The Thunder play the Brooklyn Nets on the road Tuesday night. Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov owns the team and his run as an NBA owner has been shaky at best. The Nets currently own the worst record in the NBA with a 12-53 mark. He doesn’t appear to know what he’s doing as an owner, yet he’s a very interesting guy with a likeable personaility.
Prokhorov per Forbes has an estimated net worth of $9 billion dollars and made a his fortune in the metal industries. In 2012, he threw his hat into Russian political circles and challenged Vladamir Putin for the presidency. Prokhorov started his own liberal party and basically ran his campaign being a harsh critic of Putin, but only received 9% of the vote.
Like many in Russia who have challenged Putin, Prokhorov became the target of various financial investigations for purported tax violations after his political challenge of Putin.
When Prokhorov initially purchased the Nets, his stated goal was to win an NBA championship within a five year window. Right now, just making the Nets once again competitive would be a major accomplishment considering how bad the team is currently
But still, he seems likeable and always interesting. Here’s a look back at Prokhorov’s run for the Russian presidency in 2012 from a Russian perspective.
It was a good day to be inside watching the Thunder beat the Utah Jazz for the second time in two weeks. The weather outside was a cold, drizzly mix which made it a perfect day to enjoy a Thunder win over a playoff team. Granted, Gobert and Favors didn’t play at all, but still there were some encouraging signs at what this Thunder ‘could’ still possibly become if they can steer clear of anymore injury downtime to key players.
Russell Westbrook. Our once Bad Little Dude now turned Kobe registered his 32nd triple double of the season and Wilt is now in his rear view mirror. With sixteen regular season games remaining, Russell needs nine more triples to tie Oscar, ten more to pass him. OKC has seven home games remaining–so you’d think those seven are doable from an assist standpoint given the disparity on how this team plays on the road. Three of the road games are certainly promising triples given they’re going to be played in Brooklyn, Phoenix, and Orlando. So, I’d say he has a real chance if his teammates make their open looks.
What a difference Victor Oladipo makes for this team. Let’s call him Bad Little Dude II for the time being. Oladipo was wonderful in this game as he scored 22 points and made his threes. In these two games since his return, the Thunder are 2-0 versus top four teams in the West and Oladipo is a combined 7-11 shooting threes. But it’s more than just shooting. He’s a complete two zone basketball player who can help this team in various nuance ways. A good sign–Oladipo played 38 minutes in this game and led the Thunder in minutes played. I would expect heavy minutes from BLD II as we get near the playoffs. Heavy minutes because of what he needs to be for this team to beat a Utah, a Houston, a San Antonio, or even now a very much struggling Oakland AAU Super Team.
Taj Gibson. Let’s talk Taj Gibson. I thought he was equally wonderful in this ball game. He scored 15 points, was efficient with his opportunities and there’s that vet physicality he provides which Domas Sabonis can’t yet provide because he seriously needs to hit the weight room this summer. In hockey, it’s called commanding your ice space. In basketball, it’s called commanding your floor space. Taj Gibson commands his floor space– kind of like Perk, only Taj can catch the ball and actually shoot when he needs to. It appears he and Russell are beginning to understand where his offensive sweet spots are how to get him to be an effective contributor to the offense.
It appears for the time being Semaj Christon is once gain the backup point guard as Norris Cole was DNP for the second straight game. My thoughts on this are obvious, I don’t want either one of them on the floor in the playoffs if Donovan can stagger Russ and Victor in such a manner. We’ll see. I hope neither has to play much though.
OKC is now 25-9 at home this season, 12-20 on the road. You can’t do much in the playoffs if you can’t win on the road. OKC’s final nine road games are all winnable if some players not named Westbrook step up and grow up. Six of the nine road games are against sub .500 teams.
Here’s what I’m saying, it’s time for Oladipo, Adams, Kanter, Gibson, and Roberson to become road warriors and grow up as NBA players.
Step up and grow up. That’s the Thunder mantra on Tuesday night as the Thunder play the Russian owned Brooklyn Nets. Don’t think I’m not going to spin some Trump-Russian shit in that one.
Winning is fun. Let’s go Thunder!
My favorite Westbrook interview. Family is everything.
My son named his lab Perk, so I still think of Perk the basketball player quite often actually. I miss him. He was fun. Here’s Perk the player as a pup with good knees.
It stuns me I could even contemplate this. I’m not even a liberal. I have a great life in Oklahoma, albeit the political wasteland it has become. I love the land where I live. It’s beautiful. Like my own little ranch with ponds, creeks, a dense forest, wild turkeys which feed out of my hand almost, deer which frolick from the view of our back windows, incredible fishing, and the thing is I love all the people in my small community. I’m even vice-president of the HOA, yet I’m almost certain saving myself and possibly the only two black families in the community–I’m the only one who didn’t vote for Donald Trump.
If they knew I hadn’t voted for Caligula Lite I wonder if I’d be impeached and blacklisted as a subversive of some sort? It was bad enough having to live with Mary Fallin and the Oklahoma state legislature–now it’s the whole country which has become this very stupid land of the dumb. Just really dumb. It’s like being trapped between dumb and dumber.
So I’ve been giving some thought what it would be like for me to become a Canadian. I love hockey so it’s like part of me is Canadian already. Bobby Orr is my favorite athlete of all-time. The fishing would be incredible. I’ve spent time in Toronto and that clearly would be the area I’d want to live near if I can become Canadian. Serge Ibaka is a Raptor now and there would be that. The Raptors are an up and coming team and in reality Russell Westbrook is probably having the same thoughts about living in Oklahoma I’m having right now in that he detests Trump as much as I do. How ironic, I was born in San Diego, yet I’m thinking I might need to become Canadian.
Toronto is a lovely city. The ambience and culture is the polar opposite of Oklahoma. It’s an international melting pot. Incredible restaurants. They have the Hockey Hall of Fame right there in downtown Toronto. The streets and buildings are lovely. Outdoor cafes everywhere for a ‘liberal’ dude like me to drink a pitcher full of mimosas. Museums, art, culture, and parks litter the city landscape. I despise the Toronto Maple Leafs, but still, I’d be in an NHL city and I could cheer for Serge and wear my Bruins jersey at the games. BTW, Bobby Orr was born in Parry Sound, Ontario which is in the same province as Toronto. Just so we’re clear.
It’s a lot to think about. Maybe at the least I could become a dual citizen so as I could at least escape the stupidity of what America has become.
It’s a lot to think about. But it would be an escape from Caligula Lite, Jeff Sessions, Mary Fallin, and the New Confederacy.
Bobby Orr is to skating what Jonathon Livingston Seagull is to flight. This always calms me, just watching Orr play hockey gives me joy.
My three favorite sports are basketball, hockey, and football—baseball not so much except for post season. Given that OKC never had a pro team of its own until the Thunder were bought and then moved from Seattle my favorite pro teams in each sport were… the Philadelphia 76’ers in the NBA, the Boston Bruins in the NHL, the Green Bay Packers in the NFL, and the Pittsburgh Pirates in MLB.
My favorite player of all-time in each sport is Bill Russell of the Boston Celtics, Bobby Orr of the Boston Bruins, Barry Sanders of the Detroit Lions, and Roberto Clemente of the Pittsburgh Pirates. These are my four favorite players of all-time.
My Bruins are currently the No. 7 seed in the East with a mark of 35-26-6
There was a bit of fight last night involving Evengi Malkin of the Pens and Blake Wheeler of the Jets. Even though hockey is a game of immense skill with skating, stick handling, passing, shooting, and checking—there’s just something refreshing that when you’ve had enough of some guy’s bullshit you can fight, sit for a few minutes and then come back and play.
This wasn’t really a great fight as some have said it was, but Wheeler got Malkin down rather easily and neither guy suffered all that much as far as I can see.
The NBA should allow fighting because if they did so Draymond Green’s bullshit where he kicks other men between the legs would come to an abrupt halt the first and last time he pulled that bullshit again.
Same with politics, wouldn’t it be refreshing to see Schumer and McConnell just drop the gloves and quick all this pretense around the edges. See what you got so to speak, put the nonsense to the side and see what you got. Same with Trump and Ted Cruz, drop ’em and see what these two dildos can do.
Anyway, that’s all I have today as I need an escape day from Donald Trump. Of course, Saturday is usually Caligula Lite’s big tweet day and who could possibly know what awaits us. Who could know? Maybe FDR was a Russian spy?
None of this would happen in the NHL. Green’s ass would have already been whipped and he’d be just another player in the league, albeit a talented one on a loaded team.
Tie Domi is my favorite hockey fighter of all-time. Domi was a player of not much size and limited skill, but the guy could score some junk goals and fight. He never backed down from anybody regardless of the size disparity. We need some of this in Washington D.C. just to clear the air maybe so these guys could come to terms with themselves and get some things ever so often.
It was a warm pre-spring night in Oklahoma City. It felt like late April as the weather fueled new hope that maybe OKC vs. San Antonio ‘can’ be a Western Conference semi-final matchup. The Thunder gave their fans perhaps their biggest win of the season coupled along with the win over Cleveland in early February, and the big win over the Utah Jazz two weeks ago.
This was a big one because it snapped a four game losing streak while changing the feel entirely heading into another big game showdown with Utah at home this Saturday.
OKC led by seven at the half, led by as many as eighteen points in the second half, and then finally won by a score of 102-92.
Russell Westbrook became the first NBA player since Wilt Chamberlain in 1967-68 to notch thirty-one triple doubles in a season. Keep this in mind as you think about the whole Westbrook-Harden MVP race dilemma. In the games in which Westbrook has triple-doubled the Thunder are 25-6, in games in which he hasn’t tripled doubled the Thunder are 11-23. So as Westbrook’s internet lawyer on why he should win the MVP–I’ll enter that as Exhibit A in making my case for Westbrook.
Westbrook’s line was 23 points, 13 rebounds, and 13 assists. He took 21 shots compared to the 39 shots he took against Portland on Tuesday night. This is a better Westbrook for the Thunder, but it’s not like Russell Westbrook has had any control over the circumstances of this season. Victor Oladipo has suffered two different injuries this season, Steven Adams has struggled with an injured hand, and Enes Kanter broke his own friggin arm on a chair.
Westbrook has had no control over any of that, but instead he’s busted his ass and done what he’s had to do to keep this team afloat and now sitting as the No. 6 seed in the West with five weeks remaining in the regular season. This would be Exhibit B as without Westbrook this team would be battling the Brooklyn Nets, the LA Lakers, and the Phoenix Suns for lottery rights in the summer draft.
Instead, Westbrook has not only given this team a chance to be good, but he’s given a city hope which is coming off a gut punch of a year in which Aubrey McClendon died in a car crash, the price of oil cratered, and Kevin Durant slivered off to Oakland on July 4th. Amidst all this, Westbrook is not only the league’s MVP, but he’s been this state’s MVP as well. Exhibit C. Your Honor, I rest my case.
Victor Oladipo, Enes Kanter, and Steven Adams all played well in this game as they should in every game considering how well each of them are being compensated. Let’s be clear here, it’s time for these three players to step up and be this team’s second, third, and fourth best players on most nights from this point moving to the playoffs.
Taj Gibson finally got a start and I would think this will be the way it goes for the remainder of this basketball season. Domas Sabonis will be a solid NBA player, but it’s time to start getting ready to play the nine or ten best players once we get to the goal achieving slice of the season.
In closing, a very good win for the Thunder which could be made even sweeter with another playoff game situation win over the Utah Jazz on Saturday night at the Peake.
OKC improves to 35-29 and is now in sixth place in the West.
A win over the Jazz would wipe the bad taste away from the four game skid and get this team pointed in the right direction.
I have to admit, I smiled when I heard Ted Cruz and his family visited the White House so Donald Trump could smooze the American Freedom Caucus in the House of Representatives in relation to the new Trump Care Health bill which was just made public. Donald Trump now needs Ted Cruz—it’s that simple and one might hope Cruz is at least smart enough to know he should be getting something back in an obvious quid pro quo. If not, at least it gives the rest of us proof we’re at least smarter than one Harvard Law School graduate.
And what’s truly hilarious is that Trump coined the phrase Lyin’ Ted Cruz, called his wife a pig, and then went on to claim Cruz’s father could have been involved in the assassination of JFK. Yet, there’s Lyin’ Ted Cruz like a wet puppy with his tail between his legs at the White House with Caligula Lite. To me, this is right up there with Trump telling Chris Christie to get on the airplane and go home. Both are equally priceless, but in the World of Trump it’s just another day and another gesture of where we’re at as a nation currently.
So, if we’re having an Oscars for most pathetic GOP moments encapsulating the Election of 2016 and the governance so far—Cruz taking his family to the White House wins Best Picture going away. But there were other strong nominees for Best Pic as well.
It’s been a tough year for Mark Cuban with Trump winning the White House and his team struggling, but this was a nice moment for the game and the league. Congrats, Dirk.
It was a tough game to watch as the OKC Thunder lost its fourth straight game and in the process lost its season series against the Portland Trailblazers by a 3-1 count. From an entertainment standpoint it was okay, but if you bleed Thunder basketball it was painful as the Thunder dropped to 35-29 and seem headed to a very short stay in the NBA’s post season tournament.
Two things stand out in this game,(1) namely OKC couldn’t play much of any defense and allowed Portland to shoot 55.3% from the field and 47.8% from threes, and (2) Russell Westbrook took 39 of his team’s total of 89 shots to score 58 points.
Combine no defense with no trust in each other as a team and this isn’t a good sign moving forward.
Victor Oladipo returned and played decent scoring 16 points and was 4-5 from three land, plus he hit a very big shot which kept OKC in the game until the very end. But in the end it was a distorted, disjointed Thunder team which in these last four games is winless against sub .500 teams.
I look at it this way, as ball as ball distribution–that being, OKC’s better offensive players didn’t get enough touches in this game against a Portland team which is a poor defensive team. Enes Kanter only got 6 shots, Steven Adams only got 5 shots, Alex Abrines 5 shots, Doug McDermott who ostensibly was brought here to shoot the ball–attempted one shot.
It’s as if when Oladipo went out Russell in an effort to keep the boat afloat got lost in his own game so to speak. The real measure of a great point guard is making the tools around him better. Russell has shown he can do this, but he needs to get back to it and his teammates need to finish when he shows trust in their games.
In all candor, I have not been impressed with Billy Donovan of late. It is a coach’s job to leave his imprint on his team. I’m not seeing any imprint on this team currently other than Russell trying to do too much. If I’m to assume Oladipo is back for good now–then OKC as a team needs to take a deep breath and reset itself somehow against the Spurs on Thursday night at home.
The goal for OKC right now is to find itself as a team and learn how to play with one another.
For those of you who voted for Donald Trump and think there’s going to be a pivot, it isn’t happening. This is who he is and how his presidency will be for however long it lasts. I think it would be fair to assume he in his own mind never thought he’d be elected and the joke is on not just the people who voted for this clown, but for the entire country.
Again, I’m to assume if Donald Trump slit Mike Pence’s throat on national television it would in no way alter the way Trump supporters view all of this. Somehow, someway, we as a country have produced this in the wake of the Economic Collapse of 2008, the Palin phenomenon, and the fact a majority of Americans feel left behind due to globalization and other factors. Or more the point, many Americans feel the American Dream is a thing of the past.
It’s extremely sad and depressing when you think about it. You wonder at what point the ‘GOP shadow government’, the one with Pence, McConnell, Ryan, Priebus, Mattis, Kelly, Pompeo, Comey and others will say enough of this and do the right thing. It’s not just Jeff Sessions, it’s not just Steven Bannon, more to the point it’s the fact Donald Trump is in no way qualified for the office and even more concerning is he operates on a maturity level of a fourth grader.
Here’s Joe Scarborough this morning sharing his thoughts. Keep in mind, he’s not part of the ‘liberal media’ out to get Donald Trump. He’s a former GOP congressman who’s a staunch conservative Heritage Foundation type of person. Conservative talk show hosts and conservative columnists all across this country are saying the same things pretty much and have been doing so for several weeks now. Chris Wallace, George Will, Kathleen Parker, etc have expressed their concern for this president’s stability and whether he’s too emotionally unhinged to be POTUS.