Daily Thunder.com

Kurt from Forum Blue and Gold did this yesterday and I am shamelessly stealing his idea. But hey, he got his idea from Facebook, so it’s cool right?

1. This year, OKC has lost six games by six or less, six by four or less and seven by two or less. That makes 19 losses by six points or less, which leads the league. You turn just half (we’ll say 10) of those games into wins and the Thunder would be 23-33. That doesn’t look that bad at all. Heck, they’d be just 5.5 games out of the eighth spot in the East.

2. Joe Smith has played for nine different teams and twice for two of those teams (Philadelphia and Minnesota).

3. Kevin Durant’s middle name is Wayne, Clay Bennett’s is Ike, Kyle Weaver’s is Donovan, Desmond Mason’s is Tremaine, Scott Brooks’ is William and Jeff Green’s is Uncle – I mean, Lynn.

4. After I wrote the piece about Kevin Durant and the 180, he’s since been shooting at a 192 and is at 178 on the season.

5. Kevin Durant is one of the fastest players ever reach 3,000 points. Michael Jordan did it in 108 games, LeBron James in 133 and KD in 134.

6. The only (positive) categories OKC ranks in the top 10 of the league in are rebounding and free throws attempted and made. The Thunder are fifth in offensive rebounding at 12.3 a game and fourth overall at 43.1 a game, OKC ranks ninth in free throws attempted and free throws made, hitting 20 of 26 on a nightly basis.

7. Of the games I actually made a prediction for in previews, I am 7-3 and the Thunder is 3-7. I don’t know what that means, but it seems like it means something.

8. The Thunder have been tagged with the second fewest technical fouls in the league with 19 (San Antonio has 18). And in 43 games as head coach, Scott Brooks has yet to be hit with a technical.

9. So far, Rumble the Bison is 0-2 on dunks and the team is 0-3 with him as the mascot. Good start!

10. I have been to an estimated 20 NBA games (between the Hornets and Thunder) and I have never been out of Loud City. Thus, I have dubbed myself to friends and family as “The Mayor of Loud City.”

11. Matt Pinto, the radio voice of the Thunder, has been the play-by-play man for the Seattle SuperSonics, the Dallas Mavericks, the Charlotte Hornets, the Los Angeles Clippers and the Oklahoma City Thunder.

12. At this point last year, the team was 15-41.

13. Kevin Durant averages 39.9 minutes per game which is second in the league in that category. Last year, he got 34.6 minutes a night.

14. Scott Brooks has played on eight professional basketball teams in three different professional basketball leagues. He also is arguably the most famous person from Manteca, Calif., alongside *famous* race car driver Scott Speed.

15. The reason Kevin Durant wears No. 35 is in honor of his childhood mentor and AAU coach, Charles Craig, who was murdered at age 35.

16. In 2006, Nenad Krstic was voted the third most eligible bachelor in Serbia by their version of People Magazine.

17. Joe Smith leads the Thunder in career points at 10,870. Desmond Mason is second with 7,754. Chucky Atkins is third with 6,656. Earl Watson is fourth with 4,279. And Kevin Durant is fifth at 3,066.

18. After ranking near the bottom in points per game for the first month and a half of the season, the Thunder are now at 19th in scoring at 98.3 ppg.

19. Russell Westbrook has had five 30 point games. For comparison, Derrick Rose has had zero, Michael Beasley zero and O.J. Mayo six.

20. Jeff Green and Kevin Durant have combined to hit 151 three-pointers on the season. The rest of the entire team has hit 81.

21. Russell Westbrook graduated from Leuzinger High School in Lawndale, Calif, also the high school of Oakland Raiders cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha. Jeff Green graduated from Northwestern High in Hyattsville, MD, also the home of the late Len Bias and Cleveland Brown’s corner Leigh Bodden.

22. Kevin Durant has taken 102 more free throws than the next closest Thunder player on the team (Russell Westbrook, 293).

23. When Texas played at OU in 2007, I yelled something slightly rude at Kevin Durant and I swear he looked up in my direction. I wish every day I could take it back. But at the time I totally meant it.

24. OKC is 9-12 when scoring 100+ points, but is 5-33 when its opponent scores 100 or more.

25. Currently, the highest paid player on the Thunder is Malik Rose ($7.6 million). Nick Collison is No. 2 ($6.3 million) and Earl Watson is No. 3 ($6.2 million). Kevin Durant, Jeff Green and Russell Westbrook make a combined $11.1 million this year.

Last week on the B.S. Report, Bill Simmons had John Hollinger on and they talked a lot about the limitations in NBA statistics. And one reader took that as a challenge and watched the Thunder/Warriors game with a little bit more of a keen eye. Thunder fan Taylor sent this great breakdown in of Saturday night’s game (HERE and HERE are his “box score”):

I am a huge fan of stats and wish that there were more of them that were recorded.  There are many little things that players do that don’t show up in the box score. Because of this I have started to take some in depth stats of Thunder basketball games. I do this not just because of my love for stats or the Thunder, but because it helps me become a more educated viewer while watching the games and allows me to really look for things that I would normally miss.

Attached were some footnotes explaining each stat. Assists have five categories: Key (pass led to a bucket in the painted area), Open Jumper (pass led to an open jumper), Open Three (pass led to an open three), Contested Jumper (pass led to a made jumper, but it was closely contested), Contested Three (pass led to a made three pointer, but it was close contested). Keep Reading…

The Celtics want Joe Smith to be this year’s P.J. Brown. If you wanted him this bad, why didn’t you offer us Kevin Garnett and a first-round pick for him?: “Smith’s defense isn’t spectacular, but he’s been steadily holding power forwards to league average stats for the last few seasons. And that’s what I want from a potential C’s back-up big man: steadiness. Glen Davis doesn’t have it in any phase of the game (he still can’t shoot, no matter what your eyes seem to be telling you), Leon Powe doesn’t have it as a shooter and Mikki Moore definitely doesn’t have it. Joe Smith has it. If I’m Danny Ainge, I’m throwing whatever I can at Smith, even it means having no shot at Marbury.”

But Joe Smith says he doesn’t want to go anywhere: “Contrary to several media reports, Smith said he wouldn’t seek a buyout of his contract with the Thunder, The Oklahoman reported. “What for?” Smith asked. “I’ve been here all year. Why would I want to do that now? I’m (not) seeking it.” Smith said he has not talked to his agent about a buyout. It had been reported that Smith, 33, would ask for one so he could join a title contender. “A lot of people assume that when you reach a certain amount of years in the league that you always want to seek a title,” Smith told The Oklahoman. “It’s (not) just me. … Like I’ve said all year long, I like these young guys around here. We’ve developed some type of chemistry now where I got faith in them and they got faith in me.”

You thought Shaq’s JabbaWockeez was good? Check out Kid Delicious getting down.

Midseason rookie grades handed out by some guy. Russell gets a “B” and you have to read this part: “Truth be told, Thunder rookie Kyle Weaver is a better playmaker than Westbrook, which doesn’t bode well for Westbrook’s status as the franchise’s point guard of the future. So if Westbrook isn’t a natural point guard, he must be a shooting guard, right? Wrong. Though he excels around the basket, Westbrook leaves much to be desired when it comes to outside shooting. His release is flawed and inconsistent – a far cry from the wonder-stroke of Eric Gordon – and opposing guards generally let him take open threes. Through 53 games Westbrook is shooting just 40.8% from the field and 29.6% from downtown.” Keep Reading…

vs.

Thunder (13-42, 3-23 road) vs. Golden State Warriors (19-36, 14-13 home)

TV: KSBI-52 (Cox 9)
Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM, 640 AM)
Time: 9:30 CST

Offensive Rating: Thunder: 103.5 (27th), Golden State: 109.0 (11th)
Defensive Rating: Thunder: 109.9 (23rd), Golden State: 112.6 (28th)
Pace: Thunder: 93.8 (7th), Golden State: 97.6 (1st)

Finally! Our last game against the Warriors. I think this is maybe game 15 or 16 against them. I lost track.

Last night’s game was a pretty good warmup for tonight’s. Just like the Suns, the Warriors get up and down the floor. The Thunder went into Oracle Arena and snaked a one-point win last time they were there on a Jeff Green buzzer-beater, but in that game the Warriors scored a lot early, but the Thunder locked down when it mattered and got some huge stops. And ironically, that’s the last road win this team has had. But this Warriors team is playing pretty good basketball right now, having won four of five at home, all against pretty good teams (Portland, Utah, Phoenix, New York). Keep Reading…