Thursday Bolts – 11.3.11

Site news: You may have noticed but I’m trying a new commenting system out. It’s not all that crazy, but it has one excellent feature: real-time commenting. Meaning no more refreshing to see if someone responded to you about how Eric Maynor should start. You don’t have to re-register or anything, but you can register a LiveFyre account to sync your Facebook profile or Twitter to it. Any feedback is great.

OKC dropped to 0-2 with a 95-93 loss in Phoenix, pretend computer says: “The Thunder fell to 0-2 with another tough loss on the road in yet another nail-biter on an evening jam-packed with them. Vince Carter, who was not bought out of his contract in our magical universe, scored with 2:19 to play to bring the Suns within 93-92. Then no one scored for 1:32. In fact, Oklahoma City didn’t score after the 2:41 mark. Finally, Carter hit a three with 47 seconds to play, putting Phoenix up by two. Russell Westbrook missed for Oklahoma City. Phoenix got the ball back and ran down the clock until Channing Frye was hit with an offensive foul with 11 seconds remaining. With one final chance, all the Thunder could muster was a desperation shot by Serge Ibaka at the buzzer. After going 8-of-27 in the opener, Westbrook shot 5-of-15 from the floor. Carter led Phoenix with 19 points and hit four three-pointers. In reality, there is no way Carter will play for the Suns this season–whenever it begins–but on Wednesday, fans of the virtual Suns were glad he was still around.”

Nick Collison’s living the lockout life.

Jerry Stackhouse roasted Derek Fisher yesterday: “Not to say anything against Derek Fisher, it’s not that I don’t think he’s a great guy,” Stackhouse said, “But I don’t want him negotiating my contract. I want an agent who knows the lingo negotiating my contract. Derek Fisher, he doesn’t negotiate his own contract. He has an agent. So why would I want him negotiating something even bigger than his contract? This [Collective Bargaining Agreement] is something more important to everybody.”

Howard Beck of the New York Times on the Fisher-Hunter rift: “According to a person with ties to both men, Fisher believes that a 50-50 deal should at least be considered, if it would salvage more of the season. Hunter is more adamant about holding firm, believing the long-term gain justifies the short-term losses. In general, Fisher has assumed a far more hands-on role than the typical player-president — issuing memos, scheduling meetings and becoming the union’s primary face and voice during the lockout. Hunter, who does not relish the role of spokesman, has welcomed and even encouraged Fisher to take the lead at news conferences. But Hunter has sometimes bristled at Fisher’s assertiveness in setting the agenda — sometimes without Hunter’s input — according to people who have worked with them.”

Cool Nate Robinson picture.

Jeff Van Gundy with a warning: “The fans deserve what they’re accustomed to seeing — the best basketball in the world even if it costs the players and owners money,’’ Van Gundy said. “I’m hopeful the league learned from 1999 and doesn’t rush it and realize one more week of patience, one more week of camp would be beneficial to the fans. I’m hoping the league doesn’t rush teams into action. We have history to show some people reported in horrible shape.”

Daequan Cook is doing No-Shave November.

Good to see the NBA makes up its own rules: “The no-contact rule doesn’t prevent NBA from responding to misinfo about collective bargaining, no matter the source.”

The Detroit Free Press: “A federal judge has rejected a proposed agreement that would have allowed a co-owner of the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder to build a resort along Lake Michigan. The Grand Rapids Press and the Holland Sentinel report that U.S. District Court Judge Paul Maloney on Tuesday threw out the proposed settlement between Allegan County’s Saugatuck Township and Aubrey McClendon’s development company Singapore Dunes LLC.”

If you plan on coming to TBJ’s tour stop in OKC Nov. 17, RSVP on their Facebook page. Not that this will convince you to go if you were, but the special guest for the night is… me. Sorry.