Friday Bolts – 11.19.10

First a quick note: I’ll be out of pocket for the next few days. But fear not! I have a good bench in place and they should be able to carry you through. If not, let me know and I’ll be sure to waive them when I get back.

Cole Aldrich, in his latest post at Dime: Someone asked me the other day to compare Coach Brooks and Coach Self. I would say the main thing that sticks out is both of their philosophies are defensive-minded. If you look at the teams that have won NBA championships, they were strong defensive teams like Boston and the Lakers. In terms of differences, Coach Brooks is probably a slight bit more laid back than Coach Self. He always expects a lot out of you, and he’ll get after you a little more.

It’s getting kind of hard to tell Russell Westbrook and LeBron James apart.

Darnell Mayberry makes a case for Greg Oden in OKC: “I don’t know how far OKC will be under the cap next season. Nobody does since the rules of a new collective bargaining agreement are still in the balance. But Oden is worth taking a considerable chance on. It’s not my money, but I’d jump at a deal starting at $2 million per. I’d probably go as high as $3.5 million per and strongly consider a $4 million annual salary over, say, three years. Maybe that’s too much. Maybe that’s not nearly enough and a franchise like New York outbids everyone to make Oden the latest in a long line of overpaid centers in a Knicks uniform. But, if I’m Presti, Oden would definitely be in my sights next summer.”

The Blazers will probably extend a qualifying offer to Greg Oden.

KD has a custom link shortner now and for some reason, it’s news to the SportsCenter blog: “As for Durant, he’ll just have to be mindful of the links he shortens. Sure, durant.is/amazing makes total sense and is pretty straightforward. But on the other hand, durant.is/sadpanda is a little more confusing. And honestly, it’s a bit of a downer too – so please Kevin, don’t go that route. Any chance durant.is/listening?”

If Kevin Durant was a dolphin.

From a Thunder press release: “The Oklahoma City Thunder announced today that its first official watch party of the season, presented by Budweiser, will be on Friday during the Thunder’s matchup at Boston. The watch party will take place at Buffalo Wild Wings on N.W. Expressway beginning at 6 p.m.”