Welcome to OKCThunderGround!

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

The saying is….if you can walk it, it ain’t just talkin’. And that’s exactly what transpired on Thursday night in Minnesota as the injury decimated TWolves outworked, out hustled, and out gut-checked the Denver Nuggets by a score of 110-98 in a Game 6 clutch win.

Denver’s season is over, while the TWolves will open Round 2 at the San Antonio Spurs sometime this week-end.

Yeah, sure, the Nuggets’ best two way player in Aaron Gordon didn’t play, but Minnesota was missing Anthony Edwards 28.8 points a game, plus the services of their best three point shooter in Donte D. Not to mention their best two way guard off the bench in Ayo Dosunmu and sometimes used in the rotation Kyle Anderson.

The two best players on the floor weren’t Jokic and Jamal Murray. Nope. The best offensive player on the floor with 32 points and 10 rebounds was Jaden McDaniels. The second best Wolves’ player was also Jaden McDaniels…but on defense as he literally shut down Jamal Murray for however minutes Jamal ended up playing in this elimination game for the Nuggets.

My No. 3 Star was TJ Shannon with his stellar 24 point performance, and my No. 4 Star was Rudy Gobert. That’s the best set of games I’ve seen from Rudy Gobert in quite some time. He’ll need to replicate this level of play against Wemby and the Spurs if the TWolves aspire to advance to the Western Conference Finals for a third straight year.

I would think Coach Chris Finch having four bigs like Gobert, Julius Randle, Jaden McDaniel, and Naz Reed that he will he’ll be able to devise some defensive plan to keep Wemby somewhat in check, or in foul trouble.

The key will be can the TWolves take care of the basketball and minimize careless live ball turnovers. Same as when they play the Thunder.

This game was about Minnesota only playing eight players and missing their best player and just basically doing what I always talk about on here…the little intangible bringing your lunchpail things to the arena.

Like offenisve rebounds. Like points off turnovers. Like deflecting passes. Like making Jokic and Jamal Murray work for every inch of space and every half second of time every time they posessed the ball.

Like having that sled dog mentality where there is no way you’re walking off the field, court, or ice and making sure you never got out-worked or out-hustled.

This was old school basketball and the Minnesota Timberwolves are moving on while the Denver Nuggets’ front office is going to have to think seriously whether David Adelman is the man moving forward to get the Nuggets’ to play like Minnesota played tonight.

Jaden McDaniels…dude, this is the first time I’ve featured you on my blog. It’s up to you if I see you on here again during the Spurs series. That’s up to you.

Congrats on a great game.

Mike J

I’m back from Greenwood Village, Colorado and very much poised to cover Game 6 tonight in Minnesota as the Denver Nuggets attempt to stave-off a Game 6 elimination to the now Anthony Edwards-less TWolves.

This will be El Prez’s first post since the hiatus in beautiful Colorado where people read books, meditate often, and take great care in their own physical health and well being. If you did not know this fact..please mark it down…Colorado is the healthiest state in the Union while Oklahoma ranks dead last in education and first in obesity and sexually transmitted disease.

But here’s what Oklahoma has and Colorado doesn’t. It’s a three word answer. Hence the answer….Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. That’s the simple answer to my own semi-rhetorical posit.

And that three word answer is why the Thunder swept the totally overmatched Phoenis Suns in a walk in the park four game sweep in Round 1. Additionaly, that three word answer is why I’m picking the Thunder to repeat if Shai can stay healthy carrying the Thunder on his Canadian back….pretty much like Buck from the Call of the Wild.

While in the beautiful foothills of the Rockies at just about 5,280 feet of elevation…I primarily was Robert and Aubrey’s grandfather for six days. It’s a wonderful role to play. But this trip was even better this time as the ‘Fam’ has added six-week year-old golden lab Sunny to the mix to be the perpetual running mate of the soon to arrive chocolate lab pup Perk II.

For the first time since Pauli and Perk I’s passings…MJ’s soul felt right. My Soul of the Dog mojo, so to speak, is back. I’ve always openly professed I must have been a wolf-dog like Buck from Call of the Wild by Jack London. Perhaps, it is this previous life gene nobility which enabled me to so early and often proclaim Donald Trump as the petulant human trust-fund brat he truly is. Dogs feel these things intutively. Fake Christians only concerned with minimizing their effective tax margins…not quite as much… if ever.

So here’s what El Prez is scribing pre-game tonight…with a healthy Aaron Gordon the Nuggets are probably the only team which could derail the Thunder on their repeat quest. Without him healthy….these Nuggets might actually struggle tonight and would certainly lose to the Spurs in Round 2.

I watched multiple games while in Colorado and this Denver-Minny series, plus the Orlando-Detroit series are the only two to date which have captivted my basketball attention so far.

I will write this in closing…if Aaron isn’t able to play tonight then my immediate take is Christian Braun, Cam Johnson, and Spencer Jones better damn well bring their road role player A-games tonight if the Nuggets are to experience a Game 7.

My Road Role Player Axiom, which is worlds better than any metrics the young sissies on the internet blather about relentlessly in their cyberspace induced comas. These three role players might in fact determine David Adelman’s tenure in Denver.

In actual closing, grace, mercy, and continual spiritual well-being. In anotherwords…. absorb all the qualities regularly lacking from the Trump fake Christians. I may or may not at some point give my take on the most current Trump ‘fake’ assasination attemp debauclet we all witnessed this past week-end in D.C.

Inner peace…always.

MJ

Our NBA Playoffs are off to an interesting start. OKC is cruising past a Phoenix team with no rim protection. The Denver Nuggets, San Antonio Spurs, and Boston Celtics all lost home Game 2s which is something to watch as we move forward in Round 1.

The biggest surprise to me though is the LA Lakers going up 2-0 on the point-guardless Houston Rockets. It’s not that I think Houston is a championship contender, it’s just more of me being impressed by how LeBron and the Lakers have handled this series so far without Luka and Austin Reaves.

The Detroit-Orlando series is 1-1 and now headed to Florida. Will Desmond Bane be a difference maker or will Cade Cunningham get his team back on track in Game 3 to regain home court?

Boston-Philly? No Imbiid for Philly, but Tyrese Maxey and his rookie guard compadre give the Sixers one of the most dynamic backcourts in the East. Can Andre Drummond plug the lane for the Sixers? Again…we’ll see.

But by far the best series so far has been the Denver-Minnesota series which is now tied at 1-1 with Game 3 in Minnesota tonight. This is a very simple deal…when Anthony Edwards isn’t screwing around and sets his mind on getting to the rim the TWolves are a different team and especially when Julius Randle has a solid night scoring the ball.

I have to give it up to Rudy Gobert for a second straight game as he was excellent in Game 2. I have no idea what has happened with Rudy G, but his level of play in this series has been a thing. If Gobert keeps playing like this—the Wolves are clearly a team to be reckoned with.

I had Minnesota as my No. 7 wildcard to win the whole thing, and I think that’s what they’re showing us so far. A dangerous, talented team which is in search of a championship identity.

As far as the Thunder…they’re playing a team with no center and if I’m Coach Mark my primary goal is to get this series over with as quickly as possible and not risk any inury to the Kia Clutch player of the Year heading into the second round with a probable date against an aged LeBron and the Lakers.

As was the case last year, everything is falling just right for the Thunder if they can keep No. 2 healthy.

We’re off to Greenwood, Colorado for Grandparents Day at the kids’ school. This has been much anticipated and NBA basketball will have to deal with my absence for a bit. I’m certain Chuck and Ernie can deal with this situation.

Always look for the best in others.

Mike J

Well…so, the podcast owner and network parasite Tucker Carlson now asks all you white people who voted for Donald Trump in in 2024 to forgive him for lying to you about Donald Trump’s fitness for office.

This would be very amusing if the consequences weren’t so tragic for our nation as we witness the daily disgrace of our nation a notch lower every single day.

Me preaching to you at this point isn’t happening. If you were stupid enough to believe anything Tucker Carlson said or wrote that’s on you and your conscience… if you still have one. Additionally…if you’ve been stupid enough to ever embrace anything Rush Limbaugh, Alex Jones, or the late Charlie Kirk ever espoused, again, I’ll leave it to you evaluate all of this internally.

I’ve insulted you Trump fake Christians way too much on this blog already and it really in no way serves my spiritual journey as a Stage 4 cancer survivor who’s just waking up every morning and making the effort to be a better person in my own way. Trying to live the Golden Rule.

But I have to write this to you people…start reading books and if nothing else read the Wall Street Journal and the Christian Science Monitor instead of wasting your time on the likes of the people mentioned above.

I mean, Rupert Murdoch owns the Wall Street Journal and he should be proud of his ownership of that newspaper, while conversely he may very well rot in hell for what he’s done to America with Fox Network. But, hey, you know he and prodical son Lachlan both net a cool one billion dollars a year for what Fox Network does every single night to our country. It’s about the Murdoch family cash flow, baby.

Always know this about Little Tucker Carlson if you don’t watch the above video… he worked for Bill Kristol at the Daily Standard and they no longer speak. Bill Kristol was in a manner the successor to William F Buckley as the voice of conservatives. I doubt many of you even know who William F Buckley was or even know who George Will was so this paragraph was probably a complete waste of seventy-three words. Sigh.

After Carlson’s somewhat successful stinct as a magazine writer making $50,000 a year for Bill Kristol, Little Tucker decided his family needed more income so he then hosted a show on MSNBC. Then a show on PBS. Then the Crossfire show on CNN where he was eventually fired because Jon Stewart came on the show and just flat out dropped Tucker Carlson with a right cross which for a period of time seriously derailed Tucker’s career as a legiimate voice in American politics.

I mean, Jon Stewart called Tucker Carlson a thirty-five year-old dick wearing a little bow tie while pretending to be George Will. Probably even more classic than the Buckley-Gore Vidal fights on previous live telvision.

After this career disaster…Roger Ailes eventually hired Tucker Carlson as a rotating week-end part-time host at Fox and that’s where Carlson’s role stayed until Roger Ailes was fired for the sexual harrassment scandal at Fox.

And then came big boy Donald Trump down that escalator with third trophy wife Melania and the rest became history for our nation as Tucker Carslon somehow became Donald Trump’s Fox Network brain as Fox transitioned away from both Roger Ailes and sexual harrassment brother Bill O’Reilly.

If you think I’m making this up, I’m not. Research it tonight if you don’t have a strip bar or a Klan meeting to attend.

Anyway…in closing, Little Tucker Carlson is asking all you Trump fake Chrsitians to forgive him for lying to you about Donald Trump, and I’m guessing almost all of you will do just that because you apparently don’t know any better and haven’t ever read anything which might challenge your comfort zone.

Have a beautiful day, Oklahoma. If you get a chance maybe work on some additional funding for our stellar 50th ranked Oklahoma educational system.

Seriously, I’m praying for all us. You Trump people included. We’re all on the Titanic together at this point, if you haven’t fled the country to the Cayman Islands already.

Love and forgiveness always, Mike J.

Unless a healthy Mark Williams comes back for the Phoenix Suns and gives his team some semblance of a rim protector I see no need whatsoever to chronicle the OKC Thunder’s first round series versus the Phoenix Suns.

If Mark Williams comes back and the series becomes somewhat competitive to watch I’ll cover a few of the games. Otherwise I won’t be covering any Thunder games until Round 2 on America’s No. 1 NBA underground blog.

The Denver vs. Minnesota series has been clutch, as in both games fall under the NBA category of ‘clutch games’ decided in the final five minutes of play. Hence, I’ll recap Minnesota’s scintiilating Game 2 upset of the Nuggets at Denver last night which evened that series at one game apiece maybe tomorrow morning. Both games of this first round matchup have nbeen superb. The rest of NBA first round series…not as much depending on how the Detroit vs. Orlando series evolves.

But I do want to note on here Shai was deserving named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player for clutch game performances this season.

I completely agree with the voters on this and I think it warrants Mike J playing his Superman video and not writing any unneeded words beyond…Congrats… Shai on a fabulous season, buddy.

Joyous eternal eternity, Mike J.

After a six day layoff it took the Nuggets a few minutes to get back in sync after an especially slow start from Nikola Jokic who almost had more turnovers than points in the first half inside of a raccous Ball Arena.

During that brief hybernation by Jokic the rest of the Nuggets led by Jamal Murray slowly but surely worked the game back in the favor of the now streaking and healthy Denver Nuggets. As is usually the case with the former champion Nuggets their offense primarily works through the two man game of Nikola and Jamal.

Jamal lead all scorers in this game with 30 points and was a game best for either team at +13. It was a Shai like Free-Throw Merchant game as Jamal went 15-15 at the line. The free throws were huge in that they kept Denver in the game until Jokic became un hybernated (word?) in the second half and displayed why he’s the best player in the league with a 25, 12, 13 triple double.

Remember this…both Shai and Jamal played for Coach Cal at Kentucky. These Kentucky guards in the league are special for certain. Both Canadians as well. Porter Moser needs to start recruting Canada…just MJ thinking out loud a bit as he just looked at the Sooners roster for next season off the Portal Tracker.

When Nikola the Big Bear gets going he’s virtually unstoppable and the best player in the league. But I did vote for Shai as the regular season MVP. These two guys are special and we can only hope as fervent NBA fans it’s an OKC vs. Denver Western Conference Final.

Hope Alex Caruso doesn’t get maimed this year from the Big Bear in that I’m fairly certain Big Bear still remembers that rugby match in Game 7 last spring when the apparently blind Scott Foster lost his whistle in the second period.

But there he is right now…on my screen…Scott Foster being allowed to ref yet again in these NBA Playoffs.

Coach David Adelman appears to have a fluid nine man rotation in place which from my view looked pretty darn good yesterday with Aaron Gordon, Christian Braun, and Cam Johnson finally all healthy and rounding into the type of playoff shape I’ve been waiting to see all season to date from this team.

I would also add when Denver has to go those non-Jokic minutes with Tim Hardaway, Bruce Brown, Spencer Jones, and Jonas V with Jamal out there I thought they were solid yesterday for the most part.

As was the case last spring, Peyton Watson would appear to be the 10th man depending on the opponent and situation. There will be a time though when he’s needed once he’s totally healthy.

The Minnesota TWolves…they will go as far as Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle’s offensive production will take them. Yesterday AE went 7-19 and Julius went 7-16. Do the math…14-35 versus a dynamic offensive team like the Nuggets will get you a 116-105 Game 1 road loss. These two guys simply didn’t get it done.

Amazingly, my TWolve player of the game was Rudy Gobert who played one of the most nuanced offensive games I’ve ever witnessed from a guy I’ve described on here multiple times as an offensive slug. Rudy G went 8-9 from the field and scored 17 points to go along with 10 rebounds. It’s a shame the TWolves wasted that virtuoso performance on a double didgit Game 1 loss.

My Three Stars of the Game went…1 Jamal, 2 Big Bear, and 3 Aaron Gordon.

Game 2 on Monday night inside of Ball Arena.

Love and kindness always, MJ.

Well, that was an ugly ending to a miserable season for the Golden State Warriors. As if that needed to be written by a guy at the okcthunderground.com. I would say Steph needs to retire and pursue his dreams on the golf course.

Steph looked like a worn out, beaten up Warrior last night in the loss to the Suns. His body to me looks to be exhausted from getting the best defenders in the NBA beating up on him every single time he touches the basketball.

The Golden State dynasty is officially dead although in reality the funeral came in last year’s elimination exit to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second round. As a huge Steph fan…I’m actually grateful his beaten up body does not have to be beaten up even worse by losing four games to the crazy physical Oklahoma City Thunder wing defenders.

With his incredible performance in Paris at the Summer Olympics when he saved Team USA in the Gold Medal game…he in my mind made the perfect exclamation ending to his increddible basketball career with that performance.

Know when to exit, Steph.

Now…I will add this though… a great deal of this is on the Warrior front office for flaming out on No. 2 lottery pick James Wiseman and No. 4 lottery pick Jonathan Kuminga.

In a world like the Oklahoma City Thunder have under Sam Presti…those two failures by the Warriors’ front office is a significant reason as to why the Warriors aren’t still a contender. Those two guys should have assimilated and grown into players who at the least should now have been in the top five rotation for Steve Kerr.

And where was Porzingus last night? If Chet is soft…WTF is the Unicorn…seriously?

So, in closing…if I were Steph’s Uncle MJ and he were asking for my advice… I’d say if you’re going to play another year it needs to be on a team which is a contender and doesn’t need you to carry the rest of the team. Maybe something like the role Ray Allen played for those two Miami Heat championship teams with LeBron and DWade.

Steph Curry…I love you. I fell in love with you when your Davidson team almost made it to the Final Four in that regional final opposite the Kansas Jayhawks.

I think you’re a better golfer than Michael Jordan as well. I think that MJ’s an overrated chucker on the course. MJ’s better than Charles Barkley for certain, but not in your league as far as golf goes. So…what Uncle Mike is saying here is…do what’s in your heart. You don’t owe the Warriors anything else at this point. They owe you for an incredible journey.

Follow your heart, kid.

Eternal love, Mike J