Game 5 Thoughts for the Thunder

My first Game 5 thought is that the Boston Bruins will be playing the Toronto Maple Leafs in a Game 7 in Boston while the Thunder are playing the Utah Jazz in Game 5 in Oklahoma City. Note to Clay Bennett and Sam Presti–I’ll be watching the hockey game live and watching the basketball game on the delayed Fox telecast later with the sound muted.

This will be the first time in the Thunder Era in Oklahoma City my schedule won’t be completely revolved around a Thunder playoff game. I’ll watch the rebroadcast with a detached sense of objectivity like someone watching the game from some other city.

How sad a basketball junkie like myself is writing something like this on his blog. It’s incredibly sad because I’m an immensely competitive person who has nothing left for this ‘team’ Sam Presti put together this season.

Quite frankly–I want it to be over. I want Utah to win the game and end the Oklahoma City season.

And know this–I fully realize this means the end of a magical run of NBA basketball in my hometown.

What I witnessed in Game 4 was a virtual disgrace. To me, it was the lowest moment in the history of the Thunder. Worse than the game against New Orleans which got PJ Carlesimo fired that first Thunder season. Even worse than the Game 6 loss to the Warriors which set the table for Durant’s exodus to Oakland.

This was Ground Zero for me. This was the bottom. It made me want to puke.

What we witnessed on Monday night in Salt Lake City made me sad and tugged at my heart because it’s apparent to me it’s time for Clay Bennett to make some very tough decisions about the future of pro basketball in Oklahoma City moving forward. Very tough decisions. Brutally tough.

I need more time before I write what I think those changes should be. Whether OKC wins tonight has nothing to do with those changes. I just need a few days to gather my thoughts and make sure I have it right in my head. To make sure I’m being fair to all parties involved.

But there is a flip side for me. My longtime team the Philly Sixers just completed the ‘Process’ and advanced to the second round of the Eastern Conference by winning its 56th game of the season. Their future burns hot orange bright with Ben Simmons and Joel Imbiid being the new ‘it’ guys in the NBA.

My favorite hockey team in the Western Conference–the young Colorado Avalanche competed in a glorious manner before losing to the Nashville Preds in six games. Colorado’s youthful team has a future which burns bright as well.

Then of course–there’s the Boston Bruins who go against a red hot goalie tonight in Frederick Anderson in a Game 7.

The fact a basketball fan like me will have his heart in Boston while an NBA team is playing an NBA playoff game twenty minutes from my front door says it all for me.

It says don’t insult my intelligence any longer this basketball season.

But I will watch the game on the rebroadcast and blog the closing chapters to what surely will be an ESPN 30/30 film and a book by someone on an intriguing ten years of pro basketball in Oklahoma City even if the ending isn’t the one I hoped for back when Durant, Harden, and Westbrook were college kids playing in the NBA.

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