The very easy part of OKC’s schedule concluded on Friday night with the Thunder coasting to an easy 124-109 win over the rebuilding Atlanta Hawks. It was a game which was supposed to be a big deal in that it marked the return of Trae Young.
No big deal was evident though as Trae Young to me looks like a player who a generation ago before ‘one and dones’ should still be in college learning how to play basketball and developing his body. It is what it is. This is the basketball universe we live in.
This was one of those outlier shooting games for the Thunder in that they went 19-41 shooting threes against an atrocious Atlanta team which pretty much has a nerve charging its fans full ticket price to watch this piece of junk team. I’d put this Atlanta team right there with Phoenix and Cleveland as the worst the NBA has to offer in 2018.
Frilly Alex Abrines went 7-11 shooting threes with easy open looks whenever he wanted them and I guess was the player of the game if you really want to designate such a thing in a game which was boring from start to finish from a competitive standpoint.
To me, the most compelling moment of the night was when Russell Westbrook got into a shouting match with Hall of Famer Vince Carter near the Hawk bench and double techs were issued by the zebras.
Patrick Patterson finally made a shot after going 0-19 shooting threes in a string of recent games.
On a positive note, Hamidou Diallo was cleared to play but was a healthy DNP-Coach’s decision. On a sad note, Andre Roberson has had a six week setback on his return. On an even sadder note, Bush 41 passed away which leaves me even sadder because it reminds me how far we’ve fallen culturally in the past two years as a nation.
Russell Westbrook went 2-4 shooting threes which means in the last two games he’s a collective 4-9 shooting threes after going into a 1-12 full Wild Thing mode in the home loss to the Nuggets. I have no idea whatsoever what this means as far as calibrating my Wild Thing metric meter on the always mercurial Russell Westbrook. I have no idea how this happens two games in a row and then all the sudden there will be a Wild Thing relapse come back out of the blue. Don’t ask me why, but I think a Wild Thing spotting could be in the offing on Monday night in Detroit. But, hey, 4-9 from Russell shooting threes in two games is what you’ll take every time. Of course the problem is you don’t play teams like Cleveland and Atlanta in the Western Conference Playoffs.
The Thunder improve to 14-7 and now start the part of their schedule where they will start playing better basketball teams on a night to night basis.
Steph Curry is slated to return for the Warriors in the next couple of days and one would think the Warriors will get back on track as the best team in the league. I found it kind of refreshing to see the league without Durant and Curry paired together as the league is basically one with parity when those two aren’t paired with Klay Thompson.
The Thunder play at the Detroit Pistons on Monday night in a game which should be more to fun watch than what we’ve been seeing with the games against Phoenix, Cleveland, and Atlanta of late.
If you ever get a chance you might want to read the book ’41’ which is 43’s account of his father’s life. In a time when you might need a positive historical read, it fills the bill as a son explains his love for his father.
My favorite 41 memory. I loved his sense of humor. A president has to have a sense of humor and be able to laugh at himself.