Here's a couple of early screen captures:


...

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/thunder61212a.jpg



Like this one. Easy for even my tired eyes to read the THUNDER UP on the old crosstown.

Maybe I missed it but it looked like no celebrities came to the game?

Maybe I missed it but it looked like no celebrities came to the game?

There were some there.....Jimmie Goldstein for one. 90 % of the ESPN cast....I sat in front of Magic Johnson last night.

And these guys...

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7084/7182565449_6047d95bd6_o.gif

So many different facial expressions in that clip...it's pretty funny to watch over and over.

Maybe I missed it but it looked like no celebrities came to the game?

Lil Wayne was there. . . and we were mean to him!


Lil Wayne WEEZY F ‏@LilTunechi

Again I was treated like sh!t by the Thunder arena staff...dam..I hope da Heat beat da dog sh!t out em!!

"Treated like sh!t" probably actually means "they didn't lick my crack".

This is what I heard from another board...

"He used the special celebrity entrance to get in the stadium and to his seat. People kept asking for his picture and his bodyguard started turning people away. At halftime the stat sheet is being passed around. The bodyguard mistakes the person bringing it by as a fan wanting a picture and tries to stop her. Thunder security steps in and it's a mess. After the game he is not allowed to use the same special celebrity entrance/exit and must walk out of the stadium with the regulars."


He's a no-talent hack that needs to just stay the hell away from OKC. The fact is, he's an entitled little dwarf that represents the OPPOSITE of everything we value here in Oklahoma...

Lil Wayne was there. . . and we were mean to him!

I can just picture the scene

"Don't you know who I am damn?"

"No"

I love how KOCO's post-game courtside guys had to share a mic. It's a shame that our local ABC affiliate is such a joke. At least they have a chopper now, lol.

Ah...that's where they were. I kept wondering why Dean Blevins and Bob Barry, Jr. kept getting to ask questions during the post-game interviews on ESPN, but we never heard a peep out of anyone from Ch. 5. I kept thinking, "WTH? This game was on ABC...where's the local ABC sports guys?"

This is what I heard from another board...

"He used the special celebrity entrance to get in the stadium and to his seat. People kept asking for his picture and his bodyguard started turning people away. At halftime the stat sheet is being passed around. The bodyguard mistakes the person bringing it by as a fan wanting a picture and tries to stop her. Thunder security steps in and it's a mess. After the game he is not allowed to use the same special celebrity entrance/exit and must walk out of the stadium with the regulars."


He's a no-talent hack that needs to just stay the hell away from OKC. The fact is, he's an entitled little dwarf that represents the OPPOSITE of everything we value here in Oklahoma...

The ironic thing is that another rapper, Bun B of UGK was here and supposedly has been here several times. UGK is from Port Arthur TX and personally know Kendrick Perkins, a native of Beaumont (those Golden Triangle boys tend to stick together lol). In his twitter feed, he is shown smiling with fans, hanging out at Mickey Mantles, enjoying himself and the city. So I seriously doubt the Thunder has some issue with rappers.

[QUOTE=WichitaSooner;546693]This is what I heard from another board...

"He used the special celebrity entrance to get in the stadium and to his seat. People kept asking for his picture and his bodyguard started turning people away. At halftime the stat sheet is being passed around. The bodyguard mistakes the person bringing it by as a fan wanting a picture and tries to stop her. Thunder security steps in and it's a mess. After the game he is not allowed to use the same special celebrity entrance/exit and must walk out of the stadium with the regulars."


He's a no-talent hack that needs to just stay the hell away from OKC. The fact is, he's an entitled little dwarf that represents the OPPOSITE of everything we value here in Oklahoma...[/QUOTE

I remember seeing this at the game. The only people who did talk to him were good looking women, everyone else had to deal with the bodyguard. Other than that he just sat there. Headphones on. No cheering for either team. You just make yourself look like a fool. HE wants all the attention on him but when his fans want to interact with him he acts like a dick. Yes there are some crazies out there but the people wanting to talk/pictures with him were either sitting on the floor or right by him so it's not like they are slouches.

Did he bring his Auto-tune with him so people would know who he is?

Did he bring his Auto-tune with him so people would know who he is?

hehe hehe :LolLolLol

Heard a little while ago, KD is on the cover of Sports Illustrated this week.

Hoping the SI jinx doesn't kick in...

1811

Heard a little while ago, KD is on the cover of Sports Illustrated this week.

Hoping the SI jinx doesn't kick in...

1811

It won't. Now that they've had a bad half against the Heat to settle them down they will play like they did in the last 4 Spurs games and the second half last night. Thunder in 5.

Heard a little while ago, KD is on the cover of Sports Illustrated this week.

Hoping the SI jinx doesn't kick in...

1811

If a Thunder star is on the cover of SI, does that mean a Heat star will get his picture put on a milk carton?

If a Thunder star is on the cover of SI, does that mean a Heat star will get his picture put on a milk carton?

To be fair, SI actually has two covers, one with KD, the other with LBJ, so maybe the jinx will cancel itself out.

If a Thunder star is on the cover of SI, does that mean a Heat star will get his picture put on a milk carton?

Only on every 4th quart(er).

And these guys...

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7084/7182565449_6047d95bd6_o.gif



I didn't notice when I saw that clip the first time, he is sitting right by the guys in the grey, orange and yellow suits. That's pretty far up, I would have thought he would be closer to the floor.

That's Pat Riley isn't it. Oh that makes me want to watch Glory Road so I can watch his a$$ get beat again! ;-)

"Treated like sh!t" probably actually means "they didn't lick my crack".

You mean cr@ck

Lil Wayne was there. . . and we were mean to him!

It sounds to me like he's trying to make OKC look like a bunch of racists! Especially with his last rant. I just don't see what he has against us. It's almost like he took the Charles Barkley "No place for black people" comment to the extreme. It just sickens me when people act like this. He's the racist.

Saw this and thought it was an interesting take.

www.grantland.com/story/_/id/8047976/thunder-family-values

Leno made some predictable cracks on the Tonight show tonight. He brought up the hot weather around the country and said the best way to beat the heat was to throw Kevin Durant at them. He think proceeded to make a remark about how bored Miami was spending 48 hours waiting in OKC mentioning how late it's getting at 8:30. Maybe we need to invite him to a game and give him some boots. LOL

Heat fans visiting OKC are looking forward to Applebee's and Chick-fil-A. LOL

http://newsok.com/nba-finals-heat-fans-in-okc/multimedia/video/1688029317001

So much for any thoughts that having a "small market" team in the finals hurts tv ratings.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/basketball/nba/06/13/finals-ratings.ap/index.html?sct=nba_t2_a7

1816

It sounds to me like he's trying to make OKC look like a bunch of racists! Especially with his last rant. I just don't see what he has against us. It's almost like he took the Charles Barkley "No place for black people" comment to the extreme. It just sickens me when people act like this. He's the racist.


I won't go so far as to say OKC is racist, sexist, homophobic etc. but I do believe overall, OKC is one of the more intolerant cites in terms of free expression. What I mean is that when KD disclosed he had a tatoo on his back this board spent I dare say days talking about a tatoo, the governors disrespect to the President of the United States. I think it is fairly obvious that OKC would not embrace "the bird" as a player like Denver does or any other player who in the opinion of some were not the clean cut choir boys we expect. OKC will not become a vibrant place until true diversity is, if not embraced, at least allowed for instead of demonized. The Lil Waynes of the world are not my personal cup or tea, but they are for some so I say each to his own and welcome, where others attack him and others who look, act, talk, walk, etc different that us. Grow up OKC, geez. One final thing, why does almost everyone on this forum fail to admit that in comparison to MAJOR cities and even some smaller, OKC is boring! There are simply not that many venues for URBAN, African Americans, let alone, Wealthy African Americans to meet, greet, be seen. Maybe one day by not today. Get Real

I think it is fairly obvious that OKC would not embrace "the bird" as a player like Denver does or any other player who in the opinion of some were not the clean cut choir boys we expect. Are you aware that he did play here as a member of the Hornets, and was second in popularity only to CP3? Our NBA fans were almost in panic when he was banned in mid-season for a substance-abuse problem...

Pretty cool to see the Finals banners in the airport as soon as I stepped off the plane:

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/017.jpg

Lil Wayne was there. . . and we were mean to him!

Here, Mr. Leno . . .
Try this one on for size:

What do you suppose the "Li'l" refers to?
His brain? Or something else......?
It certainly isn't his ego.

There are simply not that many venues for URBAN, African Americans, let alone, Wealthy African Americans to meet, greet, be seen. Maybe one day by not today. Get Real

Ummmm....ok, so what do you want, and who have you been in contact with to get it? Nothing is stopping you from opening something. I think this is a great idea to explore, and I would welcome it.

Are you aware that he did play here as a member of the Hornets, and was second in popularity only to CP3? Our NBA fans were almost in panic when he was banned in mid-season for a substance-abuse problem...

I was glad to see birdman go. I didn't like that dude. I thought he looked like a meth head, well it turns out...

Well, the Thunder's penchant for getting off to a slow start in the playoff games and making a furious last quarter rally to win did them in this time. I still can't see them dropping three in a row in Miami though.

I thought the officiating was criminal. You were at least looking at OT had that last no-call on James been called. The Heat are getting a lot of help.

thunder will lose this series because you do not know what team will show up. too inconsistent

Not time to hit the panic button at all, but we MUST play better at the start. That first quarter was probably the sloppiest I've seen the Thunder play in a while. The team has been playing from behind so long, it probably didn't phase them, but you can only rally so much. Maybe it takes a game like this to scare them into playing 4 quarters. If we were down only 10 instead of 16 we would have won this game.

We won't drop 2 in a row, but Miami can probably count on picking up at least 2 games out of three at home. That's getting too close for comfort. At this point OKC will either win or beat themselves. I'll stand by my prediction of Thunder in 7.

thunder will lose this series because you do not know what team will show up. too inconsistent

After blowing them out in 1 game, and losing another game to criminal officiating? That's not much of a basis for any assumption if you ask me.

After blowing them out in 1 game, and losing another game to criminal officiating? That's not much of a basis for any assumption if you ask me.


They didn't lose the game to "criminal" officiating. That last call was pretty bad, sure, but in the end Miami brought it and the Thunder brought it too late. Even if that call had been better, there's no telling what would have happened at that point - it wasn't like it would have been a guarantee tie or win.

It wasn't just that call. It's a miracle KD didn't foul out, 2/5 of which were blatantly bad calls, one should have gone on another player if any player at all, the other fabricated out of thin air.

There was also significant contact repeatedly not called on Westbrook, and I'd say Harden as well although with him being one of the better floppers in the game, I'll realistically admit it's hard to legitimately argue a no-call on him.

It was criminal officiating.

After blowing them out in 1 game, and losing another game to criminal officiating? That's not much of a basis for any assumption if you ask me.

While I'll agree the officiating was awful, You can't just blame the refs, The Thunder digging a 16 point hole in the 1st quarter and missing free throws down the stretch is what killed them.

No excuse for that, but it's a testament to the comeback. I thought officiating was less than wonderful in Game 1 as well, but at least then refs were consistent about calling the game conservatively - this time they made a decisive call toward the outcome of the game after a long series of bad whistles from start to close. That is noteworthy.

I noticed one bad call go against the Heat the entire game, up against at least 6 that I can recall that were significant bad calls. That is a noteworthy margin afterall - Ibaka didn't even get away with a single instance of goal-tending like he normally does, but instead I'd bring up the one that he got that they put on Durant instead. lol

I won't go so far as to say OKC is racist, sexist, homophobic etc. but I do believe overall, OKC is one of the more intolerant cites in terms of free expression. What I mean is that when KD disclosed he had a tatoo on his back this board spent I dare say days talking about a tatoo, the governors disrespect to the President of the United States. I think it is fairly obvious that OKC would not embrace "the bird" as a player like Denver does or any other player who in the opinion of some were not the clean cut choir boys we expect. OKC will not become a vibrant place until true diversity is, if not embraced, at least allowed for instead of demonized. The Lil Waynes of the world are not my personal cup or tea, but they are for some so I say each to his own and welcome, where others attack him and others who look, act, talk, walk, etc different that us. Grow up OKC, geez. One final thing, why does almost everyone on this forum fail to admit that in comparison to MAJOR cities and even some smaller, OKC is boring! There are simply not that many venues for URBAN, African Americans, let alone, Wealthy African Americans to meet, greet, be seen. Maybe one day by not today. Get Real

So the governor snubbed Obama. Mayor Cornett... of OKC... was there, front and center to meet the Commander in Chief. Obama wasn't heckled in Oklahoma like he was in Ohio. Barkley was welcomed. The entire city loves Durant, Harden and company.

I embrace humanity, not racial diversity. If you embrace humanity and forget about race, everything else falls into place. We've become so consumed by race that we forget we are all part of the human race. Why continue giving OKC ZERO credit for anything it has accomplished thus far and what is yet to come.

So the governor snubbed Obama. Mayor Cornett... of OKC... was there, front and center to meet the Commander in Chief. Clearly this is not good enough for you. Obama wasn't heckled in Oklahoma like he was in Ohio. Again, not good enough I guess. Barkley was welcomed. Not good enough. The entire city loves Durant, Harden and company. Not good enough.

Clearly, we are not good enough for you, but I think OKC is better that what yesterday's visionaries could have ever imagined.

Some of you guys should let it go or start another thread, I think. There are issues with race in Oklahoma, to deny it is preposterous; likewise, I don't think anyone is being won over by calling OKC a racist city. Implicating people isn't the way to win support for a cause or idea.

Like I said, this discussion should be had... but in another thread.

Thunder takes Game 3, Heat takes Game 4, Thunder takes Game 5, Thunder closes it out in 6... Book it. Lol like adaniel said, its no time hit the panic button.

Losing can be a good thing. It builds a drive to make them play harder earlier. If the starters can't make it happen early, then they need to mix it up a bit. I'm also approaching this in two ways. 1) I want the home team to win. 2) Look at the last 3 seasons...we've always been knocked off by the team that's won the title. We've also made one more step of progress each year. This year will be no different, unless we win. Which means next year going by this pattern is very good. ;) However, I won't complain if they get it done this year and shut the spoiled children from Miami up.

I would be interested to see if there's a way Brooks could insert Harden into a starting lineup for once, even though he's never one to toy with the starting lineup, and that would probably slide Westbrook to the bench which I don't like.

I would be interested to see if there's a way Brooks could insert Harden into a starting lineup for once, even though he's never one to toy with the starting lineup, and that would probably slide Westbrook to the bench which I don't like.

harden and Westbrook don't play the same position ..... clearly you don't know very much about basketball

DCsooner, I said this before, but you need to take a good look at the mirror yourself at times. You've made some pretty outlandish statements yourself. You emphatically implied as if the kkk was going to show up at the end of the runway at Tinker when the president made a brief, politically self inspired showing.

You are so off base it's downright silly.

"clearly you don't know very much about basketball"
totally unnecessary comment.

I would be interested to see if there's a way Brooks could insert Harden into a starting lineup for once, even though he's never one to toy with the starting lineup, and that would probably slide Westbrook to the bench which I don't like.

Well you can thank Westbrook for starting 0-7 right off the bat. He wanted to get his points first before everybody else and thats why they started in a 18-2 hole. I hate to sound like Skip Bayless but I was dissapointed him that much for the first time in a long time.

I would be interested to see if there's a way Brooks could insert Harden into a starting lineup for once, even though he's never one to toy with the starting lineup, and that would probably slide Westbrook to the bench which I don't like.

Brooks has already said he wont change the starting lineup.

After blowing them out in 1 game, and losing another game to criminal officiating? That's not much of a basis for any assumption if you ask me.

It was a bad call, but playing as poorly as we did in the first half and getting down by 17 points...we deserved that loss.

Well you can thank Westbrook for starting 0-7 right off the bat. He wanted to get his points first before everybody else and thats why they started in a 18-2 hole. I hate to sound like Skip Bayless but I was dissapointed him that much for the first time in a long time.

first he didn't start 0-7 but the fact that durant wasn't getting open in the first Q had a lot to do with things and you 100% want westbrook attacking the rim

harden and Westbrook don't play the same position ..... clearly you don't know very much about basketball

This comment is yet another unnecessary work of projection from you. Harden in for Westbrook would get a different big (Harden) on the court without having to go small until we absolutely need to, saving that as a trump card adjustment we may need in this series - going small has proven effective against the Heat before. Plus both of these players often serve as de facto point guards, especially during momentum shifts.

Sigh..

Harden is not a big.

Well you can thank Westbrook for starting 0-7 right off the bat. He wanted to get his points first before everybody else and thats why they started in a 18-2 hole. I hate to sound like Skip Bayless but I was dissapointed him that much for the first time in a long time.

Perhaps Westbrook was forced to try to score. Who else was going to? Perk? Thabo? Ibaka? None of them are consistent enough to go to. KD was having some shooting problems himself. Sometimes when it seems like Russell is taking shots at random, it's because no one else is open. He gets far too much criticism, considering what he's achieved at the ripe old age of 23. We're in the finals, something I didn't expect to happen this year. Russ is certainly at least a secondary reason why we're here.

Harden is not a big.

I was referring to the "Big 3" rather than stature, but you're right that was an obvious oversight. I like the idea of subbing Harden for Westbrook just because Harden has proven to be a more difficult defensive assignment for the Heat, but Grantland likes the idea of Harden in for Perkins as a defensive adjustment for the Thunder (it's hard for me to think of Harden as a defensive player, I just don't ever watch him closely on that end of the court, but maybe it would work?) but they do seem to be advocating going small. I think that may be a bit premature.

Either way, Brooks is going to deny lineup changes all day long, but hopefully it is a facade because at some point adjustments are necessary. I understand him downplaying the idea though because he's never been a big believer in starting lineups anyway, emphasizing the bench and playing positions by committee instead. Obviously Brooks understands basketball way more than any of us, particularly me, and he's proven throughout these playoffs he'll make the right adjustments - not to detract from the fun of pontificating.

Here's the article on Grantland:
http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-triangle/post/_/id/29751/oklahoma-citys-bigs-problem

I also think it's interesting that people could even connect the 18-2 start to problems on D. To me that screams major problems on O, not D. Shots just weren't falling in spite of players getting good looks and committing to the pass more so than usual during the typical bad Thunder starts that we've become used to.

Well you can thank Westbrook for starting 0-7 right off the bat. He wanted to get his points first before everybody else and thats why they started in a 18-2 hole. I hate to sound like Skip Bayless but I was dissapointed him that much for the first time in a long time.



It was not one of Westbooks better games, especially in the first quarter. But I've seen him play worse. I think some people **coughMagicJohnsoncough** were WAY out of line to drill him they way they did. Everyone can get an off game and the postion Westbrook has he can't just have a bad game. He becomes a scapegoat for the whole team. I feel badly for him. I think he is amazing player and will only get better as time goes by. If he doesn't let all these people trying to dogpile on him get him down.