Thunderous Intentions
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Thunderous Thoughts: Billy Donovan and the Upside Down

By Jeremy Lambert

Apr 21, 2017; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Billy Donovan reacts to a play against the Houston Rockets in game three of the first round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 21, 2017; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Billy Donovan reacts to a play against the Houston Rockets in game three of the first round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports /
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May 30, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; OKC Thunder head coach Billy Donovan (right) instructs guard Andre Roberson (21, left) during the second quarter in game seven of the Western conference finals of the NBA Playoffs against the Golden State Warriors at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Thunder 96-88. Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
May 30, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; OKC Thunder head coach Billy Donovan (right) instructs guard Andre Roberson (21, left) during the second quarter in game seven of the Western conference finals of the NBA Playoffs against the Golden State Warriors at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Thunder 96-88. Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /

Welcome to Thunderous Thoughts, a weekly look at the OKC Thunder where the main story ranges from wacky theories to even wackier theories. This week, I’ve watched too much Netflix and want to talk about Billy Donovan.

Billy Donovan is a weird guy. He seems really smart. Most NBA head coaches are. Maybe not every NBA head coach is cut out to be in that position, but they have to be smart enough to get to that position in the first place.

You don’t win multiple NCAA National Titles, come away with a top recruiting class, and develop NBA rotation players every year unless you’re smart. You don’t have the kind of success Donovan has had in his first two years as a coach unless you’re smart. So, Billy Donovan is smart. But, he’s also weird.

Some people may call him dumb, but that’s an insult to a guy who is clearly smart. Thus, I call him weird.

Ya’ll ever seen Stranger Things? If not, you should probably do that. Go watch the entire first season then comeback and read this column. It’ll still be here tomorrow.

For those of you who have seen Stranger Things, and those of you who are back from yesterday, then you’ll know what “The Upside Down” is. In case you’re still reading and you didn’t take my advice of watching Stranger Things, I’ll be kind and explain it to you. You owe me. The Upside Down is a parallel universe where everything is dark and cold and miserable. You don’t die in The Upside Down, you just survive and send messages through lights.

Sometimes, I think Billy Donovan gets trapped in the Upside Down during games. Again, he’s not dumb. He knows playing Semaj Christon alongside Kyle Singler is a bad idea. But, he’s in the Upside Down. And thus, he can’t help it.

How does Donovan get to the Upside Down? Well, it depends on the situation.

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If it’s early in the game or there are injuries, Donovan goes there by choice. He enters through the tree portal and uses the Upside Down as a cry for help.

Playing Semaj and Singler together is Donovan sending a message from the Upside Down. He’s letting Sam Presti know that he’s trapped with the current roster. That this is his backup point guard option and that he feels obligated to play Singler due to his contract. He doesn’t have to do this. He knows he can play Victor Oladipo at the point guard position and Doug McDermott at small forward. But he plays Semaj and Singler together, he sits Taj Gibson, and he doesn’t bring Jerami Grant in quick enough. These are Donovan’s blinking lights.

If it’s later in the game and you’re wondering what Donovan is doing, chances are he’s been dragged there by a monster. Who is the monster? No one. Like the monster in Stranger Things, this is just a crazy, ugly monster. And he’s coming after Billy Donovan because Billy Donovan walks into the Upside Down under his own volition in order to cry out for help. The Demogorgon does not appreciate this. Thus, he drags Billy back to the Upside Down later in the game.

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Now, Billy is not only trying to send a message, he’s also extremely confused. When he goes to the Upside Down by choice, he’s of right mind. When he is dragged there by the Demogorgon, his brain gets rattled. Everything becomes backward to him. Semaj is Chris Paul. Singler is Gordon Hayward. Russell Westbrook is still Russell Westbrook because if there’s one man who is immune to any kind of crazy Upside Down universe, it’s Russell Westbrook.

Sometimes, Westbrook saves Billy from the Demogorgon. We cheer loudly, forgetting the events that led up to the heroic effort. But when our hero fails, we begin to wonder just what happened to Billy Donovan during the game.

He’s in the Upside Down. I literally just told you what happens.

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