Alert: Two days until the Thunder plays competitively against another team. Two-a-days wrapped Saturday with a 
scrimmage and now the team starts prepping for games. It feels good to almost have the NBA back. Real good.
Don’t forget: The Thunder has an open practice tonight at Midwest City High School from 6:00-8:00. Doors open at 5:30 and from what I hear, you should get there early.
Susan Bible of HoopsWorld with a training camp report: “Yesterday HOOPSWORLD stopped at Thunder Training Camp in Edmond, OK. The place was absolutely buzzing with trainers working with groups of players on a variety of drills up and down the court. Kevin Durant and Byron Mullens were spotted in a hot competition at the free-throw line – the first one to reach a score of 21 won. Durant won….and we didn’t see him miss a single shot.”
A story about T. Boone Pickens with some Thunderers making a cameo: “Right before halftime, Kevin Durant, Jeff Green, Russell Westbrook and James Harden pay a visit to Pickens’ suite. The Thunder stars shake hands with Pickens and his wife, who asks where each player went to college. When it’s Durant’s turn, Pickens jumps in. “You went to Texas A&M,” he deadpans. “No, I went to Texas.” “I know where you went.”
Scott Brooks says Russell Westbrook is doing very well in camp: “He’s a better player,” Brooks said. “Russell’s going to improve for a lot of years. He’s not a finished product. He’s 20 years old and has the chance to get better for the next 10 years. And he will get better. He’s an athletic young point guard that challenged himself all summer to improve. And I see the improvement. We have to continue to work with him to get better. He has a nice feel. He’s not playing as fast, and he’s comfortable out there. I’m happy with the way he’s been playing so far.”
James Harden is expected to play in Wednesday’s preseason game after spraining his ankle last week.
The NBA Board of Governors approved two more uses of replay. To determine at any point during the game whether a 24-second shot clock violation occurred prior to the release of a successful field goal attempt or prior to a foul being committed and to determine during the last two minutes of regulation play and the last two minutes of any overtime period which player last touched the ball prior to it going out-of-bounds or whether the ball was last touched simultaneously by two opponents.
A column on SLAM about parity (or the lack thereof) in the NBA: “Here’s to hoping ‘Melo continues to improve and the Nuggets steal a ring one of these years. Here’s to the Blazers and their young, solid squad. Maybe they can shock the Lakers and Celtics in some long and exhilarating best of seven series. Here’s to LeBron—stay on the Cavs, win it all and stamp your name as Ohio’s number one son. Here’s to the Oklahoma City Thunder—build around Durant, get a legitimate coach and make the Sooner State proud… Well, the Thunder may not be ready just yet, but you get my point.”
A nice sneak peek at the new Ford Center. I must say, looks fantastic. Especially the brick work. Too bad I’ll never see one of those updated suites. I bet they sure are sweet. Bwahahahaha. 
SI has a nice feature on the Thunder’s new journeyman: “Kevin Ollie has mastered the NBA’s transition game. Last week, for example, he loaded up his Escalade with all the clothes, utensils, cookware and bedding he’ll need for the upcoming season and had the vehicle shipped to Oklahoma City, as if it were a 400-horsepower suitcase. Three days later, he jumped on a plane and met it at the other end. New team. New opportunity. Same old twinge of regret.”
In this mock fantasy draft, Kevin Durant went third in front of Dwyane Wade, Kobe, Dirk, Danny Granger and Dwight Howard.
The NBA’s got a memo out to players to quit standing all the time because it blocks fans’ views. That affects the Thunder for sure because we have that “tradition” of standing until the first bucket, players included. No biggie at home because everyone is standing. But on the road, the players have carried that same tradition with them (which is cool). I wonder if they’ll still stand until the first bucket away from the Ford.
UPDATE: Byron Mullens was a guest on the Club Trillion podcast. Listen and learn. (h/t Scott)
Now 23 days until real basketball is played in Oklahoma City. Back in July, I didn’t think we’d ever get here.
Thanks Dylan, ur da man!!!
@dylan
Thanks!
His appraisal of Westbrook is actually quite complementary. One common thread runs through all of his evaluations for Thunder players: POTENTIAL. Sky's the limit for our current roster of players, but all that potential has to manifest itself in results for it to mean anything.
@KingGondo
KD
"Scouting report: A scoring machine thanks to an impressive ability to shoot -- and shoot quickly -- at 6-9, Durant has the length that makes him a difficult cover for opposing perimeter defenders. Although he has a fairly low release point, his arms are so long and his release so speedy that he has no trouble getting a shot away.
He improved at taking opponents off the dribble, but his shot selection is still terrible; he takes a lot of shots that would be acceptable at the end of the clock but are highly questionable with 15-20 seconds remaining. Partly as a consequence, the team tended to play at a much slower pace with him off the court.
Durant improved at making passes to the screener when he comes off a curl with two men on him, but once he starts dribbling, he's blind as a bat and opponents can double him with impunity. "He doesn't make anybody better," is a common refrain from scouts, and he'll have to make major strides in this area in coming seasons. Perhaps as a result, he tends to run people over. Durant committed 39 offensive fouls, according to 82games.com; only three players had more, and they all were centers.
He also needs to boost his defense. Durant is potentially an awesome defender due to his tremendous length; in addition to playing the perimeter, he can match up against the long, stringy 4s like Lamar Odom or Josh Smith who give a lot of teams trouble.
The emphasis is on "potentially," however. At the moment, his effort at this end is severely lacking. In addition to his brutally awful on-court/off-court numbers, Durant again had one of the lowest foul rates in the league, and it seems to be more a symptom of not trying than of tremendous discipline. He often seems to jog back in transition defense, and one wonders if he needs to improve his stamina.
2009-10 outlook: Durant projects to lead the league in points per 40 minutes and to log one of the league's largest PER increases, a sentiment that most observers would echo based on how he performed in the second half of the season.
The fact he will score is unquestioned; it's his development in the other phases of the game that will define how high his star ascends. Durant exhilarated observers with his scoring ability last season, but his inability to pass or defend didn't translate into superstar production. If Oklahoma City is going to turn the corner, it has to start with its marquee player becoming more well-rounded."
@KingGondo
Russ
"Scouting report: Westbrook is big for a point guard at 6-foot-3 and powerfully built, so his poor numbers as a finisher come as a major surprise. He can fly in and dunk over bigger players, and as he refines his game, he should be able to punish smaller guards on post-ups.
"Refine" is the key word. Westbrook is great at pushing the ball up-court but often ended up completely, utterly, totally out of control. He needs to harness his tendency to overpenetrate lest he turn into the second coming of Robert Pack. Westbrook also is a very shaky outside shooter, although he's so accurate from the line (81.5 percent) that there's hope for improvement.
Defensively, Westbrook's raw skills are outstanding: He's quick enough to defend point guards and big enough to switch onto many wings. Much like his offense, his defense needs refinement. He doesn't know what he's doing yet and gambles way too often, but he's tough and plays hard. He could be outstanding in a couple of years.
2009-10 outlook: Westbrook is the Thunder's unquestioned starter at point guard, and at this point all they can do is throw on a saddle and see where he takes them. He's still young enough and erratic enough that his development could go in several different directions, both for good and for bad.
That said, few players in the history of this game have played this well this young at the point guard position; the fact that Rose was one of them shouldn't diminish what Westbrook accomplished. Additionally, players with high turnover rates as rookies tend to show far greater development in future seasons, which is another strong positive indicator for Westbrook. While this is Kevin Durant's team, it's not hard to envision Westbrook joining him in All-Star Games a few years down the road."
@KingGondo
Thabo Sefalosha
"2009-10 outlook: Sefolosha's days as a starter may be numbered because James Harden was drafted with the third overall pick, but he should maintain a prominent role as the Thunder's defensive ace. He's a restricted free agent after the season unless he signs an extension, but the Thunder traded a first-round pick to acquire him so he'll likely play a conspicuous role in their long-term plans. If he doesn't improve at all from here, he's still a rotation player because of his defense, but his only hopes of seeing heavy duty on a quality team rest on improving the jumper and cutting down the offensive mistakes."
@KingGondo
Shaun Livingston
"2009-10 outlook: Livingston's deal for this season isn't guaranteed, but there's little doubt he'll appear on the Thunder roster and assume the backup point guard job at the start of the season. Oklahoma City can afford to show patience with him, and he played well enough in his late-season stint with the parent club to earn the opportunity.
The question will be whether his body can hold up; injuries had threatened to swallow up his career even before the big one hit. If he remains intact, he still needs to prove he can make enough shots and take care of the ball well enough to be a solid backup point guard."
@KingGondo
Nenad Krstic
"2009-10 outlook: Krstic will have every opportunity to claim the starting center job, as undersized Nick Collison and oft-injured vet Etan Thomas serve as the main competition. However, if Krstic can't play better than he did a year ago, he's going to lose the gig anyway. Krstic can certainly space the floor effectively with his midrange Js, but he needs to bring some defense and post scoring to the table to justify extended minutes. "
@KingGondo
Serge Ibaka
"2009-10 outlook: A 2008 first-round pick who spent last season in a low-level league in Spain, Ibaka signed with the Thunder in the offseason and is likely to continue his development with Oklahoma City's team-owned D-League affiliate in Tulsa. Ibaka is long and athletic and can shoot a bit from midrange, but he's very raw and needs to improve his game instincts quite a bit. How raw? He grew up in the Congo without electricity or running water, hadn't played a game indoors until a few years ago and is still learning English. But he's only 20, so the Thunder have plenty of time to wait for him."
@KingGondo
Nick Collison
"2009-10 outlook: If Collison starts at center, that's a very bad sign for the Thunder, not because he's a bad player but because it means they've failed to come up with another qualified candidate. He's at his best as a third or fourth big man playing 20-25 minutes off the bench against power forwards and backup centers, and as the Thunder's roster improves, he should see heavier usage in that role.
Collison is a tad overpaid for what he brings, at $13 million over the next two years, and if D.J. White develops quickly, the Thunder may make Collison expendable at the trade deadline. In the meantime, he's a solid role player whose production is virtually guaranteed based on recent history, so there are worse contracts to have on a payroll."
@KingGondo
James Harden
"2009-10 outlook: A skillful lefty scorer who can stroke it from outside, Harden is a good fit on an Oklahoma City team that craves more perimeter shooting. He isn't an A-list athlete and may struggle at the defensive end, which could conspire to limit his playing time as a rookie in defense-conscious OKC. Nonetheless, his feel for the game and shooting stroke should make him a starter by midseason, if not sooner, and at worst he should be an effective long-range sniper for a long time."
@dylan
Anyone with Insider care to post what Hollinger said about the Thunder players? Specifically about KD, Green, Westbrook, Krstic, and Collison?
I think sometimes there's a disconnect between what Hollinger thinks will happen and the numbers he attaches to these articles.
These projections are based on a formula he has. I noticed his projections have Russ shooting a lower percentage from the field this year than he did last year. Obviously that would be incredibly disappointing, but I don't think Hollinger really thinks Westbrook is going to shoot 38%, but that's what the formula said.
If it's anything like baseball sabremetrics, it's harder to project what young players will do, because there's less data to base it on.
I dunno if it's jus me, but i'm not able to hear a podcast on that link to Byron Mullens
@dylan
Thought it was interesting that he has KD fifth in the league in PER (@ 23.50), but every other Thunder player is below 15 (i.e. below the league average).
I would put good money on Westbrook making a solid leap into 18-19 territory (he was above 15 last year, and Hollinger really thinks he'll get worse this year?). If anything, with a greater understanding for the game, improved shooting around him, and a more spaced floor, I could see Russ really becoming a much more efficient and valuable player.
Hollinger has it right when he says, "Westbrook is the Thunder's unquestioned starter at point guard, and at this point all they can do is throw on a saddle and see where he takes them." More than any other player, Russ's development will determine how much the Thunder improve this year. Based on his strong work ethic, Coach Brooks' positive feedback in training camp, and his excellent showing at USA camp, I'm very optimistic.
Royce :@Lefty
I’m not sure yet. I’ll find an internet link for you guys though.
I couldn't find this Wednesday's game anywhere on DirecTV's schedule. It might be worth putting a call into a Thunder phone line to see if they know anything.
@dylan
I missed that. Thanks.
Many thanks to you, good sir!
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/teams/hollinger?team=okc
Don't remember if this has shown up on here or not, but there's Hollinger's individual player notes on OKC's roster. Some interesting stuff on there.
@Lefty
I'm not sure yet. I'll find an internet link for you guys though.
Is it true the game Wednesday is not on the teevee anywhere?
@Scott
Ah that's excellent. Thanks.-
Check out Byron Mullens on the Club Trillion podcast.
http://clubtrillion.blogspot.com/2009/10/podcast-10409-byron-mullens.html
@Terry
I would very much like to be friends with your friend.
I'm fortunate to have a great friend who is also a generous friend. He has tix located a couple of rows behind the Thunder bench and several times a season, I forgo my seats to go with him. The seats are great. In addition to the game, there's the 'people parade' that's fun to watch.
But,last year I did notice that many times during the game, I couldn't see because of these 'big, tall guys' standing in front of me. Didn't bother me that much, for you could look up at the scoreboard the see the play (which, with the 'wedge' feature this year, should be incredible).
It'll be intesting to follow how the league enforces this rule.
That standing rule is going to be followed. The players who will get fined for violating the rule are the guys who aren't making millions.