Time to Thunder Up

I caught the OKC Thunder for the first time this season last night on TNT at the Portland Trailblazers. Reggie Miller was calling the game, but it was still thoroughly enjoyable, despite the Thunder blowing an early lead to go down big in the third quarter.

If I've learned anything about NBA basketball though, the good teams are the ones that are resilient. And getting two offensive boards in the expiring seconds of the fourth quarter to force overtime is certainly a sign of resilience, as is Russell Westbrook's three quarters of inspiring play (discounting the disappointing third period). In fact, Westbrook's highlight reel post-International play is nothing short of a top three point guard in the NBA (fuck you, Rondo).

One unfortunate trend that was appropriately noted by Miller and company is Kevin Durant's tendency to turn the ball over coupled with his lack of assists. Surely the two are connected, and you have to believe Durant will re-adjust to NBA play before too long. His teammate are getting it done, and sooner or later Durant will play a game in which he has as many assists as points. Go ahead and quote me one that.

One of his teammates getting it done of the bench is Dank Game favorite Serge "the Congolese Squeeze" Ibaka (it's gonna stick, just give it time to sink in). As the sixth man, Ibaka came off the bench in both halfs and provided lights out defensive play, keeping the Thunder in a game in which they gave up an atrocious number of offensive rebounds and let the 'Blazers shoot an absurdly high percentage in the second half.

More could be said about the Thunder's effort, including Jeff Green's 20+ points and Cole Aldrich's scrappy, albeit limited play (he didn't really do much, but Slim McFavorite feels like I'm supposed to be some big fan of his). But sitting at 3-2 and slowly cleaning up the mistakes, OKC next heads to Boston for their biggest game of the young NBA season (have I said fuck Rondo yet?)

*note - I'm pretty sure that picture isn't from last night's game, but I'm also pretty sure it's awesome.

Throwback Posterization: Drexler Dunks on Sean Elliot

This week's Throwback Posterization features Clyde "The Glide" Drexler dunking over the Spurs' Sean Elliot, who was a favorite of mine growing up. From what I hear, he's an awful commentator these days like so many other former players... I'm looking in your direction, Reggie Miller. I'm not sure what year this is from but it has to be sometime after 1995 when Clyde was traded midseason by the Blazers to the Rockets. If this was indeed the '95 season, the Rockets would go onto defeat the Spurs in the Western Conference Finals as Hakeem Olajuwon schooled MVP David Robinson.

Ok, onto the dunk. Terry Cummings gets trapped under the basket by Olajuwon and company, forcing him to make a bad pass that Kenny "The Jet" Smith picks off. While the Spurs struggle to get back on defense, Smith takes the ball up court and makes a nice bounce pass to Drexler trailing on the wing. Sean Elliot tries to draw the charge but Drexler goes up and throws it down hard, causing both players to fall to the floor.

Throwback Posterization: D-Wade Throws Down On J.O.

I've been slipping lately with Throwback Posterizations, so I felt it would be necessary to post one today as a much needed distraction from all the LeBron James hoopla. In celebration of Miami's forthcoming return to relevance, I've decided to go with Dwyane Wade as a rookie dunking on Jermaine O'Neal from the 2004 Playoffs. The Pacers would go on to win the series in six games en route to a loss in the Conference Finals to the Detroit Pistons, who would go on to win the title.

Onto the dunk. Reggie Miller and Jamal Tinsley are distracted by Lamar Odom playing in the post, which opens up a clear lane to the hoop for Wade. Lamar Odom recognizes this and delivers the past to Wade who elevates up and over Jermaine O'Neal for the one-handed slam.

"Reggie Miller Stop Pursuing Married Women"

According to Larry Altman of the Daily Breeze, an airplane with a banner flew from Malibu to the South Bay this weekend that read, "Reggie Miller stop pursuing married women." This was during the AVP Hermosa Beach Open, so it definitely got some exposure.

Celebrity web sites have speculated that the ad might have been payed for by Alex von Fürstenberg, who is the son of fashion designer Diane von Fürstenberg and the stepson of media mogul Barry Diller. Apparently Reggie met von Fürstenberg's fiancée Ali Kay at a party last year and after running into her again at a grocery store in Malibu, he waited outside for her for an hour. He was also accused of sending Kay 53 text messages in less than four hours. Yikes, Reg. That's pretty damn creepy.

According to the Daily Mail, von Fürstenberg filled out a request for a restraining order – which was never filed – after confronting Reggie. According to von Fürstenberg, during this confrontation Miller threatened him.

"He said he had friends with guns. He implied I would get hurt if I didn't stop questioning him on his inappropriate pursuit of my fiancée and his attempts to subvert his efforts," von Fürstenberg wrote in the document.

After the issue was resolved, von Fürstenberg issued this statement: "I was very upset about Reggie's behavior towards my fiancée. I think people in Malibu share my views that being a famous basketball player should not provide some sort of shield against inappropriate behavior," he said.

"Reggie sincerely apologized to me on a phone call with Ronald Richards (Von Fürstenberg's attorney) and myself. I cannot comment further on the matter as I believe it has been resolved."

My Take on the Matter
I'm really hoping that this somehow gets Reggie fired from his broadcasting position with TNT, although it's doubtful considering Barkley was brought back after driving drunk. In my opinion, Reggie is by far the most annoying commentator for the NBA. He constantly mispronounces words (so does Barkley, but anything Barkley does wrong is endearing), he's all up on Kobe's dilsnick to the point of making me nauseous, and on a nightly basis he says straight up dumb shit that adds no insight to the game whatsoever. I liked Reggie as a player, but his broadcasting career and now this have really tainted my perception of him.