The fact it appears Sam Presti and Billy Donovan have finally come to terms on Alex Abrines gives me hope. I have no idea if Abrines is actually really injured right now or not, but I know the fact every minute he doesn’t see the floor helps the Thunder cause and my mental serenity.
Russell Westbrook, a.k.a. Bad Little Dude, says the closing of the deal which keeps Paul George a Thunder for beyond this season is simple. Bad Little Dude says, ‘Just win the NBA championship and things pretty much fall into place’.
I like that. It’s simple, to the point, and for a non-millennial like me connects with my inner competitiveness. Just go win it all.
Okay. I’m going to help Russell with a roadmap as to how this could be plausible. Quid pro quo. He stayed. I should help him. Simple.
If OKC is to pull this off, then I would say the Thunder not only need to overcome the T Wolves, but the San Antonio Spurs as well for the eventual No. 3 seed in the West. Just get on the other side of the bracket opposite the Warriors.
Houston doesn’t do that much for me. They’re beatable in a seven game series. They have inner demons as well. Neither James Harden or Chris Paul have ever won anything. I don’t lay awake at night worrying about the Rockets. The Warriors…yes, but not the Rockets.
So…the Thunder swept their little LA road back to back with a 127-117 win over the Clippers on Thursday night. In case you didn’t notice—OKC scored a combined 260 points in these two games which is very Warrioresque in as much as what it takes to score the ball with the Warriors and the Rockets.
Nice wins because I look for trends in a team. First trend here is the Thunder have been good on the road since they dipped to a 2-11 road record at one point. The Thunder now stand at 8-11 roadwise for the season. Put that on your Thunder dashboard.
Another trend which is obvious is that Westbrook, Paul George, and Carmelo are at times now showing maybe they’re figuring this out. OKC’s big three combined for 82 points against the Clippers and it appeared somewhat natural. Not that big of a deal.
I’ve been very clear about what I think Billy Donovan needs to do. He needs to be a better NBA coach. He, along with his team, need to elevate hand in hand. I’m hopeful this Alex Abrines thing is over. That Milwaukee game still pisses me off. I want to see Billy Donovan coaching on the edge. I want to see some urgency. I want him to be the kind of coach who helps this team eventually go toe to toe against the punk Warriors.
I have no idea how far Terrance Ferguson will go this season, but I know this. The Euro frilly Alex Abrines isn’t the answer. So whether Billy D eventually goes with either a nine or ten man rotation as we get to the goal achieving portion of the schedule is irrelevant to me.
The rotation should go 1 Westbrook, 2 George, 3 Carmelo, 4 Steven, 5 Andre, 6 Jerami, 7 Raymond, 8 Hustis, 9 Patterson, 10 Ferguson. First seven are set. The last three should inter-shuffle depending on the night and the opponent.
I’m not going to worry about Paul George and the trade deadline anymore. Westbrook is right. This is on him, his teammates, and Billy Donovan to close the deal with Paul George. At some point, you have to draw a line in the sand and if you can’t sell yourselves over the Lakers right now–then who can you sell yourselves to? I mean, seriously, their own star rookie forward just called his own team out for laying down and quitting against the Thunder on Wednesday night.
So…the Thunder improve to 22-17 and visit the Phoenix Suns on Sunday night.
Bad Little Dude has thrown out the gauntlet.
Let’s go.