Melo opens up on “challenging” season

(Photo by TorreyPurvey.com)

By Michael Kinney

Carmelo Anthony’s first season in Oklahoma City was by all accounts his worst in his 14 year NBA career. It was also one of the worst for the Thunder after the high expectations that were put on the team in the offseason after combining the ANthony and Paul George with Russell Westbrook.

So when the Thunder held their exit interviews Saturday after being eliminated from the playoffs the night before in Utah, Anthony, for the first time, showed the frustrations he had in trying to deal with the entire situation.

“I think this season, as an individual, it was very kind of challenging for me as far as kind of coming here at the last minute, right before training camp,” Anthony said. “You know, being willing to kind of sacrifice kind of my game and style of play, coming to a new situation, not — kind of not knowing what to expect, having to figure it out on the fly, figuring it out on the fly and accepting that, and kind of just taking the other challenges that comes along with that transition. I thought we did kind of a great job of just adjusting to that and figuring that part out.”

Anthony averaged a career-low 16.2 point per game this season, which is down from his 24.1 career average. He also shot .404 from the field, the worst of his career.  He seemed to attribute much of that to the sacrifices he made this year.

“I don’t want to say stripped, but I think just challenging me to be a different type of player, a different caliber player,” Anthony said, “a guy who for 14 seasons has been a certain type of player and to kind of be challenged and tested and say, okay, we need you to be this player, this type of player, this caliber of player, very different than what I was used to before in the past. I think for me, that was the most challenging part of it. But also being willing to accept that, understanding the situation and the circumstances that I was handed to.”

The Thunder traded for Anthony right before training camp started. The suddenness of it, he says, was a contributing factor to the slow learning curve of him figuring out what the team wanted from him.

“I think the player that they wanted me to be and needed me to be was for the sake of this season, should I say, because it was just so — like I said, everything was just thrown together, and it wasn’t anything that was planned out,” Anthony said. “It wasn’t no strategy to me being here, me being a part of the actual system and what type of player and things like that. As far as being effective as that type of player, I don’t think I can be effective as that type of player. I think I was willing to accept that challenge in that role, but I think I bring a little bit more to the game as far as being more knowledgeable and what I still can do as a basketball player.”

Throughout the season, whenever Oklahoma City struggled, it was Anthony who received a lion-share of the blame from the fans and media. It led to debates on whether the veteran forward is now better suited to coming off the bench at this stage of his career.

For Anthony, that is not an option. He says he has sacrificed enough.

“I’m not sacrificing no bench role, so you can — that’s out of the question,” Anthony said. “I think everybody knows that I’ve sacrificed kind of damned near everything, family, moving here by myself, sacrificed my game for the sake of the team, and was willing to sacrifice anything and everything in order for this situation to work out. So it’s something I really have to think about, if I really want to be this type of player, finish out my career as this type of player, knowing that I have so much left in the tank and I bring so much to the game of basketball.”

With a nearly $28 million still owed Anthony on his contract, most believe he will be back in Oklahoma City for his 15^th year in the league. Even though he didn’t outright say it, Anthony gave every indication he will be returning.

If Anthony and George, who is a free agent, return next season, the year they have spent playing with Westbrook should be beneficial. Anthony says this experiment can still work. But, according to Anthony, they have to all figure out how to mesh their games together to get the most out of each of them.

“I think (Westbrook) established himself as playing a certain type of basketball. We’ve all — I think we’ve all established ourselves as playing a certain type of basketball,” Anthony said. “But I think in order for us to take that next level, we all have to sit down and figure out what do we — what each of us bring to the table. What can we bring to the table to make the pieces to the puzzle fit. I think we understand what we can be as a team. It’s just a matter of how are we going to implement that. How are we going to utilize each other’s assets and each other’s talents to figure that out.”

Michael Kinney is a Freelance Content Writer with EyeAmTruth.com

Mayfield proves doubters wrong, again

By Michael Kinney

Baker Mayfield has made it a habit of proving people wrong. Whether it was in high school or even on the college level, whenever someone has said the former Oklahoma quarterback wasn’t good enough to do something, he found a way to prove them wrong.

That Manifest Destiney type attitude was on display Thursday night when Mayfield was selected as the No. 1 overall pick  by the Cleveland Browns in the 2018 NFL draft.

Instead of attending the draft, Mayfield was at his home in Austin, TX. Surrounded by family and friends when he got the call that he had been waiting his whole life to get.

“Been a long journey to get here; a lot of work,” Mayfield. “So when I’m sitting there on the couch (for the draft), the thoughts running through my head as I start looking around at everybody in the room, a bunch of different people who have been there at different stages of my life. From the very beginning, obviously, my immediate family, then the friends and coaches and people who have helped shape me. It was everybody that was a part of the whole process.”

Mayfield became the fourth Sooner to ever be taken first in the NBA Draft. It’s a list that includes Lee Roy Selmon, Billy Simms and Sam Bradford.

However, while the previous three seemed to be sure choices, Mayfield was far from it. Many analysts had him going anywhere from No. 3 to the Jets or falling out of the top 10. The latter was something Mayfield scoffed at in interviews leading up to the draft.

Mayfield’s height, 6-0, was a major concern many thought would prevent him from being the first quarterback taken. The prevailing theory was that a team couldn’t take a chance on a shorter quarterback with that early of a pick.

However, the Browns saw past the stature and saw the other ingredients Mayfield brings to not only the position but also a team.

“I think with Baker Mayfield, what we have is a guy who we talked about who wins the game of football, is-ultra competitive and is revered by his teammates and anybody who has ever been around him,” Cleveland General Manager  John Dorsey said. “This is a guy that has earned everything he has ever had from high school to college and now up here. He is a winner. He is competitive. He really is.”

Mayfield’s newest head coach, Hue Jackson, echoed Dorsey’s sentiments.

“Here is a guy that wins football games, tremendous accuracy,” Jackson said. “Obviously, the guy was the best college quarterback this year by far in our opinion. Going through our process and meeting with him, spending time with him, putting him on the board, digging into everything about Baker, we feel very comfortable as a coaching staff and as a personnel staff that this was the guy for us.”

Jackson is also a fan of the attitude Mayfield carries with him onto the field.

“This guy has a chip on his shoulder. I think we all know that because I think that he has a burning desire to be the best,” Jackson said. “I think what I saw from him was a guy who is a leader of men, and I think that is very important. He gets his teammates to play at a whole different level. I think that was seen at Oklahoma, and I expect him to do that here. He has got to earn the right to do that, and I think that he understands that.”

Dorsey also said Mayfield was thoroughly vetted and was not concerned about off the field issues that have taken place.

“First off, my faith says that every man may deserve a second chance. Have you ever been 19 before? Have you ever been 20 before? Young men do certain things, and you know what? They learn from that. They will learn from that. I like the guy. He is very mature,” Dorsey said. “He is very smart. I bet you that we all learn from our mistakes. I have learned from my mistakes in the past, too. I am better today than I was a year ago. I have no problems with a young man being allowed to understand the mistakes he makes, and let’s move forward. Let’s move forward and let’s not do it again. That is how I look at it.”

According to Oklahoma, Mayfield became the 84th Sooner to be drafted since. Oklahoma is the lone program to produce two quarterbacks this millennium who were picked No. 1 overall, and the only program since the 1940s to produce two No. 1 QB picks in a 10-year period. It is also one of just six schools to have at least four former players go No. 1 overall.

“It’s an emotional night,” OU coach Lincoln Riley said. “Baker’s been through a lot and this is a great night for him and for his family. You look at where he started and how he was overlooked a lot his life but continued to believe in himself, continued to fight. Having a front-row seat to his journey the last three years, it’s really unbelievable. He’s believed in himself the whole way, and that shows you how important that is.”

Riley and former OU coach Bob Stoops were with Mayfield when he was drafted. Both said the Brows are getting a franchise changing player.

“This is what should have happened for him. He’s the best player out there,” Stoops said. “What he did for us — just go back. The last three years have been magical. What he did in my last two years with the two Big 12 championships, the leadership, the toughness and everything else, I don’t know that I’ve ever had anyone like him. He earned everything he got, and to finish his career the last two years by setting the NCAA pass efficiency record both seasons is just incredible. What an exceptional player and story. So happy for him.”

The Browns have been the doormat of the NFL for years. They have a myriad of starting quarterbacks go down in flames trying to guide the hapless team.

Mayfield doesn’t seem to be worried about what happened before he heard his name called Thursday.

“I’m excited,” Mayfield said. “I said it at the (NFL) combine; I’d love to be the guy to help turn them around and I think if anybody’s going to do it it’s going to be me. It starts in the locker room, it starts leadership wise with your teammates; changing the culture, installing a belief with everybody else. They have all the tools and the pieces. Let’s just make it happen now.”

Michael Kinney is a Freelance Content Writer with EyeAmTruth.com

Thunder will themselves back into series

Photo by TorreyPurvey.com

By Michael Kinney

By halftime of Game 5 Wednesday night, the story of the 2017-18 Oklahoma City Thunder was being played out in slow motion. Nothing was going right and there looked to be no way their season would last past midnight.

But then something happened. Whether it was a switch being turned on or the bitter reality of the situation hitting them in the face, the Thunder stormed back from being down 25 points to defeat the Utah Jazz 107-99 at the Chesapeake Energy Arena.

“I really don’t have any words for it. I’ve been in the league for 13 years and it’s probably one of the most amazing games I’ve ever been a part of,” Thunder guard Raymond Felton said. “To be in and feel that feeling, that atmosphere, the crowd was amazing, my teammates were amazing.”

With 8:32 left in the third quarter and the Thunder trailing by 25 points, Russell Westbrook, the still reigning MVP, got hot.  He drained back to back 3-pointers to stop Utah’s momentum. In the process, it ignited Oklahoma City.

The Thunder continued to chip away at the Jazz lead. Westbrook and Paul George were the main culprits in the ferocious comeback as they tied the game at 78-78 by the end of the quarter.

“Well, I think a 25-, 20-point lead in the NBA is not safe, especially when you’ve got two guys like Russell and Paul George that can do what they did,” Utah coach Quin Snyder said. “I thought the two 3s that Westbrook hit were big shots, and then Paul George followed up with a three-point play, and all of a sudden a 25-point lead is a 16-point lead, and they found some rhythm.”

It was the exact opposite for Utah. After being on fire in the first half, they cooled off considerably in the second. And when Rudy Gobert went out of the game in foul trouble, they could no longer defend the paint and Oklahoma City took advantage.

“I got in foul trouble early in the game,” Gobert said. “Had a few stupid fouls that were on me. The fourth foul was too easy for them and that is on me. I’ve got to be smarter and avoid those first three fouls. Don’t put my team in this position.”

In the second half, the Thunder shot 52 percent from the field and 63 percent from behind the 3-point line. So even when Gobert came back into the game and Utah started to hit some shots in the fourth quarter, it was too late.

“Just being competitive, play until there’s nothing on the clock,” George said. “I think you guys have seen that on a nightly basis with one of the best to do that in Russ. It’s just being a competitor. You play until there’s no more time on the clock.”

Westbrook was in full attack mode and no one was going to slow him down. Over the final 20:30 of the game, Westbrook outscored the Jazz 33-28.

“Just staying aggressive, man. Just trying to pick my spots,” Westbrook said. “Same shots I have been getting, I just have to concentrate on making them. We got shots when we needed to. I thought our team did a good job of staying together through it all.”

Westbrook ended the night with 45 points on 17 of 39 shooting. He also had 15 rebounds and seven assists.

George threw in 34 points, eight rebounds and two steals. No other [player reached double figures.

“I think tonight with the magnitude of the game and the excitement to come back we played off each other very well,” Westbrook said of him and George. “We made big plays. Paul made big plays down the stretch and stayed in attack mode. It was good tonight.”

Jae Crowder paced the Jazz with 27 points. However, he scored only 12 after the first quarter.

Rookie Donovan Mitchell posted 23 points on 9 of 22 shooting. Joe Ingles added 16 points in the defeat.

“We stopped playing defense. We stopped getting back. Offense got stagnant,” Mitchell said. “They made adjustments and we didn’t make the right adjustments back. We will watch the film and figure out what went wrong, but my analysis right after the game is we stopped getting back in transition and they just fed off of that.”

With the win, Oklahoma City forced a Game 6 in Utah Friday. Once again their playoffs lives will be on the line in a win or go home for good situation.

“We just know it’s one game at a time,” Westbrook said. “In the playoffs, you have to be able to win on the road if you want to win the series. We know what we have to do. Go there and take care of business.”

According to coach Billy Donovan, he doesn’t believe in momentum carrying over game to game. The bad traits that got them down by 25 points in the first place have to be eliminated.

“Once tomorrow starts, like this is over with. You’ve got a whole different set of things, so I don’t look at it like we’re carrying any momentum,” Donovan said. “We’ve got to go in there and we’ve got to play and play better. This is a team that had us down by 25 points. Now, I’m obviously thrilled with the comeback and it was a great job, but you get down 25 points on the road, that’s hard to overcome, and we were fortunate, our crowd got behind us and we made some shots, but I don’t look it at like, okay, we’re riding some momentum wave.”

Donovan had every right to try and stomp the brakes on the celebration. He has watched this team look great at times only to come back the next game and resemble a squad in preseason form.

“We’ve got to come back and do it again,” Donovan said. “And this has been this team’s greatest challenge is the consistency to be able to come back the next game and do it again over and over and over, and that’s what’s going to be required to continue to advance the series.”

Michael Kinney is a Freelance Content Writer