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27 POINTS.

The OKC Thunder shutdown the defending champion Boston Celtics by a score of 105-92 in what could be a preview of this season’s NBA Championship Finals on Sunday afternoon inside of Paycom Arena.

But back to the 27 points the Thunder allowed in the final 24 minutes of play. It was vintage Thunder for this group. As Lu Dort ‘somewhat’ stated in his postgame affirmation…”This is the vision Sam Presti had for this group through all the tanking.”

These Thunder are more like a college team with Shai added as their core ringer. They remind me of some of those great Jerry Tarkanian UNLV Runnin’ Rebel teams or Nolan Richardson’s championship team at Arkansas.

Forty minutes of hell and then some.

Perhaps it took the embarrasing loss to the Milwaukee Bucks to elicit this type of passion in a game to game manner. The Thunder haven’t lost a game since that pitiful loss to the Bucks when they shot 4-31 from behind the arc. Those nights happen in the NBA.

Aaron Wiggins not getting his minutes can’t happen though. Coach Mark has made sure Aaron has gotten his run since that game.

F this group they’ve now won 15 games in row heading into Wednesday’s night game versus the Cleveland Cavaliers in Cleveland. These Cavs are currently on a 10 game win streak of their own after claiming 15 straight wins earlier this season. Something will have to give. Maybe it’s this game which will prove to be the preview of this spring’s NBA Finals.

The Thunder feed off their forty minutes of hell approach. They feed off pace. They feed off of live ball turnovers transitioned into open court baskets. They wear other teams down as each minute in the fourth period evaporates.

Shai scored his customary 33 points in this game…yawn. But it was Lu Dort, Aaron Wiggins, Cason Wallace, and Jaylin Williams who were my Thunder 4 Stars of the Game. The Thunder role players were SUPERB.

Porzingus played. Chet didn’t. And yet this group won by 13 points after trailing by 13 points. Same scenario. Forty-eight minutes of hell.

On my blog I was on Sam Presti about the third year of tanking. To me…if you’re going to claim sustainability as the brand NBA trademark in Oklahoma City….you shouldn’t have to tank three years to become relevant again.

But you know what? I like the fact his vision has turned out to be prescient.

He has a great group on board. The championship window in Oklahoma City is for the first time since 2016 once again open.

It will be fun to actually have a blog which covers this.

The Donald Trump second term…not so much.

Mike J

Another great comeback win by the streaking Oklahoma City Thunder as Aaron Wiggins’ 15 fourth quarter points enabled OKC to erase a 14 point deficit enroute to a 117-107 victory over the Knicks on Friday night at Paycom Arena.

All told on the night…Wiggins’ line went 19 pts, 5 rebounds, 2 ast, and 2 blks with zero turnovers.

The 14 game win streak ties a franchise record and tomorrow afternoon the Thunder have a chance to get to No. 15 versus the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics.

Shai led the Thunder with 33 points while JDub added 20 points.

Pretty much the same old story for OKC as they started slowly, fell behind by a double digit margin, and then totally dominated the second half against a very capable Knicks team which was trying o win its 10th straight game.

Like the Minnesota game…this was an excellent NBA early January game with a playoff feel to it from start to finish. The final margin in no way indicates how tough of a game this was for the Thunder.

On my current list of the six teams as of this writing who could conceivably win the NBA championship… as of 1/5/25 my short list would go in this order 1 Boston, 2 OKC, 3 Dallas (with Luka healthy), 4 Cleveland, 5 NY Knicks, and 6 Minnesota Timberwolves.

To date the remainder of the Western Conference in a sense appears to be an assortment of teams roiling in disorder and flailing to establish any real consistency in their games. Maybe some trade deadline moves will change this fact in February.

An enticing three game stretch of games for the Thunder as they host Boston tomorrow afternoon and then visit the 30-4 Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday…then travel to play ther NY Knicks on Friday inside of Madison Square Garden.

From my perspective given the fact the West has in a sense collapsed with the Thunder running away from the pack…these three games could be the best three game run for the rest of this regular season.

It should be tremendous NBA regular season viewing.

Mike J

Happy 2025!

I watched all of the Thunder-TWolve game and it pretty much was the physical, passionate game I hoped it would be. No hockey line brawls, but some really good defense by both teams. There was some genuine ‘want to’ out there.

I was a little disappointed in Shai’s postgame comments to Little Nick Gallo. Shai had another great 40 point game, but in my mind the stat of the game was OKC outscored the TWolves 24-12 on points off live ball turnovers.

And I woud say this to Shai…you’ve worked hard and become a top five player in this league. But on this night I would have been singing the praises of JDub, Lu Dort, and Cason Wallace…. for all the little blue collar things they did in that 43 point Thunder barrage in the third period which enabled the Thunder to roar back from a 12 point deficit. I would have told swarmy Little Nick Gallo to do some serious loving on those guys for their excellent work in this game.

I have no idea whatsoever why J-Dub and J-Will keep placing a Thunder cape/towel on LNG during his groundbreaking postgame interviews…sigh. It must be one of those Thunder Insider secrets.

Minnesota is still trying to figure out how to play with Julius Randle. They may never figure it out. Coach Chris Finch needs to smooth some things out with his squad on the offensive end.

But I will write this…I currently have Minnesota in my top four teams in the West just in case they figure things out by late February. OKC vs. Minnesota could very well be a No. 1 vs. a No 4 matchup in the Western Conference semis.

Rudy Gobert is a slug. His missed dunk and subsequent fast break three by the Thunder was a five point swing in that Thunder third period. I thought it was of the biggest plays in the game. I circled that play in red with my lazer quick NBA blogging mind. So there on that one.

I will comment tomorrow night on the pathetic, easy path the College Football Committee has given to the Penn State Nittany Lions in this first ever 12-team college football playoff. Suffice it to say…MJ is saying there is some serious Penn State sugar-daddying going on inside that committee.

In closing on this first early morning of 2025..my song selection above is by Laufey. I was watching her on the ABC New Year’s Evefest…and I’ll be honest—she had me at hello with this song. Laufey had me at hello.

Will she become my new Diana Krall?

We’ll see.

Have a great year. I intend to.

MJ footnote: I stayed up listening to music all night. I found another video of Laufey’s song. Don’t get me wrong…there’s some rap I might listen to now and again. I like some of the new country with Morgan Wallen, Luke Combs, and Thomas Rhett probably at the top of my list.

But I’m an old guy. The lyrics actually matter to me. They should tell a story. Maybe even touch the listener’s heart in some manner. How refreshing to witness something like this from someone in Laufey’s age group. And to think…she wasn’t texting during her song as well. Color MJ…impressed.

Serendipity was produced in 2001. Hard to imagine a movie nowadays without a gang rape, an assault rifle killing or two, or a truck intentionally running over live humans. Our culture is killing us. Not China. We are killing ourselves from within. And how did we remedy this with our recent election?

I think I’ll calmly touch on that in a day or two from the bunker at okcthunderground.com.

Mike J

Obviously, for all you youngsters out there today reading the best NBA content in Oklahoma here on the award winning okcthunderground.com… I don’t ‘totally’ condone starting a hockey brawl in an NBA regular season game.

But then again…I’m not against seeing it from time to time either in Adam Silver’s pussified NBA we see circa 2024 heading into 2025.

Amen Thompson….bravo, buddy.

Bravo…for throwing Tyler Herro’s white punk fanboy ass down the other night. The only thing is though…your Rockets went onto lose the game to the Miami Heat. It’s about winning if you’re gonna fight.

Fight to win…not to lose.

I’m actually a fan of Tyler’s, but you know what…I thought it was cool Amen did what he did.

NBA television ratings are down this season for the NBA. The much ballyhooed Western Conference looks more like the Big 12 we saw this season without bluebloods OU and Texas. LeBron, Steph, and Kevin look like they collectively shot their wads in Paris this summer winning a gold medal for Team USA.

The gold standard of America sports viewerwise…the NFL and college football’s first 12-team tourment are both about to hit their viewership strides. That gap between the NFL and NBA is no longer close as Adam Silver’s pussified NBA is still overly laden with tanking, lazy regular season defense, and rest management standards which make NBA regular season games tedious at times.

But tonight here in OKC on NY’s Eve we could have something posssibly special as the 26-5 Thunder host the ‘finally’ coming together 17-14 Minnesota TWolves.

Remember this… you OKC Thunder fans who are spoon fed a daily amount of nonsensical homerism by Little Nick Gallo and Michael Cage–it was the TWolves, not the Thunder who advanced to last season’s Western Conference Finals opposite te Dallas Mavericks.

As Oklahoma’s pre-eminent NBA blogger…I think this is a walking dog piss marker game for these two teams. I really do.

It wouldn’t upset me at all if someone deep on the Minnesota bench did something like Amen Thompson did the other night if the TWolves look like they need a hockey brawl to remind them of what they haven’t been to date this NBA regular season.

I can’t wait for this game.

Happy New Year’s Eve

Editor’s Note…it appears Youtube has for the time being placed an age sensitive blocker on this splendid throw-down video of Tyler Herro by Amen Thompson. I’ll come back at a later time and repost this highly excellent video. You see…Youtube and the NBA just made my point for in regards to the pussified NBA. Oh…how the NBA needs the Detroit ‘Bad Boys’ Pistons in this age of Adam Silver.

MJ

This chemo treatment stage hasn’t really knocked me down all that much. I basically had been training for this stage of the fight for over a year. I’ve stated to lose some hair, but that’s no big deal. Otherwise…pretty much not a quality of life factor so far.

It’s going to be a mid-60’s sunny December day in Oklahoma. Perfect for crappie fishing excursion on Lake Carl Blackwell just west of Stillwater. One of my nephews is going to join me. Some hot coffee will be nice this morning. Coffee, crappie, and fishing fellowship. Life is good.

I love the drive from Deer Creek through Guthrie around Langston and into Stillwater. It’s a calming, peaceful drive. One which slows down your mind.

Perfect for a December day like this.

Have a beautiful last Saturday of 2024.

Mike J

-Staff Reports-

Behind another plus forty point game from MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander the OKC Thunder came back from a 15 point deficit to eventually overhaul the Indiana Pacers by a 120-114 count.

To date this is the largest deficit the Thunder have overcome this season. Minus the blowout loss to Milwaukee in the Emirates NBA Cup Final…the Thunder is perfect against Eastern Conference teams this basketball season.

Overall.. the Thunder stand at 24-5, and quite frankly are making a mockery of the Northwest Division. The discontent Denver Nuggets stand 7.5 games behind the Thunder and in my view the Minnesota Timberwolves to date are the biggest disappointment this NBA regular season. Portland and Utah are horrible, but Portland on nights can be decent.

So here’s my thought of the day before I get my game face on along with Ben Arbuckle and John Mateer for this OU-Navy Bowl game….. at 24-5 are the Thunder in a realistic position to conceivably win 70 games this NBA regular season?

I think they are because from my view so far this season pre-trade deadline…..I don’t think the Western Conference is all that good. In fact, I think I would take the top four Eastern Conference teams over the top four Western Conference teams in something resembling a SEC-Big 12 Hoops Challenge.

What was the last time an NBA team cracked the 70 win plateau?

If you know NBA hoops at all this is a cupcake free throw question.

Answer: the Michael Jordan 1995-96 Chicago Bull squad went 72-10.

I have mixed emotions pulling at me in regards to this OU-Navy game. My father was a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy on a mine sweeper stationed in San Diego when I was born in Coronado. But of course…in the end I want OU to win in a close game.

Boomer-Anchors Aweigh!

MJ

Obviously, my heart has been heavy this past week so this Xmas wasn’t my normal onslaught of NBA Xmas hoops binge watching.

But I did watch the fourth period of the NY Knicks scintillating win over Wemby’s Spurs as Mical Bridges put on his Superman cape and showed the hoops world what’s he capable of here and there.

For me that set the tone for the only Xmas Day game I watched for all four quarters…that being the Lakers’ stunning win at Golden State as AR slayed Steph. Granted, Austin did get some help from LeBron, but at the end when it mattered most it was AR who one-upped Steph on his home court and basically showed the Steph era is coming to an end.

I love Austin Reaves. What he stands for in this era of pampered, spoiled NBA superstars gives me hope. I knew what this kid has because I watched him closely during his two years in Norman playing for Lon Kruger.

As Mike Breen and Doris Burke accurately gushed, ‘He’s this generation’s Manu Ginobli.” Bingo.

When LeBron starts calling some white kid from Arkansas who went undrafted out of OU…’AR’, you know, some serious white boy ballin’ is going on.

Again, I love Austin Reaves. I love what he stands for. He made Big 12 First Team his senior season at OU when that conference still had basketball fangs. He outplayed Gonzaga’s Jalen Suggs in the second round of the NCAA Tournament that spring. And, yet, he went undrafted in both rounds of that summer’s NBA draft.

Austin didn’t flinch. His belief in himself never wavered. He said, “F–k it…I’m an NBA player.”

Then he went out and proved it by making the Lakers’ squad as an undrafted free agent.

And what makes this story even sweeter for me is that Russell Westbrook and LeBron took this kid under their protective superstar wings and encouraged Austin to become the Manu Ginobli of this NBA generation.

It was a tough week for our family. Brutally tough.

But it just goes to show you…if you do things the right way—things always turn your way in the end.

Austin Reaves, thank you for the wonderful Christmas present. Don’t ever lose sight of who you are and how you got to this juncture in your journey. Trust me…it’s all about the journey, young man.

Mike J

My mother-in-law didn’t quite make it to Christmas. She came up around five hours short yesterday evening. It is a blessing from God her struggle is over.

Some might find it strange that I write her passing is a glorious, wonderful thing. But if you witnessed her life as I did for forty-four years through the lense of a son-in-law you would understand why I’m smiling through the tears as I write these thoughts down on Christmas Day.

She lived a wonderful, blessed life and through it had to overcome some significant challenges.

Jo exited with courage, dignity, and a sense of the big picture which makes me proud to have known her.

There is no sadness in this for me. Only gratitude for the memories and the visual images of where’s she’s going.

I see it clearly. There she is.

A young woman in a field just outside the outskirts of Greencastle, Indiana as Richard stands in a snowy field waiting to hold her hand again.

That’s how I see it.

What a lovely Christmas gift.

Mike J

I’m heading out to the creek trails for a terrain hike in the forest along the winding trails of Deer Creek itself. My wife advised me to take my cell phone…so of course I will ignore that and not lose my new IPhone in the creek. I’m pretty confident of my hiking strength right now. But I wish I had Pauli with me. That would be so cool.

I sorely need a dog. My next dog will of course be another female lab and I think I would like to name her after my son’s thirteen year-old brown lab… Perk.

Perk II would for me be a seamless fit of sorts….if of course my son doesn’t mind.

I need a dog.

Best wishes for a wonderful XMas.

Be safe.

Mike J

It’s Christmas Eve day and all things considered….I’m in a pretty nice little place emotionally and physically considering I’m in chemo quarantine while my wife’s family is going through a very tough Christmas.

This chemo drug I’m on isn’t really knocking me down. I feared that. I was apprehensive going into this phase of my Stage 4 journey. But so far… ‘we’ve got this.’ I feel God right there with me hand in hand every step of the way.

There are always silver linings. You have to open your eyes, open your heart…. and feel all of the good things which have blessed your life and are still just around the corner.

I watched about five minutes of the Thunder’s win over the tanking Washinton Wizards and you know…it was their eighth straight regular season win sandwiched around the blowout loss to Milwaukee in the NBA Cup Finals.

Jaylin Williams is back and healthy again as the Thunder are very much on pace to possibly win 60 games this NBA regular season. I love Jaylin’s smile. Is there an NBA metric for smile quality? It would seem the Thunder are very much in control of their destiny as far as gaining the Western Conference No. 1 seed for a second consectutive regular season.

We are not going to know anything really about the Thunder until we see what they are in the Western Conference semis. That’s when we’ll begin to discover what this team is or isn’t when it’s money time.

My Packers are trending in a very encouraging manner while we all know the Detroit Lions are banged up and the Minnesota Vikings have a propensity for late season choking. Minus the very talented Philadelphia Eagles…I would think Jordan Love and his Packers have more than a puncher’s chance of making some noise in the NFC Playoffs.

Green Bay did it just right in the manner in which they moved Aaron Rodgers to the NY Jets. It couldn’t have been orchestrated any better. Bravo…Green Bay front office! I hurt watching Aaron right now. It literally hurts me.

Anyway…it’s Christmas Eve. Embrace the season. Try and bring joy to all of those who you come in contact with.

‘Blessed are those kind of heart

For they shall see the light of God.’

Whenever I’m down…I close my eyes and pray the Beatitudes to myself. Other than Psalms 23…it’s my favorite part of the Bible. So positive…so full of hope.

Maybe tomorrow morning I’ll do the whole thing. It’s beautiful.

Mike J