NBA Restarts Season

After a five month delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic the NBA rebooted its season on Thursday night with its first two games which count since early March.

So much has happened to our country since then. It all seems beyond surreal. A pandemic bungled by what once was the world’s greatest nation which boasts the world’s greatest health care system. An economic depression with second quarter numbers showing a 33% decrease in GDP. George Floyd’s murder by white police officers on video for the world to see.

For me….it’s stunning how far off the cliff in the last six months or so since the impeachment trial our country has fallen.

Yet here we are in late July with the NBA getting back to what they do without fans in the arenas.

This goes way beyond basketball. This goes to the fiber of what’s currently left standing of American culture…of Amecian life as we knew it.

Hockey reboots next week while baseball struggles with its restart due to the Marlins fiasco in Florida.

College football doesn’t know what its doing nor do parents in relation to their children going back to school.

It’s all awkward and new for all of us regardless of age, sex, or race.

But at least its a start. A reboot of sorts.

Kind of.

Shaun Livingston’s Amazing Comeback Story

Shaun actually played in Oklahoma City for part of the 2009 season. It has always somewhat surprised me he got away from Sam Presti as a solid backup guard considering all the problems Oklahoma City has had over the years with quality depth at the guard position.

It’s a great story of never giving up on your dream. Much like Andre’s story.

I’ve always wondered if Shaun would have fit in with Harden and Nick Collison on the bench unit in 2012. If he would have given the Thunder a little more than Derek Fisher did as the eighth man in the rotation. Harden, Collison, and Shaun would have been an interesting bench threesome.

I loved watching the two man game of Harden and Collison that season. The synergy between those two was truly remarkable. I think Shaun would have been smart enough to morph his game with Harden and Nick.

That next season came Kevin Martin and Jeremy Lamb back to Oklahoma City in the Harden trade.

What if Shaun had become a Thunder bench fixture in 2012…would Durant and Westbrook have won a ring in Oklahoma City?

So many what ifs in sports and in life.

Hope you enjoy this amazing video. Close your eyes before the injury. It’s gruesome.

Tomorrow I’d like to talk about this Thunder’s team remarkable 23-5 record away from home in their last twenty-eight games not played inside of the Chesapeake Energy Arena. From a Vegas perspective…does this make the Thunder a legit contender with their being no home court games being played this playoff season?

If home court doesn’t mean anything then why are the stats so dauntingly in the favor of the home team in Game 7’s in NBA history?

Smerconish Saturday on Wednesday

I passed on Smerconish this Saturday with all the excitement of the Andre Roberson story unfolding in front of Thunder Nation. I thought to myself this Doug Jones video can wait because since the Daily Thunder apparently doesn’t have one big boy storyteller on board of that abysmal blog of millennial nothingness…someone in the market besides Berry and Jenni should write about Andre’s remarkable comeback.

It is stunning to read fourth grade level content on what I guess is the No. 1 Thunder blog as far as traffic. But then again…Mary Fallin and Kevin Stitt have occupied the governor’s mansion in this state. It’s that Oklahoma thing. Wanting to be bad. The Peter Principle on steroids.

So this is Democrat Doug Jones the sitting U.S. Senator in Alabama who filled the seat after Jeff Sessions somehow ascended to become the Attorney General of the United States.

To me…the Jones vs. Tommy Tuberville race in Alabama is one I will be watching closely.

Usually…in states like Alabama and Oklahoma the GOP could literally nominate a dirt clod and be assurred of winning the office.

Clearly…Tuberville being the Trump sychophant in this race puts him in the favorite’s role, but still, Jones is a smart politician and the one who probably should hold the seat.

Tuberville has nothing on his resume which qualifies him for this position. He has the same qualifications as Mike Gundy.

Should Mike Gundy be a United States Senator?

The only difference is Gundy has a winning record in Big 12 play at O State while Tuberville was 13-17 in conference games while being the successor to Mike Leach at Texas Tech.

Tuberville was a solid defensive coordinator at Texas A&M under R.C Slocum… then landed the Auburn head coaching job where he did some nice things before Saban made it clear who the best ball coach in the state was and still is.

In 2004…Auburn went a perfect 13-0 and in reality should have played USC in the national championship game.

But I’m not sure how that makes him qualified to be a U.S. Senator other than the fact he licks Trump’s balls every chance he gets…. just like Terry Neese does in Oklahoma.

I thought Jones’ speech was one of the better ones I heard during the impeachment trial of Trump. I called his office and told his aides as much.

Anyway…we have Thunder basketball this week-end with the Thunder vs. the Utah Jazz so this was Smerconish Saturday today….because ostensibly even though I cover the world like CNN on here…I do love Thunder hoops.

Thunder Beat Portland To Go 3-0 in Exhibition Bubble Season

Very much a blah exhibition game. CP3, Nerlens, and Terrance didn’t play for the Thunder. For Portland the two big guns Damian and CJ didn’t play either.

I was very impressed in these three games by SGA, Bazely, and Dort. Bazely is going to be a player once he does the weight room work and gets more confidence in his overall game.

OKC plays Utah in their first of eight seeding games on Saturday. On a neutral bubble floor I would think Vegas will have OKC as a 1 to 1.5 point favorite. How Vegas handicaps these bubble games will be interesting.

Here’s a little vintage Nick to get me into the proper mindset for this week-end.

It’s time to put Trump in the trash and get myself into an August hoops/hockey mindset.

The weather is gorgeous in Oklahoma and feels like late September…so why not. 8.7″ of rain in the gauge in July so far at the Deer Creek Weather Station. Even the usually arid OKC airport has 6.2″ for the month as well.The flora is spectacular.

Pauli captured an opossum by the gold fish pond then let it go thinking she had killed it until it ran off into the forest. That was more exciting than this Portland exhibition game. I guess we need to keep an eye on the Clippers COVID-wise as it was reported Lou Williams has been slipping off to strip bars out of the bubble late at night.

You won’t read that one on the Daily Thunder. Presti won’t allow it.

I’m ready for some basketball.

Andre Roberson Exit Interview–2019

This was last April just after Portland ended OKC’s brief presence in the first round of the playoffs. We should all remember how Damian Lillard pretty much did whatever he wanted to do without Andre available to guard him.

I will forever remember this series because my cousin Jan flew from Seattle to Oklahoma City with CJ McCollum’s father sitting next to her on the plane. She invited Mr. McCollum to have Easter dinner with us, but he dined with his son and the team instead. Which of course…I would have done as well.

Jan is the only relative in my generational peer group in my family who like me didn’t vote for the grifter human junk bond Trump. I’m proud of Jan for this, not so proud for those who voted for Trump. Jan works for Bill and Melinda Gates and our family is extremely proud of her.

As for those in my family who voted for the grifter human junk bond…you obviously put little value into the right to vote and the consequences of voting in a responsible manner. Grow up a little and see the big picture of life.

That was a Lincoln Project ad. Now back to Andre who I know didn’t vote for the rogue con artist hustler pimp Donald Trump as well.

Listening to Andre is a lot like listening to Nick Collison talk NBA basketball. I could listen to Nick talk the nuances of basketball for hours. With time…Andre will fill this roll for me as Nick once did either as a player or a coach.

I hope Nick is well and his daughter is doing great things in her life.

One day at a time, Andre. Be well, buddy.

Lincoln Project Ad: Trumpfeld

This is Donald being President George Costanza with Chris Wallace.

God bless white people in Oklahoma, Alabama, Louisiana, and Kentucky.

Andre Roberson’s Clutch Threes Lead Thunder Past Philly in Second Scrimmage

Andre Roberson’s storybook return provided another feel good chapter as his two late clutch threes pushed the Thunder past the Sixers by a score of 102-97 on Sunday.

Roberson played meaningful minutes as the Thunder came all the way back from being down 24 points to improve to 2-0 in the preseason segment of NBA bubble ball.

The young Thunder players looked good as well with SGA, Darius Bazely, and Lu Dort all showing flashes of the Thunder’s future.

A nice moment for Andre Roberson as his long journey back to the NBA hardwood showed us something we hadn’t seen before in his Thunder career. Namely…Andre calmly and with confidence stroking two huge threes with the game on the line.

Very nice.

OKC’s next scrimmage is against the Portland Trailblazers on Tuesday at 5:00pm and will be televised by Fox.

What a nice thing to be able to schedule your early Tuesday evening around a Thunder-Trailblazer game in late July on a cool rainy day.

This is kind of Andre’s song with me. Don’t give up, buddy.

Major League Baseball Players Take a Knee on Opening Day

The Washington Nationals and New York Yankees took a knee..as did the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants before their season openers.

It’s a shame Trump divided the country when Colin Kaepernick made his intial protests in regards to social injustice.

It was never about the lack of patriotism or disregard for the national anthem.

It was about black people being murdered by police officers.

I think back to the video I posted of Tim Scott the black senator from South Carolina stating he was stopped seven times for driving too nice of a car in the wrong neighborhood.

I also think back to Trump’s inaugural address in which he toted the Steve Bannon/Steven Miller racist bullshit to give his base what they wanted.

The whole thing is just so sad and pathetic. So completely irresponsible.

There are 330 million Americans. Sixty million voted for Trump. Two hundred and seventy million didn’t vote for the founder of the poser Trump University.

This from the president who’s daddy Fred Trump got his son some strings pulled to avoid serving his country because of bone spurs.

What a truely courageous president we have.

Colin Kaepernick kneeled and got blackballed by the NFL. Donald Trump lied about his physical fitness to serve his country and became our 45th president.

I wonder why black people across this country feel there’s a double standard.

Andre Roberson’s Ten Greatest Plays

I don’t know if these are Andre’s ten greatest plays, but it’s a sampling of what Andre Roberson can do on a basketball court as an athlete with a unique skill set.

Andre played some against the Celtics on Friday in the Thunder’s win over the Celtics and did some good things.

I’m sure it’s a process for sure with Andre’s mobility, but it was a first step for Andre as he continues to try and make a comeback from his patella injury in Detroit way back when our lives were normal.

I don’t know percentage wise what the doctors have told Andre he can get back, but I know when he was healthy he was a unique player in a league which quite frankly has become not all that much more than a three point shooting contest.

Shaun Livingston salvaged his career and won a couple of rings with Golden State after his horrific knee injury. It took time though. Andre will have to morph his game and stay healthy.

Could one ever imagine a healthy Andre and Lu Dort on the floor together?

Just the thought of that possibility makes the TSN in my basketball soul tingle.

Does the NBA even allow two players from the same team to play hard defensively on the court together in regular season games?

Stay healthy and fly again, Andre.

Andre Roberson’s Long Journey Back

My three favorite Thunder players of all-time are in this order…1 Nick Collison, 2 Andre Roberson, and 3 Steven Adams.

All three are or were role players. None were or will ever be in the star stratus of the the NBA.

I love Andre Roberson not only for the way he plays the game, but the manner in which he conducts himself off the basketball court.

Somebody raised this young man the right way.

Other than his free throw shooting… he can play the game on both ends. He’s tough. He’s smart. He runs the court well in transition. He moves well without the ball on back cuts as well. But most of all he’s all about team every second he’s on the floor.

Andre Roberson could be on my basketbakll or hockey team any time he wants to be. He’d be a hell of a hockey player. A forechecking winger who would relentlessly forecheck the other team into submission. Andre would be a premier penalty kill specialist. He would be something on skates with his mindset.

And he doesn’t back down from anybody. Which I absolutely love.

I love Andre Roberson. I love what he stands for and the guts he’s shown after the horrible patella injury in Detroit which we all thought ended his NBA playing career.

There’s talk from the Thunder camp that Andre isn’t done. I hope this plays out that way for Andre.

The kid has courage and guts. Just by getting back this far from that horrible injury he’s already a winner in my eyes.

Good luck, Andre. Don’t give up on your dream.

Washington Nationals Clinch Their First World Series Championship

This was on October 31st, 2019 as the Washingfton Nationals won their improbable first ever World Series over the cheating Houston Astros in Game 7.

So if I understand this correctly major league baseball gets its sixty game regular season untracked this week-end.

I usually don’t start watching baseball till late August so for me this will be fine.

What a World Series for the ages last October. No more Anthony Rendon for the Nats, but they still have a very capable baseball team with the best starting pitching in baseball.

This will be good for me to go along with watching some NBA games. I just don’t see how college football is going to be a go, but we’ll see.

The OU-Army game in New York is definitely a scratch. The Texas State Fair is cancelled as well. Those two game venues were probably along with Bedlam going to be the best two games of the OU season.

It will be good for the country to have the Boys of Summer back playing real games again. Just anything to watch beyond Trump’s daily routine.

For the cheating Houston Astros…this is actually good for them in that the games will be fanless and I would think they would have been booed in every city in the league this season.

It will be interesting to see how many knockdown balls are thrown at Jose Altuve.

In case you didn’t follow the scandal this past off season this is what the Astros did dating back to 2017. I think their 2017 title should have been taken away and awarded to the Dodgers so as Clayton Kershaw could mercifully get his World Series ring.