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It was an immature play by Wemby which simply opened the door for the TWolves to comeback and win Game 4 behind Anthony Edwards’ scintillating 36 point performance of which 16 points came in the fourth period during Winning Time.

A beautiful almost hauntingly juxtaposed performance from AE to Wemby’s 39 point outburst with 16 points in the fourth quarter of Game 3. Editor’s note…if you were educated in the Oklahoma educational system… you’ll prolly need to Google juxtaposed or justaposition. Just pointing that one out in Paragraph 2 footnote.*

And to boot…Anthony Edwards gave us a great on court interview where he evoked the Atlanta Falcons’ former great Roddy White. Damn…I have to admit I’m falling in love with Ant during these playoffs. He’s fun, plays hurt for his team, and doesn’t take himself too seriously. But most of all the dude can flat out ball.

Wemby’s elbow was clearly intentional and excessive. Youthful Coach Mitch Johnson needs to grow from this experience like Coach Mark had to grow up last season when Coach Mark had to overcome coaching gaffes in both the Denver and Indiana series.

As a coach you don’t go out there in your presser and whine about the physical play on your superstar. This is not complex. What Coach Johnson should have done was basically send the last guy on his bench out there and put Anthony Edwards down on the floor….HARD and with some malice intended.

I’m sure Perk over at ESPN agrees with me. This is why you have a tough guy or two on your roster. For OKC…I would say that guy will be either Lu or Kenrich when the time comes. I love Kenrich and I know Coach Mark hasn’t forgotten him during these eight awful games versus NBA substandard playoff opposition.

These are the NBA Playoffs and the physicality needs to ratched up like this in post season play. Kudos to Naz Reed for getting under Wemby’s skin and not getting called for the initial act of violence on Coach Johnson’s pampered superstar.

As a historian and student of the NBA….I’ll be interested to see if there is an act of retribution by the Spurs in Game 5 against Anthony Edwords. There should be as such if Coach Johnson wants to be taken seriously.

But even with the ejection it was a great basketball game as the four Spur guards were superb with Dylan Harper on my sheet being the No. 3 Star and Castle as my No. 2 Star. The difffrence was in the end…the Twloves had their closer and the Spurs did not. It’s a simple game. You white people… quit overthinking this all the time.

Game 5 tomorrow night in San Antonio. I’ll be in Greenwood Village, Colorado by game time and hope to be able to watch and archive the game for a later recap.

I finished the Dietrich Bonhoeffer book and like Bonhoeffer…Mike J enjoys certain hymn music after private prayer and meditation. Don’t ever underestimate the holistic power of music.

Have a wonderful, Monday.

And as always it should go in this order….faith, hope, and eternal love.

Mike J

I watched maybe six minutes total of the Thunder’s Game 3 win over the defenseless LA Lakers. The Lakers have no interior defense…period. This series should be wrapped up tomorrow. That in one paragraph is my take on this waste of time second round series.

I did watch the entire Detroit-Cleveland game. It was an excellent game which Cade Cunningham and his teammates gave away in the final six minutes. Cade had EIGHT turnovers and that simply will get you beat in playoff basketball.

I still believe Detroit has the best team in this series, but I’m skeptical they could beat the NY Knicks in a four out of seven series. But I do believe the Pistons and Cavs will continue to give us some nice entertainment in this second round matchup.

The Colorado-Minnesota hockey game?

I watched pretty much all of it and was very impressed by the Minnesota Wild as they easily beat the Avs 5-1 at home to win their first game of the series and close to 2-1 in the series.

Most casual hockey fans would probably tell you either Nathan McKinnon or Cale Makar were the two best players on the ice last night or in this series. I might differ and respond the best player on the ice last night was American defenseman Quinn Hughes.

Quinn is the brother of Jack who both starred on Team USA’s gold medal winning team. Jack had the game winner, while Quinn… pound for pound might just be one of the best players in the world currently.

When my son was younger playing hockey…I told him to pattern his game as a defenseman after Bobby Orr of the Boston Bruins.

So fast forward… my six year-old grandson is now into finishing his second year of hockey in the USA Hockey youth program at the University of Denver, and like Quinn Hughes, he’s a lefty and already an offensive-minded defenseman.

Robert is much further along at six than his father… my son was. I shared this thought in private with Robert after the last practice I watched at the U of Denver facility. So since that conversation…I have been thinking to myself who I should tell Robert to start watching as in who I would pattern myself after at the NHL level.

Nathan McKinnon and Brock Nelson’s boys are both in Robert’s hockey group, but both are forwards… and Robert in no way will have Cole Makar’s size.

So I’m thinking to myself Quinn Hughes might be that guy. Quinn is the brother of Jack Hughes, and member of the gold medal winning Team USA. Because as a hockey player…Quinn Hughes has it all…AS IN ALL.

Colorado needs to pick it up in a significant way in Game 4 if they don’t want this series to be tied at 2-2 after Monday night.

Happy Mother’s Day to all.

Mike J

In reality, this is our only semi-final series in either conference so far which has produced any real competitive drama. It would appear OKC, the NY Knicks, possibly the Detroit Pistons depending on their Game 3 today in Cleveland, and San Antonio are Final Four bound.

Three young teams and the veteran Knicks, who btw did win the Emirates NBA Cup way back in Decemeber over the Spurs.

Was the Emirates Cup way back then giving us a clue as to the teams headed for the NBA Finals?

My concern for the Thunder right now is they have had such an easy path to the conference finals they haven’t been pushed at all to take their game to a higher level.

Quite the contrary with the Spurs…. who had to take a very hard look in the mirror after their Game 1 home loss to the gritty Minnesota TWolves.

Coach Mitch Johnson, Wemby, and De’Aaron Fox were very much under the glare of the bright lights for their shortcomings in Game 1. But all three since have been superb as the Spurs have won two straight and head into Game 4 with a 2-1 series lead.

Going into last night…Minnesota had previously won seven straight games at home versus the Spurs. But San Antonio came out of the gates with a 16-1 spurt to open the game and then held on in the fourth quarter with what I would describe as a historical glimpse of basketball from Wemby which might indeed be a look into the future of where NBA dominance is headed.

In the fourth period, Wemby scored 16 of his 39 points, and led his team in every imaginable manner. His line on the night read…39 points, 15 rebounds, and 5 blocks. His shooting lines were even more revealing…13-18 from the field, 3-5 beyond the arc, and 10-12 from the line.

It was a stunning exhibition against a good Minnesota team which prides itself on its defense and sense of overall hate towards the opposition. It was the singular moment so far in these playoffs which dwarfed Shai’s last two performances versus the Phoenix Suns, or what Cade did to close out the Orlando Magic.

Again…if I’m Sam Presti and the Thunder—I would be very much locked in on this opportunity for a repeat because with what we saw from Wemby last night just getting back to the NBA Finals might be a tough path with the Spurs standing in the way every season moving forward.

What I’m saying is…you could take all of those draft picks the Thunder still have stored away, and from what I’m seeing we’re just now witnessing what this guy is going to be capable of…kind of like an AI player of the future.

Chet, Isaiah…enjoy the rest of your Laker vacation because in front of you stands the present and the future.

As far as Anthony Edwards…he was courageous and excellent in this game. He gave himself up for his team. He threw the minutes restriction aside and played 40:33 on the night. He carried his team like a warrior. I was proud of him….Wemby was just better and more clutch.

AE had a 32 point, 14 rebound, and 6 assist night and it wasn’t enough.

Coach Chris Finch severely shortened his bench in Game 3 to eight players, actually seven when you consider Mike Conley only played 4 minutes in this game.

Again…there isn’t any blame here or finger to point. Wemby was just historically brilliant in what was a clutch moment we will all remember moving forward as passionate fans of the game which we love.

Game 4 in Minnesota is basically an elimination game for the TWolves. If the Spurs win this game…the series for all practical purposes is over. It will be interesting for me to see how Coach Finch allots his minutes given the rest period between games now shrinks from three days to two days of recovery.

In anotherwords…what will Anthony Edwards have left in his tank after Friday night and that 40:33 marker with a sore knee?

I’m not in the least excited about the Thunder-Laker today game and I’ll be covering the Detroit at Cleveland game for the blog in conjunction with the Colorado Avalanche vs. Minnesota Wild Game 3 tonight.

Very cool prospect for me with the Avs given we’re headed back to Colorado this coming week as they’re two games away from punching their ticket to the Western Conference Finals. Denver may be a Bronco town first, but its very much a big-time hockey town as well. I can’t wait.

Have a beautiful Saturday as more storms are headed our way again this evening in Deer Creek.

Mike J

There were two NBA Supermen, past and present, inside of PayCom Arena on Tuesday night in Game 1 of the Thunder’s easy 108-90 romp over the LA Lakers. But here’s the thing… neither of them really decided the outcome of this mismatch.

Shai was held to 18 points and turned the ball over 7 times on a human night. KIA’s Clutch Player of the Year didn’t even sniff my Three Stars of the Game.

LeBron, on the other hand, did make my list as No. 3 even being an eighteen point loser as he was the lone singular bright spot for a Laker team which in no real way should even be playing in the second round of these Western Conference Playoffs.

My No. 1 Star easily went to the oft maligned Chet Holmgren as he made the Laker’s interior game look like a collection of chumps. Chet’s line was 24 pts, 12 rebounds, and 3 blocked shots.

My No. 2 Star is Isaiah Hartenstein for his workman-like 8 point, 9 rebound, and 4 assist night.

I moved him ahead of LeBron because that’s my perogative on this blog and LeBron’s team lost by eighteem points on a night when Shai played like he was sick and JDub was dressed on the bench like he was going to attend an Amish square dance after the game. JDub, dude….borrow something to wear from Shai…seriously.

So there’s that.

This is not a matchup I’m into seeing much more of if this is all the Lakers can throw onto the wall. In fact…I watched more minutes of the Colorado Avalanche 5-2 second round win over the Minnesota Wild. Nathan McKinnon looks like he’s on a mission to MJ.

OKC’s bench outscored the Lakers 34-15. The Thunder continually feasted feasted off Laker live ball turnovers and points off tuurnovers. This wasn’t a game, but more of a predetermined outcome.

To put this in clearer perspective, Austin Reaves and Marcus Smart combined went 7-31 from the field and 2-13 from beyond the arc. Not much Bedlam spark there.

In reality though…I’m not sure this is good for the Thunder to play back to back series against the likes of Phoenix and the Lakers. Because one would think the survivor of the Spurs-TWolve series is going to be road tested, especially if it’s the Twolves who survive.

Either way, kudos to Chet and Isaiah for plugging away and getting better in preparation of what they’ll be facing from the bigs in the next round of play.

Go Avs!!!

Mike J

In Game 6 at home the TWolves did not need Anthony Edwards to close out the Denver Nuggets at home. Last night in Game 1 at San Antonio the league’s most explosive player, Anthony Edwards, and his head coach Chris Finch had another plan.

With a tender knee and such, AE did not start and played a relatively quiet first three periods. Entering the fourth period Edwards had scored but seven points and was a mere blip in the game. Chris Finch was also missing guards Ayo Dosunmu and Donte D.

But it did not matter as Finch masterfully rotated his five other guards with Anthony being on a minutes restriction of sorts and not starting the game. The Twloves guard minutes looked like this….Edwards 25:15, Terrance Shannon 34:50, Mike Conley 24:13, Bones Hyland11:56, and Waylen Clark with 7:21 of playing time.

When the game ended with a 104-105 TWolve victory…AE had 18 points and 3 assists. Anthony was the catalyst in the deciding fourth period.

We all go on and on about the Thunder’s depth at the wing position, but when Ayo D returns these TWolves in my mind will offer the second deepest guard rotation in the league. Plus…unlike the Spurs’ youngsters…these guys have alteady been thru the process of post season basketball.

And these guys have a KIA Clutch Time closer of their own in AE if they can keep him on the floor. The Wolves also have the deepest rotation of nasty big guys in Naz Reed, Jaden McDaniels, Rudy Gobert, and Julius Randle. These guys don’t in any way right now look like a team which just came off a disapponting 49-win regular season. They look like a team on a mission to prove something.

This is why I kept the Twolves as my No. 7 darkhorse pick before the playoffs began. These guys know how to win in post season, they just need to take it one step further this season to advance to an NBA Finals.

As far as the Spurs…this is a learning experience. The Phoenix Suns, Portland Trailblazers, and teams of that ilk aren’t still around to play. To get where the Spurs want to get under youthful coach Mitch Johnson the Spurs are basically going to have to beat the TWolves and Thunder a collective eight times with both the Wolves and Thunder having home court advantage after last night’s home loss.

I’m sure after watching the film from last night’s loss, Mitch Johnson has already figured out two things, 1 Wemby needs to take it to the rim and quit jacking threes, and 2 De’Andre Fox at the point has to play on another planet compared to how poorly he played at times in Game 1.

Mitch Johnson and his Spurs shouldn’t panic. But you need to learn and adjust on the fly becuase that’s what NBA Playoff basketball is all about. That being, every game of seven is a new manuscript. Every game has its own unique little twists and wrinkles.

BUT, having written the above paragraph…Game 2 at home tomorrow night is an absolute must win game for the Spurs. Now…what we don’t know is how Anthony Edwards’ knee will feel on Thursday, and we don’t know how committed coach Chris Finch might be in going beyond that 25-minute mark.

So what we have here is playoff basketball with all of its subplots and nuance. I don’t know how the KNEE is feeling.. Only Anthony Edwards and his knee know right now. But I know MJ will be firmly in place to witness and cover Game 2 in San Antonio on America’s No. 1 underground NBA blog.

Good luck tonight, LA Lakers. You’re going to need some amazing grace from the basketball gods is all I can speculate.

Mike J

No. 1 isn’t tough as long as Shai is healthy, available, and JDub returns. From that point downward though I could see multiple things happening depending on who’s key players are able to go.

So I would go maybe something like this:

1 OKC Thunder

2 San Antonio Spurs

3 New York Knicks

4 Detroit Pistons

5 Cleveland Cavaliers

6 Philadelphia 76’ers depending on Embiid playing

7 Minnesota TWolves depending on Anthony Edwards’ return

8 LA Lakers depending on if LeBron stays healthy and is able to play at a certain LeBron standard. Steph, Durant, and Jimmy Butler can no longer play at their standards. So we’ll see how Lebron holds up against Sam Presti’s young and deep Dobermans.

I’m loving what I’m seeing from both Shai and Cade so far with one round behind us. I’m not sleeping on the NY Knicks at all given they beat the Spurs in the finals of the Emirates Cup. The Knicks are a team which probably aren’t getting enough respect. But again…let’s see if Joel Embiid can actually be a factor in Round 2 with those knees.

Tyrese Maxey has emerged as a bonafide star and his rookie sidekick appears to be special, but to get past the Knicks I would think it would take more than Andre Drummond at center. Nice to see Paul George being a positive factor, but again…the Sixers with Embiid are a different animal.

If Tobias Harris plays as he has these past three games I could see the Detroit Pistons emerging in the East. But again….it can’t be Cade just by himself scoring the ball.

First team to win twelve games is our next NBA champion. And clearly right now…that favorite is the Oklahoma City Thunder.

I look forwaard to both games tonight. It will interesting to see what Minnesota has left in the tank from an emotional standpoint.

This is when we love our NBA.

Mike J

Trump, JD Vance Interrogate War Cabinet for Next Move in Iran War.

Have a peaceful Sunday watching NBA Playoff hoops.

Mike J

• First in an exclusive series provided by okcthunderground.com in conjunction with the WSJ.

Our Western Conference Semi-Finals are set and to be blunt, unless both the TWolves without Anthony Edwards and Donte, and LeBron’s old body surprise me in a significant manner…I would think the Eastern Conference for the next round will be giving us better games with more competitive drama.

We’ve got three Game 7’s left in the East just to get us to the Eastern Conference semi’s and from my view if the Pistons win Game 7 in Detroit tomorrow we’ll have some great storylines evolving in the East.

Minnesota is crippled. The Lakers even with a healthy LeBron are a horrid defensive team…so MJ will probably be transfixed on the East with the hope the Thunder in the Western Conference Finals opposite Wemby and the Spurs will FINALLY be meeting a team of consequence.

Cade Cunningham is lighting it up and from my view if his teammates can just give him more assistance this could be a great local story given Cade’s one year with Mike Boynton in Stillwater. Heck…it’s a national story in the making because right now on my scorecard in these NBA Playoffs to date…I have Shai at 1, and Cade at 2 on my NBA Playoffs MVP ladder.

I feel privileged to watch these two play at this level. I do though worry about the other Pistons and if they have enough pop in the gun to keep Cade in the hunt with the NY Knicks and the winner of tonight’s Philly at Boston Game 7 still alive in the Eastern bracket.

While there for the most part has been non-competitve tedium in the West…the East has been brilliant post season basketball. I said on here before if Embiid were ever to stay healthy long enough Philly with those guards would be a handful. So later tonight…we’ll find out if its Boston or Philly checking their spot on the bracket sheet.

Jalen Duran…you may be playing hurt, but Cade needs more from you, just saying.

Hope the Thunder at some point meet a viable opponent. This is getting old with the Thunder meeting crippled teams in the post season for the second consecutive season. Stay healthy, Wemby.

Signing off from the NBA Playoffs, Mike J

Today is the 15th anniversary of the Navy Seal mission which in the dark of night went into Pakistan and killed Osama Bin Laden. Nothing I’m writing on here is intended as political.

My views on Donald Trump have literally nothing to do with ideology or politics. I just think the man is a horrible human being and not even remotely worthy of the office he holds.

Admiral McRaven was on Smerconish this morning and he read a beautiful poem entitled “I Remember” from his new book. Google it if you need a shot of hope. Seriously…from my Stage 4 standpoint I need shots of hope every now and then in the America I unfortunately observe before me every day.

As sad and dismal as this is and what we’ve allowed to take place in our country…there at some point has to be a moment of common resolve to just simply take our country back to where every action on this earth isn’t dictated by a personal economic quid pro quo in return. But more to the point, living the Golden Rule every day and treating one another with a semblance of the very simple principles of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.

Some courage, intelligence, and integrity wouldn’t hurt as well.

I’m reading a biography on the life of Dietrich Bonhoffer currently and it is amazing how in Bonhoffer’s life in Germany in the 30’s and 40’s it so very much correlates to what I’m witnessing in America presently as to the decline of any moral compass whatsoever.

So don’t give up. We can’t give up. I’ve taken my Stage 4 pledge and applied it now to what I see around us every day in America.

I know we’re better than this. I see parts of it in front of me every day as I encounter people in Oklahoma. There is still an inherit goodness in us wanting to reappear.

I know this in my heart.

Mike J

It would appear to me Trump and his boy Jared Kushner’s wonderbolt thought of bringing the PGA to its knees is over, and the irony is Trump’s own stupid misguided war in Iran was probably the deathknell for the Saudi’s piece of junk golf tour.

Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed already saw the light and got themselves squared away with the legitimate golf tour which should feature the world’s best golfers for the fans to see compete against one another.

If I were running the PGA the only two golfers I would ban for a year before re-entry would be Phil Mickelson and Bryson DeChambleau. Those two went beyond the pale of making their anti-trust claims and inherit rights to a Darwinian completely free professional world of golf.

Yeah, I would clip those two for a year, demand some financial restitutuion, and a public letter of apology to the fraternal golfing community.

This means I have no issue with the other guys doing what Koepka and Reed have already done. This was about greed, and this bullshit in regards to anti-trust claims is nebulous at best.

The Great White Choker…Greg Norman would be banned for life is my feel at this time. He would be at the top of my list of bannees.

Golf is a wonderful game enjoyed by millions of people of all persuasions all over the world. I got my start in golf in the fourth grade when Bobby Tway’s father took me along with he and Bobby Jr. to a junior golf signup clinic at Lincoln Park.

That Sunday afternoon marked what would become a lifetime love affair with golf, Arnold Palmer, and eventually Dan Jenkins.

My greatest golfing accomplishment came in the fifth grade when I shot a medalist number of a 37 at Trosper Park on he back nine. What that meant was the next week I would be paired with the first group which included Bobby Tway, Jim Woodward, and a cocky kid named Chuck Dye who went onto play college golf as did Bobby and Jim.

Bobby’s family moved back to Marietta, Georgia and of all things…Jimmy Woodward became a John Marshall Bear. Jim was a great guy, even when he was needling me a bit about that 37 at Trosper Park.

So what I’m saying here is…the PGA has been a wonderful ambassador for growing the sport of golf at every level, every sex, every age, and every race.

Yeah, it’s an expensive sport, but so is ice hockey…ask me about that.

The PGA GROWS THE SPORT so that guys like Bryson DeChambleau and Phil Mickelson could make the money they made.

Did we ever see Scottie Sheffler or Rory talking shit anout the need to make MORE, MORE, and MORE MONEY?

So from this aged golfer’s pespective…piss on the LIV Golf Circuit and let’s focus on making the game available to every player with a dream.

It’s going to be beautiful golfing weather this week-end in Oklahoma.

Go play a round of golf.

Mike J