Month: May 2019

I started in Game 1 of the first round rooting for Terry Stotts and the Blazers and there’s no reason to stop just yet.

On Wednesday night in the very same Pepsi Arena in which my son, my daughter-in-law and my grandson watched their first Colorado Av playoff game the night before—the Portland Trailblazers pretty much led wire to wire in drawing even at one game apiece in the Western Conference Semifinals.

I find it odd a Portland Trailblazer fan now writes on his own Oklahoma City Thunder blog, but when the home team goes all in punk stupid…sometimes you gotta go with the flow of things.

Portland was alpha mentally tough in this game. It was a game where Damian Lillard only shot 5-17 from the field and scored but 14 points. But the Blazers showed their heart with five other players scoring in double figures.

My new favorite NBA player CJ McCollum, led Portland with 20 points and was the No. 1 star of the game. Former Thunder center Enes Kanter continued his magical playoff run with 15 points and Terry Stotts somehow found a way to keep him on the floor 31 minutes. Yes…that was a dig at the Thunder’s SEC college coach.

Mo Harkless only played 12 minutes after turning an ankle, but not to worry—Al Farouq Amini scored 11 points while Rodney Hood and Zach Collins both came off the bench and played huge for Stotts in a critical road game.

Portland grabbed home court advantage and is going home for Game 3 and Game 4 before what will be a rowdy home crowd in Rip City.

Could these Blazers be magical? No one saw the iconic Jack Ramsey-Bill Walton team coming as they did in ’77 bringing home a world championship to the Northwest.

Portland has the two star guards, a nice supporting cast, possibly the best bench in the West and Terry Stotts.

Why not?

I’m the perfect guy for this because as a kid consumed with playing baseball, basketball and football growing up—the Sixers were my team. It started with Wilt then went thru Hal Greer, Billy Cunningham, Bobby Jones, Caldwell Jones, Dr. J, Moses Malone, Maurice Cheeks, Andrew Toney, Charles Barkley and Allen Iverson.

I was never a Celtics or Lakers fan growing up. I’m still not. Jack Ramsey was my favorite coach, then it was Billy Cunningham after his Hall of Fame playing days came to an end.

For some reason, as a kid from Oklahoma, I fell in love with the Sixers and stayed in love with them even thru their bleakest days before Sam Hinkie, the OU business grad of all people, became the general manager and started the death march referred to as The Process.

At some point there will be an ESPN 30/30 film made on comparing Russell Westbrook to Allen Iverson. Is the comparison fair? Is this how it will end for Russell Westbrook?

I hope not.

I hope Russell Westbrook is left off Team USA this summer and he spends a great deal of time with his family to slow down and be with his children. If I were him…I wouldn’t touch a basketball for six weeks. I’d get away from basketball and think about what I want not only for my basketball legacy, but my human legacy to be when basketball is over.

I’d call Berry Tramel and have lunch with him at some point. I’d assure Paul George that I can change my game when I come back. I’d call each of my returning teammates and start the process of team building with specific goals for a redemption season next year in Oklahoma City if that is possible.

I’d smell the roses and remind my parents of how much I respect what they did for me.

But what I would not do is go full blown Allen Iverson.

This was pretty much the lead in the San Francisco Chronicle following the Warriors’ 115-109 win over the whiny Houston Rockets on Tuesday night in Oracle.

As much as the NBA world has come to detest Kevin Durant going to the Warriors—you have to give him credit…he knew what he was doing.

Even with DeMarcus Cousins done for the season it mattered little to Warriors coach Steve Kerr who like Pop could never coach in a place like Oklahoma City because the coach in Oklahoma City can’t publicly be his own man and say serious adult things on the state of our country to the local Oklahoma media, let alone on why his point guard won’t listen to him.

With Cousins done for the season…Steve Kerr went heavy with his Hamptons Five lineup of Durant, Curry, Klay, Andre Iguodala and used Draymond Green as his center to take Clint Capela.

This is the beauty of having five all-stars, two regular season MVPs and two NBA Finals MVPs as well. Don’t ever forget Andre was the Finals MVP when the Warriors won their first title over LeBron.

Then of course, Jerry West made a phone call to Kevin Durant where he explained why Kevin Durant would never win anything in Oklahoma City alongside Russell Westbrook.

In fairness to Kevin Durant—did you really expect him to write this in his Players Tribune farewell on July 4th? That would have created even more outrage than what he got for escaping Oklahoma City in his free agency year.

I do hope though Kevin Durant leaves the Warriors after this third title and explores some other basketball option. I’ve always thought it would help Kevin Durant as an overall man to be with Pop. But we’ll see as it appears he’s going to the Knicks.