(1) Auld Lang Syne – OKC Thunder 2020 – YouTube
I’m in hope here this little run of winning will come back to the mean of losing once we get beyond the 10-15 game plateau.
The Thunder won their second straight game on this east coast road swing with a 101-89 win over the NY Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Friday night.
It was an impressive win considering both Darius Bazely and Lu Dort both had tough games shooting the ball and there was nothing exceptional from Big Al Horford or George Hill either.
But both Shai GA and Diallo had stellar nights. I thought it was the best game to date in Diallo’s NBA career. BTW…I only use the one name with Diallo…kind of like Nene. The one name should be his brand. His agent should steer him this way. Just saying.
Diallo’s line was 23 points, 11 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block. Player of the game.
Shai went 25 points, 10 boards, 7 assists…this is what he needs to be doing on most nights so I’m not giving him any awards. This is what he should be doing if he wants to become the face of a consistent NBA playoff contender whether it be in Oklahoma City or some place else.
Even Poku looked like he might actually be an NBA player at some point. Much smarter decison making by our first round pick. He even made some threes. Much, much better. I’m not like Jim Traber–I’m a fair, open minded person. Just show what you’ve got.
The ten guys Coach D put out there competed. Now in tanking you don’t ever want to instill the culture of not competing, but this is season we need to lose.
Young Coach D has already proved to me he can bench manage a game. He’ll be fine. We need a top five pick with our pick and a 15 thru 10 pick with the Rockets’ pick.
As Jake Owens says in the Journey of Life sometimes you have to lose ‘some’ to become a winner. This is one of those times.
Based on what I’m seeing from Diallo, Theo, Mikey Muscala, Isiah Robey, Poku, and Kenrich… it might be time to start thinking about trading George Hill and Big Al Horford so as to not take the chance of winning too many games. Maybe trade George Hill first and give Theo more minutes.
I write this as a compliment to the other players because I respect the manner in which they’re competitng and representing our city. But they’re playing too good to go too much further.
Shai needs another young consistent scorer alongside him and the team needs a rim protector who can hit an occaisional three when it’s there to be made.
Next up…the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday to close out the eastern road swing.
The video above was once again provided by my friend TC over at the Daily Thunder. I have no idea why these aren’t featured on their cover page considering the usual passive pedestrian level of content over there, but I won’t go there. It is what it is. Anyway–thanx for sharing the video.
Great work as always. It lifted my spirits in a week in which we witnessed our country come apart at the seams. My soul needed this. The parts with Andre and Mo Cheeks put a lump in my throat. What I see down the road with these guys gives me hope with a few more players added to the mix.
dr el prez okcthunderground.com beat writer