Yesterday Jim Rome tweeted: “Kevin Durant’s legend grows. A meeting ran late and he couldn’t call the show. He just called me personally to apologize. A Jungle first.”
Nenad Krstic wonders to Henry Abbott how good OKC will be: “We have a tough, tough schedule coming up. It’s going to be interesting. We got to play better. We don’t play consistently. Maybe it’s like last year, we were like 12-14 or something and we turned it up and played better. But I don’t know if that’s going to be the case this year. … We’ll see.”
Also, Henry penned this piece about Nenad’s earthquake situation.
Britt Robson has NBA power rankings for SI: “The statistic that leaps out is how they are getting murdered at the three-point line: Their own long-range shooting percentage (21.2 percent) and what they allow (41.8 percent) are both NBA worsts. The other cause of OKC’s early underachievement is Kevin Durant. Is the MVP favorite simply off to a rocky start or are his woes more fundamental than the vagaries of a six-game sample size? So far, his shooting percentage and assist rates are career lows and his turnover rate is a career high. I know he’s a gym rat, but maybe the accumulated stress of being the leading man at the FIBA World Championship, living up to the Thunder’s unrealistic preseason hype and carrying his current playing load — he leads the league in minutes per game — has, at least temporarily, sapped his energy.”
FanHouse’s power rankings: “Everyone’s darlings heading into the season have gotten off to a slower start than expected, and things might continue to be tough if Kevin Durant is forced into as much action as he’s seen so far. He’s managed to put up 27.7 points per game, but it’s coming on just 40 percent shooting. And, Durant currently leads the league in minutes per game at 42.7 — not exactly ideal for your franchise player who spent his summer playing in the World Championships instead of recovering.”
Darnell Mayberry has five reasons why KD is struggling a bit: “In his fourth season, Durant is attempting to make his biggest leap as a complete player by becoming a bona fide playmaker. The ball is in Durant’s hands more than it’s ever been and it has taken away from what he does best, which is score. Durant has admitted to thinking too much on the court rather than playing instinctively as he’s always done. That largely explains his current 4.6-turnover average, as Durant has spent stretches over-passing and dribbling his way into charges.”
A did a little podcast interview where I talked mainly Thunder.
I spent last night having dinner with Bethlehem Shoals and let me tell you, I’m a little smarter today than I was yesterday.
Hollinger’s power rankings have OKC at 25.
Russell Westbrook is a magic carpet ride.
Ziller on the different processes of rebuilding: “Certainly. the Thunder’s rise to date has been executed exactly how a scientist would draw it up: capture a star, build around the star with smart, hard-working roleplayers, flourish. (And it continues, with Serge Ibaka and Cole Aldrich in tow.)”
That guy just looks odd and creepy in general.
@f5alcon
His hands look weird too.
@DizzyDai
yeah they looked like they are photoshopped onto his body
@f5alcon
The guy's arms look odd.
@Doug
He's not playing tonight. Still day-to-day.
Is Green going to play tonight? does anyone know his true status!
http://nba.fanhouse.com/2010/11/10/nba-awaits-satnam-from-india-so-big-and-athletic-at-14/
no way is that kid 14, he looks 30
@Sammy
thats a good list, though id settle for 20 assists, or at least more than what we let the sixers get
I think the guys just need a good shotting night to get the legs back under them. There is simply no way these shot percentages will persist throughout the season. They were not prepared for ever team's best shot. But they will adjust.
The fact that they are still at .500 with this awful play tells me they will break out with a nice win streak soon.
Wish-list for tonight:
• An aggressive Harden. A good shooting night and evidence that he's looking to attack the lane.
• 4 quarters of solid defense. I don't care if they make their shots, I just want to see us force tough ones. No more goddamn easy penetrations on dribble drives and backdoor cuts.
• Ball-movement. 23+ assists. 9+ for Westbrook
• A good shooting night from KD with <3TOs.
@RifRaf
I think its just in the off season there was a lot to speculate on, and there was almost more information coming in. Now, in the longer gaps between games there isn't much to say besides "shoot I hope we get better."
@Anonymous
not tonight AI6 is out for the sixers and ibaka will slow down brand hopefully, so it is our turn to kick ass
@Jax Raging Bile Duct
yeah aldrich is a slightly bigger collison, just wait until we have them both out there
Coach Brooks said on Tuesday's Practice Report Video that they worked on offense - more ball movement. He said they have enough offense, but they have to execute.
It's interesting that there are fewer posts than during the off season - fair weather fans, where have you gone?
Pretty good article on Cole Aldrich: http://www.nba.com/thunder/news/aldrich_early_impressions101108.html
“Would we like to be 6-0? Yes, a lot of teams would like to do that,” coach Scott Brooks said. “… I don’t look at it like we’re struggling.
@Rhett
hopefully you have a good time ;) lol
I don't mind what he said. I wish more players/coaches would be honest about what is going with their teams *cough Bob Stoops cough*. Coachspeak is normally what you hear from the Thunder. I was commenting more on Nenad's play...I would like a better center...
Thanx. She's excited.
@Rhett
i doubt this game is sold out, boston was our first sellout, and a wed night game against a team that isnt popular here should be easy to get tix
Taking my friendgirl to her first Thunder game tonite. At least that's the plan. Do they still sell tix at the box office starting an hour before the game? Just hoping to snag some $10 tix. Last year was nice b/c I could walk up before the game and buy depending on how much I wanted to spend.
the thing about kd he is just doing what everybody should be doing with politeness
I'm a believer in being direct, saying what you really feel and not sugar coating things. That's what I perceive Nads was doing here. Nothing wrong with calling into question a questionable situation.
Also if you say it in your head with a Krstic accent - it doesn't sound as bad.
Most European players are more intellectual about things than American players. Pau will come out and say things aren't going well if they aren't, American players will almost never admit something like that.
One more thing to remember. English is not his native language. Could any of us even say this in Serbian or much less, put it eloquently?
"Maybe it’s like last year, we were like 12-14 or something and we turned it up and played better. But I don’t know if that’s going to be the case this year. … We’ll see."
Sometimes humility can sound like lack of confidence if you don't say it just right.
@Thomas
I don't mean to completely excuse his words, but it's just so difficult to know how things are said. It came at the end of the interview, after he just poured out one of the worst things that happened to him, his family, and his friends. Further, it's impossible to read tone in such short wording. If KD had said those same exact words, I would have taken it as "We need to get better, I need to get better, and this team won't ever turn things around unless we all make a change." Sometimes leaders and teammates need to call each other need, need to pull each other off their high horse.
Maybe that's all Nenad was saying, maybe not. But I'm not going to jump on a guy, in either case, who is going through what Nenad is going through.
@Keith
Agreed, context would be nice and I understand him being sullen right now. I just hope it isn't the way I read it. Because the way I read that is he's very unsure of himself and the Thunder's ability to win. Sure, we as fans need to realistic but I want those taking the court to honestly believe they can win every game. If they don't that's very worrisome to me. Hopefully they'll turn it around and this early period will be little more than a footnote on the season.
@Keith
Nicely put. Taking things in/out of context is the roughest part of internet news and blogs.
@Thomas@kfmsooner
Can we at least be honest for a moment and admit he's telling the truth? Our guys aren't playing inspired. They aren't locking into defense, the very thing that made them good last year. They aren't compensating with better offense, it is in fact worse. Not having confidence in your team is one thing, but if they don't give you reason to believe, that is another. I would hope his comments were made more in a "we need to get fired up" way rather than "all hope is lost" way, but I can't know.
Not to mention, can we take it in context of someone being interviewed about their hometown that was just ravaged by an earthquake? I probably wouldn't be in the most positive mood either if I had to talk about my quaint little hometown being reduced to rubble and there being a constant fear for my friends and family.
I'm glad you got to speak with Mr. Freedarko. What was his stay in the city for anyway?
Here's a candidate for the weirdest post of the week:
I have a pair of size 12 black and blue KDIIs that I need to sell. I bought them, but I really need wides and so these don't really fit. Barely worn and look basically like new. How about $50 shipped or make me an offer? If you are interested or want to see pictures or whatever, email me at lgball_at_gmail_dot_com.
We now return to your normal programming....
SD
I haven't been NoNads beleiver for a while...
I can't believe Nenad. If you're a pro athlete and you don't have confidence in yourself and your teammates, that's a major problem. Instead of exuding confidence he's totally unsure of the team. I hope that's not indicative of every other player's mindset.