Whoa….seriously, whoa. It took 62 points to finally subdue Oklahoma State in what was essentially an elimination game at both the Big 12 Championship Game and National College Football Playoff level…but the Sooners are still breathing in control of at least their own Big 12 Championship destiny.
OU entered as a road underdog, yet hung 62 on Mike Gundy’s feeble defense as the now 8-1 Sooners host TCU next Saturday for first place in the Big 12 regular season championship.
It was like watching the Dodgers vs. the Astros in Game 6. Just when you thought the other guy couldn’t go yard one more time…they went yard. If you’re a Woody or Bo pre-millenial purist this game made you want to puke, but if you like the high octane Big 12 it was vintage stuff. One haymaker begats another haymaker.
It was rookie coach Lincoln Riley’s first Bedlam and he came thru as a southwest rock star Sooner cult hero in victory while Mike Gundy dropped to 2-11 versus the Sooners. Take away Big Game Bob’s disastrous decision to repunt to Tyreke Hill three years ago and Gundy is 1-12 in Bedlam as a head coach.
Riley becomes the first head coach in OU’s storied football history to post eight or more wins in his first season. And that list of former OU coaches includes Bennie Owens, Bud Wilkinson, Barry Switzer, and Bob Stoops who between them have captured seven national championships.
So now OU hosts Gary Patterson and his TCU Horn Frogs in what should be a preview of the Big 12 Championship Game at Jerry’s World in December. Unlike O State, TCU has a legitimate defense and this won’t be a video slugfest. This will more resemble traditional football where people actually get tackled and put on the ground.
And once again next Saturday it will be win, survive, and advance for Lincoln Riley, Baker Mayfield, and their Sooners.
There’s only one Oklahoma, only one—and this is what Boone Pickens never calibrated as he was dropping upwards of half a billion into the O State coffers.
I’m going to tell it like I see it on this blog…period. I’ve listened and read the local takes from others who write or talk about the team before getting on here this morning. As Billy Donovan said in his postgame it was a game of two halves. OKC won the first half 55-37. Boston won the second half 64-39. Just so Billy D and his team know… it’s the second half which matters most because you know that’s when NBA games are usually decided. Anotherwords, good teams usually have a run or two in them even when they’re trailing at half.
So why would OKC go into a coma after one half of play? Why would that happen? None of OKC’s three stars have ever won a ring. So there in no way should ever be an issue with competitive complacency from this team. Quite the opposite should be true…Westbrook, George, and especially Carmelo Anthony should be playing with a chip on their collective shoulders in search of NBA championship validation.
What happened in that OKC locker room at halftime? Were they laid back drinking pina coladas and talking fashion trends?
Let’s call it like it is right now. OKC played like a championship contender the first twenty-four minutes, then didn’t bother to show up in the second half. They loafed on defense. The ball didn’t move. It was ugly iso ball with the team only garnishing 4 assists the entire second half. This is why for the most part the NBA is a star driven league versus being a coach driven league. That being it appeared OKC couldn’t have possibly listened to anything Billy Donovan said to them in the second half of this game…because if they did then Billy Donovan should be fired this afternoon.
I put this one on Russell Westbrook. It’s his team. You gotta take ownership of what you want to be as a team. You have to take pride in playing the right way. You don’t owe that to the fans, you owe it to yourself.
Again–this is pretty damn simple. Teams which loaf on defense and don’t move the basketball are usually done after one round of the NBA Playoffs. As in ‘Gone Fishing’ or on the golf course.
After the Warriors won their first ring—you know what they went and did…they won 73 games the next season without Kevin Durant.
You know what the Warriors did this past playoff run with Kevin Durant—they won their second ring and went 16-1 in post season play. My point? These guys are competitive motherfuckers and it matters to them how they play the game.
The Golden State Warriors don’t just compete against the other 29 teams in the league, they compete against themselves and the notion they want to become this era’s historic dynasty. How they play ‘Matters To Them’.
So…OKC is now 4-4 after eight games. Like I said before on here the record itself isn’t a big deal this early in the season if steady incremental improvement occurs. Effort to me should be there every game and for 48 minutes. Sure, it’s the NBA and it’s an 82 game marathon, but this game was at home and the Thunder were coming off two days of rest and pretty much healthy. Correct me if I’m wrong…but I don’t believe anywhere in the NBA bylaws where it states teams can’t play hard for 48 minutes.
Boston, which is pretty much a new team itself, has now won seven games in a row holding opponents under 95 points a game for seven straight games. Plus, they lost Gordon Hayward for the season in their season opener.
It pretty much comes down to playing hard and playing smart. Not complex.
The Thunder have a big game tonight at home versus the Boston Celtics. With a win, OKC can improve to 5-3 and have a three game winning streak in the works. So far into this young season the Thunder have emerged as one of the better defensive teams in the league. This should be of no surprise with the addition of Paul George, the re-signing of Andre Roberson, and the continual evolution of Jerami Grant. Throw Steven Adams’ defensive versatility into the mix and the fact Russell Westbrook was at one time a defense first guard—and you have the makings of a very good defensive team.
The Philly Sixers have always been my favorite team in the East. Like from the first grade to the present. It probably started for me with Billy Cunningham and Hal Greer–then went thru Dr. J and Maurice Cheeks–and in the present seeing all these young players assembled in Philly trying to restore the Sixer brand.
So what does Jerami Grant bring to the Thunder? He brings a freakish athletic frame and a versatile game. He can run the floor. He can defend. He can rebound. He can score, and unlike Andre Roberson, he’s not horrible from the line. He can be Billy Donovan’s do anything sub from the bench and play various positions on the floor in either a conventional lineup set or playing with a small ball unit.
Consider if OKC needs a unit on the floor to get a stop against the Warriors–Billy Donovan has the luxury of putting Westbrook, George, Adams, Grant, and Roberson on the floor together. Name five better defenders on the same team in the West currently. You might go…. Thompson, Durant, Draymond Green, Iguodala, and Za Za with the Warriors. To get these five I had to sit Carmelo and Steph, but still it was fun to do from a defensive standpoint.
What Sam Presti did this summer besides adding Paul George and Carmelo Anthony to the team was to turn OKC into one of the best defensive teams in the league.
Say what you want about the Warriors ability to score the ball, but defensive guru Ron Adams has the Warriors playing defense when it matters. The Warriors defense is a big part of why they are who they are currently.
I love Jerami Grant as a player. He reminds me a bit of Stacy Augmon back from his UNLV days. Moving forward–I’m hopeful Billy Donovan expands his role even more.
Actually, when I was in high school the Houston Astros were Oklahoma City’s AAA affiliate and I was a fan of the Astros back in those days. It’s a nice story for the city of Houston in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey so I’m good with it.
LA was pretty much awful on Wednesday night in losing 5-1 at home in Game 7. Yu Darvish was brutal again in giving up five runs in an inning and two-thirds. Bellinger left something like six base runners stranded and Dave Roberts was a bit murky from a managerial standpoint, but give the Astros a ton of credit they never backed down and because of that grit they stand atop the world as champions of baseball only three years removed from being the worst team in the league.
I was happy to see Clayton Kershaw pitch effectively in a long middle relief stinct to keep the Astros scoreless after they torched Darvish…there was that at least.
Very ironic for me in that my favorite OKC Dodger was second baseman Willie Calhoun—and Calhoun was the key piece from LA which brought Darvish from the Texas Rangers to the Dodgers in a late season trade.
Except for Game 7…a rousing World Series featuring two teams who both won over a hundred games this season and should both be right back in the hunt next season.
After three days of beach inner peace in Melbourne, Florida — I feel refreshed, reset, and ready to follow the Thunder’s season. It was wonderful. Great weather, almost completely empty beaches, collecting sea shells with my wife, talking surf fishing with the locals, sea food and cheeseburgers, watching the World Series and college football at night. I know the Thunder lost by three at Minnesota and then blew out the Bulls–but for the most part I was only a casual observer for those two games.
Last night was my first night back and as my custom I was seriously focused for the Thunder’s game in Milwaukee.
I thought it was easily OKC’s best game of the season as they pretty much did what they wanted to in a surprisingly easy 110-91 win over the promising Bucks. OKC improved to 4-3 and now has a two game winning streak heading into Friday’s home game versus the Celtics.
The standings mean little to me this early in the season. Just get better every game and define the roles on the team while getting a feel for one another. What I saw on Tuesday night made me feel this Thunder team has some very good team basketball in front of them as they make their journey through this season.
I can’t think of one thing to bitch about in this recap. Not one. Other than Nick didn’t see the floor. C’mon, Billy Donovan.
Five Thunder players scored in double figures while Felton and Roberson were both one point away from scoring in double figures themselves. And, oh…BTW–Andre Roberson looked liked John Stockton perfectly swishing his two free throw attempts. Andre Being the Ball is what that was about. He must be reading okcthunderground.com. Be the ball, Andre, be the ball, buddy.
Something about Raymond Felton as well. Quite frankly, he’s giving OKC the best backup point guard play they ever had in the ten years here. Some might bristle at that comment and say, “What about Reggie Jackson?” But what I would say is fuck the little bitch Reggie and I’m going with Ray Felton. I really like what I’m seeing from Felton.
Russell almost had another triple double, but this isn’t the season of chasing Oscar. This is the season of chasing a ring so trip dubs aren’t our focus this season. The ball moved, the Thunder had 25 assists as a team. Teams which move the ball win championships–teams which don’t move the ball are on golf courses in May and June. That’s a fairly simple axiom of basketball.
Paul George and Carmelo look more comfortable every game. I have nothing to bitch about there except I am a little disappointed Presti couldn’t land LeBron on this year’s roster.
Steven Adams was excellent and is on a nice run of basketball pretty much looking like the guy from two seasons ago in post season. As I wrote earlier in this season–Adams should be the one player who benefits the most from all the space created by the additions of PG and Melo. Oceans of space and time are there whenever he and Russ nod and wink at each other. That’s another axiom of basketball. Space and time…move the ball. This isn’t as complex as figuring out health care.
Jerami Grant was great in this game with a 17 point performance. Given the fact he’s been a member of my two favorite teams–the Thunder and Sixers…Jerami is one of my favorite Thunder players. Plus, like all serious OU basketball fans how could I not love a guy related to Harvey ‘The General’ Grant from OU’s ’88 championship final team.
Patrick Patterson looks like he’s getting healthy and he played 23 solid minutes on Tuesday night.
I still want to see more from Alex Abrines, but I’m not going to bitch when the Thunder win by 19 points on the road against a playoff caliber team. He made a nice power move on the baseline, then missed the dunk. Great move, but finish. I’m seeing more overall TSN toughness in his game and less of the Euro frilliness…both good things.
The Thunder host the Celtics on Friday inside Chesapeake Energy Arena and it should be a great game with what I think will be a playoff feel inside the building. But really—who needs Big Al Horford when Sam Presti can put Russ, PG, and Melo together in Mystery, Alaska?
Game 7 of the World Series tonight and of course I’m for the Dodgers as my son and I watched so many of these guys play in AAA for the OKC Dodgers…even Clayton Kershaw on an injury rehab assignment pitched here in July. Chris Taylor, the leadoff hitter, is one of those guys and he’s pretty much my favorite Dodger.
I’ve been in Florida for several days on a beach trying to ignore the world. But it now begins, the unraveling of Caligula’s reign of overt stupidity. Gates will be the dude to watch moving forward, not Manafort. Mueller has clearly made it known he’s flipped Crazy Papa and intends to do the same with Gates and others. Mueller’s actions also make it clear he believes he has enough on Caligula which he hasn’t made public. Mueller is going for the removal of Caligula despite what Sarah Huckabee-Sanders tells the cult groupies. I’m wondering where Michael Flynn will re-enter this putrid saga of American history which is even more tawdry than the Tea Pot Dome Scandal or Watergate.
My guess is those 30 per cent who defend Caligula to the death are still with him and will remain with him till he’s tweeting from his bunker in the White House. If Eva Braun and the children are smart they’ll get their asses back to New York and stay there. I’m thinking I’ll probably call my former youth minister turned U.S. Senator James Lankford one more time to discuss his public stance on all of this.
It’s certainly not a time to gloat for those of us who have railed against Caligula since Day 1 of his announced candidacy, but more of a time to feel extremely sad on how far our country has devolved culturally.
When all the evidentiary threads of this sordid tale are exposed it will make Watergate seem like a feel good story.
Can’t wait for the Cypriot bank money laundering chapters. I’m assuming John Grisham, Bob Woodward, and Michael Lewis are taking notes. Some great books are on the horizon.
But I do feel somewhat sad for all the unread whites who put their faith in this rogue con artist as if he were ever even remotely interested in their welfare. My suggestion to these people is to start reading books and turn their televisions off.
A nice take care of business win for the Thunder on Wednesday night inside Chesapeake Energy Arena over the Indiana Pacers by a score of 114-96. The Pacers aren’t much and without Myles Turner they’re even less, but it was a good win for OKC as they continue to feel themselves out in the team building process.
Russell Westbrook triple doubled for the 81st time in his career this time with 28 points, 16 assists, and 10 rebounds. Carmelo Anthony chipped in with 28 points. Steven Adams double doubled for the second straight game. Raymond Felton was solid. Some nice things from Jerami Grant and Josh Huestis. Andre didn’t have to attempt a free throw. Alex Abrines stuffed Domas Sabonis on a point blank shot at the rim. Patrick Patterson played 16 minutes and looks like he’s getting his legs back under him. Paul George fouled out against his former teammates and finished with only 10 points.
Only downside in an 18 point win would probably be Paul George fouling out.
Indiana is picked by most to finish in the bottom third in the East so the Thunder are still looking for their first win this season over a team which will make the playoffs in either conference.
Victor Oladipo scored 35 points on his former mates and looked more at ease than he did last season playing in OKC.
The Thunder even out at 2-2 and hit the road to play in Minnesota on Friday night. The Timberwolves haven’t won a game since Wiggins’ half court heave against the Thunder. I look at it this way, if that lucky shot doesn’t fall the Thunder are 3-1. Take away the bad performance in Utah and the Thunder so far have been decent figuring themselves out four games in.
Patrick Patterson should start playing better. Felton has been excellent. I’ve been pleasantly surprised by some of the things Josh Huestis has shown so far. And as we all know–Andre is going to start being the ball so that will take care of itself.
Jeff Flake isn’t a liberal. He’s an ultra conservative senator who came to office embracing the Tea Party ideology. He’s from one of the reddest states in the union coming from Arizona. He’s done. Actually, he was done several months ago when he openly challenged Caligula’s behavior. Politically, he’s done. This isn’t a Dem vs. the GOP deal. This is basically a fight for ownership of the Republican Party. I doubt anything Flake said will resonant with the Trump core. Because as we all have seen he could rape Ivanka on pay per view then kill the cameramen and they’d still be behind him. In fact–Kellyanne Conway and Horse Huckabee-Sanders would claim hero status. Anyway, here’s the speech where he quotes my favorite president of all-time (TR) on multiple occasions. Unlike Mike Pence, it appears Jeff Flake has actually studied history.
There’s several Hall of Famers on here, just saying. Be the ball, Andre…be the ball, buddy. Dennis Rodman couldn’t shoot free throws to save his, yet he won multiple rings and eventually slept with Madonna. Be the ball.
I’ve been asking myself should I put this on here? I did a deal on Andre’s free throw shooting before this season started. I prayed this trend would correct itself as I’m sure Sam Presti did as well.
Andre attempted his first two free throws of the season in the Minnesota game. Neither came close to touching the rim. You felt for him watching this ordeal. I just don’t know how you start someone who can’t shoot and is getting worse. He’s such a good kid and a good defender, but how do you put him on the court and sit Jerami Grant and Raymond Felton or even the sometimes frilly Alex Abines? How do you do this as a coach?
In the West, you need Andre defending Jimmy Butler, Kawhi Leonard, Klay Thompson, James Harden and others. But how do play a player who can’t shoot?
I’m assuming the Thunder brass thought this would get better since they extended Andre for $30 million over the next three years.
Be the ball, Andre…be the ball, buddy. Just be the ball.