Daily Thunder.com

Ben Golliver of SI.com gives OKC an A+ for their first half: “The quality of the Thunder’s play can’t be overstated. Name virtually any aspect of the game and they rank somewhere between good to excellent. Their offense is the league’s most efficient (by a healthy margin) despite trading Harden, one of the league’s best individual scorers, just before the start of the regular season. Their much-improved defense is holding opponents to just 43 percent shooting, the third-best mark in the league. They are among the league leaders in field-goal shooting, three-point shooting, free-throw shooting (No. 1 by a wide margin) and rebounding. Durant is making a strong MVP case, Serge Ibaka has taken his game to new levels on both ends and Kevin Martin has plugged in smoothly for Harden. About the only knocks on these guys: They turn the ball over a fair bit (hard to avoid with aggressive playmakers in Durant and Russell Westbrook), and they lost to the Heat on Christmas. They will be the most feared team in the West come playoff time, and rightfully so.”

Justin Verrier of ESPN.com on Westbrook: “But a funny thing has happened through 43 games: Durant is thriving. And Westbrook is thriving. And Oklahoma City is thriving. Durant is on another level this season, with career highs pretty much across the board; to see him and James do their things live, in the prime of their careers, is truly remarkable, almost to the point of astonishment. His only foil at this point is history. But Westbrook has also upped his game. He struggled from the field out of the gate, particularly in December when he shot 39 percent. A recent string of four straight games over 30 points, however, is a clear indicator of the offensive weapon he has become through five seasons, in which he has somehow never missed a game.” Keep Reading…

Enjoyed this from Chris Ryan of Grantland about KD: “Even on the road, he yawps loud enough to let everyone in the building know this is his mother-you-know-what’ing house. This idea that Kevin Durant is going to stop a basketball game to make sure a stray ladybug makes it across the court without getting stepped on? That’s over. It’s hard to imagine that, in a game featuring Matt Barnes, Ryan Hollins, Blake Griffin, and Kendrick Perkins, that Kevin Durant would be the biggest loud-mouthing, irritating bad-ass in the building, but it’s true.”

SI.com’s midseason awards where KD gets MVP love, Ibaka DPOY love, Martin Sixth Man love, KD Most Improved love and Scott Brooks COY love. Rob Mahoney on KD and Most Improved: “Hear me out. Improvement in the NBA is often assumed to be a linear progression, but it’s really almost logarithmic. Once the production starts to pile up, it gets harder and harder for good players to become great, and great players to become legendary. But Durant has managed to climb that slope with an incredible ease, and is shockingly close to LeBron at the NBA’s summit. Harden’s departure has been a complete nonissue for Oklahoma City, in part because Durant has become so much more comfortable as a ball-handler. His court awareness has dramatically improved, and he’s begun to make the kinds of next-level passes reserved only for elite playmakers. His individual and team defense are both better than ever, and his chemistry with his teammates on that end has also improved. All of this on top of a famed 50-40-90 season and a 29.15 PER. Even if we expected Durant to be this good eventually, no one could have reasonably expected him to make these kinds of improvements in a single bound.” Keep Reading…

J.A. Adande of ESPN.com names KD his first half MVP: “At the same time, Durant is doing more than ever before to get his teammates involved. He’s averaging a career-high 4.2 assists per game. More than that, he has taken on a greater responsibility for infusing this team with his will. LeBron hasn’t had to deal with the major personnel change the Thunder made by trading James Harden. The vibe feels different in the Thunder locker room, as if there’s a missing Musketeer. But Durant hasn’t let that derail this team. Finally, never forget that the MVP is a media-voted award, and it’s subject to storyline as much as stats. Another MVP award for LeBron would be his fourth in five seasons. The media crave fresh stories. Lucky for them, Durant has given them every reason to write a new one.”

ESPN Insider ranks the 25 best players under 25, with three Thunderers in the top 10. David Thorpe on KD: “He’s the clear choice for the world’s second best player, having already proven he’s the league’s top pure scorer. Durant was remarkable in getting OKC to the NBA Finals last season, and he is a better all-around player now, adding crisper ball movement and defensive playmaking. He also has learned how to score best in crunch time, by using his ball handling and size to create great shots. He’s a reluctant superstar and a consummate team player, perhaps behind only Tim Duncan as the best teammate in the NBA.” Keep Reading…