Author: Mike

In what turned out to be a very good basketball game on Friday night inside Chesapeake Energy Arena, the Los Angeles Clippers held on at the buzzer as a Russell Westbrook 25 footer was a little strong. Not the best shot given the situation, but we’ve seen far worse over the years. Plus, keep in mind, Andre Roberson botched two previous late possessions by not handling Westbrook passes cutting to the basket. So I don’t think anybody should be railing on Westbrook for the shot.

OKC has now dropped its last two at home is coming back down to earth as what we thought they’d probably be. That being, a fun entertaining team, but not a serious contender as currently constructed. Westbrook needs another offensive option he can lean on night in and night out.

Westbrook almost tripled doubled going 29-14-9. Domas Sabonis had an excellent game with a double/double and four made threes.

On a whole, OKC set a team mark by going 16-28 from three point land. So while the loss was discouraging, there were some nice things to cling onto from this game from a team standpoint.

Young guards Victor Oladipo, Andre Roberson, Semaj Christon all had some good moments in the game. Enes Kanter had a double/double of his own. Jerami Grant continues to show flashes. The only real negative in this game was Steven Adams only had five shots and six points.

But the real bright spot was obviously Sabonis as he’s getting better and obviously more comfortable with NBA play every time he steps on the floor.

But again, if OKC wants to jump into that tier of West teams which includes the Warriors, Spurs, and Clippers–Russell Westbrook is going to need another offensive piece whether it be Rudy Gay or someone we’re not thinking of presently. Cam Payne simply coming back from injury doesn’t propel OKC into that grouping of teams.

Admittedly, I’m having trouble completely focusing on the games right now as our country is going thru a truly historic transition, but in the wrong way. Like in the Richard Nixon getting on the heliocopter and going back to California way in 1973. Think eight years back and the thought the United States had just elected the first black man to the presidency. Think back to Obama’s acceptance speech on a crystal still November night in Chicago. Think back to an inauguration with so much hope and possibilities attached for future generations of young Americans. Now back to the future where white America just elected a canidate who was endorsed by David Duke, the KKK, and Vladamir Putin. While young protestors in Amercian cities of every color know they just witnessed a really bad episode of Jerry Springer Live.

Consider this, several years ago, NBA commish Adams Silver and his league governors banned Clippers’ owner Donald Sterling from the league for life for racist comments, and rightly so. That’s why you see Steve Ballmer sitting courtside now. In direct contrast, white America just elected an openly racist canidate to not only the highest office in the land, but in the world. White Republican America just got it’s country back, I guess. But at what cost, rolling back history a hundred and fifty years?

I haven’t to date read any comments on who Thunder owner Clay Bennett voted for on Tuesday. He’s a Republican obviously, and was an early supporter of Jeb Bush which isn’t a bad thing because Jeb Bush is a decent man. But I’d be curious to know if he voted for Trump or left that slot on his ballot blank. I’d be curious to know how all thirty NBA owners voted given the fact the league is predominantly a black league. Might be an interesting piece to read in the NY Times or Washington Post.

The Dow started out today almost 1,000 points up from last week despite the fact Donald Trump won the election. Most predicted a cataclysmic reaction from the U.S. markets ala Brexit. But for the most part, Brexit II in the U.S. primarily took place in Ohio, Michigan, Pennslyvania, and Wisconsin where angry white voters went for Donald Trump in this election. Otherwise, the rest of the Electoral College map was pretty much the same as in 2012.

I hate to tell these white people the truth, but here it is. Donald Trump could care less about you. He’s basically a New York Democrat who teeters in the middle on many issues. I find it hilarious some of these people view Paul Ryan as a ‘squish’, yet now somehow envision Trump as the visionary of the hard right.

Here’s Trump in January of 2016 talking about his ability to work with Pelosi, Reid, and/or Chuck Schumer. I’d pay far more attention to this dynamic than the protests which are currently going on this country regarding Trump’s win in the Electoral College. Again, there was no mandate. He lost the popular vote.

Here’s Trump on Morning Joe back in January. I love the parting shots he takes at Lyin’ Ted Cruz. That should be Trump’s starting statement with Schumer and Pelosi– “It could be worse, it could be Lyin’ Ted Cruz standing here instead.”

A thirty minute interview with Spurs’ coach Gregg Popovich on Trump being elected would be priceless. I love this.

Kudos to Coach Kerr. Even if Billy Donovan feels the same he can’t say it in Oklahoma. But still, glad to hear this from a prominent NBA coach. Amen, Coach Kerr. Amen.

How awkward. Donald Trump is the originator of the Birther Movement and kept at that nonsense for almost five years pandering to the dumbasses in the alt right movement. Then there’s Barack Obama who’s called Donald Trump completely unqualified to be POTUS. So…I’m wondering what Rudy Giuliani has the over/under for Trump actually calling Obama for counsel once he assumes office. Trump has yet to assume office and he’s already made the complete transition to being a professional politician. Namely saying into a camera saying something he doesn’t whatsoever believe, but still saying it with a straight face. The effort for calming the markets by both is appreciated.

I watched the game, but my mind drifted throughout the game with all which was going on in our country the past two days so this will be brief.

Toronto beat the Thunder on Wednesday night by a count of 112-102 behind Demar DeRozan’s 37 point performance. The game featured the NBA’s two leading scorers in DeRozan and Russell Westbrook. Russell Westbrook scored 36 points on a 9-26 shooting night, but had eight turnovers.

OKC came out beautifully leading 12-0 at one point, but once DeRozan got going, the Thunder really never could come up with an answer to stop him. Victor Oladipo and Steven Adams had nice nights, but beyond OKC’s core three there wasn’t enough ball movement or distribution on the night to outscore the Raptors.

OKC did pull within four points late in the fourth period, but then faltered on four straight offensive possessions which ultimately led to their first home loss of the season.

OKC drops to 6-2 for the season and this is one of those close games against a quality team which OKC will need to win later on in the season if they aspire to stay a top four team in the West heading into post season.

Orlando up next on Friday for the Thunder.

The day after the most interesting day in American presidential history since Truman upset Dewey, we unexpectedly saw one of the brightest days in American history follow it. Granted–there were some protests in some cities protesting New York Democrat Donald Trump’s election to the White House. But those were insignificant and not representative of America from coast to coast with people who go to work, have a mortgage, and pay their own health care premiums.

What inspired me first was Hillary Clinton’s remarkably gracious concession speech. It was incredible and set the tone for a truly remarkable day in America. Hillary Clinton let her guard down with a speech for the ages as she spoke firstly as an American while imploring this country to accept the election results and come together as a country. It was a beautiful speech, and quite frankly, it’s unfortunate Hillary Clinton didn’t show more of this side of herself during the campaign.

Not long after Clinton, Barack Obama made an equally gracious speech directed towards President Elect Trump making it clear a dignified transition of power in America will occur. It was an equally classy speech.

For his part, New York Democrat Donald Trump then contacted both Senator Charles Schumer and Representative Nancy Pelosi and urged them to all work together in the coming days. Which if you really think about it will probably happen because as a New York Democrat, Donald Trump as a New York entrepreneur already has a working relationship with both of them as his own lobbyist and has made political contributions to both of them previously.

House Majority Leader Paul Ryan, a Republican, then threw out the olive branch to New York Democrat Donald Trump after a very contentious campaign in which they didn’t speak to one another for the most part. Same type of comments came from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, another Republican, who like Ryan showed immense distaste for President Elect Trump during the campaign.

What a lovefest… which makes all of us wonder why we had to watch the previous sixteen months of bullshit. Trump is a New York Democrat and if he could just possibly keep his Billy Bush inner self to himself and Rudy Giulani, there’s actually a chance this might possibly work and some things might get done.

Amidst all the distress in the wee hours of election night as the markets seemed on the edge of imploding downward, lo and behold, Clinton, Obama, Trump, Ryan, and McConnell all acted as Americans and hopefully gave us an overly optimistic glance at what government could possibly look like in this country with Trump (New York Democrat), McConnell (Kentucky conservative) Paul Ryan (Wisconsin conservative), Chuck Schumer (New York progressive), and Nancy Pelosi (California progressive).

Instead of the Dow tanking as it appeared it might do, the exact opposite occurred on Thursday as it closed at an all-time high for the simple reason this wasn’t completely Brexit II. But more of a growing frustration that parts of America are having trouble with the Technology Revolution combined with the recent Obamacare premium increases. Perhaps, most revealing in this election is Pennslyvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin all went for a New York Democrat running as the Republican nominee. If you take away those three states, the electoral map basically played out much like it did in 2012 when Obama defeated Romney. So it’s not like there’s this huge national mandate when you consider Clinton won the overall popular vote.

Other than the repeal of Obamacare, I didn’t view a national mandate of any kind, but more of just frustration from angry white people with Washington for never getting anything done in a bipartisan manner. Plus, let’s be honest–there is a racial element to this. White America wanted their country back though they may not have said it openly or to pollsters.

For as distasteful as some of us found New York Democrat Donald Trump’s behavior during the campaign, perhaps there is hope he can conduct himself as an adult not sitting on the Jerry Springer set or with Billy Bush on a bus.. Just acting like an adult would be a modest starting point. It’s unbelievable we’ve sunk this low as a country, but here we are.

So…here we are with reality television star Donald Trump as our 45th president in perhaps the most bizarre presidential election in American history. Am I shocked? No. Because way back in the GOP primaries Donald Trump acknowledged he could shoot someone in broad daylight and it would not deter his supporters from voting for him. Do we really think the Billy Bush bus sex talk ever meant that much? Or more to the point, do we really think James Comey determined this election? I don’t, simply because Hillary Clinton was already distrusted at historic levels well before James Comey became a figure in this presidential election or Trump admitted to Billy Bush he couldn’t help himself from gulping Tic Tacs, kissing and groping strange women, or busting in on nude Miss USA Teen contestants. None of Trump’s character flaws mattered to angry white America. The recent Obamacare premium hikes probably mattered, a lot.

Clinton won the overall popular vote, but lost battleground states Florida, North Carolina, and Ohio–then got flipped in Pennslyvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Even liberal Minnesota hadn’t been called when I fell asleep. When a Democrat can’t carry Minnesota comfortably, that’s a significant problem.

So what we have here is America saying the individual character of their president means absolutely nothing. Not turning over his tax return mattered. Not paying federal income tax mattered. Disparaging Hispanics, blacks, Muslims, and women didn’t matter. Calling war hero John McCain a poser didn’t matter. Slandering his fellow sixteen GOP presidential nominees didn’t matter. Insulting a Gold Star family didn’t matter. The bankruptcies and not paying his creditors didn’t matter to working class angry white America. A history of leasing trophy wives didn’t really matter. Having a riff with Pope Francis didn’t matter. Disparaging Little Marco Rubio’s penis or Lyin’ Ted Cruz’s wife did not matter.

None of the above mattered because angry white America decided it was time to have a non professional politician in the White House. Think about this in closing–Donald Trump without ever having served any public office or providing any recorded history of doing anything of significance for the public good easily disposed of America’s two royal families… the Bushes and Clintons.

Who would have thought sixteen months ago Howard Stern’s favorite sleaze chat interview would easily dispose of Jeb Bush and Hillary Clinton enroute to the occupying the White House?

Both political parties are in flux on November 9th. Trump eviscerated the Dems and Pubs alike. He’s nothing even remotely like Ronald Reagan. Reagan and 41’s Republican Party is now officially dead. Poof gone. The Clintons and Obamas are dead. Dust in the wind. And there stands reality television star Donald Trump along with alt right guru Steven Bannon atop the heap of political human carnage whether you like it or not.

I never should have written anything on my modest Thunder blog in regards to this presidential election. But here we are on Election Day. I made my choice and it wasn’t John Kasich ultimately.

All I will say is pray for our country, pray for our children, and pray for our grandchildren. Pray for America. Pray for the original concept of America. Pray we can take the collective step back as a nation and start listening to one another instead of setting each other on fire.

For the second straight game, a stunning third period run propelled the Oklahoma City Thunder to a relatively easy 97-85 win over the Miami Heat on Monday night inside Chesapeake Energy Arena.

The Heat had drawn to within 55-51 early in the third and Russell Westbrook was struggling scoring the ball. Enough of that. Westbrook promptly made his next three shots igniting his team. By the time the run ended it was a 20-0 spurt with the game essentially decided. Westbrook either scored or assisted on every Thunder point in the run. In his 26 minutes of play, Westbrook’s line reads, 14-5-11.

OKC’s 6-1 start is the best ever beginning to a Thunder season. If you want to go back to when this team was the Seattle Sonics it’s the best start since 2004. It also marked the 400th win in Thunder franchise history which is the second fastest climb to the 400 win plateau for a franchise moving to another city. I think Syracuse to Philly was the fastest to 400 wins after a move if I read it right.

Domas Sabonis had his best game as a professional with his first double, double on 15 points, 10 rebounds, with four made threes.

Enes Kanter had a nice night with 24 points, 10 rebounds.

Victor Oladipo kicked in 17 points and appears to be getting more comfortable with every game.

Steven Adams and Andre Roberson were very good defensively and key to a Thunder defense which limited the Heat to a 36.9% shooting night. Miami’s big name center Hassan Whiteside was a complete non-factor scoring only five points. Dion Waiters, in his OKC return, went 1-9, scored two points, and received a nice response from the OKC crowd. Nice kid, wish him the very best, but he’s still extremely inconsistent.

My Three Stars of the Game… 1 Westbrook, 2 Sabonis, and 3 Kanter.

So here we are as Thunder fans sitting at 6-1 with the best record in the West and second best in the entire NBA so far into this very young season. The Thunder are a perfect 4-0 at home and somewhat the early season darlings of the league considering they’re doing this without Kevin Durant and Serge Ibaka.

A great start by the Thunder. Billy Donovan has a point guard named Russell Westbrook with a core of kids who are competing hard every night and getting better every game. Different players are getting more involved offensively as Westbrook feels more comfortable with his supporting cast.

You could literally hear Billy Donovan shouting, “Move the ball,” to his team during that third quarter blitzkrieg. Move the ball, play smart team defense, stay healthy, and get some good bounces and this team could be pretty decent.

But know this, considering where this city was on July 5th, it’s a remarkable beginning to a basketball season and reminder when you have a bulldog point guard named Westbrook you can still be pretty good.

Toronto in Oklahoma City on Wednesday.