The 2-2 Boston Celtics are in town tonight to play the league’s highest paid winless team in the NBA. Vegas has Boston as a one point road favorite. Interesting, very interesting.
Celtics to date look like they’re not all that motivated themselves. We’ll see.
If I’m Brad Stevens my scouting report to my Celtics team on the Thunder is simple:
“They’re not good defensively. If we take the paint away from them and take away the elbow jumper by Westbrook they really struggle shooting wide open threes. The one thing OKC is good at is hitting the offensive boards. So, guys, just keep them off our defensive boards and don’t let them get out in transition for layups. Where’s Marcus? Marcus, the second you’re on the floor start fucking with Westbrook’s head. Other than Pat Beverly you do this better than anyone in the league. Let’s get a win and get our season back on track, men.”
I have no idea what Billy Donovan says to his ballclub. No idea. It must not be about basketball.
It’s a great time to be a Denverite if you love the snow, the mountains, and the sports teams. Wouldn’t you know it…as the Thunder have plummeted to being the only winless team in the Western Conference, the trending Nuggets are 4-0 and one of only two undefeated teams in the West. And in my second circled North American city to escape to get away from the Trump crazies–the Toronto Raptors are 5-0 with Kawhi Leonard. I honestly don’t know if I can live in Oklahoma more than three more years.
I knew Oklahoma was regressed, but I never realized how regressed until this whole Trump thing came about. I thought there was an inherit goodness in the people here. A quiet decency in people, but I’m not as sure right now. It’s very unnerving that people can still support this Trump person as each day passes. I’m not even going to mention the bombs. It’s too much for me right now.
Sports in Denver…it would be like heaven for me. The Rockies are contenders. The Nuggets are on the upswing. The Avalanche are young, hungry and should for the second year in a row make the playoffs. I don’t need the Broncos. I’ll always be an OU football fan first and there’s the downtown Denver bar called Shoney’s which hosts the OU Denver Alumni Association for every OU game. Plus, on the NFL front…I have my Cleveland Browns. I don’t need the Denver Broncos. I have Baker Mayfield, John Elway has Case Keenum. He can deal with that as he may.
And then there’s the skiing, the trout fishing, the biking along Cherry Hill Creek, the walks in Washington Park with the diva lab Pauli at my side asking, “Why did we wait so long to make the move, Mike? Oklahoma was stifling me culturally.”
And the restaurants, the coffee shops, the sports bars, and of course cheap uber everywhere so you don’t drink and drive.
I totally get what Kevin Durant was feeling right before he left. I get it. He should have told Russell and Nick though straight up on that Thursday night dinner. In hindsight, that’s the only thing Kevin did which was wrong. I think he owed Russell and Nick that as friends. He didn’t owe these white Trump dumbasses anything—as in nothing.
Go I guess we play the Celtics tonight. I just read a very poignant piece Jenni Carlson wrote about the passing of Marcus Smart’s mother. It was beautiful. Jenni’s writing has gotten better. She has more nuance and depth in what she’s now writing probably because she’s a mom herself and better understands what life is really all about. Good for Jenni Carlson.
I’m still a Thunder fan. There’s no way I could see myself ever being a fan of the Nuggets over the Thunder, but as a Denverite, other than family and friends, it’s not like I would see myself missing Oklahoma.
Coaching is coaching. It’s primarily about enchancing a player’s overall performance to a level which will lead to the team being successful. Motivation is a big part of the puzzle. As per Rule No. 2 of Coaching … a coach should coach thru his own unique personality and character.
For instance, the jovial, tough minded Vince Lombardi was my favorite coach growing up. But his exact personality opposite, the stoic Tom Landry was extremely successful as well winning a ton of games and several Super Bowls.
There isn’t just one set way to motivate players, because if a player isn’t driven from within it’s not happening. That doesn’t come from a coach, that comes from a player’s DNA and life history.
Every coach motivates differently.
Brad Stevens doesn’t motivate players like Steve Kerr does. Greg Popovich doesn’t motivate players like Phil Jackson did. Every coach is uniquely different even if they’ve picked up certain attributes from coaching mentors along the way thru their coaching career path.
Billy Donovan and Brad Stevens are both current NBA coaches who came from college programs into the NBA. Neither has gotten his team to an NBA Finals in their time in the NBA. Neither has crossed that hurdle.
Neither are my favorite NBA coach. That would be Pop. You know why? He’s the coach I find most interesting as a person. He’s someone I’d want to have dinner with and talk about every topic imaginable under the sun. He’d make me a better person and a better player. Steve Kerr would be my second favorite coach for the same reasons.
Obviously Billy Donovan could motivate his players at the University of Florida. You don’t win two national championships if you can’t coach and motivate. I’ve yet to see this though from Donovan with professional players at the NBA level. His style seems awkward to me from the outside looking in. I don’t get the feeling his players have bought into him at this level while I do feel Brad Steven’s players have bought into his philosophy.
The Boston Celtics are in Oklahoma City tomorrow night to play the last place Thunder. The thing which puzzles me the most about the Thunder is that they were the biggest disappointment in the NBA last season, yet there doesn’t at all seem to be a team attitude of ‘we have something to prove this season’. None of that is visible. You would think they’d be embarrassed about last season, but it’s as if they don’t really have any urgency.
It probably doesn’t help that the Thunder play in a college market where they take little if any tough comments from the local media other than perhaps when Barry Tramel writes something bordering on the critical. Anotherwords, this team very seldom if ever takes much heat from writers like it would if they played in a major league pro town like say Boston. I’ve always to a certain extent thought that’s hurt the Thunder in some regards.
Tramel is the only writer in the market other than myself I read. That may sound arrogant coming from a guy who writes on an obscure rogue blog, but it’s the way I feel. And it’s primarily the reason I stick with my blog in that I want someone else locally to read in regards to the Thunder other than Tramel.
It is what it is.
I thought this video would be timely with Brad Stevens coming to town tomorrow night.
This is a Boston team which won 108 games and easily dispatched of the defending world champion Astros in five games while winning all three games in Houston. This is a Red Sox team which could have either JD Martinez or Mookie Betz win the MVP award in the American League. This is a Red Sox team which will have the Mamager of the Year award winner in Alex Cora. This Boston team is just a buzz saw and on a mission.
You can’t make any mistakes and beat these guys. They just keep coming with the bats or as their manager exerts with their team motto… they do damage with every at bat.
So it’s tough enough to beat them giving them 27 outs, but giving them 29 outs is a baseball death wish and that’s exactly what the Dodgers did in Game 1 as a misplayed pop fly by David Friese in the first inning gave the Red Sox an extra out and two runs crossed home plate which shouldn’t have.
Then in the pivotal seventh inning, with Boston only leading 5-4, Doc Pederson misplayed a lazy fly ball on the left field line by Andrew Benintendi which opened the door for a pinch hit three run homer by Eduardo Nunez.
Ball game. 8-4 Red Sox.
You can’t give these guys any help. They’re too good for that.
The first thing I would do is do not panic, but at the same time realize this roster and this team need to be doing the things which it can do well and build the season around those things. Don’t overthink this. This isn’t Moneyball with this group of shooters on this roster. This team should be attempting 26-28 threes a game instead of 38-40 threes a game.
I’d do what Pop is doing with the Spurs this season with DeRozan and Aldridge who are my two best players. Anotherwords, structure the offense around what my two stars do well. Which in the case of Aldridge and DeRozan is the mid-range game. The game will be played from the top of the key and not the top of the three point arch. Pretty simple.
Okay, now, Billy…let’s get down to specifics with this 0-3 clusterfuck we currently have with the Thunder. For the time being, the Terrance Ferguson experiment is over. Terrance will become a two way player with the G League team and his development will be closely mentored this season at the NBA level. He will not be in the rotation.
Alex Abrines will not be considered as a starter for the simple reason is that he’s too frilly and friggin’ hurt every time you turn around. I keep Abrines though in my nine man rotation because he’s the best pure shooter on the team and if ever a team was in need of a pure shooter it’s our team in OKC.
I start Diallo with the premise that Andre Roberson even if he comes back will not be the same player he was before the injury in Detroit. Twenty minutes a game seems about right for Diallo. I like his body and his attitude. He’ll get better.
I limit Dennis Schroeder’s exposure against first team NBA players. Anotherwords, I don’t play Schroeder as a first unit player paired with Westbrook. I make sure the bulk of his minutes are against second unit NBA players.
I tell Jerami Grant if he shoots another three point shot I’m going to break his arm. I want Jerami getting to the rim. He needs to get to the rim because he absolutely sucks shooting the three.
Nerlens Noel is fine. It’s a scary situation when Nerlens Noel has been your most stable player to date, but that’s where this Thunder team is right now. Good job, Nerlens.
Patrick Patterson started off slowly last season, but came around to shoot 38% from behind the arc. I’d limit Pat to 16 minutes a game and give Jerami some of those power forward minutes with the starters provided Jerami understands if he shoots a three I’m going to break his fucking arm.
Okay…let’s start with Russell. You’re not Steph Curry. You don’t need to be chucking threes. You need to the toughest, grittiest point guard in the league. You need to get to the rim rolling with Steven on pick and roll. When that isn’t there you pick and pop with your fishing buddy Paul George. When that isn’t there you go to the elbow with that mid-range pullup which is the best part of your offensive game. Don’t feel bad because Steph Curry isn’t Russell Westbrook and he knows it. Be Russell Westbrook. and it wouldn’t hurt to show the world that part of your defensive game which you showed at UCLA.
Paul George, you’re not the best player on this team. Russell Westbrook is. You’re Robin, he’s Batman. When he sets you up you need to be burying shots and not going invisible into the night like you did in Game 6 in Salt Lake. I know Billy Donovan is too nice to say this, but I’m not as nice as Billy Donovan…pick it up. To be a star in this league you can’t just play well two out of every three nights. You can’t go invisible every third game. Russell needs you.
Steven, I’ll get right to the point. You’re being paid $25 million dollars. This team needs to see a $25 million dollar player every night. Your rebounding has been good. Your offensive production has been okay given how stupidly this team has been told to play these first three games. Get to the rim on pick and roll. Work on the baseline Euro step and keep going with the soft hook. Free throws are my biggest gripe with you. To make you an integral part of the offense you need to at least become a 68% guy from the line. Mentally bear down on your free throws. Good job, otherwise.
If I were Billy Donovan’s assistant head coach this is what I would have been saying to ‘my players’ today in preparation for Boston on Thursday.
I think most people had the Dodgers returning to the World Series after their epic series with the Houston Astros last fall.
But it certainly wasn’t easy for the Dodgers as they struggled to a 19-29 start and literally had to go an extra 163rd game to beat the Colorado Rockies in a one game playoff for their divisional title. The Dodgers then pulled it together a bit in beating both the Atlanta Braves and the Milwaukee Brewers for the National League title.
The Dodgers have a nice team and most people don’t realize it’s been since 1988 that the Dodgers have won a World Series. It would be nice to see Clayton Kershaw get a ring before his storied career comes to an end. It was a tough injury riddled season for Kershaw who is generally regarded as one of the greatest pitchers in the modern era of baseball.
Boston won 108 games with first year manager Alex Cora pushing all the right buttons. They appear to be the best team in baseball, plus they have home field advantage. JD Martinez and Mookie Betz both had MVP like seasons. Plus, of all things pitcher David Price appears to have shaken his post season curse and has pitched well of late.
Let me start with some positive things before I write about this Thunder team. I want to be a glass half full type of guy on my blog.
The Fox telecast was much better. I like Chris Fisher doing the play by play and in turn it seems to me Michael Cage has toned down some of his more overt pubescent homer comments with an adult now sitting next to him on the telecast.
I’ve always liked Antonio Daniels on the post game so I was already good there. Same with Matt Pinto on the radio. Same with Leslie McCaslin. So–from that standpoint the Thunder are good by me.
Now what needs to happen in the next ten days is for Billy Donovan and his staff to come to terms with what they have and don’t have as a basketball team which as of right now is the only winless team in the Western Conference with one of the highest payrolls in the NBA.
It’s one thing to lose and look like a team which doesn’t know what it’s doing when you’re in rebuild, it’s another to be picked for the second straight season as one of the league’s eight best teams and look like the very same team which underachieved last season. You know, Carmelo isn’t here anymore. It can’t be his fault. Kevin Durant has been gone since July 4th, 2016. At some point in all of this someone who writes about this team will have to write something, anything with some truth attached to it.
I’m not Nick Gallo. I’m not Royce Young. I’m not Berry Tramel or Erik Horne. I don’t have access. And even if I had access it would only be for one or two games before they wouldn’t let me back in the press room. That would be a short lived deal.
I mean, if you’re an adult and you watched this game what do you think is the problem with this team?
I wrote yesterday that this team has no identity whatsoever other than Russell Westbrook putting them on his back and doing things which aren’t really conducive to championship basketball being played.
Okay….so Russell played tonight and came within two assists of a triple double in his first game back since the knee procedure. He was actually better than I thought he would be…and yet this game really wasn’t all that close. I never had the feel coming down the stretch that the Kings felt threatened at all. And keep this in mind, this is a Sacramento team which was universally picked to finish in 15th place in the West.
I don’t know what to say. I really don’t. It makes me uncomfortable as a Thunder fan to write on my blog that I question the heart of the team which I write about on this blog. And for me to write it means I’m starting with Russell Westbrook. Because this team just gave up 131 points at home to the abysmal Sacramento Kings in a game the Thunder desperately needed.
I know it’s early, but you can’t dick around in the West. You can’t come out of the gates and bumble around for the first three weeks of the season to discover your team identity. This shit should have been covered multiple times in the film room and in walk thrus even if Russell wasn’t cleared to play.
I’m sorry, this is bullshit. Pure bullshit and if I were one of the Republican owners of this team I’d be livid right now. Literally livid.
I hate to be this way. I do. Because I’m generally a glass half full guy. But this is a dumb basketball team right now. They don’t calibrate winning plays on either side of the court. They once again chucked 39 threes tonight making but 9. They once again shot 64% from the line. They committed 18 turnovers.
Billy Donovan in his presser said the difference in this game was that Kings made some really tough two point shots.
Really?
Sigh.
I liked it better when Scott Brooks pleaded, “Run back faster, guys.”
Because if you think back to last year in Game 5 versus the Jazz when the Thunder were getting their ass kicked the only reason the Thunder miraculously came back was that Westbrook put them on his back and for that game Paul George joined him. Otherwise it was hideous team basketball, Absolutely hideous from a team standpoint.
Rule No. 2 of Coaching…You coach thru your unique character and personality. Or anotherwords—you don’t pretend to be someone else.
I’m not going to lose sleep over this. I’m not one of these rich Republican owners who voted for Trump and for the second season in a row might have pissed some money down the drain on a pro basketball team. I’ll sleep like a baby tonight. I have OU football. I have the now 2-4-1 Cleveland Browns albeit they aren’t going to the Super Bowl. I have the LA Dodgers, I’ll have the Rockies next spring in Nolan Arenado’s free agent season. I’ll have the Avalanche and the Boston Bruins in the NHL. My sports cup overrunneth.
Plus, the diva lab Pauli will tell me, “It’s only basketball, Mike. Settle down. Do we need a walk?”
But right now—for NBA basketball, I have a team with no identity as a team and a coach who so far can’t seem to impose one upon them which makes basketball sense.
Nolan Arenado is the best third baseman in the major leagues. He hit 38 homers this season and was 100 plus RBI guy. It won’t be that long till spring training.
I watched the Dodgers advance to the World Series last night and didn’t watch any of the Rockets-Lakers game live. When I did see the ‘fight’ on ESPN it made me laugh. The whole thing starts because Brandon Ingram is upset about being called for fouling Harden. What a joke. It made me think of this play by Derek Fisher back when he was a key part of those Kobe Laker championship teams. I just love this play. This is in large part what the Thunder need—that being someone who will standup and lead the team to do things the right way.
This was a hockey play is what this was by Fisher. He was just basically saying with his elbow to Luis Scola,” Please shut the fuck up you’re playing the world Champion LA Lakers and quit bothering my teammates.” Westbrook needs someone like Fisher on the roster right now. Presti needs someone on the team like Derek Fisher in his prime. Felton is the closest thing, but Felton hasn’t shown me that edge I need to see. Way too many young guys with that Brandon Ingram look about them on this Thunder squad. Presti needs to package a deal and send a couple of these youngsters like Ferguson and perhaps maybe Schroeder in exchange for a real player in the present tense of like ‘NOW’. Leadership manifests itself in many different ways on a ball club. But the Thunder could clearly use a Derek Fisher type right now since Nick is no longer playing.
OKC has no edge other than Westbrook. They play like a bunch of white choirboys without Westbrook. Steven is an author, not a brawler. He’d rather smell Pop’s hair than fight one of his players. It’s not even watchable. You know who I would like in this role…Marcus Smart. When the Thunder don’t re-up Andre on his current deal they should pursue Marcus Smart as our Derek Fisher type. Presti loves Smart. He was all over him when Smart was at O State. Trust me…my sources were clear on this. Boston is going to need to shed payroll. Maybe something to consider or think about. Smart is an intangible guy to the core.
If ever there was an indictment of why Scott Brooks shouldn’t have been replaced by Billy Donovan this was it. I’m not saying a change was bad, but if you’re going to make a change make one which truly changes the culture of your basketball team.
I watched all of this basketball game and it pretty much depressed me because it fully illuminated what I already knew…that being, the OKC Thunder are not a .500 ball club in this year’s NBA Western Conference without Russell Westbrook caring a heavy workload.
Why should that be a surprise to anybody who knows anything about Thunder basketball?
In 2015, with Kevin Durant missing all but 27 games, the Thunder still went 45-37. Westbrook missed games, Ibaka missed games, Roberson missed games, Adams missed games, and of course Reggie Jackson had to be traded at the deadline. People were actually grateful the Thunder acquired Kyle Singler. Still, the Thunder won 45 games and only missed the playoffs when the Spurs lost to the Pelicans on the last day of the regular season.
Though I didn’t agree with firing Brooks, I didn’t lose sleep over it either. It’s a big boy profession and the Third Rule of Coaching is you’re always at some point hired to be fired at some point unless you’re Gregg Popovich or Red Auerbach.
Billy Donovan should take notice, the Third Rule of Coaching will be humming if Russell Westbrook isn’t back on the floor on Sunday evening in Oklahoma City against the feeble Sacramento Kings.
This Thunder team without Westbrook could in no way win 45 games over the haul of an 82 game season. Even if Paul George, Steven Adams, Dennis Schroeder, and Jerami Grant don’t miss a single game between them. This team doesn’t know what it’s even trying to do albeit do it without Westbrook on the floor.
Without Westbrook, this team doesn’t have an identity.
When the Warriors lose either Durant or Curry for long stretches of games they don’t lose a beat. Even without Timmy Duncan and Tony Parker the Spurs have still been respectable. Even with Kyrie and Hayward out the Celtics advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals.
And do you why this occurred? It occurred because the head coach ingrained within the team a sequence of systems which remain the same even if a star goes down.
That’s kind of what head coaching is about along with communicating and motivating.
These Thunder remind me of the Green Bay Packers without Aaron Rodgers, as in they’re not viable without their franchise star.
This Thunder team without Westbrook is now tied for last in the West with lowly Sacramento which will be tanking before long. Look at their roster and you’ll understand they’ll be tanking.
Two games in and you know what… You can’t blame Carmelo Anthony for the Thunder for being 0-2.
Sam Presti in his heart could read what I’ve just written and either agree with it or disagree with it.
I could care less.
I’m not on his payroll and don’t need off the record access to him.
But Presti is a smart guy.
Russell Westbrook, get back soon…for Billy Donovan’s sake.
I only watched five or ten live minutes from the Thunder’s opening season loss to the world champion Warriors. The baseball post-season has been scintillating and the Thunder without Westbrook long-term could be unwatchable unless you’re Nick Gallo or a millennial Daily Thunder baby cub junior reporter. The millennials over there shouldn’t bristle. I made them famous in Sam Anderson’s book with the ‘Trekkie’ shout out in the book which is a NY Times bestseller.
To me though—the box score tells it all.
Smart teams find a way to win, dumb teams find a way not to win.
Period.
It’s all part of the Lombardi Doctrine from the previous post.
You only have to look at one stat and one stat only from Tuesday night’s opener to realize who was the smart team and who was the dumb team.
The stat would be team three point shooting.
The Golden State Warriors are perhaps the greatest three point shooting team in modern era. Steph, Klay, and Kevie make the Warriors historically lethal. On Tuesday night both Klay and Kevie had tough nights shooting the trey. Klay was 1-8 while Durant was 0-5. As a team the Warriors went 7-26 shooting the three but instead morphed their game a bit and quit jacking as many threes on an off shooting night. Smart teams find a way.
This Thunder team isn’t quite so bright. This is not a good shooting basketball team. They struggle shooting the three and have become a bad free throw shooting team since Durant’s departure to Oakland….even Westbrook’s free throw shooting has gone down.
On Tuesday, for a reason which I can’t grasp the Thunder chucked 37 threes and only made 10 of the shots.
What in the world are the Thunder doing jacking 37 threes in a relatively low scoring game?
It makes no sense whatsoever. As in none.
Why one of the worse three point shooting teams in the league is jacking threes is beyond me. The only guys on this team who should even be shooting threes are Paul George, Patrick Patterson, Abrines, and Westbrook to a lesser degree. Dennis Schroeder has been a weak three point shooter his entire career. Same with Jerami Grant. Terrance Ferguson only attempted two threes in Oakland so I think he’s under control somewhat. Plus, I’d feel bad dogging him since his lack of confidence is palpable currently. I’m not a bully like Jim Traber. Mike Stoops won’t ever have to talk shit on my blog.
You need three point shooting to space the floor and open the path to the rim, but you don’t need bad shooters taking those shots. In the NFL you don’t repeatedly throw the football to a receiver who can’t catch the ball. In baseball, you don’t put a marginal batter in the lineup who can’t hit a lefthander’s curve when a frigging left hander with a deadly curveball is on the mound.
YOU PLAY THE MATHMATICAL ODDS. I thought this was the basic premise of analytics.
Daily Thunder Trekkies this is when you say… ‘Hell, yeah.”
If I’m coaching this Thunder team…my main goal is to get either Westbrook or Schroder to the rim with Adams rolling with them. My second best option is Westbrook with the elbow pull up jumper. My next option is getting Paul George offensively engaged early in the game nd keeping him engaged.
My three point green light guys are in this order… Abrines, George, Patterson, and then Westbrook within reason and game situation. If Grant or Schroeder take a stupid three they’ll hear about it instantly.
I mean…I follow the Thunder team play and it’s as if what I’ve just written is never talked about in a team film room.
Good lord.
You now how long if would take for Alex Cora of Pop or Kerr to have this conversation with their players?
Like about half a second.
Dumb teams don’t go far.
Pop on Brad Stevens. Smart coaches begat smart teams. In his book, Steven Adams reveals his love of Pop. Writing that he’d just love to hug Pop and smell his hair. Now….the hair deal is a little much for me, but the rest of that I’m on board with. Unless it’s Kate Upton’s hair…hair smelling of celebs on my bucket list.