Daily Thunder.com

Nick Collison for GQ in a Q&A: “What really goes on during team plane rides? I’m on the plane right now, so let me fill you in. Kendrick Perkins is knitting a sweater. He’s really into knitting. Scarves, sweaters, mittens, etc. Russell has his pottery wheel out again. It makes a mess but it helps him relax after games. He made me a vase. It’s sooooo dope. Hasheem, Reggie, Perry, DeAndre and Jeremy Lamb are in a heated debate over which budget cuts congress needs to make in a debt reduction deal. Actually, it’s kind of hard for me to write with all the yelling. Serge is painting a portrait of Thabo while Thabo paints a portrait of Serge painting a portrait of him. KD and Eric are playing Jenga, while all the coaches shoot dice. So, pretty normal stuff.”

Rob Mahoney of SI.com: “One of the benefits of the Thunder putting a game away early: The inevitable showcase of garbage time for Perry Jones. Many considered Jones to be the steal of the 2012 Draft when the Thunder snatched him up with the 28th pick, a distinction that he richly deserves based on talent alone. In his crumbs of playing time, Jones doesn’t exactly have a regular opportunity to actualize that talent in the form of impressive numbers. But each of his stints on the floor bears a tantalizing peek at his latent potential — and this game’s 14 minutes of court time were certainly no exception. We saw Jones control the ball at full speed in the open court, navigating traffic before making a clean drop pass to DeAndre Liggins. We saw his smooth form on a baseline jumper — the kind of shot that has made Serge Ibaka so important to the Thunder offense. We saw a dead-sprint disruption of what seemed sure to be an easy score for the Nuggets, as Jones broke up a pass intended for a streaking Jordan Hamilton. We also saw Jones ignite off the floor with every intent to tear the rim down, but change direction mid-air in order to finish around a defensive challenge with a silky lay-in. Jones isn’t yet ready for actual playing time, and frankly at this point the Thunder are doing just fine without him. But the idea that Oklahoma City could someday see yet another long-armed, multi-talented athlete climb into their every-night rotation just seems cruel to the rest of the NBA field at this point.” Keep Reading…

KD for MIP and MVP? Justin Kubatko of ESPN Insider says maybe: “Durant’s inclusion might be a surprise, as we usually don’t think about established stars when discussing the MIP award. However, he has taken yet another step forward with his play so far this season. Durant ranks second in the league with a .652 true shooting percentage, a mark that is propped up by career highs in both field goal percentage (52.4) and free throw percentage (90.2). He is seeking to join Charles Barkley (three times), Adrian Dantley, Kevin McHale and Amar’e Stoudemire as the only players in NBA history to average 25 or more points per game with a true shooting percentage of .650 or higher. Durant has improved in other areas, as well, as he is also on pace for career bests in assist percentage, steal percentage and block percentage.”

D.J. Foster of PBT on KD and the 180: “Durant is obviously a great shooter, but he hasn’t so much as sniffed the 180 club in his career. Despite that beautiful jumper, he has never shot over 50 percent from the field, and he’s only eclipsed 40 percent 3-point shooting and 90 percent free throw shooting once, and in different seasons at that. If you were to guess which players were most likely to join the club going into this year, Stephen Curry, Steve Nash or Jose Calderon would have been much better choices given their past performances. With all that said, it’s pretty easy to forget that Durant is only 24-years-old. He’s still perfecting his shot and finding ways to free himself up for better looks, which is terrifying for the rest of the league, but great for his numbers.” Keep Reading…