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A pretty horrible NBA Finals so far with the Warriors obliterating the Cavs in Game 2 in a game which was not remotely competitive in any sense. Again, what makes this scary for the Cavs is Curry and Thompson have been relatively quiet. They haven’t been needed all that much.

When you think about it, there’s really only been two good series this post season with OKC-San Antonio and OKC-Golden State giving NBA fans some bang for their viewing participation.

Putting aside my bias for OKC,  I in no way can see how Kevin Durant moving to the already loaded Golden State Warriors does anything positive for the NBA or basketball as a whole unless you’re into little league load up teams where it’s a gut cinch one team wins the championship every season.

When you think about what Golden State already has with Curry, Thompson, Green, and Iguodala, it would make LeBron’s move to Miami pale in comparison.

The Bulls dominated with six championships, but they basically did it with the two stars and role players. This would be something altogether different.

It would be horrible for basketball as far as competitive interest because unless Cleveland has something in them we’ve not seen in these first two games this series will be over before it ever started.

Narz came out of retirement to rejoin the Thunder late in the season to add a calming effect to the team in the wake of tragedies in the back third of the season. Narz is the only member of the Thunder with a championship ring which he won as a starter on the 2005 Spurs’ team. He’s also one of only five current Thunder members who played on the Thunder 2012 Finals team.

I was wrong. In no way have I put the Westbrook-Durant meltdown in Game 6 behind me. I won’t lie, it hurts. It hurt even more watching Golden State cruise to a relatively easy 104-89 Game 1 win where both Steph and Klay struggled shooting the ball.

Not a good sign for the Cavs when the Splash Brothers shoot around a combined 30% from the field yet win by 15 points.

It hurts because it’s obvious OKC was good enough to win a championship this season.

Call me crazy if you want, but if you put Andre Iguodala in a Thunder uniform then I’m saying OKC would hands down be the best team in the NBA. He’d be the perfect compliment to Durant and Westbrook. He’d be the tougher than nails grownup the Thunder need so much.

Why do the Golden State Warriors need Kevin Durant when they’ve already got Steph, Klay, Draymond, and Andre?

They don’t and I find it obscene they’re coming after Durant come July 1.

So…I’m in need of another off season break song. I guess this is what Durant calls off season decompressing.

One of the keys next season will be the continued development of hybrid guard Cameron Payne. I have total confidence  he’s going to be a very good player in this league. I thought one of the mistakes Billy Donovan made this season was not letting Payne continue as the backup point guard the last month of the regular season. Playoffs are another matter. Agree with going with Randy Foye there. But I would have let him go more in the regular season.

Payne clearly has the offensive instincts to play in this league. He just needs to get stronger and better defensively where he’s not an obvious defensive liability when he’s on the floor.

I fully expect Payne to be the backup point guard from Day 1 next season.

During the next couple of weeks while Golden State goes about winning its repeat championship, I’d like to put some of the exit interviews on here from various Thunder players other than Durant and Westbrook. Not the two superstars, but the role players. Because if you don’t have effective, unselfish, mentally tough role players you don’t have a championship caliber team.

Let’s start with Steven Adams who has quickly become the third most popular Thunder player in Oklahoma City. If for no other reason, Durant should return for at least one more season just to see where the ceiling might be with Adams’ game.

Tough, physical, smart, runs the floor like a deer, excellent on the pick and roll with Westbrook, improving every month in other nuance aspects of his offensive game. This would be the Steven Adams we saw emerge in these playoffs–and the best interview on the team.

All of the Thunder players gave their exit interviews today to officially end this basketball season for the Oklahoma City Thunder. For obvious reasons, what Kevin Durant had to say created the most interest as he’ll become an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his pro basketball life on July 1st.

Durant spoke fondly of his teammates. Of his time spent in Oklahoma City as he’s grown from a college freshman into a young man comfortable in his own skin. He spoke of his fondness for the city itself.  He spoke of people like Sam Presti and others in the Thunder organization whose relationships he cherishes. But mostly he said he enjoys playing basketball with players he respects and admires as humans not just players. All good things said as far as Durant staying in Oklahoma City to continue his basketball career.

As a fan, I’ve now watched Durant for ten seasons. Eight with the Thunder, one with the Sonics, and one with the Texas Longhorns in the Big 12 Conference.

Durant is one of those rare gems like Tim Duncan or Dirk who don’t come along nearly enough in our modern culture of sport in America.

Humble, modest, and whether he likes it or not a role model to pretty much every kid of every age in the state of Oklahoma. To put it bluntly, he’s probably the most respected, admired person in the state.

Everywhere you go in Oklahoma City you see kids and their parents wearing No. 35 jerseys. This isn’t just Kevin Durant’s team, this is Kevin Durant’s city and his state.

Pretty amazing when you consider he went to college at the University of Texas and to this day still  openly vows his fondness to the hated Longhorns.

He speaks of his friendship with former Thunder head coach Scott Brooks. He and Perk still text. His friendships with Russell Westbrook and Nick Collison seem especially close given the time they’ve spent together building the Thunder from the ground up into one of the top four NBA franchises in the league.

But most of all he said things to his mother in his MVP speech which made every mother and father not only cry, but whisper–thank you.

The only person I’ve ever seen Durant be snarky with is Reggie Jackson. Truth be known that says volumes more about Reggie Jackson than Kevin Durant from my perspective.

Durant has been the centerpiece of a team which went 23-59 its first year here into a team which has now played in four Western Conference Finals and one NBA Finals.

Without Kevin Durant none of this happens.

Kevin Durant isn’t just the key piece to Sam Presti’s team, but he’s the most important ambassador of goodwill in the state. If Durant leaves Oklahoma City, the Thunder will lose their best player and the state will lose its pulse.

From a basketball standpoint, there’s no reason for Kevin Durant to leave. His team was five minutes away from dethroning the defending champions in six games.

Steven Adams, Enes Kanter, Dion Waiters, Andre Roberson, and Cam Payne are all 24 years of age or younger. The Thunder could use another smart veteran wing player, but otherwise Sam Presti has put a team together which can win a championship if they’ll just play a little smarter.

From a basketball standpoint there’s no reason for Kevin Durant to leave a franchise he not only has built from the ground up, but has carried on his shoulders for eight basketball seasons.

For Durant this doesn’t at all seem to be about money or the whole LeBron bullshit show we saw when James went from the Cavs to the Miami Heat. Kevin Durant has never struck me as a guy who thinks what Lebron James did was appropriate.

In the end–I ‘d have to say if Durant leaves after what he just saw in these 2016 playoffs I’d be surprised if he leaves because everything he needs to be happy is already in place in Oklahoma City.

It doesn’t always have to be about playing in New York, LA, or Chicago.

Aaron Rodgers seems relatively content playing in Green Bay. Tim Duncan never left San Antonio. Dirk will finish his career in Dallas.

I really don’t see why it would be crazy for Durant to stay in OKC as long as Presti has a championship roster in place.

Kevin Durant, please stay. Your city needs you.

 

Okay.

I’ve read and listened to our local media ( the Prestettes) give their takes on the Thunder collapse. I get it, they work in a small market where the Thunder are their only major league sport and it’s probably a very uncomfortable career move alienating Sam Presti and the Thunder organization.

But I just have my own little blog here and I don’t have to worry about any of that. Hence, okcthunderground.com where I don’t give a shit if I ever have an off the record relationship with Sam Presti. By the way, I think Presti has done a great job for the most part.

So… if I were talking to a national guy and he asked of me, “Mike, do you think the Thunder choked at the end of Game 6?”

My answer would be yes, but with a caveat attached. Clearly, when you turn over the ball six times out of eight possessions in a situation like this there’s no defending it. None. Beyond brutal. Almost as unwatchable as watching Jeb Bush debate Donald Trump.

But Kenny Smith at TNT said something which was spot on in regards to the Warriors comeback in the series. He said in essence what Golden State did was hang around long enough in Game 5 to simply stay in the series until OKC reverted back to what they truly are.

That being…. an undisciplined basketball team which led the entire league in blown 4th quarter leads during the regular season.

Golden State doesn’t necessarily have more talent than OKC, but they’re ahead of the Thunder as far as smarts, poise, mental toughness reacting to adversity, and so on.

Yet having written this, OKC was still only five minutes away from winning this series in six games against the defending champions.

Five minutes.

The best way for Durant and Westbrook to erase their Bill Buckner moment is simple. Come back next season and become a smarter, more mentally tough team, and win a championship. If they then want to leave and become the Kobe Bryant Twins in LA… whatever. Maybe Harden will join them. Maybe Kobe will come out of retirement and as four they’ll yacht party the hell out of Del Mar as one. This coming from a dude who was born in San Diego. I get it…the Pacific Ocean versus Lake Hefner. But the people in Oklahoma are much nicer. So do you want a bigger body of water or genuine people?

The way Kevin Durant elevates his legacy is to come back at least for next season and address the shortcomings in his game which to this point have kept him from winning a ring. Same with Russell Westbrook.

Dirk came back from the 2006 series loss to the Heat to win a ring in 2011 by carrying a team to a title. His legacy will forever be cemented by that acheivement.

Dwayne Wade’s most impressive career accomplishment isn’t winning two rings with LeBron, but rather carrying that Heat team on his back in 2006 which beat the Mavs.

The best way for Durant and Westbrook to exit OKC, if that’s what they want to do ultimately, is to come back next season and become smarter, better players.

Now, like Donald Trump, I’m pivoting away from the Thunder, Lyin’ Ted Cruz, Jeb Bush, and Lindsey Graham and getting ready to cover the NBA Finals on my modest underground blog.

So there.

 

I need a night away from basketball before I pivot from the Thunder’s collapse in Game 6 to the Warriors-Cavs big boy matchup in the NBA Finals. I love this song. It always calms and refreshes me. So — no basketball words from me tonight. A break would be nice.

 

 

Golden State Warriors 96 — Oklahoma City Thunder 88

I can’t imagine anyone being surprised at what transpired at Oracle on Monday night as the Warriors closed out the Thunder by a final score of 96-88. It’s about what I thought it would be. The Thunder to their credit did play hard, but this series was over after the Dustin Johnson three putt on Saturday night on the final hole inside Chesapeake Energy Arena. That was when the Warriors in fact escaped the fate every other team in Western Conference Finals history before them suffered when trailing 3-1 after four games. Namely, losing the series.

This will haunt the Thunder forever if they never win an NBA championship. It was there to be had–a trip to the NBA Finals, but instead a Tin Cup meltdown for the ages in those last five minutes in Game 6. A subtle suggestion to Durant and Westbrook…next time lay up with the seven iron and leave the three wood in the bag.

I hate the C word, but what else am I supposed to write? This will be an ending which haunts Durant and Westbrook forever until they finally get over the hump and win a championship if not in OKC–somewhere else.

This was their defining moment and it sucks for me to write this because I so much wanted it to end differently for them and the Thunder.

I’ll be fine. My heart will mend. Already has in fact because I have a life and don’t live vicariously through others. I’ll watch every game of the Finals between the Warriors and Cavs like I’ve watched every game of the NBA Finals for a very long time. But I’m not sure what this does to the hearts of Durant, Westbrook, and their teammates.

This isn’t the kind of thing you just blow off. This was epic. This was like Mitch ‘Wild Thing’ Williams giving up the walkoff homer to OKC’s own Joe Carter in the World Series, or Dustin Johnson three putting on the 72nd hole of the U.S. Open to give away a U.S. Open.

This is the kind of loss which defines an athlete unless he has the grit to overcome it in the end by winning a championship and exorcising the demons.

In the end, the difference in this series was when Golden State absolutely had to have it from Steph Curry and Klay Thompson their superstars played with grit, smarts, and a mental toughness befitting a champion.

Durant and Westbrook didn’t.

Truth hurts.

I have no idea whatsoever why Durant and Westbrook would ever make fun of Steph Curry. Moral of the story….. don’t ever mock a baby-faced assassin or his sidekick named Klay.

So where do the Thunder go from here with Durant’s free agency becoming a reality on July 1st?

I have no idea. But I know this, if Durant wants to ever beat Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, or LeBron instead of joining them the most talented roster resides with Sam Presti in Oklahoma City.

But there are some positives to be gleaned here. Steven Adams turned into a star and the kind of player who can become the competitive soul of a basketball team. For all the sorrow Game 6 has brought upon Thunder Nation, take solace in the fact Steven Adams proved Sam Presti knew exactly what he was doing when he used the Toronto pick from the Harden trade to select Adams.

Adams has now officially usurped Nick Collison as my favorite Thunder player. What can you not love about him except his hair? Steven Adams is the kind of guy you want on your hockey team. Thank you, Steven Adams.

I thought Andre Roberson took a big step forward. He still can’t shoot a basketball well enough consistently, but the other parts of his game are excellent and like with Adams–I love his competitive soul.

Not sure what Presti should do with Dion Waiters as he enters restricted free agency this summer. Dion took strides forward as well, but I’m not sure how much I’d pay to keep Waiters if the matching price goes beyond his realistic worth.

Other than Durant and Waiters, every other player on the Thunder roster is under contract for next season.

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I’ll write this and hope somehow Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook somehow stumble upon this and read it like a message in a bottle washed upon a shore.

You’re both incredible young men and Oklahoma City loves both of you, but you are not going to win a championship anywhere until you learn how to consistently weave your games alongside those of your teammates for 48 minutes when you’re playing against the super elite teams like the Warriors and Cavs.

You can beat the other 26 teams in the NBA just on your physical talent, but not the Warriors and not LeBron playing like you do.

You can go to LA and both become Mini Kobes wearing twin No. 24 jerseys, but here’s the thing, until you learn to make your teammates better your games aren’t moving to the next level despite what your agents and handlers might tell you. This is your ceiling until that happens.

And here’s one other thing in closing as I wrap this up. Let’s say hypothetically, Sam Presti had gleaned Chandler Parsons alongside Steven Adams in the Harden trade. Let’s just pretend for a moment Chandler Parsons was on the floor with you for those last five fateful minutes in Game 6.

Would he have ever touched the ball?

You tell me.

Mike Jackson