Storms are rolling this afternoon in Oklahoma. God bless…Gary England—I miss him.
I think I’ll feature the Lakers-Suns tonight and see how Devin Booker and Cam Payne play on the road in Game 3.
It’s relaxing to watch the storms and drink a few Coors Lights and participate in some Trumplican domestic terrorism karaoke.
We escaped the first storm hook in Deer Creek. So far so good.
Be safe and stay off the roads tonight in Oklahoma.
What they could do is have a Trumplican Bachlorette with Trump cash flowing this on Fox with Tucker Carlson hosting. There would be the overnight dates with both Lindsey Graham and Kevin McCarthy doing whatever it took to win.
You would think the Fox viewership would explode off the charts.
It was a great night for the AAA program in Oklahoma City on Tuesday night in NBA Playoff action.
The tenacles of the best G League program in the history of the league were never more apparent than on Tuesday night.
In Brooklyn…Thunder lottery picks Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Jeff Green are now the core of the team most are picking to win in the East and advance. The Nets are now up 2-0 on the biggest underacheiver in the league in the Brad Stevens’ Celtics.
If this is sustainability—then I’m not sure the average season ticket holder in Oklahoma City fully understood this when the team was moved from Seattle to Oklahoma.
Even in Green Bay….the Packers were able to keep Aaron Rodgers until their own head coach was so stupid he kicked a field goal and took the ball out of Aaron’s hands and allowed Tom Brady to run out the clock in what was probably Aaron’s last game as a Packer.
In the West…former Thunder star Sixth Man Dennis Schroder was superb as he fueled the Lakers to a 99-92 win over the upstart Phoenix Suns.
Of course…we all love former Thunder point guard Chris Paul who almost rented the house across the street from me when he played for New Orleans here in Oklahoma. But who would have thought former Thunder lottery pick Cam Payne would have been the best player on the floor with guys like LeBron, AD, CP3, and Devin Booker on the same court.
I mean… who would have dreamed Dennis Schroder and Cameron Payne would have been the brightest youngest stars on the floor with the Lakers taking on the Suns in a critical Game 2.
Well—we know this…not Sam Presti and his basketball people on staff. We also know this won’t be a hot topic discussion point for either Little Nick Gallo or Royce Young on their blogs…because they’re not allowed to write like this. Writing like this isn’t part of that deal.
So..while the 22-50 Thunder sit idle dreaming if they can trade away the rights to Cade Cunningham and land an obscure white Euro to go along with Kid Poku… it was a good night in Oklahoma to watch how far the kids have gone from the greatest G League program to becoming stars in the NBA.
So… on the day I went back to the Pike Pass ofice and somewhat groveled to get my Pike Pass back from the State of Oklahoma…that same day was when I met the man who told me one-hundred million people would die from the Covid vaccinations.
Now as I wrote last week…there’s not a doubt in my mind this gentleman is a regular viewer of Tucker Carlson.
But I didn’t say a word to him in English after he said this.
Instead, I smiled politlely and merely said, “No habla English, amigo.”
What I didn’t write last week on my blog was that immediately after I said this to the man in Spanish with a warm smile on my face was this Peter Gabriel song which I love… came on the sound system in a Wal Mart Auto Center.
I’ve been thinking about this for a week now.
That song coming on the sound system in a place like a Wal-Mart Auto Center in Oklahoma cannot be a coincidence.
This cannot be some happenstance accident. This was not serendipitous.
This game was basically over in the first period as Miami offered little resistance to the red-hot Milwaukee Bucks. By the time Tyler Herro actually entered the game the Heat were down by twenty points.
Jimmy Butler is really struggling so far in this series. He scored 10 points in thirty-two minutes of play and went -34. In the two games combined…Jimmy Butler is 9-32 from the field.
This was just an awful basketball game. Miami has no chance with Jimmy Butler playing at this level.
Goran Dragic and Dwayne Dedmon were okay, but that’s not enough.
The series now goes back to Miami and the Heat are in a situation where if they don’t win Game 3 you would think their chances are pretty much nil.
Credit to the Bucks though…they got on top of the Heat in this game and buried them.
Unlike last season though in the bubble…there is a home court advantage. So…if you’re a Heat optimist you say they haven’t lost a game at home so far in this series.
On a sadder note for me…I just read a release from Golden State GM Bob Myer and he said there’s no way Klay will be ready when next season begins.
It should be a great NBA playoff doubleheader tonight with Miami at Milwaukee in the first game, then Portland at Denver in the late game.
I have both Miami and Portland as my darkhorse picks in the East and West despite both being No. 6 seeds.
Why?
Because both teams have a talented, deep rotation of guards.
Portland won at Denver in Game 1 somewhat easily, while the Heat lost at Milwaukee on a late shot at the end by Kris Middleton.
I thought all four of Portland’s guards played pretty well. Those being Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum, Norman Powell, and Anfernee Simons. I love the additions of both Norman Powell and Anfernee Simons to Portland’s team.
Its their frontcourt with Portland which needs to hang tough with Jusuf Nurkic, Carmelo Anthony, Robert Covington, and Enes Kanter. I worry about their interior defense, but not their guard play.
Portland already has the road split, if they can win tonight—they would look to be in pretty good shape in this series. I don’t see how Denver will matchup defensively with Portland.
In the first game…it’s pretty simple for the Heat…Jimmy Butler needs to play better. Your stars have to play like stars at this time of the year.
Some great games yesterday…especially the Atlanta thiller over the NY Knicks and the Memphis Grizz win over the Jazz without Donovan Mitchell.
Before I get started on what will be Sam Presti Week on my blog… I have to give a shout out to Atlanta coach Nate McMillan. One could very well make the statement he should be in the conversation for Coach of the Year. Since he took over in early March the Hawks have been one of the better teams in the league and former Sooner Trae Young has been percolating.
As I watched this game it made me remember how last season I literally begged Sam Presti on my blog to trade Chris Paul for either Tyler Herro or RJ Barrett. Of course…Tyler helped get the Heat to the Finals last season and RJ is blossoming into a star in New York.
RJ would have been a great fit for the Thunder being he’s Canadian like Shai and Lu Dort. Maybe these three Canadians kids would have bonded was my thought and been the trifecta moving forward in Oklahoma City was as well part of what I was thinking. But no…we have a starving emaciated Kid Poku instead from Serbia. Also…with the three Canadian kids their skill sets don’t overlap per se. They would have given us three uniquely talented young guys. We should have actually tanked last year truth be known. We could have thrown Gallanari into the trade as well.
The Milwaukee Bucks got Giannnis back in the day as the 15th pick in his draft class. Kawhi Leonard was the 15th pick in his class. Jrue Holiday was the 17th pick in his class….just like Kid Poku was last summer.
My point? There is and has been excellent value beneath the top ten picks in the NBA’s draft if you have the right basketball people with you in the room.
Quite frankly—you and your people had it completely wrong back in the days of Kevin Durant. Your people built a team to beat Andrew Bynum and the Lakers instead of a team which could beat Steph and Klay. Clay Bennett and that tea sipper ownership group you work for might not notice such things… but a grinder from John Marshall knows exactly how much you missed the mark.
Kyle Singler, Josh Huestis, and Alex Abrines…really?
Since it’s become obvious to me Berry Tramel, Royce Young, or even Jenni Carlson are never going to ask you a tough question… I feel the need for having a Sam Presti Week on my blog….kind of like Shark Week.
Nothing personal….you just need to be better evaluating talent beyond what a player’s length is.
Can a player shoot? Can he think and read and react? Does he have vision? Is he coachable? Will his game evolve because of his work ethic? Should we have really ever put shooting guards around Kevin Durant who couldn’t shoot?
LeBron is almost done and AD without LeBron won’t be that much of a deal…so what we need to be doing in OKC with all this draft capital currency is making sure we’re the next ‘it ‘ team in the NBA. Sometimes you have to be ruthless. It’s a ruthless league. If we have to steal a player like Jerry West stole from you…then so be it.
‘We’ have thirty-four combined first and second round picks in the next six years. Let’s make sure we get the maximum juice from the pulp.
I hope you take this the right way because I’m pretty sure we both want Oklahoma City to win a championship.
Saw this tweet and I want to put it on my blog. Klay is my favorite player in the NBA. He wasn’t a top six pick in his draft class.He was the eleventh player taken in his draft class from sleepy Washington State of all places.
When Jerry West was the guru for the process in Golden State which built three championship teams… he once said, “If you trade Klay Thompson..I’m quitting tomorrow.”
Steph may be the star, but Klay is the soul of the team.
A pristine three point shooter who got better off the dribble as his career progressed and a bulldog of a defender.
Klay hasn’t played since the NBA Finals vs. the Toronto Raptors in 2019. A knee injury followed by an Achilles injury. I’m hoping for the best for Klay. The league needs players like Klay to promote the sport.
Klay’s tweet after the loss to Memphis:
‘ I’ve got to watch a lot of hoops the last 2 years, and figured out quick it’s not my specialty. While our season comes to an end, mines just getting started and I’ve never been hungrier. I TRULY BELIEVE my best ball lies ahead of me, We ain’t done I promise you that.’
Klay Thompson…11th pick in his class, Kawhi Leonard 15th pick in his draft class, Devin Booker 13th player taken in his class, Donovan Mitchell the 13th player taken in his class, SGA the 11th pick of his class…and so on.
Sam Presti… you don’t need to tank next year. You merely need to use ‘some’ of your draft capital this summer and come away with another star combo guard to go along with SGA.
There are three guys at least who could fill this void…Cade, Jalen Suggs, or Davion Mitchell. For gods sake as GM of the Thunder you reside in a state which borders the best basketball high school talent in the country in Texas.
If we get the the Houston pick…even better. That’s gravy.
Enough of the bullshit talk about tanking again next season.
You proved following the 2012 NBA Finals appearance you couldn’t deal with three stars on a team by the Harden trade. So stop with the talk about tanking next season. You and your scouting staff do your job.
Tank to do what? Trade another star player to another team in the West.
Let’s go. Get with it.
This isn’t the Daily Thunder where you send them suggestions on the daily content. An honest word is written here occasionally.
Maybe someone else should be involved with the Thunder drafting process. Any blind fool would have taken Kevin Durant after Portland foolishly took Greg Oden back in the day. Here’s what I’m saying… Sam Presti without Kevin Durant has done very little except shuffle players around the league.
Not one single Thunder team since Durant has won one single first round playoff series. He could grow a mullet at this point and challenge Mike Gundy for Mullet King irrelevance at this point.
With thirty-four combined first and second round picks bewteen now and 2027—I find it odd we as Thunder fans couldn’t get something like Klay’s tweet instead of the ominous warning another season of tanking is ahead for the Thunder.
This was a great basketball game. I put hockey on the backburner to watch this game even with the Boston Bruins and Colorado Avs both playing on Friday night.
It pretty much confirms everything I’ve written to date on my blog in regards to Steph, Ja Morant, and Klay Thompson.
1 Steph is a great player who had an MVP season, but on this night without Klay his team couldn’t get past the Memphis Grizzlies at home in a must win situation. Think about the last shot in regulation which Draymond Green took instead of either Steph or Klay. That badly missed shot says it all. Steph without Klay is still a fabulous player, but not championship relevant.
Draymond and Andrew Wiggins are decent third and fourth best players, but Steph needs Klay. Tom Brady needs Gronk. Gretzky neede Messier.
Steph to me is somewhat the basketball equivalent of Wayne Gretzky in hockey. Gretzky was the greatest scorer the sport of hockey has ever seen, but without the bulldog of Mark Messier next to him he never won anything in either LA or NY. He got to the finals with LA once, but never won anything without Messier. Whereas… Messier won it all with the NY Rangers. You gotta have that bulldog DNA to be a champion. You gotta have that guy.
Klay isn’t just a three point wizard, pre injuries he was a defensive bulldog who always took the other team’s best wing player. Just my opinion.
2 Ja Morant is a superstar on the cusp of being the jersey which every kid in America who plays the guard position will be wearing in two years.
It’s a shame Sam Presti won’t allow Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to do the same because I think Shai has the chance to be one of the four best guards in the league if he’s plays legit games and evolves versus sitting while his GM tanks to draft players which will eventually be playing in other cities throughout the NBA.
You don’t evolve as a player by sitting and watching for two straight seasons. OKC needs to play legit basketball games next season. Period.
3 Klay. I love Klay. He’s my favorite player in the league. I have no idea how his recent injuries will impact his game, but even if he can’t defend like a bulldog anymore he will still be a shooter who makes sure Draymond Green isn’t taking the last shot in regulation in a must win situation.
In closing…I’ll be very interested to see how Ja Morant handles himself in the first round versus Mike Conley and the Utah Jazz.
It’s good to see Memphis relevant again. The same would be nice to see in Oklahoma City in a year or two depending on how this summer’s NBA draft transpires with the Houston pick and the possibility of the Thunder landing two top seven picks.
I think tomorrow I’ll write about Sam Presti’s recent State of the Thunder address and give my takes.
A nice win for Russell, Bradley Beal, and Scott Brooks as they easily disposed of the Indiana Pacers in the final play-in game in the East.
None of the three play-in games in the East were close or competitive, but the Wizards now are the 8th seed and will play the Philadelphia 76’ers in the first round.
I’m happy for Russell and Scott Brooks as they salvaged their season with an excellent last month of the season. I’m glad they won’t be playing the Brooklyn Nets and that we won’t have to go thru all the replayed drama in regards to Russell, Durant, and Harden.
Who knows…maybe the Wizards can catch a little lightening in a bottle, win a game or two and make this an interesting series.
One last play-in game between Golden State and Memphis and we can get the NBA Playoffs going.
This is pretty much how it is every evening when I pull up from work as Pauli knows it’s my truck pulling into the ranch.
She loves bounding here and there in the thick forest which borders Deer Creek itself. She knows where we’ve twice spotted the black mountain lion at the edge of the forest at dusk. She wants to find the 200 pound cat. She really does.
She is a a wonderful dog. I hate to sound like Jerry McGuire, but she completes me….like what Trump does for Lindsey Graham and Kevin McCarthy.
Back when John Kelly was Trump’s Chief of Staff…I wrote General Kelly a personal letter and told him Pauli and I as a service to our country would spend a month with the grifter human junk bond and see if we could help him become more human, more kind, more empathetic.
Trump could have spent time walking Pauli and then I would have sat with Trump and read to him the stories his parents obviously never shared with him growing up. Kind of like National Teacher of the Year Juanita Elijah did with me back at John Marshall in my tenth grade American Lit class.
It would have been like public service on behalf of the country. An act of patriotism. It’s the John McCain influence in me.
I always wonder if John Kelly had taken me up on this if January 6th would have come to fruition.
There is nothing quite like the unconditional love of a lab.