Kevin Durant was in town on Wednesday.....
And him and his sorry team got blown out by the freaking Clippers....
As luck had it, I checked out what the Clipper's upcoming games were on Tuesday morning. I was excited when I saw OKC on the docket for Wednesday night. Good catch by me. I made a couple calls and I was all set. I got a great set at center court four rows up. I was practically on the floor. It was money.
I thought Staples Center was nice. It's a little different than it appears on TV. Obviously it had a much different vibe than a Lakers game because the Clippers don't get the Laker lights. They keep all the lights on for the Clips. So I didn't get the full ambience. It has 3 levels of suites. They are a little higher up than the first level of suites at the Q. There is so much commerce inside the building. Restaurants. McDonalds. Tons of food stations. It's intense.
Notable Pseudo Celebrity Spots: Coco Crisp, Penny Marshall, Bill Simmons, Jeff Ross, Aaron Goodwin
Onto the game.
OKC Thunder: I am going to try to stay away from sweeping allegations of fraud. I know they are a good team, maybe the 2nd of 3rd team to beat in the West when they are clicking. But in brief, they looked like they were working on grasping some new offensive sets and trying to get on the same page with their defensive sets. But big picture, they are missing 2 guys. They are a couple guys away from really competing for a NBA title. They are missing a wing player who can get his own shot, get into the key, and make a 3 pointer when he's open. A Rip Hamilton type guy. I had another guard in mind that I can't think of. They are also missing a post defender and rebounder. A gritty guy whose been through battles. A communicator whose not afraid to stick his nose in the action. Think Marcus Camby type. Both these guy's that they are missing need to be boisterous and be veterans in my opinion. Mo Pete is gonna help when he comes off the injured list. But the 3 headed monster of Nenad Kristic, Serge Ibaka, and Cole Aldrich isn't enough. There are holes to fill. By the way there was a Cole Aldrich sighting in the game last night.
There is a good commraderie between the guys on the Thunder. They seem to enjoy each other. They have a lot of handshakes and pre-game stuff. Lot of smiles in warmups. Similar type stuff to what the Cavs did, which kind of gave them a bad rap. But it's more tame and understated though.
Kevin Durant, the first guy I went to see, if you didn't check played his worst game in probably his last 60 games. 6-24 from the field from a guy whose always around 50% from the field. Missed probably 7 3's off the front rim. Really had no energy. He had a play in the 2nd quarter--a miss that came high off the rim that he flew in and tip dunked with two hands that I thought might get him going but it never did. He lacked energy in his movement without the ball and in his runs down the wing on the break. He just got out of sorts really early in the game. He had a loose ball come to him underneath the basket that should have been an easy bunny to get him going and he missed it. It was bad from that point forward. He's still the man. I know it was a tough night. For me, this quiets the thoughts of KD35 as a top 3 player. He's solidly in the top 10. But that's as far as I'll go. Not to say that other guys, Bron, Dirk, etc. have off nights. It's more than that.
Blake Griffin, the second guy I went to see, was impressive to a point. The guy is just a PHENOMENAL athlete. He's freaky to see in person. He has so many fast twitch fibers in his legs it's scary. It's amazing that he doesnt just bounce 5 inches into the air just when he's walking. His second jump is so fast and he finds where the ball is going to go off rebounds and loose balls so fast that guys playing against him are just constantly in his way and they don't even know it. He goes and gets the ball where ever it is. He does a lot of this too: he catches the ball off like a roll to the basket and he just elevates as high as he can to the rim. He holds the ball and shoots the layup on the way down, misses a lot of them, and just lands of goes back up quicker than anyone to find his own miss then lays it in again. It's a little weird. He did it 4-5 times. But I think my main point is that he's kind of a weird player. He's a tweener. They never get him the ball in a good spot. He was reluctant to isolate and make a one on one move. He was much more apt to pick and roll and sit on the baseline waiting for a dish. He's a little shaky on the line. He had 2 monstrous dunks that were great. I left the game without a clear understanding of how he can play effectively aside from just being relentless on the offensive glass.
Jeff Green and Russ Westbrook, jury is still out on these guys. I dunno about them. They both had a tough night, I realize that. They are impressive guys standing alone, but when they were playing I felt like they weren't making the impact that they should be making. Russ is in constant attack mode. It was impressive. He goes all out to the rim, all day. Once he gets downhill, he's going. And he did plenty of that through the first quarter and a half. He had a little finishing problem. My biggest beef with his effort last night was just his refusal to throw the ball forward and take a risk. There were many instances in which he could have thrown the ball forward for what then would be easy buckets but failed to do so. Out of fear of a turnover, or maybe it just wasn't there, I dunno. But opportunities kept piling up in my eyes. For Greene, I just think he's limited offensively. He can't make NBA 3's. He's inconsistent with his jumper. He doesn't have a dominant go to move. He gets stuck. And he has to pick up his dribble and make a crappy bail out pass out to someone. He's only strong out on the break.
The Clips: For what it's worth: I am pro Vinny Del Negro. Yea, he's not in the upper echelon of his profession today. But I think he's much much better than people credit him for. I think he is good with players. Players play hard for him. He gets guys to play hard. His players like and respect him. He got a terrible deal in Chicago. Terrible deal. His bad coaching decisions were a small part of the equation that drove him out of Chicago. DON'T GET ME WRONG, he's not a modern day Greg Popovich. I just think he's gotten a bad rap. Bottom line, he was a great professional player, guys like him, guys play hard for him. Him and his assistants had a great game plan defensively last night. You can tell they were grinding to get their first win. They bracketed Durant well and made him settle for non rhythm 3's. It was a nice win for Vin and his staff.
Eric Bledsoe: Coming out party last night for EBled. Somewhere his agent Rich Paul was smiling. Bledsoe is gonna be a pretty good player. He's speedy. He took the matchup with Russ West seriously, and to be honest he won the matchup handily. He made some unbelievable passes, some were too good because guys weren't ready for them. He went rim to rim a couple times. He had a good night against guys who all had a bad night. So take it with a grain of salt. He's a little careful with the ball, afraid of getting pulled for turnovers. Wasn't as active in passing lanes defensively as I thought he would be.
Other Guys: Ryan Gomes and Craig Smith are fan favorites. Both are professional players that come to play each night. They do their job. Gomes, checked Durant very well. They had a good plan for Durant, but I thought Gomes was above average. Craig Smith, the Rhino, is a fan favorite. He finishes the plays he should and rebounds the ball everywhere. Guys are afraid of him out there. Fans openly boo'd Chris Kaman. Al Farouq Aminu played an encouraging game.
Willing to work harder,
JC
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