The Scott Brooks era began with a beat-down in the Big Easy on Saturday night; 109-97 as Chris Paul unleashed a triple-double on the bumbling Blunder. Paul exploded for 29 points, 16 assists and ten rebounds and David West added a season-high 33 points to delight Hornet's fans. Future ex-Blunder Kevin Durant led OKC, as always, with 30 points on a strong 11-16 shooting performance. Nick Collison led the Blunder lowlights with 4 points on 1-4 shooting in 25 minutes. Chris Wilcox added five fouls to lead the Blunder. The Hornets are 7-5 and gaining momentum. The Blunder are 1-13 and gaining notoriety.
The Blunder fired PJ Carlesimo on Saturday, a move about as shocking as a sunny day in Phoenix. Scott Brooks is the latest low-rent captain to be given the wheel of the OKCTitanic. Welcome aboard Scott - grab a bucket and start bailing water. You're the new fall guy, replacing the previous hired fall guy; P.J. Carlisimo.
Firing PJ was clearly the right thing to do. He's never proven himself to be a great coach or motivator and he's divisive, which fit Bennett's plan of not winning games in Seattle. Handing him the keys to coach a decimated team replete with youth was absurd. He was not hired to turn this team into a winner, but to ensure they would sink in Seattle. Bennett's plan was to find his real coach after the move to OKC. Let's be real here - hiring PJ made no sense to anyone at the time. The young players need a leader they could rally around, a guy they could relate to and a guy who could motivate them - PJ was never any of those, which is exactly why he was hired. It fit in with perfectly with Bennett's plan of team implosion. I am not saying he does not know the game - clearly he does, but Dwayne Casey was the obvious choice at the time. However, that would have gotten the team and fans excited - so it was PJ all the way. Of course, it is entirely possible Bennett thought PJ was the right choice and that angle can be argued, but it's a dubious coincidence that his bumbling coaching decision perfectly compliments an agenda to move a team.
I find the timing of the firing interesting...the day after ESPN's nationally televised Blunder beat-down. I hate to give Bennett credit for being tactical, but waiting until after the ESPN game was the smart move. You don't want the ESPN announcers focusing on the negative - and firing a coach right before that game would have done precisely that. The last thing OKC needed was more negative reviews of the move that some are calling the worst in sports. I get the feeling that Stern had input into the timing of the decision.
Of course, the argument could be made that being embarrassed like that on national TV was the final straw for PJ. Maybe it was. But I simply never believed anyone, including Bennett, truly thought PJ was the right coach. It was all part of 'The Plan'. Well, 'The Plan' is 1-13 in OKC and losers of 11 in a row.
Blunder: 1-13
Next loss: Phoenix
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8 comments:
It must be rather daunting, looking ahead at the schedule. There are so few games that could even come close to being winnable. Not that I want this team to win another single game mind you, at least they played better last night. Seeing the photo of Brooks with the team made me laugh tho. He looks just a little out of place. This is Blunder Basketball.
Spot on in saying that hiring Dwayne Casey would've made more sense than hiring PJ. Now that the Blunder have cut him loose, it appears Bennett can find the coach he really wants now that PJ has served his purpose. The thing is, it doesn't matter who's coaching the Blunder, because this team will still be terrible and a terrible one for years to come.
Keep up the good work, auroraave!
Finally someone who says it like it truly is. This Sonics team was gone ever since Bennett bought the team. It was a coordinated heist. First, make the team suck. Trade Ray Allen for Wally and West and Green, then trade those two for Donyell Marshall, Adrian Griffin, and Ira Newble, all who were going to get cut. Essentially you are left with a raw Jeff Green and 20 more losses.
Second, cut off sports radio talk show interviews with players, lowering excitement and coincidentally lowering ticket sales.
Third, keep PJ Carlesimo.
I was watching the ESPN scrolling screen on the bottom of Sportscenter and what shocked me was that when Avery Johnson got fired, a coach who would've fit perfectly with the Sonics, the Sonics publicly said that they weren't going to hire him. The team was making head coaching decisions at the time and we publicly said that we don't want one of the most successful young defensive minded coaches out there. It was if they were saying "hey we know that he would perfectly fit in with what we are trying to build here but we don't want him, just in case you were wondering why we haven't already hired him.
I could go on and on but it hurts my head.
Good job man.
Oh I forgot to add that Bennett also was removing any and all personnel that had any ties with the "Seattle" Sonics.
The only two that were fired that come to mind are Detlef Schrempf and Lenny Wilkins.
Those freaking liars have it coming to them
Bennett definitely snaked the team dubiously and sold the idea to OKC they'd be getting a corvette and it turned out to be a Pinto. Which actually makes sense. Where else would you expect to find a Pinto than at a Ford Center. He essentially hurt two fan bases and it is just not smart. There will be grumblings about this team's performance both financially as well as conpetitively, and as frustration builds, people openly criticizing Stern's idiotic and bold participation in it. It's a train wreck that can hide in the bottom of then bstandings, but not from writers and the media. Fair game.
Thanks for reading, guys!
"He essentially hurt two fan bases and it is just not smart."
You're right about that! All Bennett cared about was getting his team to OKC, no matter who he hurt along the way and no matter the cost. Well, he got his wish, and now he's paying for it. Anybody with enough sense can see through this charade and see that this wasn't a good idea to begin with. Oh well, this is what Stern and Bennett wanted, and now they have to suffer.
BTW, I saw your comment on the ESPN thread about PJ's firing. Looks like you got a Blunder fan riled up as he had an anti-Seattle diatribe in response to your post. But like the other Blunder fans, it's nothing but naivety and ignorance, just as we've seen from the trolls on the Seattle Times forum. They'll be in for a unpleasant surprise once reality hits those who still think the Blunder can become winners sometime in the near future. I don't see it happening, as do other fans in the NBA as well.
Again, keep up the good work with your blog, and I'll be looking forward to your next post, just like I always look forward to another Blunder loss!
I have not had a chance to enjoy the ESPN response, although I imagine it's the standard "get over it" and "bitter Seattle fans" stuff that they like to spew. naturally, as a Sonics fan I am absolutely bitter, as a real fan would be. And I am not going to get over it until justice is served, Bennett and Stern are exposed for the fools they are, and Seattle is once again watching the Sonics in the Coliseum. Sadly the Okie masses rarely even try to prove that I am wrong or that my posts are innacurate - just the standard head-in-the-sand responses you would expect. I am not sure if they are uptight because I am right or because they cannot understand how they got played and that in the big picture - we were right and they were duped. either way it is lose/lose - for fans everywhere.
I am fine if they do not like me - my blog is not a lovefest for them - but I would hope they could at least engage in intellegent discussion.
"A million dollar move and a five cent finish". Now thats funny.
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