Thunder Cruise Past Cavs in Cleveland, 121-106

Just so we’re clear, the Washington Nats were 19-31 coming out of May this past spring without superstar Bryce Harper who now plays in Philadelphia.

Not that I’m obsessed with this, but the Oklahoma City Thunder who were supposed to be in full tank mode by now were 7-11 coming out of November. Of those seven wins only two came against current legitimate NBA teams in Philadelphia and Orlando. The other five wins came against Golden State’s G League squad and the seemingly never ending team of confusion called the New Orleans Pelicans.

Since December 1st the narrative has changed dramatically in Oklahoma City. These Thunder aren’t the Bad News Bears as a team on a mission to lose games. Nope.

The Thunder went 11-4 in December and became road warriors by winning a road back to back in Portland and Utah which are the dates to circle if somehow someway this Thunder team of destiny and dreams keeps chugging along flirting with basketball karma.

Some scoff at my comparisons. Let them scoff. The Thunder have notched two more road wins to begin the month of January and are 13-4 since November.

Washington National skipper Dave Martinez was on the verge of being fired at the end of May as his Nats were sagging at 19-31 without Bryce Harper.

Likewise in Oklahoma City….Billy Donovan was on the hot seat. But like GM Mike Rizzo in Washington D.C.—Sam Presti seemed calm with Billy Donovan still at the Thunder helm.

Amazingly—with Russell Westbrook now in full Bryce Harper mode and in Houston…Billy Donovan with Chris Paul as his point guard has become the John Wooden of the southern plains…and btw the NBA Coach of the Month in December.

Isn’t it a quaint thing which happens to your ball team when your point guard isn’t jacking bad threes and turning the ball over in the final six minutes with regularity?

Simple game.

So the Thunder now stand 20-15 with six games to go to the mid point of the season with the same roster they started the season with on opening night.

A big week stands in front of the Thunder with games against the Sixers, Nets, Rockets, and Lakers.

I wish Sam Presti would call me and ask for my opinion.

But I’m not Tramel or Royce Young so I suspect Presti will never give me his cell number or pull me aside and ask what he should do.

But if he did ask my opinion my answer to Sam Presti would be simple.

Dream big, buddy. Dream big in Oklahoma City.

Next up the Sixers in Philadelphia.

Magical Thunder Take Care of Spurs in San Antonio, 109-103

Sports are a mere reflection or microcosm of life itself. Dan Jenkins wrote a novel once called Life Its Own-Self which always has reminded me of this axiom.

The fairy dust Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Spurs in San Antonio last night by a 109-103 count. Even my wife, who pretty much hates sports was sitting next to me. I told her it would be magical and kind of like an out of body experience for her. It was and in reality I was never even remotely anxious when the feel good Thunder were down by 14 points.

I knew they were going to win. You could see it in their body language. This magical sense of trust and respect these players have for each other right now.

It’s why we play, coach, and watch sports.

I can’t sit here and write that Chris Paul is Max Scherzer or that Shai is Steven Strasburg, but I can dream it. I can dream that somehow when Russell Westbrook was traded to Houston it was that Bryce Harper flash of genius moment which somehow righted the Thunder’s axis in the basketball cosmos.

I wouldn’t go to Vegas with what I’m writing here or even say it to Jim Traber on the air, but I sure can sure as hell write it on my little blog and feel good about it on January 3rd.

I didn’t mean to post this, but I did and since I love Al Pacino… I’ll go ahead and leave it up. What could it hurt?

Favorite New Years’ Eve Scene From a Top Ten Chick Flick

I was going to play this just before midnight, but I fell asleep about fifteen minutes after the Thunder win and the Texas Longhorns rout over the abysmal Utah Utes. I shouldn’t talk though given OU’s performance in the Peach Bowl.

It’s a New Years ritual for me to watch this movie or at the least watch this scene every New Years’ Eve. I think I have When Harry Met Sally as my No. 5 pick on the Pantheon of chick flicks.

Chris Paul Leads Thunder Past Luka’s Mavs, 106-101

This is starting to be a very interesting basketball season in Oklahoma City.

On New Years’ Eve inside of a jam packed throng of over 18,000 believers the feel good Thunder made all the plays which mattered in overcoming Luka D for a pulsating 106-101 win to close out the year.

It seemed as if Luka would be too much on this night in which the prodigy successor to Dirk scored 35 points and Maxi Kleber was showing why he’s one of the best kept secrets in the NBA.

Yet the miracle came once again sparked by youngster Chris Paul who just basically took over the ball game in the fourth period and did his thing.

These isn’t Westbrook’s Thunder and these aren’t the Bad News Bears from the previous two years. This team doesn’t take pride in being the dumbest in the league and throwing games away in the final six minutes with a predictable array of hoops stupidity.

With Westbrook in Houston and with Chris Paul, Shai GA, and Big Gallo in Oklahoma the narrative has changed, that being, the Thunder have a smart team with some TSN grit to match. There’s no loafing on the defensive end of the floor.

This isn’t Westbrook bashing. I don’t hate Westbrook. He was good for Oklahoma City. He didn’t slither away like Durant into the night with Draymond Green after Game 6. It just got old watching dumb basketball and even dumber press conferences.

All the sudden Billy Donovan is being revered as the second coming of John Wooden and there are whispers of some coach of the year votes going his way. Truth is—it appears Chris Paul is setting the tone. The best teams coach themselves from within.

Nick Collison would love this basketball team. This is the team which Nick should have ended his career with–not the dumpster fire from the two previous seasons. I keep thinking of Nick with this group of players.

But anyway. It was Chris Paul’s night. He took over in the fourth and his teammates followed. You could literally feel them feed off Chris Paul’s confidence of late as the Thunder finished their amazing month of December at 11-4 and firmly in place as the No. 7 seed in he West at 18-15.

Chris Paul had 17 points with most of them coming in the fourth period while Luka and Maxi couldn’t convert at the end.

Big Gallo finally returned from his ankle sprain and chipped in twenty meaningful points and the game’s biggest play when he knocked the ball out of Luka’s hands with nineteen seconds left.

Thunder bigs Steven Adams and Nerlens Noel were both high energy excellent on the night. Dennis Schroder and Shai had decent nights.

Shai and Dennis weren’t spectacular, but they got it done when they needed it to be done.

Again…it’s hard to know how long Gallinari will be with this team, but for the time being he is and the Thunder with him in the mix are better for it as we start to head toward the trade deadline in a month or so.

Sam Presti now has thirty-three games of sample from these guys. He should know what he does and doesn’t have.

What I think he has is a pretty good basketball team which Oklahoma City has fallen in love with during the month of December.

The Thunder hit the road on Thursday night with a game against the 14-18 San Antonio Spurs. It’s a big game because the Spurs will be one of the primary teams chasing the Thunder for the last two seeds in the West,

Have a happy and prosperous New Year.