Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN.com on the schedule: “As the clock ticked away on the Thunder’s season in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, something sparked in Kevin Durant’s eyes. His proximity to the Heat’s celebration a few yards down the sideline was unbearable. Durant was no longer interested in marshaling a troop of upstarts whose athleticism could challenge the most polished outfits in the league. At that moment, he graduated to a title-or-bust guy. That drive should propel the Thunder to a romp through their 2012-13 schedule. The Thunder won’t be adding a new piece, unlike the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls when Michael Jordan returned and the team won 72 games, but Oklahoma City has a chance for a prolific season during which they lose only two or three times a month. The crescendo will start building on Christmas afternoon when the Heat arrive.”
J.A. Adande of ESPN.com: “Fast-forwarding to Dec. 25, the highlight game on Christmas is the NBA Finals rematch of the Oklahoma City Thunder at Miami. But now that we’ve seen them play in June, the thought of seeing them in December isn’t as intriguing.”
Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports with his top 10 games to watch: “Eliminated by the Heat in the NBA Finals, OKC makes its return to Miami on Christmas Day. Regular-season games don’t count for much, but will this be a preview of a Finals sequel?”
Kurt Helin of PBT with his: “While it ended in five games, this was a hard-fought finals last year (four of the games were very close). Both of the teams got a little better in the off-season, and we may have another NBA finals preview on our hands.”
The good, bad and ugly of the schedule.
Fran Blinbury with his can’t-miss games: “Thur., Feb. 14 — Heat at Thunder – Never mind the roses and the box of chocolates. Here’s a big, juicy one right on the kisser, compliments of the league’s power couple. Are these two teams sailing along with the best records in their respective conferences? Are LeBron and Durant battling it out for the MVP Award? Just be sure there will be no love lost when the Thunder get last season’s conquerors back in their embrace in Loud City.”
Andrew Unterberger of TBJ on his top 20 jerseys for next season: “Hasheem Thabeet: Admit it — you’re excited. Sure, he may never even play a meaningful minute in OKC, but even as a 12th man on that Thunder team, he’ll have endless comedic value, and that Thabeet jersey, with its endless implications of missed expectations, is gonna over brilliantly with the hoops-irony crowd. Don’t be surprised if you see a handful of these at Pitchfork Festival next year.”
Brian Hodges of the fashion blog Something Legit on Team USA’s style: “Don’t care what other people think (especially those with less fashion sense than you.) Westbrook’s motto for life is “why not?”. I think it’s fair to say that he lives out his motto with his style on and off the court. Westbrook is known for being beautifully reckless when’s he tearing it up for the Oklahoma City Thunder. He also wears some of the flashiest outfits when he’s not hoopin’. He made one continuous ‘eff you’ statement throughout the 2012 NBA Playoffs with his always showy, sometimes outrageous shirts. If you find something you like, even if you can’t figure out why you like it, rock it with confidence and people are sure to notice.”
Ethan Sherwood Strauss of HoopSpeak on KD and LeBron: “I’m curious about this motivation because these workouts do not look fun. There is squatting, sprinting, and situps. Broadcasted enjoyment can be contagious. We like to rent it from those we watch, laughing along with their laughter. These videos are different. The footage is so enjoyable because this is such joint-rubbering drudgery. LeBron James and Kevin Durant could be betting on camel polo from an invisible helicopter hovering over Dubai, and yet here they are, running windsprints. It’s almost like watching Brad Pitt at his breakfast table, mumbling the words of a fresh script to the mustard stain on his wrinkled shirt. We’re so used to hyped sports drama that drama’s prosaic prep work can amaze. It can even be more titillating than camel polo (but only if the camels aren’t on PEDs, or if they aren’t regional rivals).”
Trey Kerby of TBJ on the Opening Ceremony unis: “I mean, that’s the only logical explanation for this double breasted blazer, club collar dress shirt and rep tie look that is topped off with a beret, isn’t it? It feels like just looking at them for too long is going to get somebody pushed in to a fountain or have their lunch trays smacked out of their hands, spilling salisbury steak everywhere and making them look like idiots.”
*Harden pushes End on his cell phone*...."That was Presti, they want to meet with me as soon as we get back to the states".
Durant: "Man, do what you gotta do....we of course want you to stay and I hope you do, but we respect whatever decision you make."
Westbrook: "Man....F*ck that! You better not go anywhere else. You ain't goin nowhere!"
When's the opening cermony for the olympics
@thelaughingwiseman 7:30 ET, 6:30 CT on NBC (KFOR in OKC).
Wondering the same thing....I believe it is showing primtime today (tape-delayed obviously). They dont do a very good job of advertising these things and letting people know when olympic events will be airing.
[busy thinking of a way to pair Trey Kirby's observation with Kobe's "lunchtable" quip]
Right now, PJ3 is at about 235 lbs. What do you think he could get to if he tried to add some more muscle?
I think I'd like him at 240-45 ish, just to be better able to hold his own on defense.
@dancassidy35/FreeMonroefromDET! He'll probably get to 240-250 just from a better diet and workout program with the Thunder. Though there's not a set weight for being in the NBA, he will do well to understand that most of his minutes will be coming at PF or C.
@dancassidy35/FreeMonroefromDET! i agree...hopefully he can stay healthy his full rookie season and can work on his build next offseason because i'm sure the coaches and presti will be telling him what they want
New variation on an old meme (for OU people, at least):
It's 12:14, and the Thunder still Rocks.
97 days till Opening game against Spurs
i expect daequan to come in to training camp in ray felton shape...he's hosting so many parties
RT @KDTrey5 @SeanDeveney u writing what u wanna write, what else did I say??? Tweet that
Well, now it gets interesting
@diddoff @KDTrey5 @SeanDeveney I sort of knew there was much more to be included in the reporter's tweet. Looked like he took the one part which would cause the most drama.
@diddoff @KDTrey5 @SeanDeveney wait....is this real?
@diddoff @KDTrey5 oh nvm i see it now
@diddoff @KDTrey5 gotta be careful these days on DT
If you only read one link from the Bolts today, make it the Strauss one. Amen to this:
Instead of lecturing today’s superstars on how “MJ wouldn’t do that,” maybe we should appreciate the current era of superstars who like each other along with what they do for a living. I don’t need my rivals to be driven by the hatred of one another. Enjoyment can be contagious.
@ThunderChick2010 but...but...we still don't have to like Jason Terry, do we? ;)
@Barry Amenema
Well . . .
@ThunderChick2010The music cues up, "Let me tell ya bout my best friend, yeah!", then you see a 12 seat tandem bicycle go by and team USA waving to you in unison.
"Kevin Durant wrote on his Twitter feed on July 3rd that James Harden would not become a restricted free agent next summer.
"He not hittin the market," said Durant.
Durant was asked about his comments by Sean Deveney of Sporting News.
"I may be wrong," said Durant. "I don’t sign contracts, I don’t negotiate contracts.""
GOOD MORNING OKC!
@diddoff don't be wrong kevin
@OBoymuzik @diddoff well if we plan on matching any deal and his agent wont sign for less than max now waiting doesnt hurt us
@OBoymuzik @diddoff @f5alcon I hope McGee's contract can help us in negotiation
@diddoff @f5alcon if we don't get a contract for james before RFA and we're trying to get him for under the max we would probably still sign him even after he signs offer sheets from dallas or phx.
serge on the other hand if we're trying to get him for 10-12 million per year and some dumbass team offers him the max in free agency we would have to let him go. thats why i think if we want to keep serge its more important to get him locked up before the summer than james
@diddoff we are a title contender they are not, teams let players go RFA and match all the time, this isnt some new thing, gordon never wanted to be in NO he wanted to stay with the clippers.
@f5alcon @OBoymuzik Can you assure that James won't want to leave after talking to Dallas and Phoenix?
@diddoff @OBoymuzik only because those players wanted to leave and ended up not, this is more like the lin situation.
yeah serge will get overpaid
@diddoff @f5alcon if we're going to try to keep serge it would be much more costly to let him hit RFA
@f5alcon @OBoymuzik It did hurt the Hornets and the Blazers with Gordon and Batum