What the heck is this fixation the network has with Westbrook, PG and the Oklahoma City Thunder? I'm watching this morning and see this huge segment about them after our win last night. Can Russell win? Oh, it's a statement on Paul George's shoulder. Blahddy, blahhdy, blahddy, blah. This is a sixth seed from a small market and they didn't get out of the first round the last year or the year before in spite of all this hype how they were going to challenge the Warriors. I can see the Blazers not getting props against a higher seed or a bigger market, but this just makes no sense to me. Watching the postgame coverage with Ernie Johnson, Barkley, Shaq and Kenny Smith is such a breath of fresh air because they focus on so many different things that the major media narratives and they are a million times more entertaining in how they do it.
It is strange. All I can say is the Thunder have a guy who, like it or not, has won an MVP Award and they have another player who was considered a Top 3 contender for this year's MVP. So people just assume that makes them the favorites.
ESPN is the NBA's mouthpiece. The NBA is all about stars. The Thunder have two marketable stars that most casual fans know by name. Russ is a flawed player, but most casual fans know him because he has averaged a triple double for... what... three years straight? Paul George is mostly known because he was a star for Indy and he got pretty far in the playoffs in the East. The Blazers have Dame... and the NBA doesn't promote Dame hardly at all. It's really too bad because Dame is the kind of star that should be promoted. He's the kind of pro athlete that you can point your kids to and say, "that's how you do it." I just wish people would recognize that Dame was really beat up last year in the playoffs, but he didn't use it as an excuse, unlike Paul George.
It's just one of those things. I've seen the espn guys(Jalen and Isola) mention the post game difference between Dame and russ, and others have mentioned how Portland has become a complete team..it is being talked about, but it's like an afterthought of the okc narrative. It's as if they know what's happening but since none of them gave The Blazers a chance, no need to expose your wrongness.
I agree completely that the NBA and the media that suckle on it are all about the "stars". For better or worse, Russ and PG are considered bonafide "stars". I think that Dame would have made the crossover to "star" last year in most people's minds with having made First Team All-NBA. Unfortunately, the Blazers' flameout in the playoffs last season kind of killed that buzz. The playoffs are where "stars" get their credentials in the public eye. What I'm excited about this season, if the Blazers can carry on winning deep into the playoffs, is that Dame and CJ are going to get the chance to enhance their "star" credentials. They're kind of giving NBA fans and media gurus who have ignored them in the past a bit of a "Brozillian" treatment on their prejudices about the Blazers' backcourt stars.
If they can get to the WCF, that would go a long way to cementing them as being some of the best in the game.
I had 3 hours of commute time today to listen to several talk shows on ESPN and Fox radio. The topic on most shows was either the NFL draft or....... Westbrook Not much about the games, but they did praise Dame and CJ a few times.
I watched this afternoon. They talked Westbrook and compared his demeanor to Dame. Then said OKC isn't playing Warriors and can still win because Portland isn't a good playoff team. WTF?
Even here in Germany the official german NBA site loves to suck Oklahomas and Westbrooks dick, no word today about the Blazers. So annoying
Sorry, I was too busy being enthralled by Rachel Nichols' plunging neckline. What were we talking about?
People’s entire jobs are dedicated to knowing which stories attract viewers. That’s what they’re going to talk about. But since nothing they say actually matters and doesn’t effect the games, I could give a shit what they talk about. Not like I have to listen. Anyways, I kind of prefer being overlooked and I bet Damian and CJ do too.
Ive watched the local feeds and its better. Though I do find the TNT inside the NBA crew of Ernie, Kenny, Shaq and Barkley to be entertaining (albeit sometimes dumb).
