Daily Rumbles: The Thunder taketh and the Thunder giveth away

Good day..... nah, scratch that ... Bad day.... Bad bad day Thunder Nation!!!!

I’m blown away. How can a team look so good one minute and turn into a complete dumpster fire the next? Further, how does the same scenario keep repeating itself over and over and over?

Here is a possibility; too many cooks spoil the broth, or in the Thunder’s case, too many native Americans and not enough Chiefs.

Considering Russell Westbrook’s 6 All-Star appearances, Paul George’s 4, and Carmelo Anthony’s 10, one would think this Thunder team would lack for nothing, but something is clearly missing. Each Thunder stud possesses certain skill sets that have propelled the individual into the limelight, but so far, their collective whole totally sucks.

There is no other way to put it. The Thunder, as they stand today, are not a good team.

Patience is a Virtue

Players and coaches alike tell us, be patient, that team chemistry will come with time. PLEASE!! Fellas, stop pissing on my leg and telling me it’s raining. Patience may well be a virtue, but procrastination is the thief of time. This entire season has been nuts and the patients have run the psych ward too long as it is.

Pardon the string of idioms, but hey, if the idiom fits......

This team is brilliant, or could be, we’ve seen it, but only in spurts. For 12 minutes, sometimes 24, the Thunder look like a finely woven tapestry, then one thing, and that one thing varies from night to night, goes wrong and the teamwork unravels like a badly knit sweater.

One Voice

No matter how you slice it, no matter how talented any of the individual parts are, a team will always be a group of players that must accept certain roles that work together to achieve a goal. Five must work as one or you get what we’ve seen too often this season, chaos.

When things start coming undone, each of the Thunder’s All-Stars have their own idea how to resolve it. The problem is that they are all doing it at the same time. When they do, the others start ball watching, never find their way back, then the defense loses focus and eventually the game plan deteriorates into a cat herding contest.

Obviously, it’s not working.

This team needs to focus. They need direction and as admirable as being unselfish and letting each star do his own thing sounds, it’s not getting the job done. When that first loose string appears, someone has to step up and tie it down and as diverse as the Thunder stars are that someone is Billy Donovan and the time to step up is now.

The kids have done it their way and failed. Before this turns really ugly, an adult needs to step in and say, “okay, we tried it your way, now we’re doing it my way”. I’ve stood by Billy since day one, but it’s time to cash in those relationship building chips and take control. It’s time to insist on accountability from everyone.

Sure, some feelings might get hurt, some egos may get bruised, but it is the only solution I can see that will turn this season around. It’s time.

RECENT RUMBLES

The Warriors are Coming

At this point, my advice to the Thunder is postponing until they can put together a solid forty-eight minutes. Unfortunately, that’s not an option so I’m turning to a higher power.... alcohol.

Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

I try very hard to look at the bright side, but if something doesn’t change and change now, this one could get ugly..... as in diarrhea baboon butt ugly.

Meeting anyone?