Month: April 2016

It’s all about team defense, sharing the ball, leadership, and each player on the roster filling his role. But your stars have to lead by example.

While Durant and Westbrook were setting offensive records this season for triple doubles and most consecutive games scoring 20 points, Kawhi Leonard has quietly gone about his business and become one of the NBA’s five best players.

Where he ranks in the top five is still up for debate and we may need to see how these very playoffs end before we tackle the ranking. But most for sure have LeBron and Steph at one or two with Durant, Westbrook, and Leonard finishing out the top five. All in the top five have rings except Durant and Westbrook.

LeBron has two rings with six straight Finals appearances. He plays defense. He can guard any position on the floor. He’s a willing passer almost to a fault. But again, there’s never been a question about his defense.

Steph Curry has one ring, plus the distinction of being a back to back regular season MVP winner, plus the distinction his team just broke the Bulls’ record with a 73-9 regular season record. Curry doesn’t play defense like LeBron or Leonard, but ever since Steve Kerr and Ron Adams began running the Warriors, it’s been clear by Curry’s play he’s bought in on the defensive end and doesn’t loaf around defensively. Steph Curry put Davidson on his back and took them to a Final Four in the NCAA Tournament. For whatever it’s worth, Warrior teammate Draymond Green led his Michigan State Spartans to multiple Final Fours during his college days.

Which brings me to Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. Neither have won a ring in the NBA. Durant’s Texas Longhorns were beaten in the second round in his only college  season. Russell Westbrook made two appearances in the Final during his time at UCLA, but never won a championship. Both Durant and Westbrook have filled the stat lines during their Thunder days. Both are considered generational offensive players, but two who somewhat coast on the defensive end of the floor, especially Westbrook.

Don’t get me wrong, Kevin Durant’s defense has improved immensely since his first season in the league, but still there are times you just don’t see the leadership needed from your star on that end of the floor. Same with Westbrook. Maybe in retrospect, that was the most important role Kendrick Perkins played on the team, namely staying on the two stars’ about playing defense and becoming complete basketball players.

Usually, win a Thunder opponent goes off for another career night, it’s either been Durant or Westbrook’s man doing the damage. Which is kind of sad because both clearly have the wingspan and skill sets to be excellent game to game defenders. In college, Westbrook was far more known for his defense than his offensive abilities.

But for right now I’m not going to rank my top five. Let’s see how this post season plays out. Let’s see if Durant and Westbrook can morph their games. All five of the players are in the tournament so we should get some direct comparisons. Let’s see who’ll get dirty and do the little things which lead teams to NBA championships. I want to see if Durant and Westbrook can do the little things against elite competition on the brightest lit stage.

Teams which win NBA championships play defense every possession and trust one another with the ball.

 

Golden State took a 2-0 lead over the Rockets on Monday night with a 115-106 win. No panic. Just balanced team play without their MVP Steph Curry being held out with an ankle injury. Players know their roles and adjust accordingly. It’s what championship teams do. Maybe if Durant and Westbrook had made the trip to San Antonio for the regular season finale they’d have had more confidence in their team mates last night. What they’re doing obviously is not going to lead to a championship—so why not give it a try.

 

 

 

 

As I’m watching this game unfold last night I’m thinking to myself, “Why did these guys buy out the last season of Scott Brooks’ contract, hire Donovan, and match the Portland Trailblazers’ offer to Enes Kanter this past summer? If you add all those together it’s somewhere around beyond $25 million for just this season. I know I double dipped on Brooks, but still. Are these guys running the Thunder just stupid?

Why? I don’t want to sound like Nancy Kerrigan, but why?

You could take that twenty something million and hopefully find a decent two way shooting guard and have some leftover to throw a mega James Harden yacht party on the Oklahoma River after winning the O’Brien Trophy.

Instead, Presti spent the money for the same thing we’ve seen since Harden left. Hero ball. Two guys trying to beat five guys and on a night when they were a collective 15-55.

I mean, there were things missed by Donovan which are just inexcusable.

Let’s be specific. Dallas went zone some. Durant and Westbrook were a combined 3-17 from beyond the arc. Hint to Billy Donovan, this is why you have Anthony Morrow on your roster as a three point zone busting specialist. Use him more than the 11 minutes you used him last night.

Enes Kanter. He’s an offensive rebounding savant. He gobbles up and swallows offensive rebounds like I east a handful of jelly beans. Here’s a unique thought, on a night when the Thunder were missing 61 of the 92 shots they took from the field, it could have been an offensive all you can eat buffett for Kanter, yet he didn’t play all that much even with the $17 million OKC pays him to be on the team. Think of it this way, an offensive rebound for Kanter is in essence like an assist played off the rim.

Russell Westbrook, please quit shooting threes. Period. Either get to the rim and finish, penetrate and dish, pick and roll with one of your bigs, pick and Pop with Serge or Kanter, or back down the other point guard trying to guard you and create a physical mismatch, BUT QUIT SHOOTING F–KING THREES! I understand under the current NBA collective bargaining agreement, only Popovich and Carlisle are allowed to talk to their players like this–so I’m doing this for Billy Donovan. Quit shooting so many threes. It should be your sixth offensive option.

Kevin Durant. Suck it up. If you want to be more than just a player who’s universally regarded as a great scorer who can’t lead a team to an NBA championship, then lead your team. When you have the smaller Raymond Felton in your hip pocket on a wing iso in the last five minutes, then back him down and finish the mismatch instead of doing your Dion Waiters imitation.

I’ve written this before and I’ll write it again, dumb teams are like dogs that play in the street, they don’t last long.

There’s no excuse for being a dumb basketball team. I know Billy Donovan can’t say this openly. I have a rogue blog. I don’t have to kiss Sam Presti’s ass for off the record access or any access for that matter.

Coaches coach your team. Stars lead by example. Role players do your niche jobs.

None of this is complex. Good lord.

Rant over.

 

 

 

 

 

Dallas Mavericks 85 — Oklahoma City Thunder 84

In a capsule, we witnessed tonight why Oklahoma City isn’t generally regarded in the same class as Golden State, San Antonio, and Cleveland. What we witnessed was dumb basketball by the Thunder allowing Rick Carlisle to slow the game down, muck it up, play physical, and steal Game 2 on the road against an Oklahoma City team which quite frankly is a bit of a dunce as a team.

I ‘ve loved Durant ever since he said those things to his mother during his MVP speech, but let’s be candid — he and Russell Westbrook still struggle with the concept they have other players on their team.

The stats in this game are beyond glaring, they’re obscene. Billy Donovan should be cited for coaching malpractice for what transpired tonight in Oklahoma City.

Dallas was without Chandler Parsons, David Lee, JJ Barea, and Deron Williams was a game time decision with a serious abdominal injury. To Williams’ credit, he did start and scored 13 points in 26 minutes, but was not able to finish the game. But Williams was instrumental in getting Dallas off to a positive start.

Back to the numbers. As a team, Oklahoma City went 31-92 from the field. Durant and Westbrook went a combined 15-55, while the rest of the Thunder team went 16-37. More glaring, OKC’s capable three bigs of Ibaka, Adams, and Enes Kanter went 10-20 from the field, but had trouble getting touches from the two stars.

Keep this in mind, this is not a Dallas squad with the likes of Dikembe Mutumbo or Patrick Ewing protecting the rim. For crying out loud, they don’t even have Tyson Chandler. This Mavs’ team has rim protectors named Zaza Pachulia, Salah Mejri, and Dwight Powell manning the paint, yet OKC kept jacking threes to the tune of 7-32 on the night while their bigs didn’t touch the ball nearly enough.

So I guess my rhetorical question to Sam Presti would be…. why would you ever pay Enes Kanter $17 million a year if he’s never going to get the ball when  it matters?

Here’s the problem in Oklahoma City as I honestly see it. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook operate under the illusion regular season basketball and post season basketball are the same thing. They aren’t. They’re completely different animals. Lower scores. More oriented towards defense and getting something out of every fourth quarter possession. Smart shot decisions. Smart adjustments from the bench.
Yet in OKC, it appears nothing is going to change. Even when OKC has an advantage inside and Kendrick Perkins’ hands of stone are in New Orleans — the ball doesn’t touch the bigs who all have capable hands and finishing ability. On a night when neither of the two stars could hit the Pacific Ocean if they were standing next to it, it didn’t appear they had any trust in their teammates.

Give Carlisle and his team a ton of credit though, they played smart and with heart. In the last minute Raymond Felton and Wes Matthews made big baskets, while Steven Adams’ putback off a missed Durant layup was ruled no good on the official review.

I had OKC winning this series in six and I still have them winning in six only because Dallas is an injury decimated team which played some guys very heavy minutes tonight. Barea might be done for the season. Williams will be playing hurt or limited for what’s left of the Dallas season.

But give Carlisle credit as the NBA’s second best coach, he got everything and then some out of his team tonight while Billy Donovan’s team was out thought and out hustled from the opening tip.

Rick Carlisle says ‘Game on’ now. Next two in Dallas where this team has virtually nothing to lose.

For those of us who never miss Thunder games, we’ve seen this before. Two man basketball. Two on five basketball. Hero basketball. It’s kind of sad, like watching a person with a substance abuse problem who can’t honestly come to terms with their problem. I feel like an enabler even blogging about it. I feel dirty.

Game 3 …Thursday night in Dallas.

Given the stunning outcome of the game, I changed my music video of the night to this.

Hard to beat these two guys though. Maybe Durant and Westbrook can glean something from this where Brooks and Donovan have fallen short. It’s a simple game, boys. Each team has five guys. Passing to the other three is allowed.

Durant-Westbrook Presser Following 2012 Game 5 Loss to the Miami Heat: I’m not really sure what’s been learned from a team concept in four years. Individual progress– yes. The way a team flows as one—I haven’t seen any real change in four years.

 

 

 

I’ve wanted to do this all season, but wanted to wait until the proper spot. This might be the time. The other day I was writing about OKC’s lack of mentally tough players, but that’s just not right what I wrote and as I thought about it later wanted to come back and clarify things.

You will never see a more mentally tough, smart basketball player than Nick Collison. The quintessential pro. Collison has been a fixture of smarts, toughness, skill, and stability since the team’s move from Seattle. I don’t per se have a favorite Thunder player, but what Nick Collison has done for this city and team are basically immeasurable.

Nick Collison is as tough as they come. Whether taking a charge or tackling Yao Ming to stop an easy layup, Nick Collison is right there with Durant and Westbrook as far as what he’s meant to this city over the years.

A very tough, unselfish, versatile player. People talk about Harden and 2012, but don’t kid yourself–Nick Collison and Harden were pure magic running their two man game off the Thunder bench. Two players who understood ball movement and creation of space with or without the ball.

I think both Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook would agree  when they have sons–they’ll want him to play the game the way Nick Collison has played it.

Nick Collison will always have a place in the hearts of Thunder fans.

From what I read there’s the possibility JJ Barea and Deron Williams might not be available tomorrow night in Game 2 at the Chesapeake Arena. All the white boys in this market who either write or talk about the Thunder are obliged to preview the game. This was already a colossal mismatch with Barea and Williams playing, now it’s a game Vegas should take off the betting boards.

I’m thinking more along the lines of music videos for our watch party contest than any strategy for this game. This may not qualify, but I’m going with it. Clay Bennett should offer half priced beer for the dud this first round opponent is on the verge of becoming one game into the series. This could be Durant’s last rodeo in Oklahoma City, so we’re having fun however it ends.

Nothing OKC can do but win and advance to the second round without sustaining any injuries. Golden State and San Antonio are in the same boat. Win, advance, play your starters light minutes, and get ready for Round 2.

If you’re the type who needs a detailed preview check out Alex Roig over at Daily Thunder. He’s done a nice job on their preview this season.

But there’s really nothing to preview. Hoping I have enough Jimmy Fallow stuff to get me through this first round dud.

Tom Cruise does a great job lip syncing this song, but that won’t be allowed in our contest. We’re sticklers for music purity. So here it goes. LET’S GO THUNDER!

We all know how Chris Rock feels about Rihanna’s panties from the Oscar show, but you have to admit Chris has a vaild point. This will be my second song in our contest.

That’s my Game 2 preview. I think I’ve covered all the bases.

 

Oklahoma City Thunder 108- Dallas Mavericks 70

With no Chandler Parsons and with JJ Barea nursing an injured groin these Dallas Mavericks just don’t have enough firepower. Thunder radio play by play man Matt Pinto pointed this out sagaciously in his pre-game when he noted that in the history of the Western Conference this Dallas team is the only sixth seed to have a negative point differential for the season. Anotherwords, this is team without that much talent on its roster.

Rick Carlisle is a very good coach, but he better take my advice and turn this series into a brawl if he wants to win a game or two. This is just physics. Slower, less athletic players tend to have problems running with their polar opposites. So, if Carlisle wants to make this any kind of a series he better muck this up in a hurry and quit playing right into the hands of Sam Presti’s greyhounds.

Just an awful basketball game to watch. Almost as bad as the OU-Villanova game. Hard to believe a team with Dirk and Wes Matthews could only score 33 points in the first half. But there it was with OKC leading 59-33 at the half. If Dallas hadn’t scored a couple of late buckets in the last thirty second they would have scored in the sixties. Are you kidding me? This is an OKC defense the past two seasons which had made every journeyman wing player in the league go off for career nights. But not on this night.

I just read Tramel and he’s all jacked about the defense. Here’s what I would say…wait till they play someone good. This isn’t a good Dallas team. Dirk is ancient. Barea is hurt. Parsons is out. Deron Williams’ better days were at the University of Illinois and with Jerry Sloan at the Utah Jazz. Just put the brakes on and make sure this ‘new’ Thunder defense is for real.

But I will say this…OKC did actually look like they were trying on the defensive end. But when the other team doesn’t have a viable point guard to penetrate, doesn’t have an elite low post offensive weapon, and is missing one of its better options in Chandler Parsons…you know what you can do defensively—you can swarm Dirk with either Ibaka or Collison, and you can play the three point line uber aggressively.

Sam Presti put this team together with freakish length being the mantra. Durant, Westbrook, Ibaka, Adams, and Roberson all with freakish length. I bet Marco Rubio would never question the size of any of their hands. Just saying. But all long and they run like greyhounds. When these guys actually try on the defensive end they’re interesting to watch.

Defense wins championships in the NBA, the NFL, and the NHL. That isn’t a maybe statement, it’s a fact. Ask Cam Newton of the Carolina Panthers if you need factoid verification. It’s all about space and time and denying these precious commodities to the other team. This is for Tramel, who I like by the way, play defense every game like a group of hungry Dobermans with fangs and you give yourself a chance every night.

Offensively, OKC was average. But you can be average offensively when you play defense like you actually care. So-on this night in Game 1 in Oklahoma City the Thunder played with a caring on the defensive end against a Dallas team which performed a minor miracle in attaining the sixth seed in the first place.

This was such a monumental mismatch we started nominating best ever music youtubes at my son’s watch party and turned the sound down on the game. This was the winner and if Carlisle doesn’t tackle Westbrook in Game 2 it’ll be more of looking up music videos on Monday night.

This isn’t a music video, but it was very popular at the watch party as well. Note to Sam Presti, just because you play in a faith based market doesn’t mean you can win a championship without doing the tough work. It took Draymond Green and his teammates about a minute to deal with Patrick Beverly after he jacked with Steph Curry. Stars, defense, and mental toughness win NBA championships.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dallas coach Rick Carlisle doesn’t need my help, but if I were one of his assistants my mantra in this series is… screw with Russell Westbrook’s head. Do anything. Push it not only to the edge, but over the edge as long as the zebras don’t see most of it. Make what Patrick Beverly did look like foreplay. I’m not saying to play dirty and hurt someone, but get under Russell Westbrook’s skin and stay there for the duration of this series.

JJ Barea is almost as annoying as Patrick Beverly. He knows how to push Westbrook’s buttons, but the question is if Dallas has enough firepower to win more than one game in this series. But still, if I’m Carlisle, my players are going to do whatever it takes to get Westbrook off his game.

My chalkboard for this series. F–k with Russell Westbrook’s head circled in red. Make Andre Roberson shoot the ball, cheat off Roberson daring him to shoot, and take away the passing lanes to Kevin Durant. Plus, JJ Barea needs to watch this and follow suit. I don’t like the knee injury, but everything else is excellent. Maybe this is why OKC never wins anything…they’re too nice. The nicest team with the nicest superstar….sheesh. That’s not going to work.

It doesn’t always have to be the opposing point guard agitating Westbrook. It can be a big like Harrington below drawing a charging foul, then entangling Westbrook, then inciting a fight, and ultimately getting Westbrook ejected. This is great team play basketball. Doing what it takes for your team. Again, I wish OKC had a player or two like this. I hope the youngsters at home on their computers are taking notes and nodding knowingly.

So– I guess this is my preview of the Oklahoma City-Dallas first round playoff series. I’m ready for some playoff basketball. I’ll go OKC in six games.

 

 

So here we are, almost four years later and the Oklahoma City Thunder have yet to return to the NBA Finals. This is supposed to be their time. Since 2012, it’s been Lebron’s time, the Spur’s time, and now Steph Curry and the Warriors’ time. This isn’t how it was supposed to play out. Most figured the Thunder would be in the midst of their own dynasty, not just vicariously viewing LeBron, the Spurs, and the Warriors winning championships.

None of those three teams have two of the top four players in the world playing together. Only one team can make that claim and to be honest with you most in Oklahoma City only view the Thunder as a longshot to win the title as we near the beginning of post season.

So was it just losing Harden? That’s certainly part of it because Harden was the perfect co-pilot for Russell Westbrook. The same Russell Westbrook who despite the gaudy triple doubles has yet to show he’s a championship pilot on his own against elite competition at this time of the season.

Triples doubles against the bottom twenty teams in the league means nothing. That’s like Perrine rushing for 300 yards against Kansas or Texas Tech. Nobody cares…especially the Alabamas, Ohio States, and Clemsons. Make no question about this–if OKC gets past Dallas in the first round, they’ve then got Clemson, Ohio State, and Alabama in a row on the road waiting for them.

Think about that.

Russell Westbrook making smart basketball plays against the likes of the Spurs, Warriors, and Cavs and trying to win twelve collective games without home court advantage in any of those three series is to me the most paramount question the Thunder face as a team.

Can Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant do this in tandem without Harden or even Reggie Jackson?

I don’t know. NBA post season isn’t like the regular season. You can’t piss away possessions in the final six minutes of games. You can’t just jack up bad shots. You have to covert points off of possessions.

Sure, OKC has other questions. Can Roberson and Waiters produce at the shooting guard position? Can Serge Ibaka be consistent? Is Steven Adams ready to be an X-factor in NBA post season play? Will Billy Donovan be willing to pair Enes Kanter and Steven Adams together for minutes at meaningful points in game against teams much better than  the Dallas Mavericks? Will the Thunder’s perimeter defense stand up or just melt?

All compelling questions, but to me it’s mostly about the two stars. Are the two stars ready to lead a team to a Finals without Harden or just be spectators watching  LeBron, the Spurs, and the Warriors playing for what was supposed to have the Thunder’s name written on it almost four years ago when the Thunder beat the Spurs in a game which was supposed to be the passing of the NBA championship torch of sorts.

Are Durant and Westbrook finally ready to take the next step forward since 2012?

I can’t wait to see.