A very enjoyable Super Bowl Sunday as the Thunder beat Portland 105-99 (my recap), the Patriots stunned the Falcons 34-28 in an OT comeback thriller for the ages, and Lady Gaga gave what I thought was the best Super Bowl halftime show I can ever remember. Incredible that the Falcons choked on a 28-3 lead, but I’m not an Atlanta fan so it’s not like I have to live with this for the rest of eternity. They beat my injury decimated Packers—-so fuck them, they choked. I’ve never really gotten all that emotionally involved in the entire Deflategate saga, but it’s always been fairly clear Tom Brady along with Joe Montana will go down as one of the two greatest quarterbacks of all-time. Personally, I feel this nudges Brady in front of Montana, but we’ll just have to see if those who vote on such things agree with me or not.
The halftime show was fantastic. Lady Gaga was incredible. Too bad Trumpster Fire pissed her off and she didn’t perform at the inaugural. Usually, I watch the commercials very closely, but this year I just wanted to escape Trump for this game and enjoy the game without the obvious underlying tension which has our country consumed. But I have to admit, the John Malkovich commercial was my favorite of the ones I paid attention to. I never saw a Clydesdale commercial which I have to admit disappointed me greatly. Maybe a Clydesdale walking over to Trump and Billy Bush with some Tic Tacs in his mouth and kissing both of them would have created some closure for us if for nothing else.
It’s the New England Patriots versus the Atlanta Falcons tomorrow for the Lombardi Trophy. With my Packers eliminated, I have no preference as to who wins the game. I in no way hold it against Brady and Belichick for supporting Trump. Brady’s a helluva of quarterback and Belichick is perhaps the greatest football coach in the modern NFL era. I’m hopeful politics aren’t part of tomorrow’s game in Houston as America could use a day off from despising one another.
Bush 41 and Barbara will be doing the coin toss honors. I actually voted for 41 twice. His grace since leaving office has been one of the few bright spots in national politics the past twenty-four years. He adopted Bill Clinton as his third son and of all things actually wrote Donald Trump a positive letter wishing him well and not holding a grudge because of the things Trump said about both of his sons in the recent presidential campaign.
I never voted for Bush 43, yet he wrote a moving book entitled 41 which genuinely touched me as I read it while my own father was losing his battle to pancreatic cancer. I love promoting good books on my blog and I’d put this book in that category not so much for the political aspect of the story, but more for the father-son relationship as narrated by a loving son. Given the cesspool we’re currently wading through it would make for a nice read.
Pretty amazing, yet no big surprise in that he’s doing everything he told his supporters he was going to attempt to put in place way back when he was assailing the Republicans, the Bushes, the Koch Brothers, and Goldman Sachs. Well, not really Goldman Sachs in as much as six Goldman Sachs people now fill either Trump’s staff or cabinet. It’s a very white, rich cabinet which in no way is a reflection of America or what the demographics say America will be twenty years from now. In no way is a working class guy from the Rust Bucket represented in all of this either, but you just pray things work out for them. I feel as a collective whole we’ve lost sight of the big picture—all of us on what it means to be American and what the American dream should be for future generations.
This is the first Saturday of Trumpdom when we’ve actually not had a massive national protest or calamity of some sort unless you count a federal judge who was appointed by Bush 43 ruling Trump’s nuance Muslim ban as unconstitutional. That pretty well defines a good day under the rule of Trump. Less than half a dozen protests march in the country it’s a relatively peaceful Saturday. So amidst all this calm I’d like to share two lovely videos on what I think it means to be an American whether you live in the red or blue version of America.
This might have been OKC’s biggest win of the season to date. Don’t get me wrong, this team isn’t winning a championship this season and might not even win the Northwest Division. But this was a huge game from my perspective to keep the Thunder pointed in a positive direction, you know, pointing forward and feeling positive about the future.
I thought it was a great game. One of those typical Oklahoma City-Memphis head knockers that has made this rivalry special over the years. It had everything you’d want—the best point guard in the game leading his team while the best center in the game, Marc Gasol, doing the same for his team. It was just one of those rare regular season games which reminds you how fun all this can be.
Oklahoma City won the game 114-102 amidst a rousing setting inside the Peake during a memorable fourth quarter in which Russell Westbrook issued a statement about the All-Star Game nonsense with him not starting. The statement being, Westbrook may not be an official starter, but he is the leading MVP candidate. Sorry James Harden–I still love you and all, but Russ is the MVP so far and this is why.
My case for Westbrook is fairly simple. Without Russell Westbrook this Thunder team would be dueling the Suns or Lakers for last place in the West. Period. Instead the team is 29-22 and would probably still be in the hunt for a fourth or fifth seed if Enes Kanter hadn’t broken his own arm. But even with that dynamic attached, OKC is still going to be very much in the hunt for a sixth or seventh seed in the West. Like I said, I love James Harden. I still wear his T-shirts. I’d buy him dinner and hope to be invited to a yacht party at some point (Bucket List), but Westbrook has been the MVP so far.
Here’s why. Westbrook notched his 25th triple double of the season last night. Blah, blah, blah…I know, but what else has he really done. What’s he’s done is lead this extremely young Thunder team to a viable season while having to mesh his game with their still insecure games at times.
Westbrook was simply brilliant on Friday night. 38 points, 13 rebounds, and 12 assists reads Triple Double No. 25. But here’s the thing, when it mattered most in that fourth period, Westbrook took center stage and never relinquished it.
Westbrook scored 19 of his 38 points in the fourth period. He scored fifteen points in the last 2:34 of the game. He scored Oklahoma City’s last fifteen points of the game, and oh, BTW—Westbrook outscored Memphis 15-zip at Winning Time. With all due respect to Steph Curry…do the right thing at All-Star weekend and graciously concede Westbrook should be starting the game. Seriously–do the right thing.
But it wasn’t just Westbrook on this special night for the Thunder. Other players were special in their own way.
Steven Adams had the task of hanging with Marc Gasol on a night when the Memphis big man scored 31 points, but Adams made plays as well and had a 16 point, 15 rebound night.
Joff Lauvergne had perhaps his best game as a member of the Thunder scoring 16 points and grabbing 8 boards. But most importantly—he made 3-4 shooting threes on a night when the Thunder as a team went 13-26.
Anthony Morrow had his best game in a while scoring 15 points in 19 minutes of play and made a huge three in the fourth period.
Nick Collison reminded us why he along with Westbrook is one of the two most revered players in Thunder history. It was a remembrance of what Collison has meant to this franchise and what he still means. Collison took a charge, baited Randolph into an elbowing foul, and for good measure dove for a loose ball cutting his eye open. Vintage Collison and while none of these plays turned the game, perhaps it did provide a spark to some of these young players as to what it constitutes to be a professional basketball player.
And for good measure…Andre Roberson and Cam Payne didn’t overtly suck. Both were functionally professional and did a few things when a few things needed to be done.
Alex Abrines missed his third consecutive game with something listed as back ‘spasms’. Oh, boy. Not a great week for Euros in Oklahoma City.
So the Thunder win a huge game they had to have while Westbrook makes another MVP statement. But it was fun more than anything else to feel Chesapeake Energy Arena rock like the days of old with just one week separating Durant’s return to the city which once adored him now openly salivating for the chance to boo him into oblivion for his slithering exit to Oakland.
Just a great game tonight. I’m not in a mood to blog. Would rather enjoy the win and write tomorrow morning. Might light a victory cigar and just savor. A big win for the Thunder tonight. A big, big win. Even bloggers should take the time to enjoy a big win.
OKC’s home 128-100 blowout loss to the dysfunctional Chicago Bulls was in a word alarming. Losing at Cleveland and Sam Antonio isn’t a big deal because in both of those road games the Thunder hung around. The Thunder didn’t hang around versus the Bulls, rather they looked like a very tired worn out ball team playing without a bench. In this one, it wasn’t just an offense issue because no one on the Thunder team looked like they could get in front of a pylon.
OKC stands 28-22 entering tonight’s home game against Memphis. It’s very simple, OKC lost their most consistent offensive bench player in Enes Kanter. The team has a problem without an easy solution. The problem is made worse by the fact both Andre Roberson and Cameron Payne are playing some really ugly basketball on both ends of the floor. Both of these guys should be in OKC’s top six players. If you combine the loss of Kanter with both of these guys going awol there’s no way OKC can compete night in and night out.
In all candor I’m not sure what Billy Donovan should try other than telling Payne and Roberson to suck it up and play much better on both ends of the floor. The one thing I might try is to give Nick Collison some minutes, especially tonight since OKC is hosting a team made for Nick Collison in the Memphis Grizzlies. See if Collison’s smarts and savvy can create a spark of something positive.
Give it a shot, see what happens. Ostensibly that’s why you carry a fifth big on your roster for times when you’re crippled by a integral player breaking his own arm on a chair.
But more than anything, Steven Adams, Victor Oladipo, Andre Roberson, and Cameron Payne just need to play better. Much better.
Big game for the Thunder tonight in Oklahoma City.
No Thunder recap today. They were so bad last night I thought I might wait till Friday to recap the game. Sometimes, when a team plays that poorly it’s best to cool down for at least a day so as you can write objectively versus emotionally.
This is the Matt Taibbi interview I’ve been saving for a day like this, so here goes. Taibbi is a seasoned writer/editor for Rolling Stone. He covered the Trump candidacy from beginning to end. His book, Insane Clown President: Dispatches from the 2016 Election is his journal of the campaign.
The book is excellent and an easy page turning read. Taibbi is an excellent writer who pulls no punches in this book either to the left or the right. But more, it’s a reflection of American politics and how we’ve devolved as a culture.
Or as George Costanza would say, “It’s not you, it’s me.”
I wanted to post this before I post the Matt Taibbi interview. In retrospect, you in a sense have to give Trump some credit. He did this by being a true outsider who kidnapped the Republican National Party and somehow against all reason became POTUS. This is clearly the most defining event in contemporary American presidential history.
Trump is just basically laughing at everyone…the right, the left, the media, the country, the world, everyone. He’s made a complete mockery of virtually every American institution. And this shouldn’t completely shock anyone, because Sarah Palin in 2008 made it all the way to being a vice-presidential nominee of the Republican Party. The writing was on the wall.
OKC’s Thunder’s January came to an end in San Antonio on Tuesday night as they fell short by a score of 108-94. The Thunder’s woes were the same as they were in Cleveland, namely, without Enes Kanter, this team has no consistent offensive production and in this game the bench was equally bad defensively. OKC led at 81-78, but once Russell Westbrook left the floor the game got away from the Thunder and turned into an easy win for the Spurs.
Westbrook’s line was 27 points, 6 rebounds, 14 assists, and a +8. Steven Adams was solid with a 16 point, 12 rebound double double. Oladipo scored 15 points while adding 4 assists and 4 steals. Anthony Morrow added 11 points, but didn’t have an efficient shooting night. Perhaps, Domas Sabonis was the bright spot of the night recording the second double double in his rookie season.
The above are the positives. The negatives were the rest of the team. Enes Kanter didn’t play because he’s sidelined after breaking his own arm. Alex Abrines couldn’t ‘go’ because of back spasms. Andre Roberson was ineffective scoring one point and going -18.Cam Payne scored two points and was -28 To date, Payne has been a massive underachiever since his return from his foot injury.Jerami Grant and Joffery Lauvergne both struggled.
The good news is January is in the rear view mirror and OKC’s 7-8 mark in and of itself isn’t a disaster. The same can’t be said for OKC’s bench though. It’s been awful without Kanter. Of OKC’s eleven games in February, nine are at home, two on the road. Perhaps, with all these home games some of the Thunder’s role players can get their act together. I’d give Collison some minutes and see if he can have a calming effect on some of these guys. Cam Payne looks lost. Jerami Grant’s game regressed during the month. Lauvergne was up and down. Abrines needs to be a double figures scorer every night. Andre Roberson can’t have these nights where he no makes no impact on the game. But most of all Cam Payne needs show why Sam Presti drafted him. With all these home games in February it’s time to see if Cam Payne has some real tangible worth to this team. But more than just Payne, it’s time for Sam Presti’s bench to step up.