Author: Mike

Just finished sipping a Dr. Pepper while watching Joe and Mika give their obits on Jeb Bush’s presidential campaign. I agree-he’s going to get his wish now and have plenty of time to do all those other fun things. Somebody in his family should have told him back in 1988 his father employed Lee Atwater to run one of the toughest in your face presidential campaigns in contemporary history in defeating the guy who pardoned Willie Horton and drove the tank with his helmet falling off his head.

Now…to the basketball game.

First off, OKC won a game on opening night against a top eight team overall in the NBA on a night when Kevin Durant  was rusty from what has basically been an eight month layoff from real NBA games against good players and good teams. Kawhi Leonard is a very good two way player. Maybe not a stretch to call him the NBA’s most unnoticed, underappreciated star. Give Leonard some credit–he had a very good night.

Even in having an off night it was clear Durant has a calming effect on Westbrook and the other Thunder players during closing time. Think how many times last season in these same situations OKC imploded against good teams in the last four minutes of games. Durant, even rusty, is OKC’s closer and everyone on ‘his’ team knows it.

Westbrook was Westbrook on the night. Tony Parker never really had a chance as he showed all the wear of his previous fourteen NBA seasons. To me, Parker’s decline is the most important Spurs storyline to watch as the season unfolds. Aldridge will eventually fit into a morphed Spurs system. Remember…Pop did coach Tim Duncan and David Robinson together with a different offensive system.

Dion Waiters, Enes Kanter, and Anthony Morrow confirmed what we thought going into last night–that being, OKC will have a vibrant offensive bench on most nights.

Enjoyed watching Billy Donovan’s presser. He comes across well and is very much a players’ coach. Watching the pressers this season will be more interesting.

Game one in the books.

MJ

On a night when Kevin Durant made his return and looked mortal going 6-19 from the field, the OKC Thunder hung in against the San Antonio Spurs winning Billy Donovan’s debut game as an NBA coach. Russell Westbrook led the Thunder scoring 33 points and dishing out 10 assists, but on this night it was what other Thunder players did coming down the stretch which enabled the Thunder to make enough of the winning plays to claim Donovan’s opening game.

It wasn’t pretty at times, but when the Thunder had to dig in during the last six minutes of the game—they did, and it wasn’t just Westbrook and Durant. On the night, OKC’s bench produced 39 points and was pivotal in this season opening win. Call it cliché if you will, but it was a team win. Ten players played for OKC on the night and all contributed in some form or fashion on the night.

Much maligned Dion Waiters hit several key baskets down the stretch and led the Thunder at +15. Anthony Morrow was 3-6 from beyond the arc. Steven Adams had a key shot deflection at a critical moment. DJ Augustin wasn’t great, but was good enough. Enes Kanter did what should be his norm coming off the bench coupling 15 points with 16 rebounds. Serge Ibaka did his part defensively as Lamarcus Aldridge  was miserable shooting from the field going 4-12 and looking awkward at times in the Spurs offensive sets.

Tony Parker was 5-11 on the night in 26 minutes for ten points and was no match physically for Westbrook. Kawhi Leonard was superb with a career high 32 points, 8 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocked shots.

Donovan was what I thought fairly astute in distributing minutes at the shooting guard position. Waiters played 21 minutes, Morrow 22 minutes, and Andre Roberson  17 minutes. Plus, I give Donovan an A grade for his press conference demeanor—clearly a players’ coach.

OKC was 21-22 from the free throw line. Won the boards 45-36. Nineteen turnovers are too many, but I’m sure Donovan will be preaching tomorrow on taking better care of the ball.

All in all, a very good night for the OKC Thunder. Won the game, covered the Vegas spread, and won the opener over an iconic coach on a night when Kevin Durant had an off night.

MJ

 

 

When you think about it, this is really the first time since OKC beat the Clippers two seasons ago to advance to the Western Conference Finals in which they appear to be healthy as a team. Both teams are coming off extremely disappointing seasons. The Thunder finished 45-37 amid a plethora of injuries failing to make the playoffs for the first time since the team’s first season in OKC,  while the Spurs lost on the last night of the regular season in New Orleans to tumble in the seeding order. Without home court advantage, the Spurs fell in Game 7 of the first round to the Clippers.

OKC appears perched for a return to elite status with the major question mark being who will evolve as the starting shooting guard as Billy Donovan feels his way with this team. Otherwise–OKC is loaded with overall roster talent, size, depth and one would think a reason to be extremely motivated. And of course, those two guys—Durant and Westbrook.

Spurs come in with two new faces in LaMarcus Aldridge and David West.  Aldridge an All-Star caliber power forward who can score the ball, West a veteran big who gave up $11 million in pay this season to play for the Spurs for $1.4 million.

For me…the major question for the Spurs is Tony Parker. He enters his 15th season. Does he have enough left in the tank to stay with the elite point guards in the West like Curry, Westbrook, Paul and Conley? The secondary question would be if Aldridge’s presence slows the ball movement which has been the cornerstone of the Spurs’ offense.

A good matchup to open the Billy Donovan era in OKC.

MJ

 

 

 

Just a few random thoughts on this blog a day before the season opener. This will be a seasonal blog only. That is, it will begin about a week before the season and go dormant a few days after the Thunder play their last game in post season. Which of course we all hope occurs sometime in June so we can all talk about where we were specifically during the parade in Bricktown. Which would mean OKC would have to win four series and sixteen games in post season against three very tough teams from the West and then four games from Team Lebron. So there’s that.

I’ve never been a GM. Never been a coach. Never been a scout. So there’s no reason to get on the internet and try to write in the voice of something I’m not. I’m a fan. A passionate fan, but one who will be objective, tough and honest. But most of all… fair. Fair to the players, fair to the coaches, fair to Sam Presti and respectful of the opponent. Not a homer, but fair.

My format on here will be simple. There will be no message board because I’m not into babysitting. A very light game preview the morning of the game. Very light. Like maybe two paragraphs at the most. A game recap following the game. Then a segment the morning after the game called  …The Last Word. Humans get so caught up in the moment of winning and losing it’s sometimes better to sleep on a game to make more rational, pragmatic observations.

I honestly have no idea how many Thunder blogs currently exist. I have no control over any of that. But at the end of the day I want this blog to be a place where people can get an intelligent, quick read on the games, the season, and the overall journey of this Oklahoma City Thunder season. There has never been a more compelling preset to a Thunder season than the one which begins tomorrow night. Durant’s foot. Durant’s impending free agency. Billy Donovan hoping to make a smooth transition to the NBA level of coaching. Durant and Westbrook possibly winning their first rings in their ninth and eighth pro seasons respectively.

LeBron won his first ring in his ninth pro season beating Oklahoma City in the Finals. Maybe the basketball gods, just maybe, have aligned it so Kevin Durant will win his first ring in his ninth season in June against Team LeBron. Hope is a beautiful thing. We all hope.

Enjoy the season and never forget we have two generational players playing in our city. Embrace the season and never take a moment for granted. I won’t.

Mike Jackson