Beware of Serge on I-35 and the wardrobe critics

Originally Published: Feb 1, 2011 12:29 PM CDTPLEASE STAY OFF THE ROAD SERGEThunder officials tell me the team will not practice today with

Thursday, May 26th 2011, 1:32 pm

By: News 9

Originally Published: Feb 1, 2011 12:29 PM CDT

PLEASE STAY OFF THE ROAD SERGEThunder officials tell me the team will not practice today with 55mph winds, 5 degree temps, and  a foot of snow in some places. Wondered if they could get professional drivers pick them up to take them to the gym. The players probably are acting like my eleven year old who’s all fired up about no school. All I know is  I wouldn’t want to be driving next to Serge Ibaka down Kelly Ave. He’s had as much practice at that as I’ve had practice of 360 dunks. Speaking of treacherous driving, the Thunder is obviously is not in the ditch after dropping a heartbreaker to the Heat Sunday. But they are on a slippery slope needing to correct problem areas to put themselves in a good position for a Top 4 seed in the West giving them a legit chance to advance to the second round.  Three areas jump out to me: the need for a pure shooting 3-pt threat, a post player capable of banging with the big guys, and the continuing problem of not playing defense with the 2009-10 intensity. They have a zero percent chance of advancing to Round 2 if they don’t solve the defensive problems. Frankly, I’m afraid the loss of last year’s defensive genius Ron Adams (now dong a terrific job of making Chicago a tough D which has made them become a threat this year and a bunch to be reckoned with for several years) has left a void that won’t be resolved in the near future. Ironically, KD is a better defensive player and did a credible job on LeBron but tenacious team defense is lacking.               SO YOU DON’T CARE FOR WARDROBE? TOSS THE ZANZABELTS Throughout the years we’ve caught our share of flak. And then some. Then some more. Fine. Goes with the territory. And Lord knows we’ve brought on a good deal of it. Then the bio takes care of the rest. But when someone jumps me  about the wardrobe, that’s when the rubber meets the road. The kindest, “someone tell the sports guy to fire whoever gets his clothes.” The worst? “Someone tell Dean blanket blank blank blank blank blank.” I actually kinda like the give and take when it pertains to sports. But bro, when you start dissing the threads, it’s time to put up the dukes.  Frankly, some of my greatest LOL moments come when someone walks up in sanzabelt slacks, a polka dot shirt, plaid tie with a knot tighter than Ben Gump,  and Glen Beck tennis shoes and proceeds to tells me I shouldn’t wear so many pocket squares. Hey, go see Hans The Tailor. Tell him you hate the drobe. He’ll just smile and sell you a suit before you can get out the door. By the way, tell him I need a better deal. Especially when I spend time responding to the cloth critics.  FYI, ALL of the above is a weak attempt at humor. But we’re snowed in and have a lot of time to peck away on the laptop.  MORE ENTERTAINING FEEDBACK A few Thunder loyalists didn’t care for our Blitz analysis following the loss to the Lebrons. By the way, we have always found DWade to be a gentleman both on the court and in interviews with us following games. But LeBron isn’t exactly warm and cuddly, although he deserves credit for giving us the time. And his incessant complaining about officiating gets really old. One courtside photog said it was really bad on the court hearing LeBron go on and on and on.  Anyway, the loyalists didn’t care for my Simpleton premise And the video clearly showed Miami’s Big 3 is better than OKC’s Big 3; That Harden is MIA and unacceptably loafed late in the loss; That the top two centers scored two more points than a dead man; That unacceptably, OKC gave up EIGHT offensive rebounds. In the final quarter. Yes, the FINAL QUARTER! Three off free throws. Fifteen of Miami’s 23 fourth-quarter points were on second shots. MAJORITY SUPPORT KD’s “FAKE TOUGH GUY” COMMENT You notice Durant is getting near unanimous support in calling out Bosh for being a ”fake “tough guy?” We’re a big fan of Dallas/ESPN Espouser Tim Cowlishaw, but gotta disagree with him being one of the few “selling” what Duran’s actions. Just don’t understand the reasoning. The lanky Longhorn was just standing up for a mate (Harden) and was sending a message to the lanky lefty Chris Bosh to back off. Anyway, Durant’s team first attitude and remarkable summer with Team USA justifiably earned him a great deal of good will from the Fourth Estate and fans everyone.  Hey, when you come from Texas and have gotten OU fans to love you, the guy’s pretty special.  The affable Michael Wilbon with The Washington Post and ESPN’s PTI program, called Durant “perhaps the most respected player in the league by his peers.” Good point. But I’d sure like to see him jump his teammates for not boxing out. If they’d done that, no telling what would have happened in Game 7 against the Lakers (OKC lost as Gasol got a huge OR and hoop to win Game 6.) And Sunday would have resulted in perhaps the most memorable game in Thunder history.  WHAT THEY ARE SAYING Miami’s underrated coach Spoelstra gushed in an ESPN story by Kevin Arnovitz: “I think it’s a really a credit to Sam (Presti) and the ownership for having that very specific vision and a plan to do it over two or three years and not try to do the quick fix in one summer.” Arnovitz says it’s a “very sad story (that calls the Sonics gave up their franchise to OKC), but if it’s any consolation, the Thunder have an awesome fan base. The team is also a model franchise.”    GOTTA LOVE THE BOONE I love TBoone Pickens. Would love him even more if he’d toss a few C notes my way. Did you watch him come off like a stud this week on the brilliant comedian John Stewart’s Daily Show? Fabulous communicator. Simple and clear. No misunderstanding T Boone. Wish he wasn’t so old and I’d donate money to a 2012 presidential bid. Did I just say I’d donate money to TBoone? Where’s a straight jacket? Apparently that fall on the ice did long term damage. But I’m serious. I’d give money to see a guy in the Big Chair like TBoone. Poke fans should always remember to say prayers for straight talking Texas tycoon and thank him for what he did for his alma mater. TB  singlehandedly  propelled OSU into a position to be competitive with the big boys in living rooms and football fields.   Thanks again for checking in. Word to the wise for locals. Walk carefully if you must get out. Two years ago to the day I slipped in an instant and darn near died with a serious brain injury. Oh, I forgot! I need to pull out the “brain injury” excuse next time I do something stupid. Shouldn’t take long for that to happen.  DB Follow Dean on Twitter @deanblevins