Once again the Thunder showed their roster isn’t trash one thru nine, but by the same token showed something is missing which could propel the team to being a playoff contender.
The Thunder headed West and had to play a road back to back versus the Clippers and Lakers and predictably lost both games in what were competitive games.
I’m very calm sitting here writing about the Thunder on my little blog because I had the Thunder at No. 12 in the West winning somewhere around 34-38 games this season depending on how long this roster stays intact beyond December 15th.
It’s not a terrible team. In a way it’s hard not to like their spirit, but by the same token they’re 0-6 on the road this season to date.
One of the first things I look at in a team is if can they at the least be a .500 team on the road. So far with this team the answer is a resounding no. I mean could this team even be 15-26 this season on the road?
In the West you’re going to have to be able to win some road games to be relevant if you want to contend for the No. 8 slot.
With the Thunder in fact we don’t even know what Sam Presti’s plan is this season beyond December 15th. I’m not rankled in the least. We should have known this was coming and at the least we’re going to see if Billy Donovan should be the coach beyond this season.
To me…if this roster stayed intact then I would have a 41-43 season as a barometer to keep Billy Donovan. Having a head coaching job in the NBA should somewhat be predicated on winning games in accordance with the payroll of the roster. Is there a metric for a coach monetizing his roster’s payroll is what I’m writing here.
So we’ll see if the full tank mode goes into effect after December 15th with some roster changes or if Sam Presti will see what he has in Billy Donovan.
I’m totally good. I love the NFL, the NBA as a whole, the NHL, and I was just treated to one of my favorite World Series of all-time as far as storylines.
I can detach myself emotionally from the Thunder for awhile. I never once wore one of those ridiculous playoff T-shirts the Thunder put on the seats which espouse the oneness of the Trump evangelicals in a place like Oklahoma. The shirts would say Us or Community or Spirit or some other bullshit reference to the MAPS aspect of having Seattle’s team in Oklahoma City.
I just like the basketball and enjoy watching elite players who are coached by coaches who know what they’re doing at this level.
The league best Lakers are in town on Friday and the Thunder to date are 5-3 on the road with a home marquee win over the Sixers on their 5-9 resume.
These Lakers are much better than those Sixers so we’ll see what kind of show the home team Thunder can give the home crowd on Friday night inside Chesapeake Energy Arena.
I would think there will be quite a few Lakers jerseys sprinkled in the crowd with what to date has been an easy and cheap ticket at Chesapeake Arena.