Kristen Chenowith: An unlikely Thunder fan
At the 2006 NBA All-Star Game, I was with then-colleague Andrew Gilman as he got a few minutes to interview Carrie Underwood. She was singing at the game — I suppose the national anthem, but I don’t really remember — and the G-Man asked Underwood about the Hornets being in Oklahoma City.
He might as well have asked her in Chinese. Underwood’s face went absolutely blank, and the G-Man had to explain who the Hornets were. She pleasantly shrugged and said she really didn’t follow basketball but her boyfriend was trying to teach her. I don’t think it was Tony Romo yet, but you never know.
Anyway, fast forward to Monday, on the “Ellen” show, the Ellen Degeneres talk show. Guest Kristen Chenoweth, best-known for her starring role in Broadway’s “Wicked” and a television gig on “The West Wing,” comes out in a Kevin Durant Thunder jersey.
Chenoweth grew up in Broken Arrow and attended Oklahoma City University. She’s always maintained her Oklahoma ties. But promoting the Thunder seemed above and beyond the call of duty.
Degeneres took the bait, asking Chenoweth immediately about the jersey. Chenoweth marginally explained who the Thunder and Kevin Durant are, though you could tell she’s not exactly Kenny Smith when it comes to NBA expertise, and said, “I’m supporting my team.” Thunder blogger Chris Silva has posted a link to the video at http://thunder-nba.com/thunderblog/
It’s not Jack Nicholson sitting courtside for a quarter century of Laker games, but 4-foot-11 Kristen Chenoweth, wearing a kids Kevin Durant jersey, is a sign that a little Thunder momentum can grow on the national pop culture landscape.
OSU baseball faces uphill climb to Big 12 Tournament
The All Sports Association is sweating out Oklahoma State’s descent to ninth place in the Big 12 baseball tournament. Of course, Cowboy fans and coach Frank Anderson’s squad are on the anxious side, too.
The top eight teams qualify, and with three weeks left in the regular season, the Cowboys face an uphill climb to get to eighth. Since OSU had a game rained out earlier in the year, and since eighth-place Texas Tech has only two series remaining while OSU has three still to play, the standings are a little harder to follow. But here’s an easy way to gauge how OSU’s hopes rest.
Go straight by the win column. When teams are under .500, the win column is the most important category. OSU right now trails Tech by three in the win column.
OSU hosts Kansas State, plays OU in the Bedlam Series and then goes to Tech. Tech goes to K-State next week, then hosts OSU.
The Cowboys have to make up three games, and since it’s unlikely (but not impossible) OSU could make up four games the next two weeks, that means Oklahoma State will have to win the series at Lubbock.
Winning at Lubbock would make up one of the three needed. So OSU needs to make up two wins the next two weeks. Beat K-State as many times as Tech does, and the Cowboys would have to win the Bedlam Series. Beat K-State one more time than does Tech, and OSU would have to win just one Bedlam game.
Another way to look at it is this. With Tech idle from Big 12 competition this week, this week is free bats for the Cowboys. Get a couple of wins, and OSU is back on Tech’s heels. Win just once this week against KSU, and OSU would have to beat OU one more time than Tech beats KSU in order to go to Lubbock not needing a sweep. Sweep the Wildcats, and we’re all even. Get swept by the Wildcats, and the situation becomes dire.
It’s really strange for OSU to be in this position. No way should an Oklahoma State baseball team ever be in ninth place in the Big 12. No way should it below — well below — both Kansas schools, who never have gotten too serious about baseball.
Anderson has done a good job with OSU baseball over the years, but this is a major step back. This will hurt fund-raising and crowd support and general belief in the program. Not to mention the turnstiles at the Big 12 Tournament.
Tech’s Leach is hurting his own cause
We love Texas Tech coach Mike Leach. By we, I mean just about everyone not associated with Texas A&M. Even OU, OSU and Texas fans get a kick out of Leach, who is that crazy old uncle who will do or say just about anything.
But Leach’s response to the NFL overlooking his quarterback, Graham Harrell, while the Cowboys drafted A&M backup QB Stephen McGee, and Leach’s blistering attack on the Cleveland Browns for allegedly downgrading star receiver Michael Crabtree does not help Tech’s cause.
Everyone got a laugh out of Leach saying “The Dallas Cowboys like him (McGee) more than his coaches at A&M did.” Heck, the Cowboys might even have chuckled at that one, though no one in Aggieland did, I promise you.
But the NFL will not laugh at all at Leach’s comment concerning Crabtree. Reports out of Cleveland said the Browns didn’t like Crabtree’s attitude when he visited their complex before the draft, likening him to a diva.
“Michael Crabtree has been more successful as a receiver than that guy (Eric Mangini) as a coach at this point,” Leach said. “…Let’s see how all those non-divas do up in Cleveland this year.”
Again, this is great stuff for us in the news business. But is it great stuff for Texas Tech?
Remember last summer, when the Big 12 staged its media days, a three-day event in which coaches and players from the league meet with media from the region and the nation. The whole premise is to promote Big 12 football; its teams and its players.
Leach failed to bring Harrell, who was considered a Heisman Trophy contender at the time. Fast forward five months, when the Heisman committee invited just three players to New York for the trophy ceremony: Sam Bradford, Colt McCoy and Tim Tebow.
Harrell finished fourth in the Heisman voting but was far back of the other three, and Leach ripped the proceedings. Ironic. Leach wanted the Heisman committee to promote his quarterback, but when given the standard opportunity to do the same for Harrell, he passed.
Now Leach has taken on the Browns — and some would say the Cowboys. These are organizations that in the future will have the opportunity to deal with Texas Tech players.
I’m not suggesting any credible franchise will discriminate against Red Raiders. But the latter rounds of the draft are not scientific; teams take fliers on players. A team has a choice between a player from Tech and a player from, say, Iowa State. What’s the incentive to pick the Red Raider, who has spent four years listening to his coach trash the NFL and its decision-makers?
Is it fair? No. But it’s life. Mike Leach is hurting his own cause.
Giants: Not the best destination for Bomar
Star-crossed quarterback Rhett Bomar went to the New York Giants in the fifth round of the NFL Draft. I don’t think that’s a good situation for Bomar.
I am sort of pulling for Bomar, though I don’t suppose I have a good reason why. There’s an old story that when the St. Louis Cardinals traded Keith Hernandez to the Mets, in what seemed to be a purely punitive trade to a moribund franchise, Cardinal manager Whitey Herzog said, “Hernandez traded himself.”
Well, the same is true of Bomar. Whatever his fate, he did it to himself. Bomar was unpopular as the OU quarterback, then when he stuck his hand in the Big Red Sports & Imports cookie jar, he had no constituency. He traded himself to Sam Houson State.
But I still pull for Bomar. I don’t think he got much home training, and I think he got caught up in a fast world. Without a solid base, you can drown pretty quickly, and Bomar did.
Anyway, for Bomar, I’m hard-pressed to find a team a worse fit than the Giants. 1. The Giants only kept two quarterbacks on the main roster in 2008 (Eli Manning and David Carr). 2. The Giants have three QBs signed up, including Andre Woodson, a sixth-round pick out of Kentucky in the 2008 draft. 3. The Giants will no patience with knuckleheads. They don’t much anyway, but after the Plaxico Burress scandal, the Giants re-learned their lesson.
Truth is, Bomar would have been better off being a free agent and finding a team that wanted to take a flyer on a quarterback.
Bomar’s past no doubt hurt him in the draft. The Dallas Cowboys drafted Texas A&M’s Stephen McGee in the fourth round. McGee is a tough guy and a good leader who just got caught at A&M in the wrong era. But anyone who thinks he can play NFL quarterback jumped into a time machine. McGee is a good fit for George Clooney’s leatherheads, but this is the 21st century. McGee throws about like Zac Robinson and runs about like Sam Bradford, neither of which is bad but neither of which is NFL-caliber.
The Cowboys must have figured they had so many late picks, might as well take an Aggie and build up some goodwill.
There was no goodwill for Bomar. He was banished from OU long ago, and it seems like his banishment will continue.
Bradford a clear No. 1 in 2010
OU’s Sam Bradford would have jostled with Matthew Stafford and Mark Sanchez for quarterback supremacy in the 2009 NFL Draft, had Slingin’ Sammy decided to go pro this year.
You never know, but it certainly appears likely Bradford will be atop all QB draft boards in 2010, and here’s what’s wild. Most of the other top candidates are very familiar to Sooner fans.
I scanned a few 2010 prospect lists, and while the guys who make up those lists have no idea how quarterbacks rank right now, much less a year from now, they at least identify the guys who will be on radars.
Bradford is No. 1, of course, but here are some of the guys listed right behind Bradford: Texas’ Colt McCoy; Ole Miss’ Jevan Snead, who transferred from Texas after McCoy won the QB job; Florida’s Tim Tebow; Notre Dame’s Jimmy Clausen; and OSU’s Zac Robinson. All are in the top eight of quarterbacks listed on the draft lists I found.
The only possibly high picks listed from off the Oklahoma radar are a couple of Mid-American Conference quarterbacks: Central Michigan’s Dan LeFevour and Western Michigan’s Tim Hiller. The success of Ben Roethlisberger (Miami-Ohio) will give those MAC QBs a close look, and if you’re making me bet, I would say those are the only two who could keep Bradford from being the first quarterback taken.
A variable in all this is the new wildcat trend in the NFL, in which a few plays a game teams run shotgun by snapping the ball to a tailback. The Dolphins, particularly, embraced the concept and on Saturday picked West Virginia’s Pat White, certainly a non-traditional NFL quarterback prospect, in the second round.
If teams want to use more and more wildcat, why not snap the ball to a guy who can run AND throw, like Tebow or Robinson or Illinois’ Juice Williams?
Anyway, down the list of quarterbacks, either near the bottom of the top 10 or below it, are even more quarterbacks of local interest. Florida Atlantic’s Rusty Smith, who plays, of course, for Howard Schnellenberger. BYU’s Max Hall, who has an early-September duel with Bradford. Cincinnati’s Tony Pike, who played against OU last September and helped lead Cincy to the Orange Bowl.
Other familiar names deeper on the list include s on the list are Southern Cal’s Mitch Mustain, who transferred from Arkansas; Kansas’ Todd Reesing; Washington’s Jake Locker, who quarterbacked against OU last September; and Jacksonville State’s Ryan Perrilloux, who transferred from LSU after Les Miles pilfered him away from Texas in a spirited recruiting battle.
Also on the lists are Nevada’s Colin Kaepernick, West Virginia’s Jarrett Brown, Houston’s Case Keenum, UAB’s Joe Webb, Bowling Green’s Tyler Sheehan, Minnesota’s Adam Weber, Penn State’s Daryll Clark, Eastern Michigan’s Andy Schmitt, Hawaii’s Greg Alexander, Iowa’s Ricky Stanzi, Delaware’s Pat Devlin, Eastern Washington’s Matt Nichols, Wake Forest’s Riley Skinner, San Jose State’s Kyle Reed, South Florida’s Matt Groethe and Tennessee’s Jonathan Crompton.
Emails in on OU football, wrestling & private schools
The new emails are in, and they run the spectrum from seat-belt violations to the public school/private school debate to the RedHawks.
Craig wrote about OU wrestling: “I’ve watched the decline in the OU wrestling program ever since Teyon Ware’s departure and can’t take it any more. I would like to see Joe Castiglione pull off something like Penn State hiring (Iowa State’s) Cael Sanderson, although there is, after all, only one Cael Sanderson. And to think we could have hired Dave Schultz back when (and he’d still be alive had we done so). While Jack Spates is a class individual, were he coaching any other sport at OU, he would have been let go long ago. Our proud tradition is kaput.”
You know, I think Craig’s right. I think OU’s proud wrestling tradition is kaput. I’m not sure if a big-name coach can bring it back, but a great what-if on Schultz.
On to OU football. Bruce: “I note that The Oklahoman is fairly quick to bring attention to the various legal missteps for the athletes at both OU and OSU. While I understand you all report the news, why not impose a materiality standard on your ‘legal infraction’ reporting. Reporting on speeding or seat belt related violations is petty and isn’t fair to the students or their parents. I’m sure all of this in the end is sorted out by the family without the help or involvement of the university or The Oklahoman.”
Very good questions, though not great points. 1. We aren’t reporting on speeding or seat-belt violations. We are reporting on failing to pay speeding or seat-belt violations, which particularly in the case of Gresham is a component in his pro potential. NFL teams will put a little mark by his name. 2. I am positive none of this is sorted out by the family without the involvement of the university. Bottom line, if you are a newsmaker – and an OU football player, in particular absolutely qualifies – and there is a warrant for your arrest, that is news.
Tom also wrote about the warrants: “A football player forgetting to pay his speeding ticket is newsworthy? Come on.”
Here’s another reason why it’s an issue. In college football and college basketball, the culture is clear. Everything is done for the players. Enrollment, finding summer jobs, scheduled tutoring. The teaching of personal responsibility takes a hiatus in big-time college sports. Is it fair that Jermaine Gresham gets his name in the paper when he either forgets to pay a ticket or tries to let it slide? No. Is it fair when Jermaine Gresham gets to enroll in classes before a good student who is working two part-time jobs to pay his rent? No. Welcome to life.
Aaron, an OSU fan, referred to my Sam Bradford/autograph column from almost two weeks ago: “My nephew got autographs from both Dez Bryant and Marshal Moses at the OSU spring game. Does that make them heroes?”
Sure. I hope Marshall Moses didn’t miss dinner while trying to satisfy the line of fans trying to get his autograph.
Niles wrote about OU football: “I think Taylor Griffin should go out for the OU football team as a kick blocking specialist. I don’t know what the average trajectory of a kick is, but he can jump about 11 feet high. At the very least, opposing kickers would be thinking about him. He’s probably not gonna go to the NBA and he has a year of eligibility. I think it could revolutionize special teams defense. Do you think it could actually work? Do you know of this being done before? I heard the Packers had a good kick blocker once that had been a basketball player, but I don’t know if he had the height and leaping ability of Taylor. Maybe he did. Of course, he might be a heckuva tight end or d-end, too. Anyway, just a quirky idea I had.”
This is why my readers are America’s best. This is a brilliant idea. I have no idea if it would work, and I have no idea if Taylor Griffin is interested. But this is how change comes to America. This is how we invented the telephone and indoor plumbing and the pick-and-roll. Someone thinking outside the box.
Now, for the private school debate. Jim, a Bishop McGuinness fan: “There is no problem with the one private school that I am familiar with. The only way that there could be a problem is if private schools give scholarships. Bishop McGuinness seems to have the biggest bulls eye since they have won so many titles. I am not aware of any scholarships to athletes at McGuinness, and it wouldn’t be tolerated by the parents of the kids who grew up in the Catholic system, because the favored athlete with financial aid would take away a place on the team of a kid whose parents pay $7,000 dollars in tuition. I sit at the games with parents who don’t like it when a kid transfers legally from another school and unseats a Catholic system kid in any sport, much less letting him come for free. Everyone assumes that McGuinness recruits. I follow them as close as anyone. I know of no basketball player ever recruited by the Irish. I only know of two players that even contributed in basketball that did not come from the Catholic school system – Jonathon Bluitt and the Johnson kid who also was Blake Griffin’s point guard at OCS. Bluitt came as a freshman with Terrance Crawford because they were best friends, and Johnson came because the McGuinness team was his AAU team. And believe me, there were a lot of loyals at McGuinness who were not happy about Johnson’s transfer. McGuinness was good the past 12-15 years in basketball for two reasons: the Merritt family and the Crawford-Orton family. They all went to Catholic schools from first grade through high school. It was a fluke that one school could have that luck. The same luck a school could have getting a one in a million kid like Wes Welker.”
Excellent points, and the whole private school flap is completely misplaced. Do private schools recruit? Of course they do. They recruit just like the public schools. Kids move around – as the two mentioned in this dispatch. Putnam City basketball, Tulsa Union football, heck, there are a bunch of move-ins in swimming. It’s not necessarily the schools or coaches who recruit; it’s more on a personal level with families. The real issue in the public/private debate is enrollment. Private schools – and magnet schools – can control their enrollment. Which means they can decide who gets in and how big their school will be. If they want to be a Class 3A school, they are a 3A school. If they don’t want to take some knucklehead who causes trouble, he’s out. U.S. Grant doesn’t have that luxury. Grant and Moore and Piedmont have to take all students, and they also have to supply special education, which also is counted in their enrollment tallies. The solution is easy. If you control your enrollment, you automatically go up a class. It’s fair and it’s simple. So a McGuinness would be 5A instead of 4A. Oklahoma Christian School and Heritage Hall would be 3A instead of 2A, etc.
Bill wrote about the relatively-poor attendance for the RedHawks’ opener. The Brick was about half full: “Thanks for the article on the opening night of the RedHawks. Was too bad to lose 6-1, but what I find worse is the lack of people; 6,820. Granted that is almost 7,000, but in a stadium that seats almost 14,000 and more with standing room tickets, it is shocking to me to see that low a number. I have been going to baseball games here in OKC for a long time and I cannot remember even back at the old All Sports Stadium a less then full house on opening night, and to add to that there was the retiring of Bobby Murcer’s number, the giveaway of the t-shirts and the huge fireworks after the game. Maybe it is the economy, I hope that is all that it is. Maybe it is something else. I know the RedHawks keep trying and changing things, some good, some bad in my opinion. The good is the food ideas they are trying and making the park like some of the major league stadiums. The bad I found last year and hope it has changed was no scorecards and no programs.”
Here’s what I think the problem was. We were told all day Thursday that there was a 100 percent chance of rain for Friday. I know I made other plans for Friday night, anticipating a rainout, so I’m sure all kinds of other people did, too. The weathermongers are the RedHawks’ worst enemies. I don’t think it’s the economy. I think the economy will help OKC baseball. A night at the ballpark is relatively cheap entertainment.
George wrote about the Thunder: “There is an old saying in sports business: sometimes the best trade a team makes is the trade they don’t make. I think the trade for Chandler of the Hornets that Presti rescinded would be the perfect example. Unfortunately, Chandler seems like will be having ankle problems for the rest of his career. I nominate Presti for executive of the year for any sport.”
I agree that the rescinded trade turned out well for the Thunder, and I’ll sign the petition to honor Presti, but it was the doctors, not Sam Presti, who halted the trade.
Missing the late-night NBA action
The NBA playoffs finally got me. Fighting sleep, I clicked off the Lakers-Jazz game around 11:30 p.m. — and missed a great finish.
These playoffs have had their share of great games — the two Celtics-Bulls showdowns in Boston, the Orlando-Philly opener — but also have had a bunch of duds. So any chance to see a great game I’ll take.
But Thursday was a long day. I got up early to go to Duncan for a funeral, then on the way home I ran out of gas. I was driving my wife’s car, and for some reason I never checked the gauge. While I’m certainly capable of running out of gas because I think I can make it a little bit farther, this wasn’t the case. I just never looked.
Anyway, I also had a Big Brothers banquet Thursday night, went by to see my granddaughter, we ended up bringing her home with us to spend the night and by the time the Lakers had a nice lead in the third quarter, I had lost faith in Utah.
I missed a great finish. From 80-80, both teams kept scoring in the final two minutes. Utah would retake the lead, then the Lakers would tie it. Finally, at 86-86, Deron Williams’ short jumper with two seconds left gave Utah the lead, then Kobe missed a long 3-pointer at the buzzer.
The NBA playoffs are much like the NCAA Tournament in terms of late-game drama. You need a large pool of games to get a decent amount of great finishes. I hated to miss this one. But sometimes, lack of sleep trumps the unlikelihood of a rally.
For the most part, no complaints about the NBA television schedule. While some of the games start really late — Denver-New Orleans tipped off at like 9:50 p.m. Oklahoma time Wednesday night — it’s always to accommodate earlier games. And while I don’t have NBATV and miss a few playoff games there, I understand that the league can’t get every playoff game on ESPN or TNT, and that’s a good way to market its cable network.
So no complaints. Other than being too tired to give Utah the benefit of the doubt.
Spreading the Thunder to NBA fans in China
I blogged yesterday about the Chinese website contacting me for information on the Thunder. Today, I’ll share the answers I sent to China:
1. How do you evaluate the team’s performance this season? With the full mark at 10, how much will you credit for the thunder?
I think this season was a 6. This season never was about winning. It always was about building for the future, and after the rough start, the Thunder certainly improved and set themselves up for great improvement. The coaching obviously was a problem early, but Scott Brooks seemed to stabilize things. The Thunder found its point guard of the future in Russell Westbrook, a defensive stopper in Sefolosha, a budding star in Jeff Green and a budded star in Kevin Durant. On top of that, the Thunder found a center, Krstic, on the scrap heap, and found three young players that at least have a chance to contribute: Weaver, White and Livingston. I think it was a very fruitful season, notwithstanding.
2. What do you think will be the major tasks in the free agent market this summer for Sam Presti?
The major needs for Sam Presti is interior defense. Either through the draft or free agency, the Thunder must guard the basket better. Krstic is more of an offensive center; when the Thunder traded for Tyson Chandler, it seemed to give OKC a nice 1-2 combo in the middle. But when the trade fell through, the need resurfaced. The Thunder doesn’t necessarily need a shot blocker, but it must have a guy who fiercely guards the paint. Even if the Thunder somehow lands Blake Griffin in the draft, more post presence is needed defensively.
3. Who are your favorite picks at the draft for thunder and who do you think will be the final decisions? Reasons?
Blake Griffin obviously is No. 1. If the Thunder can’t get him, I would go for a big man. I like Arizona’s Jordan Hill and UConn’s Hasheem Thabeet. Thabeet is a shot blocker and Hill is a rugged power forward. The Thunder always could use another shooter like Arizona State’s James Hardin, but the interior is the more pressing need.
4. What do you think about Russell Westbrook? Some think he is not the right one to play at the point, should become a sixth man to bring some energy off the bench.
I think if the Thunder can get Tony Parker, Chauncey Billups or Derrick Rose for next to nothing, then fine, let’s kick Westbrook to the curb. But otherwise, I don’t understand the questions about Westbrook. You’ve got a rookie point guard, who is only 20 years old, and didn’t get to play much point in the past, who averages 15 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists a game for a bad team. He’s wonderfully athletic, and everyone thinks he will become a defensive stopper. He’s a penetrator deluxe. His flaws are that his decision-making is still shaky and he’s not a great shooter. There are about 29 NBA teams that hope the Thunder listens to the skeptics and moves Westbrook off the point.
5. What do you think about next season? Will the thunder become a playoff runner?
I don’t see the Thunder challenging for the playoffs next season. I think it still will take about 46-48 wins to make the Western Conference playoffs, and I think about 38 wins is the high side for the Thunder next season. But the year after that, watch out.
Thunder booms all the way to China
When Clay Bennett was first making his pitch for the NBA in Oklahoma City, not to the league but to the city itself, he talked a lot about the global reach of the NBA, how being in the league would raise OKC’s profile.
And you can hear commissioner David Stern talk a lot about the global influence of his league.
But you had to be skeptical about how much that related to Oklahoma City. New York? OK. Chicago? Sure. Houston, with Yao Ming? No doubt. The Lakers or Warriors or even Seattle, when the Sonics were there? I’ll buy it all on the Pacific Rim.
And there is probably a decent number of Europeans who follow the Thunder to some degree. Thabo Sefolosha is Switzerland’s greatest player ever. Nenad Krstic is Serbian. Robert Swift has universal appeal to a certain segment of young people.
But worldwide reach, which frankly in this age means China? Why would anyone in China care about the Thunder, except for the three or four nights a year the Boomers play the Houston Rockets?
I don’t know. But they do. I received this email Monday from a chap named Xiaoyu Lu. The ssubject line read: “Read this and give me some feedback.”
The email went like this: “Hi, Berry. I’m a thunder fan from China, we have a basketball BBS here which site is at www.hoopchina.com, and I’m proud to be the moderator of the Thunder area. We’ve been following your blogs, articles, news to get the up-to-date information about OKC thunder the whole season. We also pick up some good articles and translate into Chinese so more Chinese thunder fans can get informed.
“As the season has come to an end, I want to write a piece of article about this season and to have an outlook of the upcoming one. I think I need to hear your opinions, and I will translate them into Chinese so our fans can see the exclusive article. Hope you can spare some time to answer those questions for us:
1. How do you evaluate the team’s performance this season? With the full mark at 10, how much will you credit for the thunder?
2. What do you think will be the major tasks in the free agent market this summer for Sam Presti?
3. Who are your favorite picks at the draft for thunder and who do you think will be the final decisions? Reasons?
4. What do you think about Russell Westbrook? Some think he is not the right one to play at the point, should become a sixth man to bring some energy off the bench.
5. What do you think about next season? Will the thunder become a playoff runner?
“OK, I appreciate your cooperation, and I promise I will have your replies translated and post up at the BBS, then I give you a feedback. Thank you.”
I went to the guy’s website, and sure enough, it’s legit. I have no idea what any of it says, since it’s all in Chinese, but it looks like a full, vibrant site. It had all kinds of photos and stories that you could click on, including pictures of the Bulls-Celtics thriller, Ron Artest (a teammate of Yao), Phil Jackson, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Yao, a bunch of Chinese players not in the NBA and a bunch of cheerleaders on both sides of the Pacific, some of which could be Thunder girls, for all I know. I didn’t spend a lot of time studying their roster.
I have no idea the benefit to Oklahoma City of being plastered all over www.hoopchina.com, but no way it can be a bad thing for the Thunder to be talked about in China. Turns out the NBA, even in the outposts like OKC, does indeed have very long arms.
By the way, I answered the guy’s questions. I’ll share them with you Thursday morning on the blog.
TrailBlazer Boulevard might not be all smooth for Thunder
There is a common belief that the Thunder is following the trek of the Portland TrailBlazers, that Oklahoma City is two years behind the Blazers. And I basically agree.
Portland this season was one of the NBA breakout teams, a squad that finished No. 4 in the Western Conference. I think OKC would jump all over that status for the year 2010-11. But as exciting as that sounds for the Thunder, that doesn’t mean the thrills keep coming.
Portland lost at home 108-81 to Houston in the first round of the playoffs Saturday night, and analyst Jeff Van Gundy apparently predicted just such hardships for Portland.
Van Gundy predicted Houston in five games, and yes, Van Gundy used to coach the Rockets. He also was fired by the Rockets, so I don’t know how much bias to read into his prediction. A Houston blogger wrote that he heard Van Gundy’s reasoning on radio, which boils down to this: 1. Portland won’t front Yao Ming, which will lead to a big series for the Rocket big man; 2. Portland is inexperienced; 3. Houston has TWO top notch defenders to take turns on Brandon Roy.
Makes sense to me, and Yao going 9-for-9 in the opening game certainly makes Van Gundy seem like a genius. But during the NBA games yesterday, when Van Gundy was asked about his foresight, he didn’t go into such strategic details. He just talked about Portland’s inexperience. In fact, he seemed to write it off as certainty that the Blazers are just too young and green to make a playoff push.
Which gets us back to Oklahoma City. Whenever the Thunder makes the playoffs — and most people assume that’s a when, not an if — don’t expect immediate good results, no matter where the Boomers place in the West. Even if Kevin Durant and Jeff Green are four-year pros by then, they’ll still be playoff yearlings.
The NBA playoffs are a whole different animal from the regular season. Few teams are playoff Cinderellas, and those that are usually led by grizzled veterans — the 1994 Knicks, with Patrick Ewing; the 1995 Rockets, with Hakeem Olajuwon; even the ‘69 Celtics, who placed fourth in the seven-team East but had Bill Russell in his final season.
The lessons are clear. Experience carries the day in the NBA playoffs. It’s early in the Portland-Houston series, but it seems over already. Jeff Van Gundy certainly saw it coming. We should see it coming when the Thunder makes the playoffs, too.
