OKC Thunder Preview

• dEDGE Post Scriptum •

Exactly, who are the Oklahoma City Thunder anyway? (Ask anyone from Seattle) Aside from being the 8th seed in the Western Conference and sporting the youngest team in the playoffs, why should we be concerned with them? I mean really, when was the last time a team from Oklahoma did anything other than toss around a pigskin? Oklahoma is Sooner Country, cowboys and dirt. Basketball is urban, hip-hop and asphalt. Why not just skip this round and await the winner of the Utah-Phoenix slugfest? OK, so OKC features Kevin Durant, the leading scorer at 30.1 points per game while shooting 47.6% during the regular season. And they’ve got super-soph Russell Westbrook, who leads the team with 8 assists a night while contributing a steady 16.1 points as well. (You gotta love them UCLA Bruins) Then there’s underrated forward Jeff Green who fills it up with 15.1 points and half a dozen boards. Toss in Bellflower native James Harden off the bench plus his 10 points a game and the Thunder start looking like a legitimate contender. (In a couple of years that is)

What the Thunder lack are two playoff essentials. Rebounding and a chance. No offense, but please, anyone who thinks this is going the distance is either sniffing Ron Artest’s hair dye or a fan of The Biggest Loser. Sure, Durant can fill it up as can Westbrook, as we all witnessed firsthand. But in a 7-game series, the Lakers will pound the ball into the middle until the cows come home. (Sorry, Sac-Town) A famous, fabulously dressed, well-coifed coach once said, “No rebounds = No rings.” Durant leads OKC with 7.6 boards a game, or about 2.5 rebounds more than their starting center, Nenad Krstic. Pau Gasol alone averages about as many as the two combined. Andrew Bynum may be a few weeks away from being in game shape, but Lamar Odom regularly fills the stat lines with double digit caroms. The Lakers will physically destroy the Thunder in the paint. This isn’t a shoot-out between Kobe and KD but rather a rock-’em, sock-’em battle under the boards. If Krstic suddenly becomes a Rodman, or a Hakeem, or even a Mbenga on the boards, the Lakers make take pause and worry. (yawn)

Phil Jackson lobbed the first volley of the series, exclaiming how surprising it was that Durant was among the league leaders in trips to the free throw line. And the NBA promptly responded with a $35,000 fine for his comments, which were deemed inappropriate for a Montanan. But have you heard what those yokels have been saying about the Lakers? The number one reason why OKC hates Los Angeles is “their apathetic fans.” Now that’s hitting below the belt. Apathy is a term for those who don’t care. OK, so we don’t care about a game with the Clippers, but that’s besides the point. The point is, we pay attention when it’s time to pay attention and that time is in the Second Round, or was it the Conference Finals? Regardless the switch gets turned on during the playoffs, baby… and if the team can do it, so can its fans.

Here’s a taste of a recent Thunder post:
“I hate their apathetic fans. (I choose to neither ignore or respond to that comment.)
I hate that their apathetic fans show up and don’t get to the game until the second quarter. (Have you ever stood in the sushi line at Staples?)
I hate that the Lakers and the USC Trojans are part of the fan base. (Not here baby, I’m a Bruin, not a used Trojan.)
I hate the dim lighting in the arena so the said apathetic fans can hide in anonymity. (You mean, the dim lighting is intentional?)
I hate the traffic in LA. (You obviously haven’t heard of our futuristic monorail or Thunder Mountain railway…)
I hate the snobby attitudes of people in LA. (We’re not snobs, we just don’t like you.)
I hate how expensive everything is in LA. (I agree, Louisiana is a tad overpriced.)
I hate the smog in LA. It can be suffocating.” (Smog!?! That’s a marine layer you idiot.)

Oh and there’s more, much more. As even one of their fans recently said, “It’s that overwhelming Okie inferiority complex at work, is what it is… what can you do, you know?” Well for one, you can crawl out of your double-wide and fix that propane leak, cause it’s getting to your head. Hate us for all you want, it really doesn’t matter. We’ll smugly ignore you while looking good doing so. Cheer all you want when you take that momentary lead in the second quarter as visions of NBA titles and sugarplums dance in your head. But stick around and watch us as we raise another banner while you reminisce on how good a season 2009-10 was. Yes, you made it to the playoffs. Congratulations. Now step aside and go on vacation.