Daily Thunder.com

Ben Detrick of Grantland on James Harden: “Is Harden better at basketball than Kobe and Melo? Probably not. Efficiency and usage rating (a percentage of team plays used by a player when he’s on the floor) are negatively correlated, and Harden is asked to dominate the ball far less than either of them. Still, when Harden does have it, he’s more effective in a game that rewards free throws and 3-pointers while punishing missed mid-range jumpers. When you look at how the Thunder dispatched opponents last year, Harden’s fingerprints are all over the murder weapons. Oklahoma City was first in free throws made per field goal attempt, second in effective field goal percentage, and second in offensive rating. Harden might be the third option, but even on a team with Kevin Durant, he tops all three of those categories, and cutting loose the man whose DNA interlocks most closely with the team’s genetic code is unwise.”

John Hollinger of ESPN.com on Kobe Bryant: “Bryant led the NBA in usage rate by a wide margin (see chart) and very nearly led it in points per minute as well, finishing a 10th of a point behind Kevin Durant in points per 40 minutes — an amazing feat for a player age 33. Bryant looked spry coming out of the lockout in particular, racking up four straight 40-point games in January. However, he cooled off considerably the rest of the way, most notably while shooting 38.7 percent in March. He was in the top five in player efficiency rating (PER) in the first half of the season but finished 17th.” Keep Reading…

Aaron McGuire of Gothic Ginobili on Cole Aldrich: “It’s hard to find much to say about Cole Aldrich, all things considered. It’s not that he’s an awful player, but he’s certainly not a good one — for a 3-year college player that came into the NBA at the age of 22, he’s awfully unpolished. His freshman season was notable mostly in how ridiculously bad he looked — just a terrible fit on the court, seemingly several hundred steps slow on defense and several dozen steps lacking on offense. He posted a freshman PER of 7.0 and it felt a hell of a lot worse than that. Last season he had a PER of 17.7 (and a PER of 19.8 in the postseason), but I’m hesitant to really assess much value from that. First off, he was playing against busted competition — the Thunder blew out a hell of a lot of teams last year, and the vast majority of Aldrich’s minutes came in garbage time during blowout wins. In fact, the Thunder went 25-6 in the 31 games that Aldrich saw the floor last year. Kind of skews the picture a bit. What’s worse is that not only did he virtually only play in wins against poor late-game competition, he also managed to be part of bench units that were incredibly awful.”

Matt Moore of CBSSports.com on KD, who finishes ranked second: “Durant has become a force only topped by our No.1 player (you know who), and he’s just 23 years of age, 24 when the season begins. He’s just getting started and he’s already accomplished so much. To say the sky’s the ceiling gives the sky too much credit for its altitude. He’s no longer on his way. Kevin Durant has arrived. The only question is whether he can become great enough to claim this time as his own.” Keep Reading…

John Hollinger of ESPN.com with must-read Thunder player profiles: “Defensively, Westbrook has the talent to be awesome, but in reality is pretty average. Synergy Stats rated him the worst defender on the team and decidedly below the norm for his position; the Thunder weren’t any better or worse with him on the court defensively, and opposing point guards had a 15.7 player efficiency rating against him, according to 82games.com. Westbrook is actually too aggressive for his own good at this end, often running himself out of position and overgambling, offsetting his advantages in size, quickness and athleticism.”

The Lost Ogle on the Thunder hiring Sebastian Pruiti: “I like this hire for a couple of reasons. For one, it’s cool to see a blogger get recognized for his work and get real job. Sure, Pruiti also doubled as an assistant coach for the Ft. Wayne Mad Antz of the NBADL, but I really doubt working for a sports team that spells ants with a “Z” helped him get this job. Also, this hire confirms what we’ve long suspected: Sam Presti is a cool-ass nerd who reads blogs. In fact, I’ll bet Sam Presti is reading this right now. And I bet he’s now creeped out and blushing. And I’ll bet he’s now clearing his search history and about to close his internet browser.” Keep Reading…

Dwyane Wade to Maxim: “During the finals, it seemed like you and LeBron were having a style contest with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook of the Thunder. Who do you think won? It wasn’t even close. We’re way better dressers than they are. I dunno. Even LeBron seemed to think those “Dwayne Wayne” glasses went a bit far. I was holding that in my back pocket for a while. I’ve been called Dwayne Wayne so many times over the years, and we were all going heavy with the glasses, so I thought I would really shut it down.”

Ben Golliver of CBSSports.com on James Harden who is ranked the 29th best player in the NBA: “One of the league’s fastest-rising stars, it’s conceivable that James Harden could have been even higher on this list had he not had such a disastrous 2012 NBA Finals against the Miami Heat. Harden took home the 2012 Sixth Man of the Year award for his big-time scoring and playmaking ability off the bench. An excellent complement to Russell Westbrook, Harden can take over ball-handling duties when necessary and got to the free-throw line six times a game last season. Throw in a career-best 39.0 shooting percent from deep and you’re looking at an offensive efficiency monster. Harden made the cut for USA Basketball’s London Olympics team, too, winning a gold medal in the process. What better way to erase the sting of a Finals that saw him average 12.4 points on 37.5 percent shooting? As good as this year was, the future is even brighter. Harden is in line for a max contract extension — although the Thunder would love it if he sacrificed some dough for the good of their luxury tax cause — and a lengthy run of All-Star Game appearances. It’s certainly possible that he finds himself cracking the top 20 of this list within a year or two.” Keep Reading…