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For the second time in three games, Carmelo Anthony has drawn attention to himself and to Billy Donovan for all the wrong reasons.

This is an underground blog of sorts and unlike Royce Young at ESPN or Erik Horne at newsoksports I can write openly and honestly without any fear of my access being altered by the OKC Thunder.

I did end up watching this game even though Stormy Daniels revealed she spanked Caligula with a magazine on his ‘bottom’.

Here’s my first take in a game in which the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Thunder by a 108-105 score to sweep the four game series…my take is Billy Donovan needs to come to terms with how far Carmelo Anthony has declined as an NBA player and quit hurting his team by playing Carmelo minutes beyond the 20-22 minute range. Also, there’s no reason whatsoever Carmelo should be on the floor at the end of games when it’s obvious he’s having horrible nights like in Boston and like last night versus Portland. When a vet pitcher doesn’t have his stuff, you know what a good baseball manager does…he gets the guy out of the game and doesn’t cripple the team he’s being paid to manage.

This is absurd like earlier in the season when Abrines was getting all those twenty minute something nights. But to Donovan’s credit—he’s been much more realistic with Alex Abrines’ minutes as of late. And give Abrines credit in that he’s improved and played better with a reduced role.

Here’s the thing…Carmelo is no longer a star player. Not even close. He’s older. He’s slower. The truth be known he’s not even in the same breath with Westbrook, Paul George, and Steven Adams.

In last night’s game, Carmelo was putrid going 3-13 and missing every one of his three point attempts in just under thirty minutes of play.

Heck, last night he wasn’t even remotely close to being OKC’s fourth, fifth, six, seventh, or eighth best player for the Thunder. Those would have been in this order… 4 Jerami Grant, 5 Ray Felton, 6 Corey Brewer, 7 Pat Patterson, and 8 Alex Abrines, 9 Terrance Ferguson. So you know what that means I’m saying, Billy Donovan? Your worst player on the floor last night was Carmelo Anthony and you not only had him on the floor for thirty minutes, but you had him with the ball in his hands in those most important possessions of the game.

You know what that is? Two words…coaching malpractice.

Getting old is a bitch. It sucks. None of us are immune to it. It happens.

But that’s why you have a head coach. That why you pay him $6 million dollars. Namely to orchestrate those 240 minutes every game and to maybe pull an aged former star aside and reduce his minutes and at times his role. Conversely, on nights when it appears there might be a little bounce in his game—you go with Carmelo a little more.

Too late now though in that last night’s loss to Portland sealed the Thunder’s fate of probably now being either a No. 5, 6, or 7 seed once all the dust settles. Last night was huge and not in a good way for the Thunder.

Here’s why I can no longer compare the world champion 2011 Dallas Mavs to this OKC Thunder team… the reason is simple–that team in Rick Carlisle had one of the best NBA coaches around. This Thunder team doesn’t have that in Billy Donovan. I’m not implying Donovan sucks beyond sucking, but he’s nothing special as an NBA coach. Great guy, nicest man in the room, but….. By the way, you know who was an assistant coach on that 2011 Dallas team–Terry Stotts. The same Terry Stotts who now head coaches Portland and will be named NBA Coach of the Year at the end of this regular season.

Small world.

I thought it was very weak per Caligula’s standards actually. Her story just didn’t have that over the top Deplorable stench to it. Neither one of them pissed on the other one. Evidently, neither one of them defecated on the other one. I mean, c’mon, it was just unprotected consensual sex between a porn star and a creepy old white man who inherited forty million dollars from Fred Trump.

This could backfire on Caligula in that he wasn’t as grotesquely indecent in this incident as he has been in others. His base could possibly turn on him because of the pedestrian nature of this sport f–king incident with Stormy Daniels. Her story had no legs. No drama per se. The Deplorables expect more from Trump than this. They need more from him than this.

They need the Golden Showers. They need the random grab ’em by the pussy narrative. They need the titillation of the furniture store foreplay. They need that bus with Billy Bush. They need the humiliation of Little Marco. These are the things which give the Deplorables their oxygen so to speak.

That’s the Caligula they need. It wouldn’t surprise me if Trump’s approval ratings take a dip with the Christians because this quite frankly wasn’t tawdry enough.

So much for this Stormy Daniels yarn. Next porn star up.

You know, at this point does it even matter? I’m of the opinion she could have Trump on film with her stark naked, her sitting on Caligula’s chest, and literally shitting on him and it would probably increase his support with his base.

I don’t write that tongue in cheek either. Again, at this point, I honestly believe his support would increase within his base if we come to discover Stormy Daniels shit on Donald Trump’s chest.

This is how far the bar has been lowered. This is how far America has sunk. So…while I’m guessing this Sixty Minutes piece is highly watched…I’m guessing it will mean little if anything big picture. I’m guessing Trump’s support with the Christian Coalition will actually crest above the 90% mark after the interview.

Sigh.

I have a confession to make. I only watched this Thunder game in pieces as I was much more emotionally involved watching the Big 12 teams in the NCAA Tournament. Just a great Sweet Sixteen for the Big 12 as Kansas State, Kansas, and Texas Tech all made the Elite 8 even if none of the three make the Final Four—it’s still a nice thing for the conference. I still think Villanova is the best team in the tournament and Duke is the second best team in the tournament, but we’ll just have to see what happens. Holy shit…who in their right mind could have had K State vs Loyola in the South regional final?

Anyway…it’s been a fun tournament.

Yawn…as far as the Thunder–they did bounce back from the calamity in Boston and had enough in them to hold off the Miami Heat by a score of 105-99.

From the parts I watched both Russell Westbrook and Steven Adams were excellent. Conversely, from the parts I watched, except for a late defensive play by Paul George, I thought both Carmelo and Paul George were terrible. As in TERRIBLE.

For these two dudes who between them have won absolutely nothing in their NBA careers from a team standpoint—I’m just not all that impressed from what I’m seeing from these two coming down the stretch. I would even go as far to say Carmelo Anthony’s contract is the worst current contract in the NBA for the team obliged to honor it.

I thought since they basically coasted the first two thirds of the season we would be seeing something from them right now, but not the case. Maybe they’ll show up on Sunday when the Thunder host the Portland Trailblazers.

It is what it is. And you have to wonder what would have happened if Westbrook and Presti would have given both Oladipo and Sabonis one more year in Oklahoma City to see how it could fit as both of those young guys got better.

Anyway, enough of that bullshit.

OKC is now 44-30 and only one game down in the loss column to Portland. You would think this is a big game and would elicit some real emotion and caring from these two guys. You would hope, but you wouldn’t bet it.

And to be honest with you, I’m only going to watch the game on the replay as like most of America I’ll be glued to Sixty Minutes watching the Stormy Daniels interview.

I have to admit… I love how she’s dangling Caligula. This couldn’t be happening to a more deserving person. Her lawyer’s a smart dude. He’s put Little Caligula into a legal box per se. I have a smile on my face as I’m typing this. Yeah, I do. Shame on me.

But, hey, here’s the thing, if you’re one of the Sixty Million who voted for Caligula you have time to get to church on Sunday morning and pray hard.

Know what I mean? Get your asses on your knees and pray very hard would be my heartfelt advice.

Where’s Newt Gingrich when you really need him, eh?

I wonder if the lawyer and Stormy end up on a beach together in the end?

So much to think about.

Portland Trailblazers at Oklahoma City on Sunday evening inside the Peake.

I’m still in a funk over the manner in which the Thunder pissed away the game in Boston on Tuesday night. I’m trying to get a grip on my emotions and not overreact to a game. But here’s the thing, when I was listening to that Carmelo interview—you know what I heard in the background from that locker room? Laughter. Laughter is what I heard. Why would any one associated with the Thunder be laughing after an embarrassment like that? I have no idea. So—I’m going to take a break from the Thunder and see what they do against Miami and Portland to see if they’re blog worthy.

What an absolutely ugly game in Boston as the Thunder basically gave away what should have been their 7th straight win in route to improving their record to 44-29.

I sat there in numb silence watching this bullshit ending which in essence is a microcosm of what to date has been a season of dysfunction, inconsistency and underachievement in Oklahoma City.

As a Thunder fan you can’t really say it hurts because at this point you expect this at times to rear its ugly head—you just don’t know when it’s going to happen.

This loss isn’t on Billy Donovan. He tightened his minutes considerably in this game. He coached this game like a playoff game as far as minutes. His team was playing a Boston team without Kyrie Irving, Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, and Gordon Hayward and still couldn’t get it done in what was a very big game for the Thunder.

Even though you could sift through this game and nitpick some things–the bottom line is the Thunder were leading 99-97 with 8.4 seconds left and Carmelo Anthony was at the free throw line to shoot two free throws and in essence close the deal. Carmelo missed both free throws and left the door open.

Boston’s Marcus Morris then closed the deal for the severely undermanned Celtics by nailing a three with 1.2 seconds left. Westbrook got a decent look on the ensuing inbounds play and missed short.

Ball game.

This is what is called pissing a game away. The Thunder in the most critical stretch of games which will define their season just pissed a game away.

Meanwhile in Portland, the Blazers finally lost a game as the Rockets put an end to their win streak. A marvelous opportunity for the Thunder to actually put itself in a position to possibly contend for the No. 3 seed… in essence just pissed away by a lack of bearing down mentally at the end and not finishing like professionals.

I mean…how else do you want to spin it?

Making free throws in closing close games is about the most basic thing in close games this time of the season. You step up there and make your free throws or you put yourself in a position to lose. Fairly basic.

OKC drops to 43-30 with nine games remaining in the regular season. To win one more game than last year’s rookie contract laden team the Thunder need to go at least 5-4 to do so. I have no view whatsoever if the Thunder will be able to win a minimum of five games or not. You would hope they could focus long enough to get this done.

But who would really know?

The Miami Heat visits Oklahoma City on Friday evening.

With three and a half weeks left in the regular season I guess it’s time to put an order to who should be the regular season MVP. The winner is easy. James Harden. Harden not only has taken the Rockets to another level, but has done it in a season in which some thought it might be awkward for him to mesh with fellow alpha point guard Chris Paul. Not the case at all in that when Harden and Paul have been on the floor together the Rockets have been virtually unbeatable.

My second place vote would go to Damian Lillard as of today assuming if Portland holds onto third place in the West. Lillard along with CJ McCollum has been the driving force for a Portland team which will probably win Terry Stotts the NBA Coach of the Year award.

My third place vote would go to Russell Westbrook if the Thunder fall no lower than fourth in the West. In a season where he’s had to assimilate Paul George and Carmelo into the mix and at the same time make sure Steven Adams gets his paint touches–Westbrook has done a good job for the most part. But with me voting Westbrook as high as No. 3 it comes with the condition attached he continues to not shoot bad threes and that the Thunder continue their surge as a team.

Fourth for me would be DeMar DeRozan. What the Raptors have done this season should be getting more ink, but it’s hard to grab the spotlight away from LeBron when you play in the East.

My fifth place vote would go to Kyrie Irving. Irving was probably the runaway leader early this season, but as injuries have mounted in Boston the Celtics have regressed and don’t really appear to be the title contender they looked like earlier in the season.

Sixth place for me goes to LeBron. He’s still possibly the best player in the league. Period. But he shouldn’t debate Laura Ingram.

My seventh place vote goes for Anthony Davis who has kept the Pelicans afloat even after the season ending injury to DeMarcus Cousins.

Closing out my ballot at the No. 8 spot would be Chris Paul.

I couldn’t really pick a Warrior per se to give an MVP to given the fact on any night it could be one of four guys. But I guess if I were forced to pick a Warriors’ MVP it would be Steph.

With all the concern of this season becoming another Golden State vs. LeBron saga all hell has broken out in the NBA. Teams got better this off season in amping up their rosters to compete with the Golden State roster and the Warriors are sustaining injuries coming down the stretch. Any Power Poll is going to be topsy turvy, but the NBA heading down the stretch of these final ten games gives hope for some great playoff basketball in both conferences. What a time to be an NBA fan for sure.

1 Houston
2 Golden State
3 Portland
4 Oklahoma City
5 Toronto
6 Cleveland
7 Utah
8 Boston

In a season which has brought torment, angst, and even some tears during the low points— the OKC Thunder put it all together on Sunday at Toronto in snapping the Raptors eleven game win streak by winning a 132-125 slugfest which might have been the best game of the season.

This game had everything. There were forty something lead changes. Multiple ties. Ebbs and flows from both teams which usually floor an opponent. But not in this game. The Thunder and Raptors went toe to toe for forty-eight minutes and when the smoke cleared the Thunder had their sixth straight win and a season best record of 43-29 at fourteen games over .500.

There was Serge Ibaka accidently doing a Draymond Green on Steven Adams. There was Adams coming back and giving the Thunder some toughness. There was Russell Westbrook playing brilliantly in the fourth period and making all the plays which put the Thunder over the top. And then there was Kyle Lowery, DeMar DeRozan, and Serge Ibaka all getting ejected at the end. Even Raptor head coach Dwayne Casey got heaved as well, but he simply folded his jacket and left the floor as the Toronto crowd heaved their vocal displeasure on the zebras. This game basically had it all. Bravo.

All five Thunder starters scored in double figures with Westbrook leading the way with a 37 point-headed triple double that was perhaps as good as you’ll ever witness Westbrook in a game against a team as good as the Raptors.

Steven Adams was excellent and virtually unstoppable on the pick and roll in scoring 25 points. If Ibaka hadn’t derailed Adams with a Draymond Green kick it appeared Adams would have scored in the thirties and established a career high.

Both Paul George and Carmelo Anthony had nice games as well as there seemed to be an understanding amongst the starters that Westbrook and Adams were very much on and needed the ball in their hands.

Then of course there was Corey Brewer once again scoring in double figures, making a couple of steals once again down the stretch, and doing a myriad of little things which have brought this Thunder team from the edge of the abyss to the point where they seem to be what we thought they might be way back when this season started back in October. Namely a contender.

The Thunder are now 6-1 in the Corey Brewer Era and winners of six straight with a road game at Boston on Tuesday night with a real chance to extend the streak to seven games against a banged up Celtics team which is limping towards the finish line. Suffice it to say if the Thunder go 2-0 on this East coast road trip the Thunder will have done something very nice in this tough closing round of games which should bode well for their playoff seeding.

As Thunder fans we waited, we waited, and we waited—and now it appears the Thunder are perhaps the team we hoped they might be back with all those airport arrivals last summer.

But with this team I won’t go there just yet. In my heart I want to believe these guys could be the 2011 Dallas Mavericks. My heart wants me to believe it, but my head tells me to tap the brakes and be cautious with my heart.

But I do know this, since Corey Brewer became a starter this Thunder team is playing beautiful team basketball. There’s a flow on both ends of the floor. It isn’t ugly and you don’t want to scream in horror. There’s a feel of optimism in the city about the basketball team which hasn’t been here for awhile. You can feel it. You really can and that’s what makes a small market team very special in a place like Oklahoma City.

The Thunder at Boston tomorrow night.

For those of us who feared another NBA season of boredom with nothing to do look forward to in post season other than another round of Golden State vs. LeBron there is some lingering hope that could be avoided this season. That shit is horrible for the overall league in my view. No team building or nothing organic about how the teams were put together. Just LeBron and Durant playing their game of ego ball with one another to see which one could play on the most loaded roster in respect to the conferences they play in. Even though I puke at the thought of Laura Ingram opening her mouth and saying words, the whole LeBron-Durant thing with the Carri Champion ads nauseates me as well.

But here’s the thing, we may have some hope this post season for a different NBA Finals matchup. Both Houston and Toronto are the No. 1 seeds and LeBron’s latest slew of roster changes has the Cavs tied with Washington and Indiana for third place in the East. But of course, it is still LeBron and the Houston Rockets have yet to prove they can make it to the NBA Finals much like the Phoenix Suns with Mike D’Antoni never made it all the way to winning a ring…but there is some hope we don’t have to witness Durant and LeBron licking each other’s balls in another NBA Finals this summer.

Oklahoma City is playing in my favorite city albeit San Diego in North America today with their only visit to Toronto. I love Toronto. As I’ve written on here before–if I at some point I have to expatriate myself because of the Trump idiots in America…Toronto would be on my list of finalists, plus Serge is there. What a lovely city. You’ve never really lived until you’ve gone to an ice sculpting festival in a Toronto park or read the morning paper while drinking mimosas in street-side café or gone to a Maple Leaf game and booed the home team with the visiting Boston Bruins on the ice or spent an entire day inside the Hockey Hall of Fame. I could be Canadian if I had to be especially now that they have a very good basketball team with DeRozan, Lowery, and of course Serge.

What a refreshing change it would be in having a young/smart national leader as opposed to the piece of human junk leading America currently. Oh, wait…we had that in America then white people decided it was time to go all John Birch Society and pretty much ignore math, science, and world history. Anyway…I digress. The Keith Olberman in me does this to me at times.

The Thunder at the Toronto Raptors at noon.