of seven series, do the math.
If I’m Billy Donovan here’s what I say to Russ, play like Mo Cheeks did in ’83 and see where that takes you. The way Mo Cheeks played the point guard position in ’83 was something to behold. The ball moved exactly where it needed to be and was there when it needed to be there. Dr. J and Moses Malone got their comfort touches, the perimeter guys got their touches, and when needed Cheeks got his points. It was beautiful to watch. I’m hopeful this is the template the Thunder follows this season.
Except for last season, I’ve never thought Westbrook was a ball hog. His usage was high, but for the most part, except for last season when he was surrounded by primarily rookie scale players—the ball has gotten where it needs to be gotten. Did you really want the ball in someone’s else’s hands in Game 6 versus Warriors? No…we just wanted Durant and Westbrook to make the touches count. I mean would we even be having this never ending Westbrook-Cupcake yarn if OKC holds on to the lead those fateful six minutes or so in Game 6?
In closing to all the talking heads who say Westbrook is just a heavier Iverson…I’d say Westbrook is one small part Mo, Cheeks, one small part Allen Iverson, one small part Ray Westbrook, and one big part Russell Westbrook.
That’s what I’d say.
My favorite Iverson video. I love the Rocky dribbling spiel in Philly. Classic.
Tom Petty passed at the age of sixty-six. I love many of his songs. Hard to have one favorite, but here’s a couple at the top of my list. R.I.P., buddy. You’ll be missed.
I’ve come to be a fan of Cowherd. He’ll probably be the millennials Dan Patrick. Oklahoma is a good match for Russell. The state has a tremendous amount of untapped potential if only the state had a more visionary governor and an overall attitude of being a bit more progressive. Great people with a genuine goodness about them. They need leadership, just not from the American Freedom Caucus, especially on the education front. It’s all about education.
Kind of interesting when you examine my two favorite pro athletes excluding Nick Collison. Are you kidding? Until Nick hangs up the sneakers it’s him.
Russell and Aaron both hail from California. Both attended PAC 12 schools. Russ went to UCLA, Aaron eventually went to Cal-Berkley. Both struggled a bit to land DI scholarships. Both have supportive families, although Aaron did go through some bullshit with his family during the whole Olivia Munn drama, while of course–Russ has had to deal with the Cupcake saga. Both went through early periods when there was uncertainty whether they could play at the NBA and NFL levels. Both to date play in their sports smallest market. Both are very smart dudes.
And the thing is… it’s good for the NBA to have Russell Westbrook in Oklahoma City, and good for the NFL to have Aaron Rodgers in storied Green Bay, Wisconsin. And it proves as an athlete you don’t have to live in New York or LA to have mega endorsements and the biggest brightest brand. You just don’t, because ultimately your body of works separates you from your peers.
So…here’s my buddy Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers.
You know, I’m a very passionate sports fan. Sports have been my refuge from reality. It’s the place I hide to escape when things get tough. The Green Bay Packers, Oklahoma City Thunder, Boston Bruins, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Oklahoma Sooners are my favorite teams.
Things got tough last 4th of July when Kevin Durant left OKC to join the already champion Golden State Warriors. Fact is, if Draymond Green hadn’t gone all out stupid ass the Warriors would already be threepeat champions with two of them coming without Durant. If Durant had left to join Boston, LA, Chicago, New York or even San Antonio…I would have been okay with it. But that’s not what he did, what he did was calibrate the easiest path possible to an NBA championship. He then had the audacity to say with a straight face his decision charted him the toughest path possible to a ring. Whatever. Talk that shit to your dumbass brother Tony the ‘agent’.
I had no idea Durant was a Libra. I’m a Libra. My wife is a Libra. Most of her family are Libras and it’s an Air Force family with as much grit as you’d ever want to see. When I’m having talks with my father-in-law the guy across the table from me is a retired U.S. Air Force one star brigadier general. Thankfully—he thinks Caligula is an even bigger douchebag than I do. I have three nephews and a niece who are Libras. And here’s the thing…out of all these Libras–Kevin Durant is the weakest motherfucker in the bunch. My niece, Silvia, has some moments, but still. She’s a twelve year old girl so I’m cutting her some slack. What I’m saying is Libras are generally tough minded, fair, independent people who don’t act like the BPOAT (Biggest Pussy of All-Time).
Peyton Manning spent almost his entire pro career with the Indianapolis Colts and many of those seasons ended with the Colts losing in post season to Tom Brady and the New England Pats. Manning finally broke through, beat the Pats in an AFC Championship Game and won his Super Bowl with the Colts. Heck, he even won a second Super Bowl in Denver on his farewell tour. Dirk did something similar when he lost to the Miami Heat in 2006, but came back in 2011 and led the Dallas Mavs to their only world championship to date. Manning never hooked up with Brady and the Patriots and as we all know Dirk is still in Dallas.
So–Russell Westbrook has decided to stay and chances are he will never win an NBA Championship in Oklahoma City. But maybe, just maybe, like Dirk he’ll have that season where the stars align and he gets his ring. Odds are against it though. We live in an era of super teams with LeBron organizing in a city which fits his current needs. The Warriors are stacked. At some point a team in Los Angeles will get its shit together. It will be a narrow window for Russell Westbrook. Time will tell if he did the right thing.
But I know this for certain. Russell Westbrook in no way made a decision which will enhance his percentages in winning an NBA Championship. But he did make a decision which will endear him as the most loved Oklahoman of All-Time.
Unlike some, I haven’t been sweating this all that much since I heard the interview with Russell’s college coach Ben Howland back in June. He called it way back in June when he did an interview on the Sports Animal. There was a certainty in his voice as he talked glowingly of Russell’s loyalty to those in his inner circle. Howland not only said Westbrook would sign the contract, but would probably play his entire career in Oklahoma City. His tone calmed me, so unlike some, this isn’t really a shock to me.
Russell signed a five year deal today worth $205 million, couple that with the $28 million and change he’s making this year — and that’s $233 million in the next six years.
So here I am as a fan having Russell Westbrook signed on my favorite NBA team and Aaron Rodgers signed on my favorite NFL team. Probably the two most galvanizing athletes in their respective sports playing in small market Oklahoma City and Green Bay. Life is good.
Sam Presti is Russell Westbrook’s man and vice versa. Presti has not only proved he’s a draft day savant, but has now proved he can attract other NBA stars to hook up with Russell in the coming years via free agency and uber creative trades.
Think about this for instance–last summer Presti traded Ibaka for Oladipo, Sabonis, and Ilyasova. Presti then turned Ilyasova for Jerami Grant, then this spring turned Oladipo and Sabonis for Paul George. Really? Anybody seen the Lakers do anything like that in the last eight years or so?
I’m happy. The city I live in needed this. Durant’s departure was like no other gut punch in Oklahoma City history since the Murrah Building bombing. There was a gloom overhanging the city after Durant’s slithering departure. Most thought Westbrook would be California bound and kept their hearts tethered, but here’s the thing, Russell Westbrook is his own man and did in his heart what Ben Howland told us he would do. Like when he stayed at UCLA without a scholarship and waited for a spot to open.
Ben Howland knew and so did Sam Presti.
Ben Howland now coaches Mississippi State. Kevin Love plays with LeBron. I have no idea what roster Brandon Jenning is on currently…it might be Phoenix.
Russell Westbrook is now the highest paid player in the NBA.
Pretty good day for a a skinny kid from LA who most said would never turn into an NBA point guard. Pretty good day, and the fact he did it on Cupcake’s birthday is just so Russell.