The OKC Thunder have a big game tonight in Toronto. It should be an excellent game to watch as we get the opportunity to see Serge Ibaka in person for the second time this season. Plus, we get the opportunity to see if the Thunder can beat a quality team on the road with a real chance to make a statement of sorts.
Hope the team has a chance to see the city and all which Toronto has to offer. It’s one of North America’s most beautiful and welcoming cities.
I haven’t said much about Caligula Lite in a few days. It gets somewhat old chronicling a pathological liar, so I’m making a genuine effort to pare down Trump’s various perjuries. Besides, the Thunder are playing well and I’m having fun following the team now that they’re healthy.
Joe Manchin, a Democratic U.S. Senator from West Virginia was on Morning Joe this morning. I like Manchin and think him to be a decent man with a very tough job of representing a state which went 72% for Trump even though the GOP health care plan would devastate many people in the state.
This was a good interview and I hope it gives somewhat of an overview of what the GOP health care plan would do to New Confederacy states like Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina, West Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee.
Anyway, good interview. Mika (love her) having fun with the Kellyanne Conway microwave thing made me smile. What a dipshit. Wonder if Trump has taken her furniture shopping yet?
Mika bans Moonbeam from Morning Joe.
Granted, the Thunder ended their seven game road losing streak against the woeful Brooklyn Nets, but it was a much needed road win and OKC’s third win in a row with Victor Oladipo and Taj Gibson together in the starting lineup for the third straight game.
It was a fairly entertaining game as Jeremy Lin kept the Nets in the game the first half as the score was tied 62 apiece at the half. But the Thunder took control in the second half finally wearing down the worst team in the Eastern Conference.
The ambience inside the Barclay Centre was in a word…fun. A good deal of the crowd was much more into supporting Russell Westbrook’s 33rd triple double of the season rather than cheering for their feeble Russian owned team. When Westbrook grabbed his 10th rebound the crowd gave him an enthusiastic roar which was the first time this has happened on the road to this extent during this Year of Westbrook, not to mention several loud MVP chants emanated for Bad Little Dude as well. Westbrook’s official triple dub line read 25 points, 10 rebounds, 19 assists. An extraordinary assist night for Westbrook as he put an extra 9 assists in the bank for a night when his teammates aren’t making shots. It was a fun night.
Bad Little Dude II was excellent as well as he scored 21 points and was 3-4 from beyond the arc. To me, Victor Oladipo is the piece which takes this Thunder to a higher level when he brings his A game. Oladipo is the player who has to pretty much be there for Russell Westbrook on a nightly basis if the Thunder want to contend in this season’s post season tournament. As Oladipo goes, I think the Thunder will go.
Taj Gibson started his third straight game and OKC is 3-0 in those games. Gibson was rock solid in this game scoring 17 points and grabbing 8 rebounds. He’s a significant vet upgrade over rookie Domas Sabonis and his calming effect on the team is obvious. He’s Perk with hands and a shot. Nice move by Presti on the deadline.
Three other Thunder players scored in double figures in this game. Enes Kanter with 17 points and 5 rebounds was excellent after starting the game very slowly. Alex Abrines added 13 points making some key threes, and Steven Adams chipped in 11 points.
All in all, it was a fun, memorable night for the Thunder as the they got a much needed road win while Russell Westbrook notched his 33rd triple double to pull within eight triple troubles of Oscar Robertson with fifteen games still remaining.
OKC improves to 38-29 overall and 13-20 on the road.
The Thunder play another road game on Thursday night when they visit the Toronto Raptors in what should be an excellent basketball game between two teams who want to have a say as this season steers towards April.
If you get the chance, be sure and read Tim Keown’s ESPN Magazine piece on Russell Westbrook: A Man Apart (3/13/17)
I’ve watched Westbrook since his last season at UCLA. It’s been an absolute marvel to witness the evolution of Westbrook both on and off the court. As a very serious Thunder fan and a somewhat casual Thunder blogger, I feel comfortable saying Keown pretty much nailed it with this piece.
Excellent piece on both the player and the man. If you get the chance, the read is worth the time. An absolute must for the serious Thunder fan or NBA fan in general.
OKC plays the Brooklyn Nets tonight, but the focus with sixteen regular season games is Russell Westbrook’s two-fold pursuit of Oscar Robertson’s 41 triple doubles, and a neck and neck MVP race with former teammate James Harden. Harden was simply magnificent on Sunday night as he outdueled LeBron in a Rockets win over the Cavs. In essence, Westbrook is involved in the two most interesting storylines of this NBA season.
As a fan here in Oklahoma, it has been fascinating watching the gradual evolvement of Westbrook, Harden, and Durant. Three different players, three different styles, and three different people.
Both Westbrook and Harden played their high school ball in Los Angeles and grew up with Kobe being their favorite player. Westbrook ended up at UCLA, while Harden ended up at Arizona State. Both ended up on Sam Presti’s radar in Oklahoma City. Westbrook is idolized in Oklahoma. Harden is still loved here. Durant will forever be tarnished for leaving to go to Golden State.
I thought it might be a nice place in the season to hear Kobe speak on Westbrook as Robertson’s record is within sight with sixteen games left.
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.
Winning is fun.
In honor of Wilt. This is great.