Daily Thunder.com Tuesday Bolts – 2.28.12

Darnell Mayberry on Westbrook and Durant being BFFs: “The chemistry and camaraderie between Westbrook and Durant throughout All-Star Weekend was unmistakable, whether on the court or off it. It seems it will only improve at this point and help propel the Thunder in the second half of the season. Then again, things never have been toxic between the two, as some national pundits have portrayed their relationship. Still, that negativity no doubt has built a stronger bond.”

Four out of five in ESPN.com’s 5-on-5 took LeBron over KD for MVP, but Ethan Sherwood Strauss likes Durant: “MVP is about story just as much as it’s about performance, and a new story is better than an old one retold. KD might win because he’s new, but might deserve it on account of a new game. If you think he still depends on others for shots, take note: Only 45 percent of his buckets have been assisted this year. Last season, he was at 62 percent.”

Scott Brooks and Lil Wayne. Yep. Seriously.

Russell Westbrook… particle accelerator?

Berry Tramel on the four elite teams: “It will take upsets to knock out these teams before the conference finals. The Spurs are more likely to coast the rest of the regular season than they are to endure another playoff disaster, as they did a year ago against Memphis. The Heat and the Thunder are just too good, and the Bulls have been this good despite back trouble from Derrick Rose.”

Rick Barnes talks about KD with Scott Van Pelt.

Everybody’s talking Finals preview about OKC and Miami. Brian Mahoney of the AP: “The Thunder were built more gradually, winning just 23 games three seasons ago. They reached the West finals last year and seem poised to go further now. “We worked our way to the top,” Westbrook said. “So it’s not a bad thing to be on top and be where we want to be at at this halfway point.” And come June, Heat and Thunder could in the NBA’s forecast.”

AT&T now has an antenna inside The Peake.

Darnell Mayberry: “An increasing number of Thunder fans are clamoring for an All-Star gala in Oklahoma City. But Oklahoma City is not ready for All-Star Weekend. And it has nothing to do with the lack of hotel rooms in the city, as NBA commissioner David Stern has repeatedly stated. This is a weekend that is extremely, hmmm, how shall I put this, urban. Some would call it “hood.” There is a lot of extracurricular centered on All-Star Weekend. It’s not just about the game and the exposure the city gets. Thousands of people descend upon the host city each year, many of them unlike the majority of the 18,203 that fill the Peake every night. When you sign up for All-Star Weekend, you sign up for blaring music emitting from souped-up cars until 4 a.m., you sign up for half-naked women strolling the streets, you sign up for marijuana smoke polluting the air and, sometimes, you sign up for violence. Don’t misunderstand me. Those are not stereotypes about any particular demographic. Those are facts. And Oklahoma City, as a community, appears a long ways away from wanting to roll out the red carpet to welcome that reality.”

walrusmuse

1 Like

we're not ready for an all star game, of course, i agree. but not because it's somehow some whitey city. i have a friend way up in LA CEO culture who didn't kno we had an Asian district and was wildly surprised that I knew about Ethiopian food. this is silliness. our city is quite diverse.

f5alcon

@walrusmuse yeah the way the coasts view us is pretty bad, I am from NY, they see us as a flyover state with nothing here.

walrusmuse

@f5alcon yeah, and i travel a bunch for work, i get the same perception sometimes. others envy the cost of living. i envy the coasts for sure, and enjoy their overall cultures more, but i just don't see a huge dropoff when it comes to OKC. I'm not afraid to criticize OKC when she earns it, but also not a fan of knee-jerk stereotypes like DMs. I also like DMs work a lot, glad he's here doing his thing. just annoyed at this stuff.

ElMexiThunder

@walrusmuse

I don't know but i'm glad i decided to stay in OKC. I've lived in NYC, and San Diego before. Both are too big, but just like San Antonio, we're not too big, or too small, with a rich diversity. People don't realize it, but outside of Texas, if you combine New Mexico, Kansas, and Arkansas major cities, With ours, Oklahoma City is the most diversed of them all. Not to mention if any of you actually have lived inside Oklahoma City, and i'm not talking about past NW Expressway, by Edmond, or in the farther reaches of Bethany, or Moore. I'm talking about 23rd on N Council, to Downtown. I'm talking about SE OKC. SW OKC, pretty much call it Little Mexico(what it is! Don't deny it), My point is, i don't know where Darnell lives, and i'm pretty sure its not anywhere in between the neighborhoods i mentioned. but I can't recall any all white neighborhoods in any of those areas. Which is greater OKC. so yeah. Nichols Hills may be a different story, but so is coruna park in the southside.

Tronchaser

@f5alcon @walrusmuse To be honest, I'm glad they do. It keeps it cheap.. and that's A'OK with me.

OBoy

@f5alcon @walrusmuse I think the perception of us having nothing is due in part to how spread out the city is, we just put in an outlet mall 20 miles west of downtown, they just put in the classen curve with nice restaurants shopping and whole food 10 miles north of downtown, we have actual downtown which is all businesses, very few restaurants or shops that are open ok weekends or after 5 pm, then we have Bricktown which has bars clubs and a movie theater, but all the hipsters won't go to Bricktown Also of notice a lot of people that occupy Bricktown come in from smaller towns around Ok that may help to enforce the stereotype that were all country folk

walrusmuse

1 Like

@OBoymuzik @f5alcon @walrusmuse sprawl is absolutely a problem, though it is slowly getting better. too new of a city, and a lot fo years of disastrous urban renewal did a number on us, but it's slowly getting better. I am more concerned with the perception of our ability to handle diverse and media saturated culture. our politicians often don't help, but the people here are mostly very open, as open as anyone around.

109 comments

Newest | Oldest

Crow

What do OK state residents these days think about what happen in Tulsa 91 years ago? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulsa_race_riot

Just wondering, not looking to be involved in a big discussion. This kind of event happened other places, other times but I was a bit surprised when I heard about it some years ago.

Ozarkhick

@Crow Yeah, I grew up in Tulsa, and in truth we'll never know the full extent of what happened back then, pre-twitter and youtube era. All we'll probably ever know is that some bad shit went down, triggered by a (likely) hysterical and unreliable white woman. The North side got firebombed by airplanes, and casualties were likely in the hundreds.

They've had ground penetrating radar out, to no avail at this point, looking for mass graves. I'd say a few hundred casualties, mostly black, and half of the north side razed, but in that era we'll never be sure, unfortunately.

@Ozarkhick Thanks for the perspective.

i apologize, but this stuff really bothers me.

I do think Darnell's comments are more from a pre conceived notion about our city than actual reality. Sounds like Barkley. And is semi racist. And works in for-outdated stereotypes about OKC. Oklahoma is more conservative, nimby, etc. as a whole but OKC has an art gallery with a vagina door. an asian district, african american districts, hispanic districts, glbt culture, etc. STOP the lazy stereotypes.

@walrusmuse and if you had written the same article Darnell did, how much longer do you think you would have had a job?

@Ozarkhick @walrusmuse no telling. but i wouldn't have written the same i don't think. i like DM, i really do. just disagree.

@Ozarkhick @walrusmuse do you guys go to games here? It's TRUE, it's old and it's white... sure the town has blah blah blah... but go to the games and tell me what you see!

@ElMexiThunder @Tronchaser I'm darker than my coffee table, but it's pine, lol.

And I sit in the Peake next to a lot of brown and black people, but I'm in the cheap seats...

Ok, was that bad to say?

@Tronchaser

Yes i do, may i mention I'm Mexican-American, which means im Brown, and i mean Brown as the color of your coffe table brown. To be honest, i've never been to a Thunder game with a Caucasion friend, i have been with my girlfriend but i don't wanna count her. Anyhow that was a dumb comment, mine might be a little stupid as well. Yes a vast majority of the fans you see at the games are caucasion, but remember as growing in diversity as OKLAHOMA CITY MAY BE, a majority of the population here is white. My issue with the way Charles B is that he makes it seem makes people think the KKK have parades every weekend. I find it very offensive because Oklahoma City itself does has a nice spread in culture. Very rarely do i overhear someone say something ignorant, of that sorts. I can't say the same whenever i stop to pump gas in ardmore, or yukon.

@Tronchaser @Ozarkhick that might have to do with more social stratification than anything (yes i do occasionally go, prob 1-2 a month, i don't miss a game on tv, pretty big nerd), where while our games are more affordable across the league, it's still dispensable income, and much of OKC, regardless of color, has less than perhaps larger cities. Not saying we don't have major issues (that every large city has) with race and class here, (our politicians don't help); just that it is not some glaring feature that stains our city. We don't have a large of bubbles in housing, income, etc. But we also have a smaller scale of wealthy folks, or folks who want to commit to game tickets.

"Thabo SefolOden" That is all.

Fuzzy Logic

Our next 3 games has our opponents coming off of the second night of a back to back. We really shouldn't lose until mid March when we hit the 3 in 4 stretch of Den/SA/Portland. Or am I just being overly opptomistic?

neo12

@Fuzzy Logic a little too optimistic. Next 3 are road games vs decent teams. We'll probably take 2 of 3 on the road, and 4 of 5 on the home stretch.

SammyThunderer

@Fuzzy Logic Philly's been slumping lately, but we still need to be wary of that team. They have a deadly pnr-kick game that we've struggled against, they have depth so the fatigue should be less a factor for them, and they'll be at home.

@Fuzzy Logic 76ers run the pnr well which is our flaw on defense, but they have not been good without hawes, so we should win, but i could see a loss as possible, orlando can beat us if they hit a lot of 3s, but yeah more than likely, we should get at least an 11 game win streak.

Mayberry: http://blog.newsok.com/thunderrumblings/2012/02/28/five-things-to-watch-in-the-second-half/

The note about Ibaka is interesting.

"But in the final 17 games, Ibaka totaled 167 points, good for a 9.8-point average. He scored six or less just five times and had eight double digit scoring games. Much of Ibaka’s scoring spike can be attributed to his work on the glass. In the last 17 games, he pulled down 67 offensive rebounds, or nearly four per game. In the first set of 17, Ibaka had only 38 offensive boards, or slightly more than two per game."

@SammyThunderer Love the progress Ibaka is making. He was also getting a lot more opportunities with the 15ft jumpshot towards the later games. When he's shooting that confidently, its just beautiful to watch. I'd like to see him improve on his follows when he gets an offensive rebound though. Not sure why he resorts to the dinky shots when he's so close to the basket.

TempBoy Brandon

@SammyThunderer I thought the most interesting blurb was about the backup unit's numbers being very comparable to last year with Maynor. Am I missing something that would skew those favorably? The offense in that unit (Reggie, Harden, Cook, Collison, Nzar) is just slightly off from last year, and the defense is even better.

@TempBoy Brandon Harden is awesome, and Maynor really isn't that important.

@TempBoy Brandon harden's numbers are much better

@f5alcon True. I guess that can skew it a bit. But still, the overall unit's numbers when playing together are pretty much the same. But it sure doesn't FEEL like it that.

@SammyThunderer "Thabo Sefolosha has the sorest foot in the history of mankind."

sammasaaron

@f5alcon @SammyThunderer That's a great line. As long as we're winning and staying atop the conference, I say let Thabo's foot get all the rest it needs so he's there when we need him in the playoffs.

Brandon Roy contemplating a comeback http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1084046-nba-rumors-brandon-roy-would-face-uphill-battle-in-comeback-attempt

would love to see it happen, and after kobe's procedure i guess anything is possible but it seems extremely dangerous

@OBoymuzik Its going to be tough for him to get his explosiveness back

lanktj

OKC is certainly not ready for all star weekend, too slow, too boring. too small, too conservative, too many reasons to count. OKC is far behind even conservative places like Indianapolis or Sacramento or ugh! Salt Lake City. Still serve 3.2 beer, DT is just developing and does close at 11am. No real hip hop or R&B station(s), just beginning to get fine dining options in DT and the DT area is still for the most part, OLD, Abandoned and disjointed. Just the Facts.

kfg

@lanktj

Sound like you're from the NW (random Salt Lake City reference)...just a hunch. Totally inaccurate comments regarding OKC....have you ever been...if so do you actually know where to go.....I laughed at this one.

@lanktj the area around the arena is better than a lot of other cities, even dallas and san antonio's fun ares are a few miles from the arena.

@lanktj 3.2 beer is only that sold at groceries or convenience stores. Clubs are open until 2 am adjacent to Downtown. The OKC metro may be the only one with an incorporated area strictly dedicated to strip clubs. If you are bored, then you are too boring.

@Ozarkhick though i still think we should wait until maps 3 is done before we try and get an ASG.

C-Wil

@f5alcon I agree, downtown will be amazing once it's finally "done". Right now you can't tell what's being built and what's falling apart. Maybe in another 5-7 years we could take a swing at it, but until then lets enjoy hosting the Finals.

Jax Raging Bile Duct

@lanktj Just the facts... except for the 3.2 beer, the dining, and the closing at 11 in the morning parts.

To bad my work won't let me look at twit pics... I need to know, who is littler, Brooks or Lil' Wayne? And, who has greater basketball knowledge?

ILikePancakes

@Ozarkhick Lil' Wayne is smaller than Scotty. And considering that Wayne was stoned before the ASG even started, and that his picks for MVP were LeBron, Kobe and Paul, without even considering KD, i think that Scotty's BBall knowledge is greater. Not by much though!

@ILikePancakes Lil wayne is a terrible terrible terrible sports fan! he switches favorite teams ever year and says he's been rooting for them since he was a kid

Kreese29

Does anybody know if I have to play all 82 games. I dint really mind if I do since the games are pretty fast.

Durienne

@Kreese29 In 2K12 you do not have to play all 82 games. But you do have to play all the key games...unlike 2K11 you can't start a game and sim to the end. But you can shorten your quarters to make it go faster.

@Kreese29 i did in 2k11 and on 12 minute quarters, i just got to the finals.

@f5alcon I guess I'm gonna have to start mine all over again, cause I didn't change any of my mins and plus that would give me more playing time and I need to reset my rosters.

@Kreese29 @f5alcon I haven't played 2k12 yet, but I know in 2k11 you could start a game, then pause and simulate to the end. You don't get any skill points, but you can just focus on 'star matchups' and 'rivals' so you're always getting skill point multipliers.

Also, I'm pretty sure you can switch the quarter length by going to gameplay options in My Player mode without the need to create a new character.

I just created my own player on NBA2k12 and I must say I like it better than playing the dynasty mode. I just would I could of got drafted my the thunder, but looks like I'm a rocket for now.

@Kreese29 Just create a new save (or turn off autosave) and request a trade and specify the Thunder as your only preference and then just play key games until you get the notification of whether or not you've been traded. It's usually helpful if you request this with a long stretch between 2 key games on the calendar. That way you may not even have to play a game before the trade. If it doesn't work out, go to your old save (or just reload if autosave is turned off)

@Kreese29 Just demand a trade and wait until the Thunder are one of the teams expressing interest in you. I did that in 2k11 as a 7'5'' center (I was drafted by the Clippers and they were starting Kaman at C, me at PF and Blake at SF...it was dumb). Somehow, not long after I arrived they traded for Kevin Love, giving us the starting lineup of Westbrook, Harden, Durant, Love and 7'5'' center who also happens to be the most dominant player the NBA has ever seen in his sophomore year. That was a fun team.

@sammasaaron yeah the trade choices they make are dumb, in 2k11 i was a PG averaging 45ppg, 14apg and 6rpg, i was on the bucks, and they traded for steve nash and moved me to sg.

Trackbacks

easy ab workouts with weights says:

May 30, 2012 at 1:01 am

lower ab workouts with weights…

Undeniably believe that which you said. Your favorite justification appeared to be on the net the simplest thing to be aware of. I say to you, I definitely get annoyed while people consider worries that they just do not know about. You managed to hit t…

Tuesday Bolts – 2.28.12

Trackbacks

Headlines