9/1/2020 -  1. Interesting times. Perhaps “interesting” is far too positive of a word. But I like to see myself as a generally positive person so I’ll leave it at as interesting. It is unrealistic to think that in times like this we can keep social and political issues out of any area or any arena. Sports included. Humans play these games, run these leagues, and broadcast these events. In the specific case of the NBA, the league is predominantly comprised of young African American men. I know many want an “escape” when they watch sports. I do too. But there is no way to fully escape reality right now. And in the case of the players, many feel if they don’t use the platform they have as a tool to speak up that it will be a waste of what they’ve been given, perhaps even irresponsible. I believe the intentions of the players is good. And I very much believe they feel deeply on this and it isn’t an act. I am not offended by players having a voice. I am not offended by any of it really. I do Collapse

8/21/2020 -  1. I’m often wrong about sports. But I’m honestly not very often truly surprised. Perhaps that’s what a lifetime of watching games religiously does; call it instinct or cynicism or experience, but I’m not often legit surprised by outcomes. Now, I’m not saying an individual game result hasn’t left me shocked— that happens a lot. I’m talking about deeper outcomes. This series would fall into that category. I thought it was a 50/50 series and I picked the Thunder in 7. So the fact that we could lose the series isn’t surprising to me in the least. What DOES surprise me is how inferior we’ve looked in pretty much all facets of both games. I knew something wasn’t right after game one. It didn’t feel like a fluke. It didn’t feel like just round 1 of a heavyweight bout. It felt like trouble. The fact that the Thunder were able to only make minor successful adjustments in Game 2 leads me to believe its DEEP trouble now. OKC looks flummoxed. At the end of the game tonight there was a Collapse

8/11/2020 -  1. First quarter was cool. I should probably just stop there. I’m not shocked at this point by any level of “load management” implemented league-wide, but I will say I’m a bit surprised that after a five month hiatus that so many teams seem to have taken a “meh” approach to the seeding games. Now, truth be told I suppose in actuality very little was on the line for the teams other than the West teams battling for the play-in game. And those teams haven’t subscribed to any load management. Entering the bubble the Thunder had a slim shot at the 2/3 seed, but any hope of that went out the window with the loss to Denver. At that point it became clear it would be the 4-6 seed and without home court on the line, it becomes all about match ups. My impression is that the Thunder either don’t really have a preference of who they play or don’t feel they have any real control over it, so might as well be cautious and let the chips fall where they may. They didn’t plan on Adams Collapse

3/7/2020 - 1. Not gonna lie, was pretty distracted during this one with the virus-mania going on. Striking the right balance between being informed, aware, and diligent versus making sure you don’t contribute to unnecessary panic or shutdowns is difficult. Four weeks ago I was blowing this off as typical over-hype. Now, I fear I’ve swung the other direction and might be getting overly freaked out by the over-hype. I’m not so much freaked out by the virus as I am freaked out by the freak out. This is definitely a tricky situation for everyone to navigate. No need to dive deeper here into the social, economic, and political impacts of this so I’ll stick with what I know— basketball. NBA sent a memo to teams today telling them to identify “essential staff” and be prepared to play games in empty arenas if it comes to that. I have no problem with them getting this info out and I also think it would be an OK plan on two conditions. First, the games would have to be broadcast as the normally would. If Collapse

2/29/2020 - 1. This was actually a little bit cleansing. The Thunder have played a LOT of close games. They’ve been exceptionally good in said games. And truth be told, they’ve been on the right side of the luck coin more often than not this year. The schedule has generally been favorable, they’ve caught some teams missing key players, they’ve gotten the benefit of some 50/50 calls, etc. All around it’s just sort of been “their year” in many ways. Well, tonight, was most definitely NOT “their night.” Thunder have been impressive all season long on the second night of back to backs and at the end of tough stretches. It was probably bound to catch up to them eventually. They played a nail-biter last night where they had to expend a lot of energy to get the win. This was also their third game in four nights. Gallo resting. Milwaukee had not played since Tuesday. And, oh by the way, Milwaukee is AWESOME. So this one was set up as poorly as it could possibly be set up for the upset. Bucks took the Collapse

2/24/2020 - 1. Lots of happy thoughts tonight, but the one thing that stuck out to me above all else was how the Thunder and Steven Adams himself need to do whatever they need to do to ensure the version we are seeing right now is the version that is ready once the playoffs arrive. It appears clear that the All Star Break did wonders for me. Hard to know if it’s mental, physical, or both, but whatever it is, there is a noticeable difference. He was borderline showboating tonight at one point. Moving effortlessly and just gobbling up rebounds and finishing strong. So that tells me he clearly was NOT “injured” before the break. If he had a bum knee or something that wouldn’t just magically heal over the course of a week. This tells me he was likely just beat up and worn out. I also think it’s possible he sort of picks his spots throughout the season. Whatever the case may be, there needs to be a concerted effort to bottle this and unleash it in the post-season. If that means he needs to “load Collapse

2/12/2020 - 1. Welcome to the first rut of the season. Even though they started 6-11, I thought they actually played well over those first 15 games and just had a little trouble getting the offense into a flow and closing out game. They fixed both of those items and then proceeded to play extremely well (and consistently) for two and a half months. They were rewarded with four full days off and then a four game home stand. Well, said stand was kind of a dud. They did not look good over these four games. If I were to assign a grade to each it would look like this: Cavs (C); Pistons (C-); Celtics (B); Spurs (D+). Average that out and you’re looking at a solid “C” home stand. Bring your C game in the NBA and you should probably feel fortunate to come out of it at 2-2. The pace has been off over these games as has been their shooting. Also a step slow on the boards, loose balls, etc. A classic rut. I’m not sweating it. At all. Because all teams (save the truly elite) go through these. It’s mid Collapse

2/6/2020 - 1. First of all, I have something totally random and off topic to say: parents out there who ROOT for schools to be cancelled due to snow are much, much better parents than me. It’s cool for like 90 minutes; then they come inside, total messes of wet and dirty clothes, and you look at the clock and it’s only 10:30am. Cabin fever sets in quick. Thankfully, my kids attend Edmond Public Schools so this was a one-day event for them. Days like this I also think about weird stuff; Cavs in town, team having a miserable season. And if you’ve ever been to Cleveland in the winter (raises hand) it is beyond brutal. Arctic cold, snow, gray. Awful. Just awful. So I think about their players and staff. Gotta figure one silver lining (besides the 7 figure salaries) is that they get breaks from the misery when they travel south and west. So it must be a real bummer to wake up in OKC with several hours to kill and you look outside your window and see... Cleveland. 2. Tonight was fairly predictable. Collapse