We’ve found out multiple things about this team of Sam Presti’s 27 games in midway through December so far. Tonight, in Indianapolis, we found out when pushed against the brink they actually have some heart. We found out Billy Donovan is actually a decent ball coach when his guys play hard and at least make the attempt to play the game the right way. We found out if these guys will only work hard and move the ball they might not be a Super Team, but they could turn themselves into something decent come April.
On a night which had Paul George returning to Indiana and many doubting Sam Presti’s trading of Victor Oladipo for Paul George, the Thunder played their collective asses off and won a hard fought 100-95 game over the Indiana Pacers.
So many good things to write about. Where do I start?
I’ll start with team defense. Isn’t it amazing that even without Andre Roberson tonight, the Thunder held one of the league’s better three point shooting teams to a 35.4% night from beyond the arc. Isn’t that amazing considering on Monday night against the feeble Charlotte Bobcats or Hornets or whatever the fuck they call themselves in Charlotte you could go from allowing a bad team to shoot 70% to holding a good shooting team to 35%. That’s what playing hard will do for you. Defense isn’t all that complex. It’s effort. It’s communication. It’s head on a fucking swivel. It’s read and react. This isn’t molecular science.
Playing the right way. The Thunder moved the ball tonight. The ball moved. That iso bullshit which Westbrook and Carmelo embrace when they get lazy didn’t manifest itself tonight. The Thunder had 26 assists despite shooting their customary 40% from the field. So I don’t won’t hear any bullshit about how you have to shoot over 50% to get to 25 assists. 25 assists a night should be the goal for this team every night. The Warriors move the ball. LeBron’s teams move the ball. The Celtics move the ball. The Spurs move the ball. The Rockets move the ball. You think it’s just a freakish coincidence the best five teams in the league move the ball and play hard? Note to Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony…SMARTEN THE FUCK UP.
At this point in my rant I’m pulling out my read marker and highlighting for Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony. IF YOU TWO DUDES EVER HOPE TO WIN A RING THIS IS THE WAY YOU HAVE TO PLAY.
Okay. Deep breath…exhale. Excuse my moment. I’ll move on.
Steven Adams was fabulous tonight with 23 points and 13 rebounds. With all these alleged super stars on the floor he was the best player on the floor tonight. He ‘might’ have turned OKC’s season into something salvageable if Westbrook will feed him the ball. Think back to that Game 1 loss to San Antonio in 2016 when the Thunder got blown out in Game 1. Think back. Remember who changed the Thunder attitude from that point moving forward to getting within one game of the NBA Finals. Yeah, it was Steven Adams. Red highlighter is coming out again for Westbrook and Carmelo. IT’S NOT AGAINST THE NBA RULES TO PASS THE BALL TO STEVEN ADAMS IN THE SECOND HALF.
Alex Abrines had a really good game and in essence had the game winner with a putback of a wild Westbrook miss with 15.2 seconds left in regulation. Good for Alex Abrines, he showed some mental toughness tonight.
Jerami Grant prior to the leg injury and was his solid self again tonight. My fishing buddy Ray Felton was good. I thought Patrick Patterson provided effective minutes. Same with Josh Huestis. I like Huestis. I like what he brings to the table. Smart kid, maybe that’s why he went to Stanford. Rookie Terrance Ferguson played some real minutes tonight and looked like he might eventually turn himself into an NBA player.
Westbrook, George, and Paul went a collective 10-45 from the field and yet the Thunder won by five on the road against a decent Indiana team which had been surging of late.
So what does this tell us? It tells us there’s no reason for people in Oklahoma City to think about firing Billy Donovan. Billy Donovan isn’t the problem. Changing coaches won’t solve this riddle of sorts. But it’s not really a riddle.
I run an underground rogue blog of sorts. I don’t need access to the team. Brian Davis and Michael Cage have access and you see all what that means.
In closing, I’ll pull out the red marker and just write… IF THIS TEAM ASPIRES TO BE WHAT THEY THINK THEY CAN BE…RUSSELL WESTBROOK AND CARMELO ANTHONY NEED TO ELEVATE THE WAY THEY PLAY BASKETBALL. IN SHORT, PLAY HARD AND SMART.
Antonio Davis.. I love you, bruh. I feel like we’re soulmates on this bus of dysfunction.
The end.