Yikes.
What else could you open with after watching a display like the one put on by the OKC’s Thunder in Atlanta on Tuesday night. I’m beyond cursing or banging my head on a keyboard. In the world of Thunder it wouldn’t surprise me if I hear sometime later this week Ward Cleaver is extended another five years beyond the extended year he just received sometime before XMas.
Again…yikes.
When your team at any level in any sport consistently doesn’t provide effort that should be a bit of the check engine light coming on especially when you don’t have Carmelo Anthony sitting in the backseat downing Ding Dongs this time around.
This is why when you have a weak written sports media in a market like Oklahoma City you don’t have much if any truth written when it needs to be written. Other than Tramel there apparently isn’t a sports journalist in the bunch. And to be blunt, this is why I keep my obscure blog going so as I can have something in the market I can read which is written by someone other than Tramel who knows what they’re writing about. Take that as you may.
If I did cover the Thunder on the legit and had a media pass in all likelihood Russell Westbrook would have my pass suspended or revoked within a week so he could continue having Nick Gallo and the like stroke his balls.
I was raised by a trial lawyer. A good one who graduated No. 1 in his class. I have no patience for bullshit either in person or by a group of millennials in this market who call themselves sports writers. As in none.
Let me start this way. The Atlanta Hawks were a Las Vegas home ten point underdog on Tuesday night versus the grossly overcompensated Thunder. The tanking Hawks not only somehow won this game, but they scored 142 points in doing so against a Thunder team which really didn’t seem to care except for twelve minutes in the third period. Therein lies a problem in that there are 48 minutes in an NBA game.
The Hawks scored 45 points not only in one period of play but they did it twice on Tuesday night. In NBA perspective consider on the same night the Warriors had their best ever period of offensive play in scoring 51 points against the Denver Nuggets. They did it once in regaining the lead in the West from the make believe Nuggets who won’t fall all that far though because every one still behind them has issues of their own. Circle the Thunder in red at the head of that list.
Trey Young. The National Player of the Year at OU last year had to be laughing to himself in his locker room after this complete clusterfuck debaucle. He had to be thinking to himself how in the world is it he was allowed to do whatever he wanted on the court in a game against the NBA team with the highest payroll when he couldn’t even beat Mike Boynton’s O State team last season in the back two thirds of the Big 12 season.
Herein lies the answer that Royce Young, Erik Horne, Maddie Lee, and Little Nick Gallo won’t be writing. The answer is that Mike Boynton’s talent challenged team last season actually exerted effort. That’s the answer. Defense and rebounding require effort…. even in the NBA’s regular season. Even in the NBA’s regular season you have to calibrate effort expended. But here’s what you don’t do…you don’t tank against a tanker.
Alex Ovechkin wouldn’t allow any part of this bullshit to take place. At least not the new Alex Ovechkin. Russell Westbrook isn’t Alex Ovechkin though that much appears to be certain at this point. Note to Russell…neither would Kobe or Michael in their prime either.
Maybe Russell Westbrook is just worn out from all the meaningless triple doubles in regular season play. Maybe the wardrobe demands are too much. Maybe he left it all at the Denver Airport with Michelle Obama. BTW…her book is excellent. Maybe she should coach the Thunder. She wouldn’t put up with this bullshit either. Again, this isn’t Billy Donovan’s team or in reality it isn’t even Clay Bennett’s team….it’s Russell Westbrook’s team and until he becomes sick to his stomach owning a team which for the second straight NBA season is the league’s biggest underachiever per payroll nothing is going to change in Oklahoma City as far as the Thunder go.
It is what it is.
This has nothing to do with shot charts or analytics.
It has to do with pride and heart.
And at this point in the Thunder’s season you have to question if either of those are in the Thunder locker room on a enough nights to be a legit contender in the West as the Death March rolls into April.
The Thunder host the Lakers on Thursday. If LeBron doesn’t play it is in essence another meaningless game which will tell us nothing we don’t already know.
Maybe this is what Sam Presti has in mind for Nick Collison.
As in having some heart in his team’s locker room now and again.