Kevin Durant, the OKC Thunder’s sprinkle. Coming up small, once again.

It’s 2007 for the University of Texas basketball team. They have what is considered the best freshman in the country. Long, 6’11”, can shoot from anywhere in the gym & has good handles. Well, with some other really great players, like future NBA point guard, DJ Augustine, & a beast of a PF hybrid in Damion James, that lanky All-American, Kevin Durant, managed to only get to the 2nd round of the NCAA Tournament. In that 2nd round game, the #4 seed Texas Longhorns lost pretty badly to #5 ranked USC Trojans.

Read that article & you would swear think it was written today after another pathetic showing by the ‘superstar’ Durant in what could have been the game that sent his team to the NBA Finals. Instead, Durant shot low percentage drifting jumpers, didn’t attack the basket, dribbled like a kid who grew from 5’11 to 6’11 overnight & blew the game. Rereading this article, this part especially stuck with me…

 

As he often has this season, Durant led everyone with 30 points and added nine rebounds for fourth-seeded Texas (25-10).

But he never came close to dominating this East Regional game. Many times when he got the ball, the offense ground to a halt…

 

Think about it, that was almost 10 years ago, & we’re still talking about how Durant is a great scorer, but he’s not a winner.

I can see the jaws dropping now, the people turning red in the face to say ‘I’m nuts!’, ‘I don’t know what I’m talking about!’, blah, blah, blah…

Here’s the thing, before we can argue the merits of my bold comments which I think are very much based in facts, & the eye test, we must establish a baseline. First off, people through around the term ‘superstar’ to cavalierly for my liking. Really good shooters are not necessarily ‘superstars’, & in my opinion, Durant is just a really good shooter.

So, let’s start with my definition of a ‘superstar’, because if we don’t agree on these certain qualities, then there is no point in continuing this debate.

1. First off, they must be unstoppable. They must be the unquestioned person you MUST stop if you even hope to have a chance of winning. You don’t even think twice when you think of the face of that team. When it comes to the last possession, you know they’re going to isolate him, & more times than not, he’s gonna beat you.

2. They must have passion. I mean an unquenchable thirst to be the best, crush your very soul & win at any cost! You can’t bump them, forcing them to pull up for a weak jumpshot; you can’t just hack them, because they’ll get an “an’ one” plus go to the line & hit the free throw; you can’t count on a bad shooting night making them irrelevant; you know your best scorer is gonna have their hands full of defense; you spend hours gameplanning for this unstoppable force!

3. They are multifaceted. They’re not only great, the best at their position, at one aspect, but they’re really good in multiple other areas. They are more than proficient in nearly every aspect of the game. Even their ‘weakest’ area is much better than the norm.

4. If you go down 3-1 in a series, you know you’re done.

5. Emotionally, he sets the tone, the example. Even if he’s a selfish, ball hogging prick (ala Kobe), he’s your selfish, ball hogging prick, & you know he’s so determined to win, that he’s gonna lead you to the “W”!

6. If you could start a team today, it’s no question you want this player as your cornerstone.

Now, THAT is my definition of a superstar. Now, the last thing that we must agree upon, is that superstars are not just really good, but GREATNESS that is even a step above elite. There are elite shooters, elite defenders, elite assist guys & ‘gamers’, but a superstar is all of these in one. Also, talent doesn’t equal superstar status. To whom much (talent) is given, much is expected. That means wins. Not just any wins though, but wins when it matters most: the playoffs. Just because these NBA analyst jackasses call someone a superstar, doesn’t mean they are. The NBA’s marketing department, or a players contract value, doesn’t make them a superstar. Superstars are made in the playoffs, when their teams need them most to make it to the next round & to the title.

For all of these reasons, I do NOT think Durant is a superstar. He’s a really good scorer, but he’s not superstar caliber. He has the ability, but lacks the fire, the multidimensional game & leadership. If you watch the games, the player closer to being an unstoppable superstar is Russell Westbrook.

Don’t get me wrong, Durant is great, but when he’s on the floor (I’ll focus on this Golden State series, but I’ve said this for years) he’s consistently settling for jumpshots, when his shooting percentage isn’t that great (42.5%). He’s constantly letting the defender dictate his move, he’s unable to get high percentage shots in 1-on-1 opportunities & doesn’t show fire consistently. Take a look at his 3% shooting percentage, & you’d start to wonder WHO anointed this guy a premier shooter! He’s coming up small in the playoffs, ONCE AGAIN!

Look at the total stats. Durant’s #1 in FG attemptd, but 6th in FG %. He’s behind Klay & Stef of Golden State, LeBron & Kyrie or Cleveland in the top shooting stats & only slightly better than Westbrook in 2PT%, while much worse than Russell in 3PT%. Is THAT a superstar. Like I said, I dont think so, but I have much higher standards, because as I’ve stated before ‘to whom much is given, much is expected.’

Many will try to call me a hater. That’s fine. I don’t care. Like I said, the eye test & stats back up my assertion that Durant is really good, but he is NOT a superstar. He’s the sprinkle, or drizzle, but he’s not the thunder.

Did I leave the party, or was I never welcome? The incredibly shrinking @GOP.

In college, I called myself a Democrat.
I was adamant about it.
Now, that wasn’t because I knew anything about the GOP or the Democrats that made me love Dems more.
Yet, I ‘knew’ one thing, or so I thought, in my young ignorant way, & that was that the GOP hated working class people & the GOP hated the poor.
Luckily I was NEVER so stupid as to believe the GOP hated me because I was black.
(Yea, young dumb me. Sarcasm.)
As I got older, ya know, out of college & entered THE REAL WORLD, I wised up (whew!)
So, as I started paying taxes, moved out of my parents home, took on personal responsibility & worked hard to gain success, wealth, more powerful titles (aka became a man), I started to slowly become a conservative.
Correction, I was ALWAYS a conservative deep down, I just didn’t know it.
As a young dummy, I thought, for the previously stated above reasons, I was a Democrat, but I realized that I fell for a lie.
I do NOT like being lied to!
I used to think I only had 2 choices.
Well, we really do only have 2 choices, BUT it’s time for a 3rd!
The GOP primary has sent me back to college me!
No, no, NO, not in calling myself a Democrat!
I’m no longer stupid enough to say that, think that or even entertain that.
What HAS happened, is that I have now realized college me was kinda, sorta, possibly, maybe … right.
Ugggh.
See, it’s become abundantly clear that the GOP doesn’t care about the working man, the dreamer, the hard worker, the ‘common man/woman’ &/or ‘We the people..’, a phrase that means so much to me in its simple, elegant power.
The GOP cares more about keeping power than helping everyday American people gain wealth so they can gain their own economic power.
The GOP cares more about making sure they have a candidate they can control
than they do about listening to who the people are voting for.

That’s fine.

It IS THEIR party.
THEIR party …. clearly not mine, or ours.
So, like any party you’re invited to, you arrive at, look around, don’t like the crowd & don’t feel welcome, I’m leaving.
I’m out.
Peace.
Sayonara.
Adios.
Next time I get one of your invites to the party, I’ll politely decline.
‘Thanks, but NO THANKS.’

The importance of the word ‘some’. #tcot

This political season has been nuts.
From conservatives bashing other conservatives, to the realization of how many ill-informed, &/or uninformed, jackasses there are walking amongst us, & being allowed to breed, to outright lying about candidates, to voters votes being ignored, to just the general sense that I’m watching my beloved country fall apart before my very eyes, it’s been a doozy.
Honestly, I kinda want it to be December & don’t even tell me who won, because the problems are much bigger than a president.
I can’t tackle all, or even a fraction, of America’s problems in a short blog post, but I can tackle a seemingly small, but oh so important problem: reading comprehension.
Look, it’s not hard, words matter.
Before you go running off to tweet your bitter, sarcastic, angry, possibly profanity laced thought about what someone said…
one, take a breath;
two, take a DEEPER breath, because I know you people, you just ignored #1;
three, reread the comment;
four, try to process the MEANING of the comment;
five; finally, NOW you can tweet!
Many of you people need a few extra steps, but your problems are much deeper.
Those 5 simple steps should help 75% of America.
Now that THAT is out of the way, I’ll get right to my point.
The word SOME is a very important word.
I try to use it often, because I do not like to overgeneralize, which often weakens a point & gives jackasses looking to shoot holes in your valid point a huge target.
Take me for instance.
I get into arguments with Cruz voters, because they, I mean SOME of them are just jackasses that you can NOT reason with.
See what happened there.
I toned it down by using SOME.
When you use some, it’s broad enough that your point is still valid.
So, when Donald Trump said ‘SOME Mexicans are coming here & they’re rapist…’, not only is that factually true, but innocent in nature if you’re not a rapist.
When people say ‘black people are stupid…’ because they vote for Democrats 99% of the time, even I get pissed, because umm, I’m black.
Yes, SOME blacks are huuuuge losers who will never be free, but once again, SOME.
SOME white people are racists.
SOME women are psychos who do evil things.
SOME Asians are smart. (hahhaa!! I’m such a dick!)
SOME atheists…. [correction] MANY atheists are a**holes!
So, next time you shoot your mouth off, think if you should include the word ‘SOME’, or look to see if the person who angered you used the word ‘some’.

You’re welcome.
Pay it forward.

Battery? Really? Michelle Fields claims hurts battered women.

This story is SO stupid!
I have ignored it, & not commented on it, until now.
The reason I’m commenting now is that it’s gone past stupid, to insane, & frankly, infuriating.
There are women who have TRULY been battered, that need our help, defense & protection, not some arrogant, attention seeking reporter who went too far trying to get a story.
I can’t even imagine how REAL victims of battery feel watching that video!
If I were them, I’d be incensed!
Sure, Lewandowski could have apologized; Michelle Fields could have also stopped being a big baby, because if you grab at important people with secret service & private bodyguards, ummm, you should probably expect to be grabbed back.
Finally, if Lewandowski is being charged with battery because ‘he touched someone who didn’t want to be touched’, which is the Florida definition of battery, then shouldn’t Fields also be charged with ‘battery’ because she touched Donald Trump, who Lewandowski claims didn’t want to be touched?
Ugggh, when exactly will this primary get to jobs, the economy & restoring American power?
This primary has shown that restoring America to her former glory is going to be a much bigger job that I thought it was.

ps. Many of you defending Michelle Fields, or are making this some huuuge story, are doing so simply because you hate Donald Trump THAT MUCH! If this was a male reporter, or someone grabbing Cruz, many people wouldn’t make this a big story. If Trump supporters were being jackasses in that case, I’d call them out too AND I’d hold the same views on this being ‘battery’.