I tell you what…my whole world view of Little Nick Gallo did a three-sixty in Portland on Friday night as LNG led the Thunder to their straight win with a hard fought 96-93 win over the injury/trade decimated Portland Trailblazers.
I thought he did good. He made me proud. He’s actually better when you give him a sustained run of minutes on the air. I’m not saying he’s Tony Romo or Jeff van Gundy or Al Michael, but he wasn’t bad and I’m giving LNG my first helmet sticker for the win in Portland. I’m thinking the guys looked over there and said to themselves…”If Little Nick Gallo can pull his link on the proverbial chain then the least we can do is handle this horrible Portland team.”
My second helmet sticker goes to Mamadi Diakite for his nice solid play in the paint. I’m very aware of this guy because he played significant minutes on the that 2019 Virginia national championship team. OU played Virginia in the second round of that tournament, and he was a good player. I’m not saying he’s a star, but he could certainly fill the Nerlens Noel role and the Thunder with Diakite, JRE, and Muscala could play the Center by Committee option next season when they start trying to win games again.
My third helmet sticker goes to Ty Jerome because he’s turning himself into a functional NBA hybrid guard who will be a solid piece moving down the road.
My observation of the game is without Shai on the floor the ball doesn’t stick. The ball floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee. I see a lot of options moving forward on how to construct a pretty nice team if that’s what Sam Presti wants to do in Oklahoma City.
Next up… the return of Chris Fisher in Sacramento tomorrow night. Postgame song is for Little Nick Gallo for livin’ the dream in Portland. Maybe they need to think of a new role for LNG.