Cole Aldrich is/was a rookie & his value will be seen next season, he is not a bust, no where near that....

Big Perk is just what ANYONE with ANY kind of BASKETBALL aptitude knew, a DEFENDER with a lack of offensive skills.... Just because Perk got abused on Sunday does not mean he'll regrees & go hide underneath a rock, he's a NBA champion & he will made the necessary adjustments & carry his weight....

Russell Westbrook brought all the attention & ridicule on HIMSELF !!!! He is the PG who shot the ball 30 times for 30 points when Kevin Durant was shooting 5-6 from 3-point range.... Two things during the season brought the heightened RW vision of himself.... #1 - He was named an NBA All-Star, #2 - he was named NBA player of the week 2-3 weeks later.... In RW's eyes, he is the best of the best of the best & no one can convince him otherwise & he's not in shock, he's POUTING !!!!

The Thunder will not lose because they made THUNDER BLUNDERS, it's because MEMPHIS IS A BETTER BASKETBALL TEAM !!!!

Look at the matchups from postion's 1-5 & tell which matchups the THUNDER are superior at.... The Grizzle bench is also superior to the Thunder subs....

PG - Thunder, if Westbrook grows up & pulls his head out he could be better than Conley, but if not, Mike Conley will have a career playoff series because Westbrook won't play DEFENSE.... He can but he won't....

SG - Former Okie St. player makes a far greater impact on a game than the Thunder Swiss Cheesy guy called THABO.... Thabo stinks, Thabo can't shoot, Thabo must know how to take pictures & preserve evidence because he can't start based on his basketball skillz....

SF - KD has to battle Young, Battier & a doubling SG & he still gets his points....

PF - 10 year vet Z-Bo too talented for 2nd year 21yo Congo Flyer....

C - Big Perk great inside post defender but Gasol can shoot from 15-20 feet away, 6'9" Big Perk is gonna have to play above his head to play even with 7'1" Lil' Gasol....

The bench - 6'5" backup PG with ability compared to 6'1" with ability, 6'5" wins.... O.J. Mayo is a better shooter with no conscience compared to James Harden, who still hasn't figured out what his game is.... Shane Battier is a PROFESSIONAL with multiple skills including leadership, Darrel Arthur started on a National Championship team 3 years ago, he can play....

COACHING - The Memphis COACH benched OJ Mayo mis-season, got his team to excel without Rudy Gay & has them believing, he is not afraid to make the moves necessary to make his team better.... The OKC Coach won't put his 5 best players on the court at the same time, the starting 5 has to play 3 1/2 against 5 on offense & his team won't listen to him about playing DEFENSE....

All that being said.... The Thunder will come back & move on to the next round.... WHY ???? Because I'm a Thunder fan & that's what I'm CHEERING for !!!!

"Remember our Miami pick?"

Yeah, I do.

I also remember you saying that the Nuggets would win at least two games against the Thunder.

I also remember your Lakers pick. How did that first game against the Mavs turn out?

What's the difference between the Sports Animals' knowledge of hoops and yours? Not much.

So how are the homer machine you mention as you correctly pointed out how everyone is stupidly all over a guy avg 27 ppg in the playoffs and is 22 years old? We are still a novice pro city and have a knee jerk reaction to everything...we are down 1-0 and you'd think the sky was falling and the day of the game Tramel writes we should win the World Title...day by day people...

Gato, agreed, the Lakers are in trouble. Dallas is much, much better.

The Thunder wins tonight by double figs. Then it's 50-50. Perk breaks out of his scoring slump to score 7.

Dr. Strangelove, I'm thinking the same thing you're thinking.

Mr. Picker, I still am working on the Derby. I spent some time helping at the Girls' 6A Championshnip at Meadowbrook CC and am just getting back to the race. By the way, if you want to spend a nice couple hours, go watch these young girls hit the ball. You won't believe how good some of them are. Hats off to Coach Lindsay Jones and her Union squad for their first 6A Championship.
So far with the Derby, I like Nehro and his final fractions. Archarcharch shold be there too. Brilliant Speed had a very nice turn time in winning the Blue Grass. Your Santiva threw in a stinker last out and doesn't have a competitive Beyers. I also like Dialed In. I really liked Uncle Mo until the last one and will not consider him now (sadly). I'm still looking for my long shot which may end up being Master Hounds. It should be a great rae adn I hope we make lots of $$$$$$$