Author: Mike

I had the San Antonio Spurs as one of my four teams I ‘thought’ might emerge this season as a Western Conference contender and so far they haven’t let me down even with the injury delay to D’Aaron Fox’s season.

Two weeks into what so far has been an injury marred season and it seems every team in the Association has injury issues. Yet we see OKC at 6-0 with the Spurs at 5-0 headi into Emirates NBA Cup play.. Don’t worry though, MJ isn’t embracing the Spurs as ‘his’ team like he has with the 3-1 Denver Nuggets, but I think at this point it would be prudent to start including these Spurs on the blog.

BTW…Robert, our six year-old just began his first youth basketball season in a league at the Denver University facilities and is already showing his grandfather an outside shot very similar in style to that of his favorite NBA player…Alex Caruso.

But back to the Spurs… this could be the season, and as fervent NBA fans we hope it is that the Spurs once again emerge as a force in the West to signal the beginning of the Mitch Johnson Era in Hill Country.

I loved Pop, but it was time for the transition and it appears they have the right person in place. The NBA schedulers appear to be prescient in having tabbed OKC vs San Antonio as their No. 1 premier time slot matchup on Christmas afternoon. I have already have that slatedfor my Christmas Day schedule and since Robert loves Caruso there won’t be any argument as to the television being tuned into the game. RJII will be donning his Caruso jersey while MJ has on his powder blue Jamal jersey.

To me…the Spurs looked poised to do what OKC did two years ago…that is, break out of the tanking syndrome, start playing real basketball, and probably crack the fifty win barrier if they can avoid Wemby getting injured.

And BTW, Chet Holmgren didn’t die in Game 4 this season. Coach Mark has assured the Thunder fanbase Chet’s regular season isn’t over after the back bruise he suffered in Dallas.

When Chet returns of course will remain a mystery though since Oklahoma City in reality doesn’t have a legit beat writer covering the team like other cities do. As it is in Russia, Iran, and Saudi Arabia…when the time comes–the team will announce Chet’s full recovery from the back bruise he suffered in Game 4 in their own manner.

But enough of that. As you will see and hear from the video…Mitch Johnson is a high energy, positive coach who will probably emerge as one of the league’s best coaches as we see this season unwind. Plus, of course…he has Wemby. Don’t ever forget the First Axiom of Coaching: layer Makes the Coach. Always.

Chet…get well soon, buddy. You and JDub are both max guys now and even though Shai won’t say it–me and the real Michael Jordan will—you dudes are being paid ig boy dollars to help him through the 82-game marathon season so he can walk once the NBA Playoffs begin. Know what I mean?

Let the Emirates NBA Cup play begin as soon as this World Series concludes and Toronto has a parade.

Eternal love, the fake MJ.

I actually like the LA Dodgers. I’ve seen some of these guys play in Oklahoma City for the AAA Dodgers. There was that one night when my son took me to watch Clayton Kershaw pitch on a rehab assignment versus the Iowa Oaks which turned out to be one of the great sports nights of my life. My son then took me to a watch party with his friends to watch Floyd Merriweather fight the white trash cage fighter…what’s his name.

It was iconic. Merriweather won the fight, then I ended up at the Waffle House in north Oklahoma City at two in the morning. The place was packed with other people who watched the fight. I was the only white in the place, but fully embraced at the counter by the crowd when I announced my love for Merriweather.

It was a turning point moment for me as an older brown man. It was like an out of body experience or at the least being the feature on an Anthony Bourdain episode some place far away from Oklahoma. It was on that night, at that Waffle House, at that counter—that I realized MJ enjoyed being around black and brown people more than the phony white Christians who would eventually turn into the very same fake Trump Christians we witness today…but not as much in Oklahoma City and Norman as we do in Oklahoma’s other seventy-four 1920ish counties.

So as I’ve sat watching these incredibly tough Blue Jays oversome the loss of George Springer in Game 3…and the loss of Game 3 in the 18th inning—I must admit… I’ve fallen love with these guys for what they have done in these last two World Series games.

I wonder if Shai and Lu are as amped up as I am about the Jays winning their first World Series since 1993?

Who was president in 1993? It was Bill Clinton. Year one, first term. Who would have known the depths of hatred one blow job would have on the Republic. Who would have known Clinton, beyond the blow job, would leave the legacy of five succesive budget surpluses in his presidential, two-term wake.

Who would have known…Bill Clinton did what every Republican president since Reagan has never done even though they all are fake fiscal conservatives as well as being fake Christians as well.

Who would have known the revenue tax policies of Reagan, not Bush 41 so much, but certainly Bush 43, and Trump– would have the U.S. national debt at a staggering 37 trillion as I posit on the modest, award-winning okcthunderground.com blog.

So in closing…I have to admit even though I love the older Dodgers on the team like Clayton, Will Smith, and even Max Muncey—my competitive baseball heart is with the resilient Toronto Blue Jays to win this World Series and have one helluva parade which I’m sure would be something all Canadians and probably somewhere around 270 million Americans could use right now given the darkness of the Trump era as far as real Christian values, real compassion for other humans, and real fiscal responsibility go.

So good luck to the Toronto Blue Jays., and in the name of Joe Carter, Jr—finish the job!

Peace and eternity forever.

Go Jays!

Del Mar bound in January!!!

MJ

Putting aside the pathetic NBA gambling scandal story being broken last week…otherwise it was a stellar week for the NBA on Opening Week.

OKC’s Thunder as defending champs has proudly presented itself as the clear cut favorite going 3-0 last week without JDub, Caruso, and Kenrich. Add to the fact–Shai has been even better than last season’s MVP version with a 55 point effort on the road versus the injury depleted Indiana Pacers.

This is where I give Chet an encouraging pat on the back for his solid 31 point performance in Game 3 on the road against the Atlanta Hawks. This is exactly what Shai needs from Chet every third game or so, especially with JDub out. Shai got some much needed rest in the 4th period against the Hawks. Keep this in mind…Shai played a combined 92 minutes in the Thunder’s first two wins over Houston and Indiana.

Here’s what I would also say three games in…none of OKC’s three wins have come against a team I currently have in my Top 12. Houston doesn’t have a point guard and is 0-2, Indiana is not even remotely the same team they were last season on their run to the Finals, and Atlanta appears to have a very serious identity issue as a basketball team.

The Thunder are in Dallas tonight playing the confused Dallas Mavs who I do not currntly have in my Top 16 poll. Cooper Flagg’s NBA debut was in three words…horrific and borderline unwatchable. Hopefully, for his parents’ sake it will be better for him tonight versus the Thunder.

The Denver Nugget are 1-1 two games in with a tough road loss against the better than I thought they would be Golden State Warriors. Aaron Gordon in my mind has passed Jamal Murray as the Nuggets’ second most valuable player behind Nikola.

Another tough road game tonight for the Nuggets at Minny. Then the Nuggets have very four winnable games against the same type of competition the Thunder have faced their first four games. Cam Johnson struggled in his first game as a Nugget, then was much better agianst the Suns with a 15 point performance in Game 2.

Coach David Adelman doesn’t need Cam Johnson to be a star. He already has three of those in Nikola, Aaron, and Jamal. What Coach Adelman needs from Cam is 14-16 points a game and some game to game consistenty Michael Porter Jr. could never delievered when it mattered.

Otherwise…I think Denver game by game will look more comfortable as a team as they define their roles. Denver has not extended Peyton Watson…and I agree with that move. Peyton, buddy, this is Dr. El Prez in Deer Creek, Oklahoma home of the semi-iconic okcthunderground.com…let me give you some unsolicted advice—PICK IT UP IN HURRY IN A SIGNIFICANT MANNER.

In closing…don’t sleep on the youthful 3-0 San Antonio Spurs or the aged Golden State Warriors if Steph and Jimmy B stay healthy.

Peace, love, harmony, and mercy.

MJ

Pau like Alperin…was a dude. He was Kobe’s dude as well. Trust me on that one. And though Phil Jackson l;ost his composure there at the end with Pau….the Zenmaster loved him as well.

I miss Kobe so much. His takes on Trump and our country would be immensely interesting to me right now. Kobe is proof you don’t need a college degree or degrees to be a very smart intuned human being. I loved his book, movie, and political takes. We had/have similar tastes in those regards.

I love Nick Collison as well. Unfortunate for Nick he’s on the court on this video what out turns out be the No. 1 Pau Gasol career highlight.

I will be sure and correct that soon and put up my favorite Nick Collison career video as well.

Like Kobe… and even though Nick wasn’t a star, he’s one who’s voice I’ve always admired and listened to about what goes on the court and off of the basketball court.

I hope Chauncey Billups and Terry Rozier didn’t do something too bad to get on the wrong side of Donald Trump’s puppet FBI Director. I hope that’s not a tragic story for those guys and the NBA. But my head and heart thinks they’re probably in a very bad spot. It’ll be another depressing story to follow.

Thunder at Indiana tonight. I have no idea who’s healthy for the Thunder tonight. Caruso in concussion protocol…which I expected after seeing the play.

So this means from MJ’s take Chet, Lu Dort, Isaiah Hartenstein, Cason Wallace, Aaron Wiggins, Ajay, Isaiah Joe, maybe either of the rooks down there at the end of the bench…Alabama and Northwestern. Do your job, guys. No JDub or Caruso on the road. Let’s see what you guys have got. Superman can’t do this alone.

So we’ll see how it goes tonight in Indy.

Peace.

MJ

An exciting season opener pairing two teams from the West who most NBA followers have in their top four teams in the entire league. Houston will need to acquire a point guard to replace Fred van Fleet though if they truly aspire to beat OKC, Denver, Minnesota, and perhaps even Golden State in the West.

Reed Sheppard is a player I would put somewhat in the equivalency of maybe an Isaiah Joe type. I don’t want to be overly harsh on him, but for Houston to hold the O’Brien Trophy at the end of the day… the Rockets will need more from a real two-way point guard in the goal acheiving portion of April, May, and June.

Coach Ime Udoka says, ” We’ll handle the point guard sitiation by committee. MJ says, ” I don’t think so.”

Amen Thompson is a virtual star, but his job is shutting the best offensive players in the league down… as he did last night versus Shai until he got in foul trouble.

Kevin Durant is too old and last night in his senility called a timeout which his team didn’t have left and it should have cost his team the game right there and then. But I never boo Kevin… ever. If anything, KD should get a retroactive Nobel Peace Prize for playing alongside Russell Westbrook for eight seasons and not strangling Russell to death for his irresponsible-reckless point guard play. Kevin was prescient in his determination that Russell would never win a championship. You Thunder fans still booing… “Stop it—you look foolish a decade later.”

Jabari Smith… could maybe play some point guard here and there as a change of pace when the matchups might be in their favor. But in reality…Houston will need to pick up a solid veteran two-way point guard sometime this season.

Otherwise…the Rockets are legit and basically loaded. Alperin Segun is a DUDE and a burgeoning star who should be getting more talk from the national basketball people.

Who does he remind me of?

Maybe a more physical version of Pau Gasol. BTW…I think Pau would have played in this version of culturally purple Oklahoma City alongside of Shai and JDub.

I need to think some more on that one. He has size, toughness, smarts, the offensive instincts, and a three point shot improving as we witness the transformation of his game. Isaiah can’t handle this guy on the blocks, and neither can Chet. Maybe in a series it would need to be JDub.

Houston Rockets…four words–GET A POINT GUARD. It doesn’t need to be a star. Just someone solid.

I wrote before the game last night, ” Shai is Superman. That’s what MJ wrote. And lo and behold as Amen Thompson got to his fourth and fifth fouls…we witnessed Shai take control of the game and gently lead his teammates to victory on one of those nights when none of them really pulled their collective links on the chain minus perhaps Ajay Mitchell and at sporadic intervals.

Chet who is now on a max contract.Shai needs more from Chet. Sam Presti needs more from Chet. Chet’s max contract is the one part of the Thunder’s ‘open window’ current payroll construction which makes MJ a little nervous.

The Thunder are at Indiana on Thursday evening. I want see how the rest of the team minus Shai shoots the ball on the road without JDub in the lineup. I’m looking for guys like Lu, Caruso, Wiggins, Isaiah Hartenstein, Ajay, and maybe JWill and Isaiah Joe to knock down some threes and take the offensive pressure off of Shai.

Chet be a star, buddy. Be a maxlevel star. Play like a max guy both halves. Professional consistency is where your game nees to travel to take it to the next level. You don’t need to be Superman. Shai has that covered. But don’t play like a Rudy Gobert-like slug out there either.

I never watch much of the news anymore. It depresses me too much.

So excuse the SNL updates, but I need to try and keep smiling–one way or the other.

Peace.

MJ

I would say probably…yes–given how much better the Denver Nuggets should be if they avoid serious injuries during the season.

But I will add this hastily–there need to be nights when we witness both JDub and Chet play at Superman levels themselves.

Shai is the star. JDub is Robin who on certain nights will play at an MVP level himself. Chet is the extra piece. If he can stay healthy and go thru an entire season without serious injury—he’s the piece which potentially makes the Thunder a possible repeat team, but perhaps even a little more, maybe a mini-dynasty which could do what we’ve just witnessed the Kansas City Chiefs do these last six years or so.

Sam Presti has done his work.

As the Thunder are currently structured this franchise at the least has an open window to an NBA championship for at least six seasons.

Injuries and fate will play a part in this. Those two unpredictables always come into play. A general manager cannot control those two variables.

I have not watched either the the Thunder or Nuggets play a combined ten minutes of pre-season basketball.

MJ detests NBA pre-season games. Pre season games are for evaluation and in some cases conditioning.

This is by far the most amped I’ve been for an NBA season since I started my modest award winning underground NBA blog.

So…in closing—does Shai have to be Superman for the Thunder to repeat?

Yeah…there are and will still be times he needs to be Superman like George Springer was last night, but what I think most NBA bloggers like myself are looking for…is how far JDub and Chet move their games upward this season.

I’m ready for this to get going.

MJ

MJ is back from an idyllic week in Greenwood Village, Coloardo. It was perfect as we caught the immense and stunning autumn foilage at peak color. Just stunning the colors were of the maples, ash, gingko, spruce, pistache, oak, and aspen trees. And the burning bushes with their deep red are absolutely stunning. Don’t sleep on the burning bushes.

Plus, we spent a half day at the Denver Botanical Center on Thursday…and then ate at a vegan restaurant by the name of the Next Level Burger. It was right there on the strip at the University of Denver…and it was awesome. Not as good as the Red Cup in OKC, but awesome.

Robert was solid in his hockey game on Saturday and Aubrey did well at her gymnastics event as well. We are blessed as grandparents.

Throw into the mix the Sooners’ complete physical domination of South Carolina on the road and the Denver Broncos remarkable fourth quarter rally from a late 19-0 deficit to beat the NY Giants on the game’s final play by a score of 33-32. And of course… another win for my Packers and it was a great football week-end as well.

What more could an old ‘iconic’ NBA blogger ask for?

Plus…it was nice to see the O State students took my advice and diversed their in-game antics to include not only dancing partially nude, but to include some include jumping human bananas as well.

I like it. I admire their creativity. This is what life is all about..that being, responding to adversity. How were any of these young people to know O State would would self-administer the death penalty to their own football program by allowing Mike Gundy to return this season?

These youngsters in Stillwater did nothing wrong. They and their parents thought or assumed they would be attending a school which played Division I football.

So MJ’s advice to these younsters is the same…partial nudity, the bananas were a nice touch, now maybe some sort of dangerous live animal like a lion, a tiger, or a bear would add to the diversion to what is actually transpiring on the field.

What a nice moment last night for George Springer and the entire country of Canada as GS’s 7th inning dinger propelled the Jays to their first World Series since 1993 when Joe Carter Jr. went yard off of Mitch ‘Wild Thing’ Williams with the most famous walk-off homer of all-time.

I must admit..it was emotional last night for me…thinking back to my father’s close relationship to Joe Sr. who became my fishing mentor as a youngster. I will admit–I teared up a little. I was 36 years of age when Joe Jr. went yard off of Wild Thing. Mitch Williams was never the same as a major league pitcher after allowing that homer.

The Thunder open their defense of the NBA championship tonight with a home opener versus the Houston Rockets minus Fred van Fleet.

I’m more than excited about this NBA season.

MJ is pumped.

Eternal peace.

MJ

Despite OU’s feeble performance in the second half of the Red River Rivalry…life goes on. Yesterday’s NFL games all went the right way for me as Green Bay beat a punchless Bengal team, Baker Mayfield’s amazing Bucs improved to 5-1, and the Denver Broncos leveled their record at 3-3.

I’m not living and dying OU football this SEC season. . It’s up to them. They need to go to South Carolina this week-end and basically block better and tackle better in space. If the Sooners can win this game they’d improve to 6-1, 2-1, and have Ole Miss coming to Norman the next week-end. It’s an amazingly tough gauntlet of seven games. So put the RRR away and my advice would be to not listen to local talk radio. Anotherwords—shut out the outside noise and become a more mentally intuned team.

I was young once, and I have to admit…I did smile when I saw what these kids did at the weekly O State Big 12 blowout loss. Yeah, I mean—it is what it is. If you’re going to attend these games–then I would say keep going topless to deflect attention from the games themselves. Have the women do it as well… that might induce some national interest in the program and a potential sugar daddy donor. Make it kind of like the Rocky Horror Show and conduct an entirely different event taking place in the stands while the game plays itself out.

Drink copious amounts of cold beer, and somehow find something entertaining and fulfilling about this football season. But don’t drink and drive though. Just have a massive area designated for passing out after the game.

There’s no one else left to fire. You’re lucky interim coach Doug Meacham is actually still attending the games. Turn this adversity into something spiritual and positive if you can. Don’t let this define you. Mike Gundy created this bullshit….let it define him.

This song came on today while I was working out. It hit me just right as I was winding down the last fiteen minutes of my very serious cardio/mobility workout. The student stadium organizers at O State might consider using it in one of their routines this week-end versus Cincy. I forgot what a great song this was and still is. Very nice beat.

I’m outta here. Greenwood Village, Colorado bound to see the Fam, Perk, and Tucker… and of course enjoy the natural beauty of the Rockies.

Eternal kindness, love, and peace.

MJ

Not much from the Sooners in the second half yesterday as they led 6-3 going into halftime, then basically were dominated in the second half by the Longhorns.

John Mateer played, but did not play well as he was intercepted three times and almost a fourth time on a backwards pass which was ruled a lateral.

OU did not create a single turnover and only sacked Arch Manning twice. OU gave up a punt return touchdown as well in the fourth period as the wheels came off for the previously unbeaten Sooners.

Adding to problems was OU’s poor clock management in the last minute of the first half cost them a field goal which would have increased their lead to 9-3 at the half.

In the third period, Texas scored its only offensive touchdown from scrimmage on a bust from OU’s Kendal Doby who left a Texas receiver wide open in the back of the endzone on a third and long.

Texas definitely won the line of scrimmage defensively and OU averaged a meager 1.9 yards per rushing attempt and sacked John Mateer four times.

Long story short from me.. if OU wants to finsih 9-3 or even 8-4 Bill Bedenbaugh’s offensive line needs to pick it up in a big, sigfificant way next week-end at South Carolina.

OU’s next six games are all tough. There is not a single game on the remaining slate where I would see OU as a favorite minus perhaps the South Carolina game… and that will be a tough, tough road game.

OU’s blocking and tackling were both poor in this game. It was by far OU’s worst game tackling of the season in the entire second half. Way too many yards after the first contact by the Soners.

Hence…I in no way as the editor of content on this blog can play the OU Greatest Physical Hits of All-Time on the blog this week.

We have a butterfly mini-park out here on the Deer Creek mini-ranch—so instead of brooding over the Sonners’ poor perfromance yesterday…I’ve been watching the monarchs today. When I was younger…I in no way could have handled a Sooner loss in this manner, but at sisty-eight years of age and a Stage 4 cancer survivor–you learn to modify the order of importance of things in your life.

Would I trade a half day of watching the monarchs for a Sooner win? Of course I would… probably. But since that hasn’t been offered to MJ–I’ll just work my way through the loss in a calmer manner.

Eternal peace.

MJ

My 2-1-1 Packers were idle after their defensive meltdown in a 40-40 tie to the Dallas Cowboys last week. That Packer defense needs to figure some things out in a hurry given the way the Detroit Lions are now playing. Detroit in fact…is now the hottest team in the NFC…or maybe the entire NFL for that matter.

I don’t watch or write much about NBA pre-season games on my blog. I cover games when they’re real games and not just evaluation tools for the eighty-two NBA regular season marathon. Hence…my NBA coverage is in idle mode for the most part currently.

Although I did watch maybe five minutes of the Thunder’s Monday night game versus the Dallas Mavs. My only observation is Michael Cage is still talking way too much and Paris isn’t getting the air time she deserves.

It was an amazing Week 5. The upstart young Denver Broncos stunned the defending NFL champ Eagles 21-17 on the road after trailing 17-3 entering the fourth period. This may or may not be a wake-up call for the Eagles to get the to ball Saquon Barkley and take advantage of his skills. The Eagles appear to have a bit of a Super Bowl championship hangover.

Same could be said for the Kansas City Chiefs who likewise blew a fourth quarter lead on the road to the likewise upstart young Jacksonville Jaguars by a score of 31-28.

And then earlier in the week…the upstart young New England Patriots took care of the heavily thought of Buffalo Bills.

Add to the thought the fact the Baltimore Ravens….. who many predicted to upend the Chiefs i the AFC have been brutal defensively to date.

Hence…my NFL Tier I-Top Six Poll reads this way heading into Week 6:

1 Detroit Lions

2 Philadelphia Eagles

3 Buffalo Bills

4 Kansas City Chiefs

5 Tampa Bay Bucs and their frontrunning MVP QB Baker Mayfield

6 Green Bay Packers

That’s it for MJ as far as the NFL goes heading into Week 6. Hope your favorite team is giving you some hope and thrills so far this season.

Peace. MJ