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Wednesday Bolts – 8.5.09

by Royce Young on August 5, 2009 at 7:44 am 14 Comments

Darnell Mayberry has an excellent breakdown of the schedule: “Time to gain ground: With so many teams improving thunderbolt23this off-season it’s hard to find a month in which the schedule turns in the Thunder’s favor. But February looks to be the month of least resistance for Oklahoma City. The Thunder will play six games against five teams that didn’t make the playoffs last season — Golden State, New York, Minnesota (twice), Phoenix and Toronto. The remaining teams in the month — Atlanta, New Orleans, Portland, Dallas and San Antonio — are all teams the Thunder played relatively well last season which should bode well this year.”

Lang Whitaker of SLAM transfers NBA players to college football: “So Dwyane Wade is our starting tailback. How many times have you seen Wade dribble at the top of the key, then somehow weave between three or four defenders and get to the rim untouched? That elusive quality will serve him well as our feature back, plus Wade is strong enough to fall down seven times and get up six, or something like that. D-Wade is backed up by Tony Parker, Baron Davis and Russell Westbrook … And for a punter, I couldn’t think of anyone obvious, so I went with Kevin Durant. My thinking is that he probably won’t have to punt much anyway, and besides, I want him around this team, encouraging guys, working hard, staying out of trouble.”

Shaun Livingston is back in his hometown for his annual basketball camp: ”Shaun Livingston knows he isn’t 100 percent. But he also thinks 100 percent isn’t far away. The former Peoria High School All-American is back in his hometown for his annual basketball camp this week. The camp is free to all the players as it is underwritten by the five-year NBA veteran.” Keep Reading…

Breakdown of the 2009-10 Thunder schedule

by Royce Young on August 4, 2009 at 12:21 pm 10 Comments

After two hours of analyzing, re-analyzing and overanalyzing Oklahoma City’s 2009-10 schedule, it’s clear that the Thunder have 41 home games and 41 road games. I definitely know that much. So it’s good to get that out of the way. Anyway, let’s break this baby down.

Toughest five game stretch
OKC’s schedule isn’t friendly to open up the season. There’s a bunch of toughies mixed in there and by the looks of it, the Thunder could realistically be staring at a 2-8 start. The five game run from Oct. 30-Nov. 8 of at home against Detroit, home against Portland, home against the Champs, on the road in Houston and home against Orlando looks to be the nastiest on there. Detroit and Houston aren very winnable games as both those rosters are in a bit of a transition, but they’ve still got good players. From March 22-30 OKC plays San Antonio, Houston, the Lakers, Portland and Philly, which is extremely tough in its own right, but four of those five are at home.

Easiest five game stretch
The fluff appears to come on the backside of OKC’s schedule, with a lot of non-playoff teams from 2008 on the docket in March and April. I like the stretch from March 5-14 with at the Clippers, at Sacto, home against New Orleans, home against the Nets and home against Utah. Three of the five at the Ford Center and just two playoff teams from 2008, with both of those games coming at home. April 4-11 has a decent five game go with home against Minny, Denver and Phoenix and road battles against Golden State and Utah. But Denver is in the class of the Western Conference and while the game is at home, Carmelo Anthony will almost certainly tear the hearts out of our chest Temple of Doom style anyway. Keep Reading…

Thunder 2009-10 schedule

by Royce Young on August 4, 2009 at 9:14 am 18 Comments

UPDATE: It’s officially out now.

The schedule doesn’t “officially” come out for another hour, but due to a little snafu on NBA.com, we got the whole thing here. Of course, unless they change it between now and then. So keep that in mind. Just one nationally televised game (Dec. 16 at home against Dallas) which is disappointing, but there’s potential to get more picked up the more you win. Look it over and I’ll be back with a good little breakdown in a bit.

Wed, Oct 28  – Sacramento at Oklahoma City 8:00 PM ET
Fri, Oct 30 – Oklahoma City at Detroit 8:00 PM ET
Sun, Nov 01 – Portland at Oklahoma City 7:00 PM ET
Tue, Nov 03 – L.A. Lakers at Oklahoma City 8:00 PM ET
Fri, Nov 06 – Oklahoma City at Houston 8:30 PM ET

Sun, Nov 08 – Orlando at Oklahoma City 7:00 PM ET
Tue, Nov 10 – Oklahoma City at Sacramento 10:00 PM ET
Wed, Nov 11 – Oklahoma City at L.A. Clippers 10:30 PM ET
Sat, Nov 14 – Oklahoma City at San Antonio 8:30 PM ET
Sun, Nov 15 – L.A. Clippers at Oklahoma City 7:00 PM ET — – NBATV Keep Reading…

Tuesday Bolts – 8.4.09

by Royce Young on August 4, 2009 at 8:02 am 9 Comments

The 2009-10 NBA schedule comes out in a few hours (around noon Oklahoma time). I’ll have it up as soon as I get it thunderbolt23and then I’ll surely overanalyze it to death.

But I won’t be letting it out of the bag early. Three teams got in trouble for doing so: ”The Cleveland Cavaliers, Houston Rockets and Minnesota Timberwolves were penalized, an official with knowledge of the decisions told The Associated Press on Monday. The official requested anonymity because the fines weren’t publicly announced. The NBA will release its 2009-10 schedule on Tuesday afternoon. The league forbids teams to release any details before then.”

A list ranking the most reliable GMs in the league: ”Presti, a Buford disciple, has been GM of the Thunder since June 2007. In that short time, he has elevated the Thunder from the laughingstock of the NBA to the league’s most dangerous sleeper. Presti has built a solid young core in Kevin Durant, Jeff Green, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden, while maintaining enough cap space to make a run at significant free agents in 2010. Though he initially made a mistake by hiring P.J. Carlesimo (a colossal disappointment) as head coach in 2007, Presti redeemed himself by replacing Carlesimo with Scotty Brooks last season. Brooks immediately connected with Durant and Westbrook and inspired the team to improve in the second half of the season … Presti’s team-building strategy is simple. Draft well and focus on team chemistry (evidence of which can be found in Durant’s visit to Summer League this year and the bond that Thunder players share on Twitter). It’s a strategy that works for Buford in San Antonio and appears to be having similar results in Oklahoma City. With Durant coming into his own as a superstar-caliber player, the Thunder will be a playoff contender sooner than you think.” Keep Reading…

Questions and answers with Sam Presti

by Royce Young on August 3, 2009 at 9:08 am 109 Comments

Yes, that’s right. Sam Presti was gracious enough to give me a few minutes to ask him a bunch of questions ranging from free agency, next year’s expectations, what he does in his free time and whether he’s decided on OU or OSU. It’s all really great. At least his part of it is. (You can also listen to the interview in full if you so please. Also, I realize I said Earl Watson instead of Chucky Atkins in the first question, so no need to point that out. I was a little nervous, all right?)

Talk a little about bringing in Etan Thomas and trading away Damien Wilkins and Earl Watson Chucky Atkins.

We’re really excited to have Etan. He’s a guy we feel than can contribute to what we’re trying to do as a basketball team. He brings a defensive mentality and physical nature to our and adds more depth to our frontline.

One thing I’ve noticed is that it seems the Thunder has all high-character guys. Is that something high on your priority list? Will you sacrifice a really good player if he has character issues?

We’re looking for guys that we think are going to fit with our team. It’s not necessarily for us to be judge and jury on other people, but we are looking for people that are going to contribute to the kind of environment on and off the floor that we strive to have. And we feel good about the type of guys that we have on our roster in terms of their fit together – on the court, also their fit off the court and their commitment to the organization. We’re looking for guys that feel we can be successful in our system. Keep Reading…

Monday Bolts – 8.3.09

by Royce Young on August 3, 2009 at 7:40 am 8 Comments

thunderbolt23More on the debate that won’t go away: ”Even in his second year in the league, LeBron James was a significantly better dribbler, passer and finisher than Durant was last season. Last time I checked, those are NBA skills. The only argument in favor of Durant is that he is younger and he has a better jump shot. Well Reggie Miller had a better jump shot than Michael Jordan, but no one is putting those two guys in the same sentence. I will agree that jump shooting is the most aesthetically-pleasing element of the game, but I will argue every time that a strong layup is far more effective when it comes to winning games. And LeBron does that better than any other player in the game.”

Fanhouse’s mailbag looked at it: “Kevin Durant personally wants no part of any comparisons to LeBron James; he said so himself via Twitter. But yes, Durant seems poised to be the guy that takes that leap into the LeBron/Kobe/Wade stratosphere.”

Susan Bible of HoopsWorld ranked the Western Conference and OKC finshed in the top 10: “After a 23-59 season last year, it would seem quite a stretch to place the Thunder in the playoffs already – it will be close, but they probably need another year to develop their young players before having a post season. Rebuilding through the draft (with recent key additions of Shaun Livingston, Thabo Sefolosha, Nenad Krstic) around franchise face and future All-Star Kevin Durant is GM Sam Presti’s plan, which should net them at least 15 more wins next year. Shooting guard James Harden, drafted third overall, will be an immediate contributor. PG Russell Westbrook’s performance in the summer league was off the hook showing growing maturity in his play and decision-making. Acquiring defensive-minded Etan Thomas will provide needed frontcourt depth and bodyguard duties for Durant. Most of you know I cover the Thunder – surely you’ll give me a little credit for not placing them in the playoffs just yet (believe me, other homers are not resisting the temptation) but you have to admit, they are a team on the rise.” Keep Reading…

Guard Kevin Ollie signs with Oklahoma City

by Royce Young on August 1, 2009 at 12:58 pm 48 Comments

From NewsOK.com:

The Thunder has signed veteran point guard Kevin Ollie. Terms of the deal are unclear, but the contract likely is a one-year deal for the 36-year-old journeyman.

Honestly I don’t really get it, but whatever. I’m sure it was for next to nothing (in NBA terms, of course) and I wouldn’t plan on Ollie being on the roster by year’s end. Over 12 seasons, Ollie has averaged 3.8 ppg and 2.3 apg. Last year in Minnesota he played in 50 games and averaged 4.0 ppg and 2.3 apg as a third string backup point guard. Which is exactly where he’ll be this year behind Russell Westbrook and Shaun Livingston. This will be the ninth NBA roster Ollie has been a part of. And unless he retires, I doubt it will be his last.

Saturday Morning Cartoons: Let’s all pause for a moment and admire this

by Royce Young on August 1, 2009 at 6:30 am 11 Comments

I’m coming clean: This video is a weekly watch for me. I’m not even kidding. I literally watch at least once a week. I don’t know why, but I love it. Watching Kevin Durant score buckets is like catching Jurassic Park on AMC right when the cars stop at the Tyrannosaur paddock. You’re going to stop and watch. And when KD gets rolling, he gets rolling. He pulls up from anywhere and he just takes the dang thing over. I have a feeling we’re going to have a bunch more of these type of games in our future.

(And two bonus cartoons for this lovely Saturday: Watch a few Russ and KD Team USA highlights here and here. Westbrook has some particularly nice plays. Thank you for your support of Daily Thunder. Go see The Hurt Locker tonight. It’s freaking good.)

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