Friday Bolts – 10.16.09

Remember, chat with me on ESPN.com at 1:30 CDT today. Here’s a link to make your life easier.

Get to know Kevin Durant: “So we know you like to bowl and play video games. Which are you better at? “Video games. I can’t bowl that well, but video games I’m probably better at.” Favorite game of all time? “Madden.” Favorite team you like to play with? “The Ravens. Defense – I score all my points off defense.” What’s the toughest game you’ve played? “Call of Duty. I played that for a couple of days and after a couple of days it was too tough to beat so I just stopped.”

KD is a team player: “It’s no surprise Kevin Durant is really pushing the team angle this week. When asked by FanHouse if he wants to play for Team USA in the World Championships next summer in Turkey, the Oklahoma City forward couldn’t stop talking about how badly he wants to represent his country. Sounds as if he’d settle for the role of scorekeeper. Asked, though, about wanting to play next February in his first All-Star Game, Durant mostly just shrugged. This is apparently not a good time to be talking about such an individual accomplishment.”

It sounds so simple when you put it like that: “The game tells you what you need to do,” Westbrook said. “If I have an open shot I take it. If I don’t, and someone else is open, you make the open pass.”

SLAM’s top 50 players with Durant checking in at eight: “One of my favorite things about working for a magazine that covers basketball from high school through the pros is getting to watch players develop every step of the way, and see how Kevin Durant my/our projections pan out. When I saw Kevin Durant play in high school, to be honest, I had my doubts. Not doubts about making the League or anything, especially because the scoring was obvious then, but his skinniness drove me to distraction and I could not project NBA greatness for him.”

Has anyone else missed Nick Collison’s Twitter? We haven’t had an update in 11 days. I need those clever one-liners in my life again. I need it.

Shaun Livingston feels fine on the wing: “While he’s a natural point guard, Livingston said he also likes playing the wing positions. “I could end up playing a lot off the ball because I can guard bigger players as well,” he said. “I think they’re going to interchange, they’ll probably allow me to make plays more at the 2 and 3. I think it gives them more options with ball handlers out on the floor.”