Last week, I watched my beloved Lakers play one of the worst teams in the NBA: the Oklahoma City Thunder. I was beyond excited to get a chance to watch my favorite team face off against the player—Jeff Green—who almost single-handedly gave me one of the greatest experiences of my college career thus far, namely a freshman year voyage to Atlanta to watch the mighty Hoyas compete in the Final Four.
ESPN’s Hubert Davis recently compared the current version of our Hoyas to an NBA team that has already been eliminated from the playoffs. If you’ve seen a team “go through the motions” late in the season, you know just how harsh that statement is.
But he was right. Prior to the Syracuse game this past weekend, the Hoyas have simply lacked that swagger that has become synonymous with Georgetown basketball since the reign of John Thompson Jr. in the 1980s. Fans have witnessed a tangible discord among the players, a lack of urgency on the defensive end, and a repeated failure to execute in the final minutes.
Jeff Green’s Thunder are currently 13-39, bad enough for last place in the Northwest Division and the third-worst record in the NBA. Remember, however, that that record was built upon a 3-29 start. A month ago, the pundits were speculating about whether this Thunder team could finish with the worst record in the history of the 82-game season. But they’ve gone 10-10 in their subsequent 20 games, powered by Kevin Durant’s emergence as the next great superstar, vast improvement from rookie point guard Russell Westbrook, and, of course, ample contributions from the Pippen to Durant’s Jordan: our very own Tarheel, Commodore, Irish, and Cardinal-slayer, Jeff Green.
Now, the Lakers—who boast the league’s best record—won that game last week. That being said, they had multiple opportunities to pull away against the Thunder, but never did so—not against a team of youngsters who have figured out how to play with heart, fire, and urgency for 48 minutes every game. What they lack in experience, they make up for by giving the opponent their best shot every night.
The Thunder will not be playing in the playoffs this year. They probably won’t be playing in the playoffs next year. But with this nucleus of young, motivated talent, they might be great later down the road.
One thing you won’t see this Thunder team do is give up on their season, playoffs or not. They understand that bringing it every night and working hard is the road to improvement and confidence. This year’s young Hoyas’ team has lacked this work ethic of late, but they need only to take a few cues from big brother Jeff to break out of their current slump. The Thunder approach their games one at a time, enjoy themselves on the court, and keep the bigger picture in mind. I only pray that our Hoyas can build on a great effort at the Carrier Dome and start doing the same.
