Welcome to OKCThunderGround!

It was a great Monday physical therapy session today with my bud Tyler over at the cancer rehab center. Fifty minutes of hell, yet another step forward. Very clearly another step forward.

Tyler is a very knowledgeable Thunder fan and of the NBA as a whole as well. I always wear my Thunder blue T-shirt from Game 6 in 2016 for my workouts with Tyler. I would say Tyler is so knowledgeable in fact he could probably write for the Daily Thunder and with the exception of my former pupil Justin over there…Tyler could be the stud hoss.

So Tyler says to me today, “Mike, I’ve noticed when you have Audra or Chasity you never wear the Game 6 shirt…. are you telling me you don’t like me?”

I said, ” No, Tyler, I’ve come to love you like a son, but I’m trying to help you by me wearing the shirt so as you don’t waste your basketball life away just following the going nowhere Thunder.”

He replied, “Well, yeah, maybe Chet will get them over the hump?”

I laughed and shot back, “Yeah, maybe Tommy Tuberville will be named president of Harvard later this year as well….know what I mean.”

Anyway…we proceeded to have a great workout and basically talked about the Warriors the rest of the hour with Draymond punching out the feckless Jordan Poole as the main basketball topic.

The kid really knows his basketball….. seriously.

Anyway…as far as the Thunder’s predictable tank in the Summer League going 4-4 with the best one two combo of Chet and J-Dub…. I have nothing really else to say.

The Thunder should have easily won the tournament, but Sam Presti’s massive ego just isn’t ever about winning….. it’s about him making everyone else think he’s some sort of John Wooden savant.

The Thunder have all kinds of young talent, but as of right now I’d say they go something like maybe 43-39 while finishing third in the Northwest Division behind Denver and Minnesota.

That will be a rap on my Thunder Summer League recap. That’s all they deserve.

I’m beat.

I’m hitting the sack.

Be careful with heat this week.

I haven’t done an After Dark in a while. This seems appropriate given the situation. I’m adding two half-mile morning walks to the 160 minutes of weekly physical training this week.

Yo, Adrian.

I’ve decided to switch my Smerconish question of the week to Sundays so as to avoid college football’s start in seven weeks since I’m now feeling somewhat bullish about me being a cancer survivor. Wasn’t sure for awhile and I would have suggested you to sell your El Prez stock short, but I’m beginning to think I’m going to possibly make it through this life journey situation.

It’s been a great week-end for my wife and I as we spent Saturday in Seminole on her family’s two-hundred acre ranch which has three stocked pondstucked in the rolling hills of southeast Oklahoma. I’ve never seen it greener out there…. what with ten inches rain in the first two weeks of July.

We had a nice lunch. Then kicked back and enjoyed the utter peacefulness of country living and came back yesterday evening to Deer Creek.

I clicked on Netflix and watched one of my favorite Will Smith movies. I love this movie as Will plays a homeless young man who’s a single father while trying to get through a six month payless internship at Dean Witter where around sixty applicants are vying for one job opening.

Will’s character only has a high school degree and the odds are stacked against him, but as you know if you’ve ever seen the movie his character is chockful of inspirational human DNA.

I love this movie. It should be a must see for every father in this country to view itat least two times in their life. It’s a great good cry movie.

As far as the Smerconish Question of the Week… Is Oklahoma’ Ex Cage Fighting Markwayne Mullin the Dumbest of Our One-Hundred United States Senators?

Since I’m from Oklahoma…. It distresses me to say, “Yes, Markwayne Mullin probably is the dumbest member of what was once the most austere body of government in the world. If this serves as any consolation to the Ultimate Kick-ass Warrior Marwayne, I would say Auburn’s former failed head coach Tommy Tuberville is rapidly closing in on the Ultimate Warrior for a photo finish.

This will be it for me on this inaugural Smerconich Sunday. I have physical therapy tomorrow with Tyler. I’d say Tyler is thirty or so and a passionate Thunder and NBA fan. I’m going to digest some of Tyler’s takes before I write what I feel about the Thunder’s shameless tanking in the Summer League for no reason whatsover.

I mean…skilled coaches can play to win, develop, and evaluate without any of these being exclusive from one another. I mean…the bar is so low in Oke City…they might as well bring the jets to do fly bys the Devon Tower to further experiment on the extent of brain damage to humans from exsessive sonic boom exposrure.

Enough of that for now. I’m a Warriors and Denver Nuggets fan so my days of agonizing over Sam Presti’s bullshit are in my rear view mirror.. It wouldn’t surprise me a bit if agonizing over his bullshit along with a bad diet contributed to the breakdown in my immune system which led to my Stage 4 cancer situation. I might give my new lawyer Jackie Childs a call on Tuesday morning and see if he thinks I have a legit lawsuit.

Peace.

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I just had breakfast. Grape nuts, blue berries, oat milk, whole wheat toast, and hibiscus tea. Getting ready to watch the Thunder’s Summer League game vs. the Wizzards….I think it is.

Granted… this is the Summer League. But still, any type of any sort of championship for the Thunder after three seasons of tanking would be much needed balm for Thunder Nation and the pitiful Thunder owned blog of which I shall not name in an effort to be more spiritual as I fight back Stage 4 cancer wth the courage of a true Warrior.

Any blindfolded chimpanzee knows that in this tournament the Oklahoma City Thunder with Chet Holmgren and J-Dub have the best one-two combo since both Wemby and Jabari Smith have been grounded for the duration of the tournament. And to go on record, I would have taken Jabari Smith over Chet just because of my concerns in regards to Chet’s physical composition. Kudos to Jabari for playing in this Summer League in as much as he played in 73 games this past NBA regular season.

So here is what I’m saying…if Sam Presti can’t just this one time, this singular one time ring the bell in something as passive-submissive as the NBA’s Summer League with these two ringers … then how in the world could anyone expect Shai to ever lead the franchise back to the glory days of Kevin Durant?

That was rhetorical and unlike our dumbass U.S. senator from Oklahoma…I understand how to inject a rhetorical in a public hearing or courtroom…in as much I was taught this at the Bob Jackson School of Street Law.

So Mr. Presti….. show me you can win something other than Portland taking Greg Oden. I’m watching and hopeful you can figure this out for the duration of this very winnable tournament.

To the video question above….L’ll answer that tomorrow on my edition back in the studio of Smerconish Saturday as I try to decipher whether the brawler Markwayne Mullin or Tommy Tuberville is the dumbest current member of the United States Senate.

God bless Ernie Johnson and others out there fighting the courageous fight.

Peace.

El Prez

I love this video. I came across it in 2016 when my father was battling pancreatic cancer. He lost that battle on the 23rd of August at the age of 81. Those ten months from his diagnosis until his death shaped me like no other event in my life to date.

When I listen to Ernie speak I have to admit it puts a bit of a lump in my throat. But when you hear those intial words about your own motality it puts you into a different human orbit of sorts.

My onocoligist, Dr. S., was very candid with me when we received the results from my bone marrow test. I’l never forget those words, “Your PSA count is off the charts at 1200. That’s an outrageous number. You have prostatic bone cancer Stage 4. If your affairs are not in order…I would suggest you get them in order. I have no idea how long you have to live. We’ll get started with a holistic combination of oral chemo, blockers, diet, physical therapy, and praying wouldn’t be a bad idea.”

I gulped a bit and nodded.

So two weeks ago, on my fourth month consultation after my monthly blood labs….my PSA was at 2.57 and my hemoglobin count was a stunning 13 after being at 7 four months ago.

Dr. S looks at me and says with a smile, “These are really good numbers. Your PSA count should be below zero in thirty days. How do you feel … are the chemo drugs bringing you down?”

“Not really. I actually feel as if I’m getting stronger every day. My weight is the best its been in thirty years. My BMI at 24.8 is strong. Blood pressure is 126/70 and I’m really enjoying my physical rehab team of Audra, Charity, and Tyler. They’ve lit a fire under my ass.”

He smiled and started scribbling on my chart. He then said, ” I’m not sure what to say…this is the highest PSA I can remember from one of my patients.You’ve been an outlier from Day 1. We’ll take this slowly and find our way one month at a time. This was all very good today. Any questions?”

I answered,” Not really….we’ll get thru this, Doc. I Promise you that. I’m extremely motivated. I want to see my grandchildren grow up. I’m at peace within myself. Never been calmer from inside and I’ve never felt closer to God. I’m good. Let’s do our best and see if we can beat this problem I seem to have. Maybe you can write about this in a medical journal or something with other doctors.”

So yestreday was my second PetScan since this began back in March and I’m quietly confident on what its going to look like when Dr. S shows it to me at the end of next month.

Like Ernie says,

” Do your best, appreciate the love from your family and friends. Just take this one day at a time and find a way to work through cancer.”

I’ve watched the Thunder’s last two Summer League games and don’t really have much to write. I’ll wait till their next game and hope that they’ve made it to the Finals as they should given the strength of their roster.

Take care.

Peace.

I feel absolutely great today. Just basically killed it in my physical therapy session with Audra yesterday. I’ve worked up to Level 8 on the terrain bike and I’ve pegged out on the leg press machine doing four different variations. I like the fact I’m working with three different therapists. Like coaches…all three have a unique voice and all three love sports as I do.

Audra played college softball so I asked yesterday, ” You think Patti Gasso should go after the O State pitcher Kelly Maxwell who just entered the portal?”

She says, ” Oh yeah, they need two quality arms to replace the departure of Jordy Ball. O State’s not going anywhere…they’ve collapsed two seasons in a row at the most important time of the year. Why piss away your Covid extra season doing the same thing again. She should call Patti.”

I asked, ” You know where Kelly played her high school ball?”

She says without hesitating, ” She played in the Houston area. She could play for Texas…I guess, but they’ve been even bigger chokers than O State these past two seasons. She should call Patti and see if they connect. Why not?”

I bore down on the bike and said, ” We agree. You have any thoughts on Mike Gundy?”

She smiled and said, “Don’t make me go there while I’m working. Know what I mean. Focus on the bike, Michael. Let’s go.”

As far as Chris Paul now being a member of the Golden State Warriors. This is what I say. Last season with the fluffy soft Jordan Poole being the defending champ’s first guard off the bench the Warriors were historically bad. Consider also the Warriors’ first unit of Steph, Klay, the Moral Compass, Draymond, and Wiggins were the best offensive unit in the league.

So why would Steve Kerr make Chris Paul a starter and disrupt any of that provided Andrew Wiggins has himself back where he was two seasons ago. I mean … maybe what I would suggest is that both Klay and CP3 both come to the realization both of their bodies aren’t what they once were.

I would say to Chris, “Listen…you have always been a Bad Little Dude. I love your hubris. But you’re thirty-eight years of age. You’re not a kid from Wake Forest anymore. You will have a signifcant, crucial role on this basketball team. Be fluid with this.”

Me being Steve Kerr continued would put my arm around CP3’s shoulder and say, ” You’re a Hall of Fame player without a ring, don’t screw this opportunity up. You’re going to be a great coach someday if you feel so inclined.”

Steve Kerr me would conclude, “Flow with it. You’re going to get your minutes. Be like Bill Walton when he accepted a bench role with the Celtics and won his second ring. Help me out with Johnny Kuminga…help him understand what it takes to be a pro in this league. Deal?

If Chris has a problem with this then I’d trade his ass for another guard …. I wonder if Damian Lillard might want to win a ring? Just a thought. He could always do the Miami thing. This is a rare window in Golden State as the window is closing somewhat on the Bay.

The Thunder’s second game in Vegas is coming up and of course I’ll be watching while having a game day meal of two cream corn enchiladas, a sweet potato, some broccoli, a spinach salad, a bowl of strawberries, and a delicious cup of green tea.

Sam Presti…. your young Thunder team could end up being my second favorite team to watch this season…..please don’t overthink at this point and screw it up.

Yes, I think he’s on the cusp if Shai takes his game up another level this season while Josh Giddy improves his defensive footwork and does the team thing and becomes the best Sixth Man in the league.

Obviously, Kevin Durant was a generational player in his prime… right now he’s just a notch and a half below LeBron and on my list pretty much even with Steph and Kawhi.

I always had Nick as my fifth guy on Sam Presti’s OKC original Fab Five because of Nick’s elite passing, his elite understanding of team defense, and his elite vision in the two man game with James Harden. You know…somewhat like Boris Diaw on those elite San Antonio teams.

So on this new Fab Five I go in this order for the time being depending on how fast Chet Holgren assimilates his game to an arduous 82 game regular season slate. I’ve never questioned Chet’s skill set in that he is a five skill player while Josh is a three skill set player. What I still wonder about with Chet is how many games can he go in a reagular season when you start going back to back and three games in four nights.

My current Thunder Fab Five goes in this order ‘right now’,…. 1 SGA, 2 J-Dub, 3 Chet, 4 Josh, and 5 J-Will.

J-Will….has El Prez lost his mind while wrestling with cancer? No… not at all. I’ve been following J-Will since his days at Arkansas and if ever there was a replica of Nick Collison it’s J-Will. If anything… J-Will should be better than Nick because he can step back and hit the three when it’s required in a clutch situation. Nick never really had this in his arsenal, hence Nick was a four skill player on my TSSN metric sheet…but a wonderful four skill quitessential team player.

So what does this mean for me on my blog? It means I’m still going to feature Golden State 1, Denver 2, and OKC 3 as I attempt to weave a three team coverage depending on my health. OKC with Chet is clearly a story, one in fact which I’m sure all passionate NBA fans will be interested in following if they’re real NBA fans.

It’s physical therapy day for me at 1:00pm. Audra is my PT mate today. I’m jacked…. I actually love physical therapy…I’m weird in that way. I’ll tell you this, cancer non-withstanding… if I can get to the point where I can get the right knee replaced El Prez could be on the cusp his ownself of becoming his own Bad Little Dude….just saying.

Until you’ve had a brush with your own mortality….you never really realize what a God given privlege it is to be alive and enjoying the company of family and friends.

More rain scheduled for Deer Creek tonight. The ranch has never been lusher or greener.

Have a wonderful Summer League week..

I’m very much enjoying the Summer League as I’ve watched all four of the Thunder games so far. I’ve watched some other teams as well, but clearly from my view when the Thunder allow J-Dub to play with Chet, J-Will, Tre Mann and rookie Cason Wallace these Thunder by far are the most talented group I’ve seen so far in the Summer League.

I mean…wow. I don’t won’t to hyperbolate…but Fab Five, maybe.

There is some real talent with these five guys and their skill sets interchange where a basketball person looking ahead to various combinations in game situations in the real league games could see all five of these guys paired with SGA, Lu Dort, and Josh Giddy in various situations depending on opponent, score, and time.

With the improvement of Tre Mann what Sam Presti now has are top eight players who can all play defense in a versatile manner and switch as the other team’s lineups change. Plus, all eight can score the ball from anywhere on the court. Not an Andre Roberson to be seen.

Add these eight guys to my original list including both Aaron Wiggins and KenrichWilliams and that’s nine out of the Thunder’s top ten on my list so far into this evaluation who can defend and are not a defensive pylon in any way.

Josh Giddy’s defense and his footwork concern me, but that’s what coaches are for…to ostensibly challenge their players to make their weakness a strength.

My No. 11 right now is the kid…Ousane Dieng. He could conceivably be the third ‘modern day’ big to go along with Chet and J-Dub. I would think eventually the Thunder will need a banger and we’ll see if Keontae Johnson can evolve in that role.

That puts me at thirteen and I know Presti added the injured Victor Oladipo and the vet point guard Patty Mills if I read that right. I don’t see Victor playing anywhere for awhile given his serious injury and I’m not sure I know enough about Patty Mills’ contract situation to comment on his presence as of now.

*Oops…just traded to the Atlanta Hawks.

I mean…there’s going to be some tough decisions for the Thunder to make coming out of camp in October.

Isiah Joe, JRE, Lindy W, Poku, and Jared Butler just to name five. Plus, a couple of these other guys on the Summer League roster I’d never seen before. Plus, the two Euros Presti picked up. It’s going to be interesting for certain. But if they don’t use Keontae as their banger, they need to add a banger with some physical moxie to the group.

So….with me hyperbolating like this on July 8th, which btw is my mom’s birthday, could this Thunder group possibly challenge for a top six spot in the uber, uber tough West?

Yeah, the Thunder could be the Sac Kings or the Minny T Wolves, but when you start really looking at rosters in the West it’s going to be so very tough to crack the top six.

Just looked at the weather radar it appears more rain just about to hit Deer Creek, Kaui.

Aloha and peace.

This was a very introspective Fourth of July for me. On the first week of March my hemotoligist/oncologist finally figured out why my hemoglobin was sticking at a dangerously low rate after having me take a bone marrow test.

He sat me down, closed the door and said, “Tell me what you think I’m getting ready to tell you.”

I said, “Based on what your practicioner told me on the phone…I think you’re getting ready to tell me I have cancer.”

He calmly said, “You have prostatic bone cancer Stage 4. I would suggest you get your affairs in order if they aren’t already. But we’ve got you on four different medications as of today….so we’ll see. Every individual reacts differently to a Stage 4 diagnosis.”

So here I am four months later after being on Dr. S’s holistic approach and my latest lab results as of last week were very encouraging. My PSA count was close to zero, my hemoglogin has doubled, and my body weight has gone from 160 lbs. to 185 lbs. and stablized. My BMI (body mass index) is a stellar 24.6 which puts me in elite company compared to other Americans. My stamina, strength, and flexibilty are better than anytime in the last twenty years minus the fact I still need my right knee replaced if I get beyond this hurdle of not dying.

Dr. S’s holistic approach is multifaceted beyond just the immune and oral chemo drugs….it involves a diet in which I have tripled my vegetable and fruit ratios to meat by a 14 to 2 count. I do physical therapy twice a week with two female ex-college softball players named Audra and Charity who have lit a fire in my competitive soul.

Occasionally, I get Tyler as my PT. I asked him the other day, ” Why is it your workout is so much more fun than what Charity does to me?”

He answered, ” Because I figured you need to have fun in here from time to time and not die here at the facility.”

And, of course, I now do three other PT sessions on my own because of the fact Charity and Audra lit a fire under my ass.

Plus, prayer, reading and meditation make up the final components of Dr. S’s holistic approach to dealing with cancer.

It’s a day by day, week by week, month to month process for me, but the truth is when you get a Stage 4 diagnosis it’s clearly the ephipany of all ephipanies. You never take a day for granted. You make sure you say the right things and do the right things.

It’s been a complete awakening for me when I go to the medical facilty for either treatment or physical therapy and talk to the other people with their own cancer human stories.

This may sound crazy, but in a way getting the diagnosis has been a reboot for me in a good way for however long my journey takes me.

It was a great Fourth for me. I caught a bass. Ate a hamburger. Drank one Pacifico. Watched a video of my grandson using pedals on his bike for the first time….. and then cried a lovely little bit to myself as I heard Brad Paisley sing ‘So Many Summers’.

I thought Chet looked good even though he struggled in the first period against an inferior level of bigs from the Utah Jazz. His body looks better. It looks to me like he’s added around 20-22 pounds of muscle mass in his arms and legs.

I don’t want or think Chet needs to be Hulk Hogan to be an effective NBA big man in this contemporary style of ball which is now played, but I think as he moves along here with the Thunder’s nutritional staff he should hopefully put on another 10-15 pounds of muscle mass in the next 18 months. I would think 227 lbs. or so would be a good weight for Chet so as not to diminish his mobility.

He clearly has the skill set to be a unique offensive player in ‘this’ NBA. On the defensive side of the ball….I think as his body continues to morph he’ll become a better and better rim protector.

If he stays healthy he clearly along with SGA and J-Dub gives the Thunder a legit top three core from which to build an interesting ten man rotation.

I don’t have Josh Giddy in my top three for two simple reasons. He defends and shoots the ball at substandard levels for me to make him a top two or three core guy. I think he would be a fabulous Sixth Man. His court vision and passing skills are top tier though. We’ll see.

Staying healthy will be the thing for Chet. Making those bones stronger, more durable. I would guess he’s under some sort of calcium regime program as well. Avoid the Bill Walton, Sam Bowie, and Greg Oden scenarios at all costs. It’s uncanny how Portland drafted all three of those guys, lucky for Sam Presti the Blazers took Oden and Kevin Durant fell to the Thunder for a decade of excellent basketball. Any blind fool would have taken Durant at that point.

It’s time for Presti to show me all this Savant Status bullshit he’s given by the weak Oklahoma sports media is earned. Sure….J-Dub has turned out to be a great pick, but what about some of the other first round flameouts like Micth McGary, Josh Huestis, Terrance Ferguson, Darius Bazely, Alex Abrines (2nd round), and of late Poku.

What I want to see from Sam Presti is the ability to take the Thunder franchise firstly to a single first round playoff series advance without Kevin Durant carrying his lunchpail. Westbrook, Paul George, Chris Paul, and SGA haven’t been able to lift that lunchpail past the first round. Just sayin’.

I’m not not talking about a ‘championship in Oklahoma City or even a Northwest Divisonal title. I just want to see with all this ‘basketball’ genius Sam Presti is given credit for by the very weak Oklahoma City sports media if Sam Presti can lead this frachise to ONE single playoff series triumph without Kevin Durant and Wanda Pratt.

It would seem to me with all the parity in the NBA….that shouldn’t be too much to ask given the fact the Denver Nuggets just this week lost two core players off their championship bench in Bruce Brown and Jeff Green. I hate to see Jeff Green leaving Denver, but that’s the nature of the beast in the NBA. Hopefully, Coach Malone has sobered up from the parade and huddled with GM Calvin Booth to remake the Nugget bench with Christian Braun becoming the new Sixth Man.

Have a great Fourth of July.

Peace.