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Lost amidst the Thunder meltdown in Portland last night, the LA Clippers won their ninth straight and have pulled within one game of OKC’s Thunder for the third seed in the West. This shouldn’t come as any shock because neither the Clippers nor the Thunder as presently constructed have the overall rosters to win sixteen games and four playoff series. Both have two top ten players, but both are defensively weak teams with suspect benches a month before the trade deadline.

Both teams have underachieved three seasons running, yet shown the occasional flash of brilliance, but both have never really addressed their defensive shortcomings to be considered top tier NBA championship teams in the same breath as Golden State, San Antonio, or Cleveland.

Defense matters. Rim protection matters. Perimeter defense matters. Quality roster depth matters. Basketball IQ matters. Veteran mental toughness matters.

This isn’t rocket science. You can do this on your own without John Hollinger. BTW…how’s that worked in Memphis? Yawn. I’ll take Jerry West and Pop if you don’t mind.

Let’s examine both the top nine players on both Golden State and the Spurs’ rosters and you’ll see what I mean. A blend or hedge if you will of experience, roles, and skill sets.

Let’s go with Golden State’s nine players first… 1 Steph Curry (best scorer),2 Draymond Green ( does everything well), 3 Klay Thompson ( consistent 2nd option scorer), 4 Andre Iguodala (elite lockdown defender/Finals MVP), 5 Andrew Bogut (rim protection, great high post passer), 6 Harrison Barnes ( do everything player), 7 Shawn Livingston (quality backup point guard with length), 7 Festus Ezeli ( quality bench big), 8 Marrese Spreights (bench scorer), 9 take your pick from Brandon Rush or Leandre Barbosa. See what I mean, and with the versatility of Draymond Green—the Warriors can play small and not lose much defensively.

Now let’s do this with San Antonio… 1 Kawhi Leonard ( great all around player), 2 LaMarcus Aldridge ( consistent second option scorer in this system), 3 Tim Duncan (one of the ten greatest players of all-time and smart), 4 Tony Parker ( smart offensive point guard with two rings and a Finals MVP), 5 Danny Green ( three point specialist who isn’t a defensive liability), 6 Boris Diaw ( versatile forward with multiple skills), 7 Manu Ginobli (multiple rings and a Hall of Fame player), 8 David West ( tough, big, smart vet forward in quest of a ring), 9 Patty Mills (vet offensively skilled point guard with post season smarts).

Now OKC’s top nine and we’ll be thru… 1 Kevin Durant ( generational scorer), 2 Russell Westbrook (tremendous athletic point guard yet still plagued by questionable decision making in late game situations), 3 Serge Ibaka ( has regressed the past two seasons), 4 see what I mean–I’m really having to think about this–let’s go Steve Adams (tough, smart big who is destined for good things), 5 Oh, boy–whew — this is really tough because there isn’t a viable fifth best player on the Thunder right now, but I’ll go Kanter just because Presti foolishly signed him to a four year, $70 million deal which makes him the third highest paid player on the team, 6 Anthony Morrow, (usually reliable three point specialist), 7 Andre Roberson (because he shows flashes here and there but is not an elite lockdown defender), 8 Cam Payne (has a great smile and some natural offensive instincts), 9 Nick Collison (excellent role player in his prime, not sure he should be a regular rotational player at this point in his career), 10 Dion Waiters (shows flashes, but is plagued by extremely inconsistent play and bad decision making).

So there it is–an honest appraisal from someone who isn’t either employed by the OKC Thunder or reliant on the OKC Thunder to make a living.

At best—OKC has a third or fourth place roster in the West depending on how many games Kevin Durant misses due to injury.

It is what it is.

Mike Jackson

 

Portland Trailblazers 115 — OKC Thunder 110

Since this is basically a rogue blog where honesty is permitted which goes beyond what you’ll get from Thunder Jr. Cub reporter Nick Gallo, or Daily Thunder’s Royce Young…I think I’ll go ahead and write what I honestly think because I don’t have Sam Presti’s cell number and will never have a quid pro off the record agreement. Such are the blessings and shortcomings of being a rogue blogger.

You’ll notice I didn’t mention Fox homer deluxe Brian Davis in my opening statement. I can’t…because at the 8:20 mark in the fourth period he said something almost profound which made me say to myself, “Did he really say that?” I was stunned. Even asked my brother to verify the statement like you do in Oklahoma after an earthquake. He answered yes, so I’m going with it.

What Brian Davis said is this, “This team is lacking in focus and consistency.”

This must be what it was like when the apple tumbled downward and Sir Issac Newton  discovered gravity. I was honestly stunned this wasn’t edited or something.

If it weren’t for Damian Lillard going off for 17 points in the final 3:20 of this basketball game…Brian Davis would be my No. 1 Star for his brazenly honest statement on a Fox telecast. Good for him.

But I’m going with Damian Lillard because winning matters and Damian Lillard was the primary reason OKC’s defense was torched the game after being torched by Lou Williams’ career high 44 points on Friday night against the dumpster fire Lakers.

Lillard went 31 points, 7 rebounds, and 9 assists and was the best point guard on the floor because….HIS TEAM WON.

Even for the defensively challenged Thunder—this was new ground. Portland set two team records regarding three point shooting. Attempts with 44, makes with 19, which equates to 43.2% from behind the line.

OKC actually led by eight points with 3:20 remaining, then scored on their next five possessions. There’s no way you can lose a basketball game doing this, right? Oh, yes…way.

On Portland’s next five possessions, Lillard hit five threes in a row to tie the game with just a over a minute left as OKC then wilted in the final minute to lose by five. Somewhere in this Allen Crabbe hit a three as well.

Unfortunately, Blazer coach Terry Stotts didn’t have Kobe Bryant to insert into the game to make certain Lillard couldn’t keep making threes.

Is it just me and Brian Davis or does anyone else in Thunder Nation feel a little uneasy about Mario Chalmers going off for 37, Lou Williams for 44, and this time Damian Lillard for 17 points in three minutes when ostensibly your five best basketball players are/or should be on the floor. The vision of Golden State playing this Thunder team is terrifying if you’re paying attention at all.

Kevin Durant didn’t score a point in the fourth period which has to be mentioned. As does…OKC’s bench being outscored by Portland’s bench 35-16. I’m honestly not trying too pick on Waiters and Kanter, but in 35 combined minutes of play they scored 11 points combined.

Anthony Morrow went scoreless and wunderkind Cam Payne had a tough game where he showed he is indeed a rookie.

Some other things beyond Lillard which need to be mentioned…OKC was out hustled on their defensive boards which led to Portland getting off 100 shots to the Thunder’s 76 shots.

OKC drops to 26-12 and is now only a game ahead of the LA Clippers in what  appears will be a battle for the No. 3 seed in the West.

Not trying to be a downer, but think about this–in OKC’s last four games, they’re one Laker make from losing to the mentally imbalanced Kings, the dumpster fire  Lakers, and Portland’s Trailblazers in an eight day span.

Mike Jackson

edit correction–Portland only attempted 44 three points shots which is not a record. I believe 46 is the record. My bad. So there’s that silver lining to cling to as the Thunder season lurches forward.

 

OKC in Portland tonight for an 8:00pm tip. Good thing the Packers-Redskins game should be over or else I’d be a late viewer joining in to watch the Thunder play another bad team in the West. Great week-end of sports with NFL Wildcard Weekend and OU’s basketball Sooners led by Buddy Hield continuing to be a national story. Even Clay Bennett would have to admit his team with two of the best players in the world on it remain a distant third as far as sport relevant stories in the Oklahoma City market this week-end. Think about what I just wrote and let that sink in for a few seconds.

The NFL Super Bowl Tournament is one of the great American spectacles in sport …no surprise there. But OU basketball for the first time since the Thunder moved to Oklahoma City is sold out for the remainder of their season. The thought of this occurring four years ago was unthinkable if Durant and Westbrook were still in Oklahoma City. But here we are in 2016—and the OU basketball team is quite frankly a more riveting sports story than the OKC Thunder almost forty games into what was supposed to be a redemption season of sorts in OKC.

OKC is 26-11 and the No. 3 seed in the West, but the only regular season drama I perceive is if this OKC squad is good enough to hold off the Clippers for the No. 3 seed. The thought of this team being disciplined enough, mentally tough enough, or basketball smart enough to get beyond the second round in post season is a thought I have on hold currently.

I write this in spite of kind of liking from what I’ve seen from Billy Donovan so far. I don’t feel Donovan is the problem. But the Thunder culture pretty much remains the same from when Scott Brooks was pleading for his team to ‘play harder’ and ‘run back faster’.

Durant and Westbrook are both having fabulous offensive seasons. Steven Adams seems to be making palpable improvement on the offensive end every week. And even though I don’t like his hair—he’s slowly worked himself into a dependable two way player. Rookie wunderkind Cam Payne is becoming a nice player as well, so I’d keep feeding him at least 16 minutes a game and live with the mistakes.

Roberson, Collison, Singler, and Morrow are all specific niche role players…and I’m for the most part okay with what they’ve brought to the table given what I expected from them before the start of the season… even Kyle Singler of late.

Mitch McGary, DJ Augustin, and Steve Novak aren’t seeing much of the floor–so there can’t be any angst there from me or anyone else in Thunder Nation.

This leaves Serge Ibaka, Dion Waiters, and Enes Kanter, who combined are being paid around $34 million this year to be OKC’s third, fourth, and fifth offensive options. Three players who Durant and Westbrook need to be able to depend on, can lean on, and not be afraid to feed the ball to in a critical situations. Three players who have to play smarter, play tougher, and show some professional mental toughness game in and game out if OKC’s Thunder has any serious aspirations of becoming a top tier contender versus just being on a par with the Bulls or Clippers come April.

To me…these three players are holding Oklahoma City back. Their lack of consistency is killing any real progress the Thunder can make if they want to be a serious threat to Golden State, San Antonio, or Cleveland.

Portland is 15-24 and have lost four of their last five games coming into tonight. This is a team which lost four of their five starters to free agency last summer. OKC comes off what I think is clearly their worse week of the season by losing to the neurotic Sacramento Kings and by actually allowing the dumpster fire Lakers to have a chance to win on their last possession. Good thing Kobe defended Lou Williams on that last Laker possession.

OKC won the team’s only previous meeting this season by a 106-90 score in Oklahoma City back on December 16th.

Maybe OKC will come out motivated tonight.

Either way, I’ll be waiting for the Packers game to finish first. Not trying to be snarky, but a little urgency from the Thunder would be appreciated from the fan base tonight.

Go Packers!

 

Good piece by Anthony Slater  at newsoksports today on Mitch McGary and why he isn’t playing. McGary is a  uniquely talented offensive point forward with an arsenal of offensive skills which he showed last season at the NBA level. Both Kanter and McGary are both extremely weak defensive players, hence very tough for Billy Donovan to give them sustained minutes together. Some may grumble about Nick Collison getting these minutes, but OKC’s issue isn’t scoring the ball, their issue is becoming both a smarter team and a better defensive team…both strong suits of Nick Collison. Great video.

Time for the weekly OKCTG Weekly Power Poll even with snow on the ground in Deer Creek, Oklahoma…. I trudge ahead undaunted in pursuit of NBA blogging excellence. Pauli sits nearby staring down the wild turkeys feeding just a few feet off our back patio, yet knowing she’s part of something special as the teams on this week’s poll roll off my fingers. I’m tired of seeing the same repetitive bullshit from the  Oklahoma City Thunder and they drop in this week’s poll. Houston and Memphis leave my poll altogether. Reggie Jackson, Andre Drummond, and the Detroit Pistons welcome to the poll for your first ever visit to the holy grail of NBA hoops. So–here we go.

1   Golden State Warriors

2   San Antonio Spurs

3   Cleveland Cavaliers

4   Chicago Bulls

5   Los Angeles Clippers

6   Oklahoma City Thunder

7   Miami Heat

8   Atlanta Hawks

9   Toronto Raptors

10  Indiana Pacers

11  Dallas Mavericks

12  Detroit Pistons

OKC Thunder 117 — LA Lakers 113

So there I was… in my sports room with the sixty inch flat screen.. On the couch with my wonderful black lab Pauli poised by my side. Fireplace toasty. Blanket in place. Two books on my lap that I figured would keep me awake since I was about to watch an NBA game which had the dumpster fire LA Lakers as one of the teams involved. The sound turned down on the Fox broadcast so I wouldn’t have to listen to any homering nonsense from either Brian Davis, Michael Cage or Antonio Davis. It couldn’t get anymore Norman Rockwell. But wouldn’t you know it…here I am at 5:00am just now writing the recap because of what transpired in the fourth quarter

The axiom in the NBA or any sports endeavor is just win. Find a way to win, regardless of the opponent or how bad you were up to the game defining plays of a contest. So–I have to give the OKC Thunder that much because I’m a fair, objective minded guy at the end of the day.

OKC’s Thunder survived themselves and a Lou Williams 23 point fourth period to claim an extremely hard fought 117-113 win over the now 8-30 Lakers in Staples on Friday night.

Seventeen of Williams fourth quarter points came in the first eight minutes of the period. On the night, Williams scored a career high 44 points which included some brilliant shot making and a 15-15 night from the free throw line.

Yet, in the Laker world of Kobe Bryant, who went 8-20 on the night–it was Kobe who took the last shot instead over Kevin Durant. The shot came up short and OKC survived because for the most part because Billy Donovan went small coming down the stretch, spaced the floor, and got Russell Westbrook to the rim on pretty much every possession when the game hung in the balance against these defenseless dumpster fire Lakers.

Sorry, Lou Williams, I only give No. 1 Stars to a guy from the winning team because winning matters. Russell Westbrook is my No. 1 Star of the Game with a 36 point, 12 rebound, 7 assist night.

Four other Thunder players scored in double figures. Durant went for 24, Adams 10, Kanter 15, and rookie wunderkind Cam Payne 11.

OKC’s bench scored 33 points on a night when Waiters was awful and Morrow was quiet. Thus, the incredible saga of Dion Waiters in Oklahoma City continues. One game removed from being my No. 1 Star he was arguably the worse player on the floor for OKC tonight. In Dion’s defense–Serge Ibaka was almost as bad.

When the players you have pegged as your No. 3 and No. 4 scoring options for the season play fifty-one minutes combined and score a combined 9 points against the worst defensive team in the Western Conference that’s an ominous red flag which is hard to ignore if you want to realisticly evaluate OKC as a viable contender come April, May, and June.

So the final take is this…OKC improves to 26-11 with a hard fought road win over the worst team in the Western Conference due to Russell Westbrook putting the team on his back in the fourth period.

OKC will drop in my weekly Power Poll to either No. 5 or No. 6 because you can’t aspire to be a serious contender if you don’t have dependable third and fourth options every night.

OKC in Portland on Sunday evening.

Mike Jackson

 

I think I’ve already clearly stated my view on Thunder games played against the dumpster fire LA Lakers and Philadelphia 76’ers this basketball season. They’re both horrible basketball teams in tank mode trying to be the one who gets the draft rights for Ben Simmons from LSU in the draft this coming summer.

These are not viable basketball games. Instead.. they’re more like the Harlem Globetrotters playing the New Jersey Generals, only the Generals would never get Ben Simmons in the end no matter how many times they lose.

I will only half watch tonight while finishing a book called Black and White by Richard Williams–the father of tennis stars Serena and Venus Williams.

Hence–no viable preview is needed for this game. If the Thunder somehow lose this game—the Thunder season is officially over, assuming of course—Durant is playing tonight.

If  you need a couple of thousand words to build you up for this epic confrontation in LA tonight…I’d give Alex Roig over at Daily Thunder or Erik Horne or Anthony Slater a read. All seem like fair and decent young writers.

Instead—I’m going with this short Phil Jackson interview on Michael, Kobe, and Shaq.