Smart Thoughts of the Week: Sept. 25 – Oct. 2
Throughout the week some of you drop some brilliant or at least somewhat thoughtful comments and so this is a try at highlighting some of them. Disclaimer: It’s not that I necessarily agree with all of them, but they were interesting and for the most part, well put. Consider everything [sic’d].
I’m so excited, I’m so excited… I’m so realistic. (Jax Raging Bile Duct): The unbridled optimism is rampant every year. I shake my head at the odd ball lineup Memphis will trot out next year, but you know the Memphis fans and the Memphis press who make money selling their opinions to Memphis fans are as optimistic as they can get.
NBA outsiders wouldn’t be surprised to see us win 40 to 50 games. Please. There’s just no way we win 50 games. I have tickets to 41 home games, own two jerseys and 100 thunder t-shirts, check this site daily and even watch u-stream reruns of thunder players reading chat messages in Hong Kong. I’m a huge fan. But I also know that if Lady Luck came down from Nirvana riding on Puff the Magic Dragon and sprinkled us with Tinkerbell dust, so that no one ever gets hurt and we win all our games decided by 3 points or less, we win 40 games. That’s the absolute tippy-top win total we could impossibly expect this season (thank you Lady Luck). But 50 games… 50 games is just silly.
It’s not Facebook’s 25 Things, but it’s something. (Crow): Ten things about Ryan Bowen, if you want to know: 1) Last season was his best shooting season, with surprisingly TS% above Durant and eFG% way above. 2)Early in his career he was usually a pretty strong offensive rebounder (compared to what you might expect) but not in 3 of the last 4 years. 3)His steal rate per 48 minutes is higher than Thabo. 4)He is generally low turnovers. 5) He is low usage and accepts that.
6) If you believe in Dean Oliver’s “Offensive Rating” he’d come in a close second to Nick Collison’s team leading overall offensive efficiency (not just shooting efficiency, everything). 7) Even with some of these other sneaky positives his main rep is probably as a good defender. “Defensive Rating” is mainly about team but he has been on some good and some bad teams and was usually from top quarter to neck and neck for team lead early in his career but more toward the middle in recent years but on good defensive teams. 8. He is from Iowa. Maybe Collison knows him abit, though Bowen is 5 years older. 9. He turns 34 in November. This might be the last dance. 10. For a candidate for a 15th man he might be a pretty good choice beneath the surface. In an Ollie and Thomas way. He also might be a good future assistant.
Is it also coincidence that I have a player named R. Young on my game? (Vega): Totally unrelated to training, but slightly interesting. I was looking through some screenshots of 2K10, and I came across a screenshot of the 66ers roster. Most of the guys were computer-generated fakes, but there was a power forward named D. Hardin on the roster. That is either a coincidence of massive proportions, or DeVon Hardin is in the game. I’m inclined to think that Hardin is actually in the game, which is kind of cool.
By steps and half-bounds. (Dylan): “My main concern is that the casual fan that has heard nothing all offseason except for the whole “can Durant top LeBron” thing buys into the hype and expects too much. I’d hate to be around .500 at the all-star break and have half the Ford Center be disappointed at the results. Somehow, someone needs to temper expectations. We’re taking steps, not leaps.
Free Uncle Jeff. (Ransom): I like what you’re thinking in terms of the rotations with one exception. Jeff Green deserves to be starting. No question of it. Ill concede that at the moment he may be more comfortable or slightly better at the 3. But, given his production last year, and every indication that he will improve his numbers, he needs to start. Last year he got about 17 and 7. slight improvements on that would give him equal numbers to some All-Star PFs. (David West chiefly). And, i think his quickness, passing and dribbling allow a very intersting miss-match potential at the 4 spot. Plus, when you really compare Green to some of the other PFs in the league, his size isnt that much of an issue. He has average height for an NBA PF and is a little on the light side, but far more athletic than the average 4. All this is just trying to say, his potential is a fringe All-star player at either the 3 or the 4, on a team like this (as opposed to the San Antonio of yesteryears) that makes him a starter.
