Don Nelson: “I got a kick out of Miami winning it all,” Nelson said by phone from his home in Maui. “They didn’t use their big lineup all that much. They really matched up and caused problems for Oklahoma City. I thought Erik (Spoelstra) did a great job coaching.”
Peter Keating of ESPN the Mag on OKC being the top franchise: “Like other teams that always rank near the top of our Ultimate Standings — the Spurs and Packers, Angels and Red Wings — the Oklahoma City Thunder deliver lots of wins, amped by hugely enjoyable game days, at reasonable prices. They’re also incredibly young. At 23, Kevin Durant is actually the oldest of the four players who led the Thunder in minutes last season, highlighting the fact that this club has established its long-term commitment to fans in just a handful of seasons. And they’re easy to love at a distance too. In our fan voting, Oklahoma City not only was No. 1 in the NBA in having a fan-friendly environment but ranked first among all teams in engaging fans through social media and in connecting fans to information online or via mobile devices. In the 43rd-largest metro area in the U.S., but with fans all over the middle of the country, the Thunder have more than 1.5 million Facebook fans and, according to Social Media Today, lead the NBA in Twitter engagement. So yes, the Thunder’s owners were wrong to abandon Seattle the way they did four years ago. But in the here and now, through geographical necessity, smart management and hellaciously fun play, Oklahoma City is doing a better job than any other sports franchise of turning fans into family.”
Russ be crazy with his clothes.
Westbrook in a weird Q&A: “I like True Blood. I love the genre. But I don’t watch so many shows — I don’t have time! If I’m playing, then the shows are going off.”
Something about Aubrey McClendon.
Zach Lowe of SI.com in writing about Tyreke Evans: “Making the trickiest passes is tough, especially for young players. Some don’t see those lanes consistently (Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook), while others don’t probe deeply enough to create them (Milwaukee’s Brandon Jennings). Some see those lanes and ignore them. Evans suffers from all three issues, though Smart emphatically says Evans is not a selfish player, citing multiple huddles in which Evans apologized profusely upon learning he missed an open man. And Evans’ unreliable jumper only makes those lanes harder to generate.”
A different story from Peter Keating on the Thunder: “The team also pays close attention to its most loyal customers. Most NBA clubs have a few employees tracking the needs of their season-ticket holders. Oklahoma City has 14. So it’s no surprise that the franchise ranked No. 1 in the NBA (and third overall) in having a fan-friendly environment at games. But the Thunder also ranked first among all teams in engaging fans through social media and in connecting fans to information online or via mobile devices. It’s not just that Thunder fans love their players and appreciate their owners, it’s that they can do both up close and at a distance. And that’s where the Thunder really excel: reaching beyond their hometown.”
http://www.dailythunder.com/2012/09/video-kds-top-10-of-12/
Dear Russ, I see that you enjoy shopping for clothes a lot. Mind if I ask how much tape you watch of yourself, the team, the best point guards in recent times, and the best driving perimeter players of recent times? If I was in your position and wanting to win a championship I'd be watching 20+ hours of tape year around. The great QBs do at least that much. Just curious what you are doing now.
20+ hours of tape per week
@Crow sounds like your assuming he's not. the only players i'd make assumptions on their lack of offseason work would be James Harden, and Thabeet of course.
@OBoymuzik it is an assumption because no basketball writers with access ever ask or at least get an answer to such a question and publish it.
@Thunder S @OBoymuzik pgs should take their coordinator job as seriously as qbs.
@Thunder S @OBoymuzik The criticism is not just of Russ, though I picked him. It is probably true of the majority or vast majority of the league, based on what players typically say about snoozing thru and / or hating film session and never talking about it themselves as being a key part of their offseason work.
@Thunder S @OBoymuzik i assume folks like nash and kidd did lots and lots of voluntary film work. i do not have a specific recollection of it being cited. better reporting would help.
@Thunder S @OBoymuzik you hear it with kobe,
you hear it with just about any nfl quarterback.
@Crow @OBoymuzik just saw this post. Do we ever here someone is watching a lot of film in the offseason? Ive never seen that- we always hear only about skills work
@Crow i agree that if there was one thing that he takes lightly it would be film. but i think him and durant both have excellent work ethics.
@OBoymuzik especially about how to pass or defend better.
@OBoymuzik i am not saying russell isn't working. i am sure he is lifting, jumping and shooting. it is the tape part that i am guessing that he goes to last and lightly.
@OBoymuzik i have a lot more evidence about his work ethic.
@Crow have you heard durant talk about working on his game this summer? i haven't, but I assume he is. He's Kevin Durant.
@Crow Yeah, no personal life for you Russ!
@DustinMcWilliams There are 168 hours in every week.
@Crow @Thunder S @DustinMcWilliams a little context is important. his shot selection needs improvement and they basically rely on him to be a volume scorer (for better or for worse) in the starting lineup.
@Thunder S@DustinMcWilliams
"His midrange pullup is possibly the best in the league"
actually his best mid-range shot, from 16-23 feet, is in a tie for about 115th best on accuracy in the league.
@justin_mia i.e. let me read sloppy or just make it sound the way i want to hear it
@Thunder S @DustinMcWilliams average his rank for the first 3 shot locations and he is on average a hum-drum 16th best.
i was not planning on talking about shots but that is where he ranks after massive work and improvement and 4 years to do it.
@Thunder S @DustinMcWilliams for pgs who play 25+ minutes per game, his peer group, westbrook's fg% from 3-9 feets ranks 15th, from 10-15 feet 24th, and his best rank is from 16-23 feet where he is toed for 8th.
http://www.hoopdata.com/shotstats.aspx?team=%25&type=pg&posi=PG&yr=2012&gp=0&mins=25
from 3 pt land is about 32nd.
@Thunder S @DustinMcWilliams Westbrook's shot from 3-9 in the tiniest bit above league average counting the shooting of all bench players, regular and deep. his shot from 10-15 is still below league. his shot from 16-23 feet did improve considerably this year (one year of better shooting, lets see if he repeats it, it could partly random luck) but that is still a terrible shot and he is steadily increasing the number of these terrible efficiency shots. "that's work" but not the best focus of work.
@OBoyzOld Man @DustinMcWilliams Besides Brooks & Presti & the owners.
@OBoyzOld Man @DustinMcWilliams I don't eliminate Russ from that list of possiblities. I'd rightly up him in one of the top 3 positions. Probably #1.
@justin_mia "i am not saying russell isn't working. i am sure he is lifting, jumping and shooting. it is the tape part that i am guessing that he goes to last and lightly."
my assumption is not based on it not being reported. it not being reported is an observation explaining why i am left to guess.
it is also an observation that could stand on its own that this information would be "newsworthy". Not as its own article or a lead but it could be fit into a general report of tidbits or a blog post.
@justin_mia that is not what i said. worry about being accurate with what you say about what other people said.
@Crow @DustinMcWilliams
Russ ain't what's keeping the Thunder from winning a title. If there's one person on the team I don't worry about in terms of drive, it's Russ. he's not perfect, but his motor revs at a very high rate. On the other end of the spectrum, I give you Hasheem, Cole, etc.
i.e. 'if it isn't reported, it isn't happening"
this is why i'm so hesitant about critiquing players and their offseasons, don't wanna sound like crow does here... lots of assumptions...
@Crow @DustinMcWilliams Crow, Russ has one of the best work ethics in the league. you should read these articles:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/chris_mannix/12/07/mclanaghan.rose/index.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUCY7GGsLo4
Or listen to Buchers podcast where he talks to Mcclanaghan abt russell.
Also Bird won his first title when he was 25, Russ is not even 24. Lebron took 9 years. This is all to say he has time to develop.
You have to consider how much being part of the olympics was a training regimen. Also, what the media reports is glitz and glam, we never hear reports on people watching film.
Finally, if you dont believe any of this, proof of his work ethic is in his jump shot. Can you remember any other player who improved his jumpshot so dramatically in four years? Players like wade, lebron, never did. His midrange pullup is possibly the best in the league- at age 23. Thats work.
@DustinMcWilliams Ready is the same way as he has been, which was not enough to win a title the last 2 years.
Just saw a Magic-Bird documentary. Bird was getting up at 5 am every morning in the summer to start his workouts in the summer before his first title.
@Crow I'm not worried about Westbrook in the slightest. He's a gamer, and will always be ready.
@DustinMcWilliams I bet he goes weeks without watching hardly any.
@DustinMcWilliams I highly doubt he is watching more than an hour of film a day right now.
Wonder how much the team "expects" in the summer and during the season.
Basketball players are far more lazy and ill-prepared than football players.
@Crow I'm sure he is watching film. I don't think there is a rule where he has to announce that he is.
@DustinMcWilliams For $13 mil a year, I'd bust it with a lot of "voluntary" work year round.
Is ESPN suddenly in a pro-Oklahoma mood all of a sudden? First the Thunder wins best franchise, then OU is best BCS era team http://tinyurl.com/crp9y78
I don't know if I'm okay with this. If ESPN starts liking Oklahoma sports, I won't have anything to bitch about :(
Oh and there's the new ABC/ESPN/Fox Big 12 television deal that was recently announced. Maybe times really are changing.
@C-Wil ESPN's been calling OU the best BCS era team for half a decade now.
@ElMexiThunder @C-Wil I wish I could see how. I would put us at third best, behind any two SEC schools. We need another title.
@ThunderChick2010 @Jax Raging Bile Duct You broke it first with your ellipses. :(
@ou_sas @Jax Raging Bile Duct
I probably already told you this too . . .
@ou_sas @Jax Raging Bile Duct
Yeah, I was thinking I'd already told you this. Every pep rally had cheesy calls to action (sometimes non politically-correct because that term hadn't really reached us yet) . . . like Scalp the Warriors! or Skin the Leopards! or whatever. I can only imagine what our opponents would have put on their banners instead of Pluck the Chicks! (Hey, that almost sounds OBoy-worthy!)
Btw, you broke the string. :(
@ThunderChick2010 @Jax Raging Bile Duct I remember when you were telling me that. And that proposed name change would be pretty bad. I don't know that I'd call any high school sports team the Gamecocks. I know how 15 year old boys minds work.
@ou_sas @Jax Raging Bile Duct
Which means it's past my bedtime too. Good night. :)
@ou_sas @Jax Raging Bile Duct
Oops . . . :)
@ou_sas @Jax Raging Bile Duct
Btw, they seriously considered changing to Gamecocks several years ago. That makes Chicks seem not so bad . . .
@ou_sas @Jax Raging Bile Duct
True story . . . In Chickasha, our sports teams are the Fightin' Chicks. (Not fighting . . . fightin' just to be a little extra redneck.) The guys are actually called Chicks and the girls are referred to as the Lady Chicks. But I truly am a (lady) Chick. Jax or TempBoyBrandon can vouch for me. :)
@ThunderChick2010 @Jax Raging Bile Duct No, I'm just saying that if I only had one piece of evidence to base my judgment on, and it were that comment, it would be a cinch to get it right. :)
@ou_sas @Jax Raging Bile Duct
Was there really doubt about my gender?! I'm not the frilliest girl, but I'm definitely a female! :)
@ThunderChick2010 @Jax Raging Bile Duct This comment alone would remove any doubt about your gender. In my experience, only women see double chins where there clearly aren't any. :)
@ou_sas @Jax Raging Bile Duct
Just looks kinda like a double-chin to me. :)
@ThunderChick2010 @Jax Raging Bile Duct Awkward? Or just really happy? :)
@ou_sas @Jax Raging Bile Duct
Not sure. (I only know it's awkward to try to end a parenthetical comment with a smiley. :))
See? :)
@ThunderChick2010 @Jax Raging Bile Duct Yes, but does putting your closing smiley inside brackets break the string? :)
@ou_sas @Jax Raging Bile Duct
I was proud of my signature move for you -- better than the one on EatSleepThunder's copycat list. :)
[ I didn't want to break this string of posts ending with :) ]
@Tronchaser
Tron: I desperately need a hide political posts button on facebook (livefyre) so I can still like all my friends after the election year is over
TC: Did I offend you with my speech-appreciation comment below? That'd be just great if I alienated someone with my first (and probably last) semi-political comment.
Tron: [no reply]
I just assumed . . . but glad I didn't offend you after all. Or maybe you just have a short memory. :)
@ThunderChick2010 What?! No way you offended me. That's almost impossible! :)
@ThunderChick2010 @Jax Raging Bile Duct Good call on those threads to check out. Thanks :)
@ou_sas @Jax Raging Bile Duct
I gotta go--real life calls--and probably won't be back til late if at all today . . . but if you catch up on some of the old threads, at least read the one about signature moves. Also, I think we pondered your missing persons report in one of yesterday's threads. :)
@ThunderChick2010 @Jax Raging Bile Duct lol, thanks! I feel like Summer breaks are the easiest ones to get caught up on, though I'll probably miss out on some meme now. Oh well.
I'm glad to bring the likes back to town. :)
@ou_sas @Jax Raging Bile Duct
Dude, I missed you! I think I offended Tron . . . still on cemitten's like-ban . . . and that pretty much just left me with Jax and my dysfunctional self-proclaimed dt family. It's been rough, and I'm glad you're back!
@Jax Raging Bile Duct What can I say, I'm a maverick.
Wait, that doesn't work.
What can I say, I'm a trailblazer.
Nope.
What can I say, I'm a Sooner. There, that'll do.
@ou_sas We all figured so, but you didn't announce it tronchaser style, which is against the rules I think.
@Jax Raging Bile Duct I was on vacation visiting my parents for most of the week.
lol, thanks!
@ou_sas Oh hey! ou_sas is back!
Glad to know you aren't dead, sir.
@ou_sas @DustinMcWilliams @C-Wil Basically what OU_sas is saying are bad years aren't as bad as how the terrible years have been for Bama, Florida, USC, OSU, and so on. Aside from a few years ago, when was the last time we finished below ranked 12 nationally?
@DustinMcWilliams @ElMexiThunder @C-Wil It's a matter of consistency, plus extended time spent at number 1. We're by far the most successful program in the Big 12 in the BCS era (swayed quite strongly by Stoops' success in conference).