KD drives a minivan and other things we learned on Twitter today

Thanks Osano-Wh... and Lefty. Glad it was interesting to you.

I agree the small lineup is an opportunity though it might not always work.

Still Durant- Green- Harden- Sefolosha- Westbrook
was the equivalent of +57 per 48 minutes on raw and Adjusted +/-. Though it has only been used 25 minutes all season. I don't know how often it would work but I'd check n see if it could work more than 25 minutes.

@Mark!
yeah thats true about the lottery not helping the weak eastern playoff teams

I wish I knew a compelling reason the NBA continues to do East vs West. Even a minor change like

Division Winners + Top 2 Non-Division Winners from Each Conference + 6 Top Records Regardless of Conference (Seeded by Overall Record Regardless of Conference)

would go a long way. That change would mean Toronto, Charlotte, Chicago out & Utah, New Orleans, Memphis in. It would also fix up the road to the playoffs, making it a bit more equitable.

I mean, if you really wanted to strengthen the weaker conference, wouldn't the best way be to send more teams from that conference to the lottery?

Miami has 14 teams playing over 0.500 left on their schedule.

We have 26.

@KingGondo

It's pitiful. Right now, Bulls are an 8th seed @ 16-20

Knicks are in 10th. 10th in the West? The Hornets.

Just to prove my earlier point:

RT@johnhollinger: Southwest Division: Five teams over .500. Entire Eastern Conference: Four teams over .500.

Yikes. Not to mention, the Northwest Division also has four teams over .500. Like I said, trial by fire.

@Crow
That's really fascinating, actually. Usually when he's at the 4, I believe we have Green at the 5. Obviously, we're going small, and obviously it won't work on everyone, but that is a lineup that would cause a lot of problems in this league. If you had Russ, Harden and Thabo at the other three positions, or even Russ, Maynor, and Harden... that's a group that could do a lot of damage really quickly to a team who is unprepared for it. Again, not a group you'd want to keep on the floor for extended burn, but definitely something fun to show the fans occasionally.

@Crow
Really interesting stuff.

If 82games.com is right or close to it Durant has played amount 100 minutes at PF and shots better, rebounds more than when at SF and gets more assists & less turnovers. On defense his man shoots and score more but shot a far worse percentage. His PF opponent rebounds more and beat Durant by 1 while the SF opponents lose by 2. Durant blocks more at PF but also fouls twice as much. That last fact it probably the best reason why it might not expand much quickly but next season or the one after I could see him at PF more- if they wanted. In the brief time he has been at PF this season the offense is supercharged and the team defense even better so they won by the equivalent of 22 pts per 48 minutes while when he is at SF they win by 3.

Last season he played about 140 minutes at PF. That he is already at 100 minutes means they have increased the use of Durant at PF by almost 50% even if it is still a small amount of time. Most of the same individual stats I mentioned above were still true but he wasn't fouling more then. Fouling a lot is a this season team trend but if you reduce eFG% allowed enough it is worth it- for most players. But you can't let Durant get into foul trouble.

@Bernard
Because of the influence of foreign bigs, the 4 looks so different now than it did when Barkley and Malone were dominating the Power position. Technically Durant could be a 4 in line with Rashard Lewis... but who wants to make Durant play out of position just so Green doesn't look like crap.

completely off topic discussion.
Next season, will durant be strong enough to start at 4, so we can start green at 3?

@justin
That's really the issue with Durant's long term prospects in end of year awards. Lebron isn't all that much older than him, and like MJ, he should have a stranglehold on the awards so long as he stays healthy and the media don't get tired of him.

@Brad
I've already moved on to hoping for the 5-7th seed. I'm going to be ecstatic with just about anything short of a legendary collapse, I'd just prefer not to see the Lakers in round 1. Think of the second youngest team in the league, in only it's second year in OKC, breaking into the second round over the Spurs, Nuggets, or Suns. It could be very very very exciting times.

But of course, I'm getting ahead of myself.

Kevin Durant should already be in 'vote getting' range for the MVP award. There's no way he will win it, though, unless LeBron James gets injured. He's been something else..

And while some may curse the fact that we're in the Western Conference, (since we would be the 5th Seed in the East right now), I really think that the "trial by fire" method is the best way for this young team to get better. Simply MAKING the playoffs in the West is a better accomplishment than being a middling team behind Boston, Cleveland, Orlando, and Atlanta.

Also, expect KD's prominence in the MVP discussion to rise in conjunction with our potential seeding.

@Keith
Phhh, I'd take 4 heartbreaking loses, if it means the youngest team in the NBA, in only it's second year in Oklahoma, get's to make it into the playoffs.

@GAP
Nice. But this team can't lose focus--the current 2nd seed (Dallas) and the 11th-place team (Memphis) are only separated by SIX games.

While we could drop in the seedings with a few losses, we also have an opportunity to skyrocket up to 3rd or 4th with some luck.

Woot, go Thunder. Once the Blazers remember they are dead in the center position, perhaps we can overtake them too. I just don't want to be the 8th seed. 4 heartbreaking losses like the ones we've already had against LA, it would be too much.

Houston lost tonight, so the Thunder is in 7th place in the conference!

@Kris
Phew. Good thing I covered my butt.

Royce- I don't think it ruins your Thunder Tattoo Continuum because the tattoo is not visible and in your chart you have have in parentheses "that we can see." =p

@GAP

if the heat get bosh and lebron+wade,like the article suggests thats a championship team that nobody could touch.

i hope the nets and knicks get out of the way of the free agents, then we should be able to get somebody decent

Nice to see LRMAM get some recognition from Kevin Durant. He's one of my favorite players..

http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/12216/how-early-bosh-move-would-change-scenarios
From a espn story on Bosh being moved during the season....
(at the bottom paragraph of the story)

"The Thunder don’t have Miami’s South Beach or the trappings of a big city like Chicago, but they do have Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and the most exciting young team in the league." :-)

im sure he needs a vehicle that fits his size, i mean he isnt gonna fit in a normal people car unless its a convertible, it would be like a clown car

@Brew

Sarcasm :P

@Anonymous
Savana?!? As in an excursion van?

That's great! When I moved out to DC I moved out there in a giant brown Savana and loved it so much decided to keep it instead of trade it in for a smaller car.

I wonder if this means he has a cooler full of orange slices and Capri Suns in the back?

Anyone?

@dork
Maynor is just the beginning. Watch bare-skins, while the tatted NBA masses join the squad.

This must mean he keeps his Maybach in the garage.

Royce it doesn't ruin your thunder tattoo continuum. Just alter it to say visable tats... And I would Imagine KD drives a minivan due to the sliding door being his drivers seat. :)

See this Q&A for the answer to why KD is my favorite athlete.