Monday Bolts – 9.24.12

Darnell Mayberry on the Northwest Division: “The Blazers are perhaps the only team that saw a drop off in talent. But what they lost in ability and experience they could make up for with youthful exuberance, which has proved to be enough to steal some regular season wins. Add to that the Blazers have a Rookie of the Year candidate in Damian Lillard, who is expected to finally settle Portland’s point guard problem. None of it should prevent the Thunder from capturing its third consecutive division title and securing a top four seed. But those 16 divisional games loom as a challenge that warrants the Thunder’s undivided attention.”

John Rohde wonders if peer pressure will influence Harden: “Peer pressure can be a powerful tool, intentional or not. Perkins believes Harden’s decision might be swayed when he re-enters the Thunder practice facility this week and exchanges playful banter with the group that finished one step shy of becoming NBA champs last season, when he rekindles those morning shooting competitions against fellow guards Russell Westbrook, Eric Maynor and Daequan Cook, when he feels the comfort of being surrounded by young, talented teammates with a limitless future. All this must happen naturally. There will be no intervention. Teammates will not confront Harden and guilt him into staying. It doesn’t work that way among pro athletes, who are extremely respectful of each other when it comes to contract talks.”

KD says his best friend in the NBA is Royal Ivey.

Russell Westbrook being a Cowboys fan.

Scott Brooks on his favorite part of the lockout: “The only good thing about the lockout season is that I love Halloween and I was able to trick-or-treat with my kids. This year, we’re going to San Antonio so we will miss that.”

“Thunderstruck” available on DVD Dec. 4.

Lee Jenkins of SI.com on someone challenging Miami: “The Thunder, with their depth advantage, could also take them in a rematch. Just because the Thunder lost one series to the Heat doesn’t mean they will lose another. Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden and Serge Ibaka are all inching into their primes, plus backup point guard Eric Maynor will be healthy, and the Thunder will benefit from their Finals experience. Every year this team advances one round farther.”

John Leach, the guy in charge of in-game entertainment, interviewed.

An angry Sonics fan.

A reader email to David Aldridge of NBA.com: “Just a thought on James Harden’s possible forced exit from Oklahoma. Now I don’t claim to know all of the minor details about basketball, and there may be a very logical reason against what I’m about to say, but if a team drafts a player, or a few players for that matter, and they become as talented as the organization hopes they can be, should a special rule not be put in place that allows that team to hold onto that player for as long as they want? Say like a different set of rules and contracts for these players existed. Messy, I know, but the Thunder took a gamble on [Kevin] Durant, [Russell] Westbrook, [James] Harden and [Serge] Ibaka, and it paid off. Why should they be forced to see one walk? Or even have a rule in place where for say the first seven or eight years of a player’s career, they have to stay with the team that drafted them? Again, in terms of contracts, it gets difficult. But would it not make the league more competitive, too? As an example, Dwight Howard would still be an Orlando player, players like Kevin Love and DeMarcus Cousins, of small-market teams, would be guaranteed to be with their respective teams for some time, allowing an organization to build around the player they drafted and not risk seeing them walk after their rookie contract expires. Even if there was a max on the number of times you could do this (let’s say three), that, again, would make Harden the odd man out as OKC would probably pick Durant, Westbrook and Ibaka.”