Author: Mike

With OKC missing both Steven Adams (ankle) and Terrance Ferguson (back spasms) the Thunder still did what they needed to do against a 20-30 Orlando team which is going nowhere. Just win and that’s exactly what the Thunder did with a 126-117 win on Tuesday night.

That’s the mantra right now in OKC as the Thunder won their sixth straight and improved to 32-18 as the goals for the league’s highest pay-rolled team are in reset mode with 32 games remaining in the regular season.

These Thunder aren’t going to catch the Warriors, but the realistic reset should be to see if Oklahoma City can catch Denver and possibly capture the No. 2 seed in the West. Denver holds a 2-0 series lead head to head with the Thunder so far this season, but still, that should be the goal for the Thunder.

Orlando isn’t much and it shows why every year it was wise of Billy Donovan to change his mind about coaching the Magic and taking the Thunder job instead. But that doesn’t matter. In the midst of an 82 game season and being on the road without two starters any team in the league would take this road win which was played in an arena which looked like it had more Thunder fans than Magic fans in attendance.

MVP candidate Paul George dropped 31 first half points and finished with 35 points. Streaky sixth man Dennis Schroder picked up the scoring slack with 18 of his 21 points in the 4th period when the Thunder finally corralled a Magic team which doesn’t appear to have any plan with what it’s doing with its basketball team. Maybe Howard Schultz could buy the Magic and move them back to Seattle and nobody would notice…especially the fans in Orlando.

Former Thunder backup point guard DJ Augustin starts at the point for these Magic and that in in itself should tell you where the Magic are as an NBA franchise currently. Augustin came to the Thunder with Kyle Singler in the dubious Reggie Jackson trade with Detroit. Add to the fact, DJ Augustin was Kevin Durant’s point guard for Kevin’s one year of college ball played in Austin at Texas. So many ironic little twists here and there. We have no idea if DJ Augustin is coming to Nick Collison’s jersey retirement ceremony or if that’s okay with Berry Tramel, but I’m guessing that would be a pass for DJ. BTW, I met DJ after the one game Durant played in Norman versus OU. Very nice guy.

Russell Westbrook had a nice game, but again he knows what he can do physically with DJ any time he wants to at the rim or in the paint. This isn’t rocket science. But still for Westbrook, it was one of his steadier games of late with 23 points scored on 12 shots.

Nerlens Noel started in place of Steven Adams and played around 34 minutes of very solid ball. Again, in Noel, the Thunder have a unique defensive talent as the No. 7 guy in their rotation. Just me thinking out loud here, but if I’m Sam Presti…. I’d take the money I’m going to save from not having Alex Abrines on my payroll next season, plus the money I’m going to save from redoing Andre Roberson’s option year and I’m going to do my best to keep Nerlens Noel in Oklahoma City.

Wild Thing Jr. (Diallo) started in place of Terrance Ferguson and was okay. But it was stunning in watching him play these minutes how in comparison how good Terrance Ferguson has been of late. Terrance Ferguson has turned himself into a ball player. So in essence that has made up for the Jeremy Lamb and Dion Waiters experiments at the shooting guard position. In fact, for me, Sam Presti finally finding his two way shooting guard is right there along with Paul George’s excellent play as the second most important storyline for the Thunder fifty games in this season.

Jerami Grant was excellent. I love Jeremy Grant and he’s always got a spot on my basketball team as long as I’m the GM. So versatile. Jerami Grant is my third most important storyline for the Thunder this season.

I give Billy Donovan good marks because even with the two scratches he didn’t go very long with Abrines and basically played with eight players. I felt like I was watching a Mike D’Antoni coached team. Keep staggering the bench lineups. That’s my fourth storyline.

The Thunder now head south to Miami for a game against the Heat. I think Dion Waiters is still playing for the Heat last time I checked. I have no idea if he’s attending Nick Collison’s jersey ceremony, but if he is we just have to hope Berry Tramel is okay with it. It’s so interesting to follow the former Thunder players and how their careers have panned out.

But in closing, we clearly know how Kevin Durant’s career panned out and unless Berry Tramel for some reason which I don’t understand has chased off Durant from coming…he’s still planning on attending Nick’s well earned night.

Now…in some circles, I guess this ceremony will either give NBA general managers the green light to pursue Durant this summer or pass on the NBA’s second or third best player who never in his time in OKC did anything wrong except decide to leave when he became free to do so under the rules of the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement.

Moving forward…the Thunder in Miami on Friday in a game the Heat need to win to stay as the No. 7 seed in the East.

My god… I knew the Daily Oklahoman was an empty vessel as far intellectual curiosity, balance of thought, and sound overall writing, but Barry Tramel my lone ray of hope for this market ended all that today with a column on Kevin Durant’s return to Oklahoma City.

I feel violated. Almost ill after reading Tramel’s jaded take on Durant’s return for Nick Collison’s jersey ceremony.

The gist of Tramel’s piece suggests that Durant has to go to the pretense of all this to reinvent his reputation so as some NBA owner will offer him another island full of money to come play in another city. Are you kidding me?

Kevin Durant doesn’t need to return to Oklahoma City to vindicate his current reputation heading into this off season after he wins his third ring in three years with the Warriors. And just so this hasn’t escaped Barry Tramel—Kevin Durant is the reigning two time NBA Finals MVP.

He’ll land on his feet even if he and Draymond Green never blow kisses to each other again on Instagram.

Rest assured in the mercenary world of the NBA… the other twenty-eight teams would take Kevin Durant without blinking….especially the Hall of Fame coach in San Antonio who needs his next Tim Duncan. Rule No. 1 of Coaching…’Player Makes the Coach.’

I don’t lay awake at night worrying about Durant or Westbrook or Paul George or any of the stars in the NBA. I think any player in the NBA pretty well has the money part of life figured out compared to the rest of us.

Kevin Durant doesn’t have to rebuild his reputation. He didn’t slug a white trash female student in a Norman bar. He didn’t punch his pregnant girlfriend in the stomach in the midst of a bad night. He didn’t get busted on a drug test or get pulled over for a DUI as best I know. He didn’t drag his girlfriend down a flight of stairs by her braids. He didn’t get caught on a cell phone punching his girlfriend in an elevator.

Here’s what Kevin Durant did… he took a phone call from Jerry West during his recruitment in the Hamptons and listened to what one of the smartest people involved in the NBA said to him. He heard from Jerry West’s vast arsenal of basketball knowledge why if Durant stayed in Oklahoma City with Russell Westbrook he’d probably never win a ring. That was Kevin Durant’s primary crime albeit some immaturity on how he handled the exit.

Now if we live in Oklahoma City and go to bed wearing our Little Nick Gallo official Thunder footie jammies with No. 0 on the back, then I guess we’ll never come to terms with Kevin Durant’s reason for leaving Oklahoma City.

This is simple. If I’m full of shit then Russell Westbrook and the Thunder only have to do one thing to prove me wrong. That being, finish as the No. 2 seed in the West and either walk the walk or be quiet.

I’m embarrassed for Barry Tramel.

I heard this and smiled as only an older man can. Time heals wounds or at least we hope that’s what happens.

Kevin Durant is coming back to Oklahoma City in the midst of his own season with Golden State to attend the jersey retirement ceremony for Nick Collison on March 20th.

Very nice from all parties concerned.

Enough with the angst and I write that especially to the fans in OKC. Get over it. You look foolish still booing Kevin Durant. I was pissed for about six months and I even refer to him affectionately on here as Cup Cake still, but stop it with the Kevin Durant hate.

He was a free agent, not a slave bound to a redneck city which BTW appears to be growing up a little even in the age of Donald Trump. It’s funny many of my Republican friends are now admitting to me in private they’re ashamed they voted for Trump. How could you blame any young black man for leaving this place at the height of his prime to explore another perspective, another city. Now—I understand it was somewhat weak to do the exploring with Steph and Klay, but life goes on.

And let’s be honest, I know from what Russell Westbrook says around the fringes is that like me he thinks Trump is a douchebag grifter as well. I’m guessing Nick believes the same as well. My point in this is to say as Kevin has lived thru this he’s not the same person he was two and half years ago. He took some heavy heat for his move to Oakland. But it’s his life, his journey as a man, and at the end of the day it doesn’t matter that a bunch of white people in Oklahoma City think booing Kevin Durant somehow brings adult closure to any of this.

It doesn’t. It makes the city look like a bunch of dumbasses with no overall life or big picture perspective.

I’ll probably cry. I cry at chick flicks and I’m sure my eyes will be moist. As a fan, I lived this with these guys with my fan heart on my sleeve.

Life moves on. We’re all on our own unique journey. Kevin Durant is no different. He just made a decision people in Oklahoma City didn’t like.

I’m glad he’s coming back.

I do hope Kevin leaves Oakland after winning this third ring with Steph and Klay this upcoming summer. But I don’t mean that as a way he should come back to play for the Thunder. Instead, I’d like to see Kevin go to Toronto or Denver or Portland and take his journey to another frontier.

Maybe at he end, he could return and play a season in Oklahoma City just for closure.

Don’t make yourself a stranger, Kevin.

Donald Trump and I finally agree on something, that being–former Seattle Sonics owner Howard Schultz has no business running for President of the United States as an independent.

I laughed when I saw the Scott Pelly piece on Sixty Minutes. This is the same Howard Schultz who as owner of the Seattle Super Sonics bailed out on his city of Seattle by selling the team to Oklahoma City’s ownership group headed by Clay Bennett and Aubrey McClendon. He couldn’t get a new arena built in Seattle after five years of haggling. David Stern became weary of the situation with the franchise, and then Schultz sold the franchise to a group from Oklahoma he knew had virtually no chance of getting an arena built in the Seattle area.

Then to save face, he filed a lawsuit against the Clay Bennett group after they of course failed to get financial support from Seattle and moved the team to Oklahoma as every fourth grader in Oklahoma knew they would do upon the purchase of the team.

So…this Howard Schultz is the guy who is gong to navigate the complex problems of the presidency?

I find that amusing.

Trump may actually have this one right in that I can’t imagine the coffee billionaire is tough enough to handle the job. If I were to vote for a billionaire independent maybe I’d vote for Michael Bloomberg or maybe either Bill or Melinda Gates, but in no way would I take Howard Schultz seriously.

So answer me this, if you as one of the most visible CEO’s in Seattle can’t get an arena built in your own hometown, then explain to me how you’d get anything accomplished dealing with the American Freedom Caucus.

Good luck with that.

If I were Howard Schultz I’d just focus on the foundation work and leave 2020 to someone who might have a clue as to how to handle the American Freedom Caucus and start getting some things done in this country again.

I’m not sure who that person is or if one exists, but I’m fairly certain it isn’t Howard Schultz.

I made a point of watching all Eight Dwarfs this week-end, plus the Golden State Warriors so I could come to some conclusion on if anybody could hang with the Warriors. My conclusion is no and in reality I see no real separation of all that much within these eight teams who are the cream of the crop to challenge Golden State.

Each of the eight have a star with the possible exception of Denver unless you feel Paul Milsap can lead a team to an NBA championship. Toronto has Kawhi and Kyle Lowery…. the Sixers have Butler, Embiid, and Simmons…. the Celtics have Kyrie, Tatum, and Al Horford…and the Bucks have the Greek Freak.

In the West after the Warriors the star pecking order goes Houston with Harden, Chris Paul, and Clint Capela… the OKC Thunder with Paul George, Russell Westbrook, and Steven Adams… the Jazz with Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert… and the Denver Nuggets with Paul Milsap and Nikola Jokic.

Based on what I saw this week at this juncture of the season with the exception of LeBron, Chris Paul, and Capela being hurt the Thunder have on paper as good of an argument as any of the eight. But with the Thunder it will be all about Westbrook and can he corral his overall game when we hit March and April. NFL teams don’t advance with their QB throwing picks and NBA teams don’t advance with up and down point guard play.

But if you held a gun to my head today and made me rank the Eight Dwarfs…I’d go:

1 Houston

2 Boston

3 Toronto

4 Oklahoma City

5 Milwaukee

6 Philadelphia

7 Utah Jazz

8 Denver Nuggets

* I can’t rank the Lakers until I see proof LeBron will be ready to go when the games start meaning something. We’ll circle that for the time being and see if LeBron is a hundred per cent for the long haul.

Since the biblical ending in those waning seconds in Philadelphia when the waters parted and Paul George carried the Thunder past the Sixers with that improbable rescue—something else has happened…namely the Thunder have gently become PG’s team or at least until Russell Westbrook somewhat finds a balance with his shot and being the father of newborn twins.

You can see it in the faces of the Thunder players. It’s a look in their eyes. A calmness in Paul George’s play which is the polar opposite of the whirling dervish Wild Thing. Like paternal order has overtaken the team since Philly. This could have only been Paul George’s decision. His play to put this team where they should be given the roster Sam Presti put in place. And to Paul George’s credit he’s doing it with a subtle kindness which exudes respect to Russell Westbrook. But it had to happen….and Paul George had to be the person to do it.

The Thunder won their 5th straight including the Philadelphia Miracle by outclassing the Milwaukee Bucks by a score of 118-112 inside the Peake on Sunday evening. Paul George was not only the best Thunder player on the floor, he might have been the best NBA player in action on Sunday. I’ve never seen Paul George better. Total command…those are the two words I’d use to describe his play.

The PG line went 36 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals, +18, 8-12 from 3pg range. He was simply the best player on the floor and he knew it.

It was clearly one of the Thunder’s best games of the year, yet I have to write they beat the first place Bucks on a night when Russell Westbrook’s broken shot went 5-20. The notion this Thunder team could win against a contender for being the second best team in the NBA behind the Warriors on a Westbrook shooting performance like this bodes well.

OKC’s defense was good. It was smart. It looked like they had a plan to harass Giannis Antumpoopoo (Oklahoma spelling) every time he touched the ball. The Greek Freak scored 27 points, but he had seven shots blocked and went 8-22 to get those points.

Jerami Grant, Paul George, Terrance Ferguson, Nerlens Noel and Russell all at various times used their length and athleticism to harass the Greek.

All told six Thunder players scored in double figures. All five starters scored in double figures. Only one Thunder player had a negative +/- rating and it was Russell Westbrook at -11.

Billy Donovan used nine players and all nine contributed. The rotations looked like post season rotations. The minute distributions were fine, but at some point Nerlens Noel may need some more minutes to help this team defensively. He was a stud on Sunday night and it can’t be a coincidence the Thunder’s resurgence came when he came back from the nasty blow he took to his head.

Even if Andre Roberson can come back, I’m not sure how Billy Donovan would do it given the defensive and offensive play of Grant, Ferguson, and Noel. All three can defend and make free throws.

Sam Presti finally has his two way shooting guard. He also has a defensive stopper in Noels to come off the bench. He has a sixth man in Dennis Schroder And he has a Jerami Grant who literally gets better every time he takes the floor. These four players players give the Thunder a chance to keep getting better. Plus, Patterson and Nader are giving the Thunder solid minutes at the No. 8 and No. 9 spots in the rotation. Nine is a good way to go that way Donovan can stagger the bench with starters.

Did you notice Ersan Ilyasova on the floor tonight for the Bucks? Not much. That was who Presti traded to obtain Jerami Grant.

It was a good night for Sam Presti.

The Thunder improve to 31-18 and now hit the road for three games starting in Orlando.

When you look at the NBA right now there’s the Warriors and then maybe seven other teams which behind them have the rosters to make this upcoming post season interesting to a certain degree. As in—who can compete with this all-star team in Oakland to a certain degree.

If Houston ever gets completely healthy with Chris Paul and Clint Capela coming back and with the addition of Kenneth Faried… I would have the Rockets in the West as the team to give the Warriors the best test. Them maybe….at this point the surprising Denver Nuggets, the Lakers if LeBron is at full speed, then our seldom urgent Thunder, and then perhaps the Utah Jazz. New Orleans is far and away the West’s biggest disappointment. Give some props to Sacramento for a nice uptick this season as the Kings appear to be a young team on the rise along with the Nuggets.

In the East the stories have been in Milwaukee and Toronto as first year coaches and two MVP candidates in Giannis Antetukounmpo and Kawhi Leonard have made the East the more compelling watch so far this season excluding of course… the Warriors. Boston and Philly should make the semis in the East as well.

I don’t get hyped up for the Thunder as I used to. Don’t get me wrong, I very much appreciate the talent ownership has put in place twenty minutes from my front door, but I’m enjoying the NBA this season more from an overall league viewpoint than just watching the Thunder. I’m watching more NFL and NHL games and keeping up more with Lon Krueger’s OU team…. and of course OU football, the Cleveland Browns, and the Colorado Rockies.

I don’t even hate the Warriors anymore. I’m over that. In fact–I admire what they’ve done. They created a dynasty in the collective bargaining agreement era in the NBA. They play smart. They play hard as the goal achieving portion comes into view. How can you not admire that?

So–in reality, it’s Golden State and let’s say around eight dwarfs this NBA season. And in Oklahoma City this evening we get to see two of the dwarfs meet in a game which might tell who is the best team in the East, but not the West. Because we know who those dudes are.

I have to admit–I like the way the Warriors have handled the whole Trump thing…as in disdaining him. I know that could never happen in Oklahoma City because ownership would endorse Joseph Stalin if he were the GOP candidate, but in all candor, this has lessened my angst towards the Warriors…as in I like them and respect them as a team even with all the Cupcake-Draymond drama.

Here’s the Warriors meeting with Barack Obama after their first championship at the White House meeting. Since then thru Ambassador Steph Curry the Warriors have met with Obama outside of the White House after their other two championships. Just earlier this month the Warriors met with Obama after they played the Wizards in D.C. Like the Warriors–I’d never waste my time having lunch with Donald Trump and would consider it an honor to have lunch with Barack Obama even though I’m not a liberal per se. I respect and admire the man. I’d love to ask him for his insights on Westbrook. But more than that I’d like to thank him for his service to our country. Obviously, I’m not alone feeling that as Barack Obama is by a wide margin in public opinion polls the most admired man in America two years after he left the White House.

Here’s the Warriors last visit to the White House before Barack Obama’s departure.

A lot of NBA fans have the Warriors vs. the Celtics as their projected NBA Finals matchup and Saturday night’s game in Boston gave us a preview of what that might look like if the Celtics emerge in the East.

Boston will be challenged to get out of the East given what we see from Toronto, Milwaukee and perhaps Philadelphia. So we’ll have to see if they can get there. But in this game we saw a Boston team which pushed Golden State to the brink, but couldn’t make the plays when they had to down the stretch. My feeling is if the Warriors stay healthy there won’t be any team in the East or West who pushes them to a Game 7 this post season.

The Warriors were and should be even more with DeMarcus Cousins on a basketball planet of their own. The only team which can beat Golden State is….Golden State. Period.

The Warriors with Curry, Durant, and Thompson combine three of the best shooters the game has ever seen on the same team.

I don’t see a team in the West who can hang with them when the Warriors focus and put on their serious game faces.

We’re watching basketball excellence. A team on another plane which is not only talented, but is well coached and still hungry and plays with an edge when they need an edge.

It was a great game to watch, but in reality we all knew how it was going to end.

Tenth win a row for the streaking Warriors who own the NBA….the West, the East, and everything in between.

Perhaps if Ann Coulter didn’t overestimate her value to the world she at some point might be able to grow up and resemble a human being. Maybe she should read Michelle Obama’s book as a personal intervention of sorts.

Predictably, Anne Coulter insulted Donald Trump after his clueless course with meaningful immigration reform. I find it odd though she insulted Bush 41 as a way of rightfully calling out Trump for what are his so obvious and many shortcomings.

For Anne Coulter….who I’m sure like Donoald Trump never served anyone but herself.

The world we live in. As we observe the world in correlation with the 2020 presidential election, wouldn’t it be a novel concept to possibly elect a person who actually understands the world as a whole.