Friday Bolts – 11.9.12
Ben Golliver of SI.com collected a bunch of reactions on the jerseys: “Rob Mahoney, The Point Forward: “There’s some definite potential in the minimalistic design of the Thunder’s new alternates, but stripping down a uniform scheme to its basics puts an even greater attention on its specific execution. Vertically oriented text? Broken lines from jersey to shorts? It’s as if OKC’s designers got so caught up in simplification that they abstained from common aesthetic sense.” Rating: 3 out of 10″
Sam Amick of USA Today: “Kevin Martin showed up two and a half hours early to practice with his new Oklahoma City Thunder team recently and discovered a most peculiar thing: He was late. “Our practice starts at 11, and I’m getting there at 8:30 and seeing Russell (Westbrook) and Kevin (Durant) – the two best players on the court,” Martin told USA TODAY Sports this week. “That just makes me want to get there at 8:29 and show them that I’m here to do whatever they need me to do.”
Marc Spears of Yahoo! Sports talking about the Thunder.
Darnell Mayberry: “Kendrick Perkins didn’t look like he wanted to be here tonight. At one point in the second half, when Joakim Noah was called for traveling, Perk began talking a bit of trash to Noah when he tried to dispute the call. It almost seemed as if Perk was trying to fire himself up. There was no other reason for it. I don’t have any other plausible explanation for Perk’s performance in this one. He had five rebounds, the first coming with 28 seconds remaining in the first half, a steal and a foul and two turnovers. Rough, rough night for the big fella.”
Shaky Ankles on Russell Westbrook: “I was honestly beginning to doubt if he could help Oklahoma City win basketball games when he wasn’t scoring in a variety of athletically marvelous ways, but tonight he proved me wrong. Is Russell Westbrook an elite player when it comes to elevating those around him? On Thursday, the answer was an emphatic yes. This wasn’t a good game from Westbrook, it was great. I’ve re-lived a few sequences in my mind several times since the final buzzer, and—just, wow—the vision, the precision, the patience; these are the plays Westbrook makes that nobody wants, nor is able, to remember when the Thunder lose and he attempts more shots than Kevin Durant.”
The Thunder revealed the “inspiration” behind the new unis.
Bill Haisten of the Tulsa World on the jerseys: “I like the vertical Thunder lettering on the front, and I don’t have a problem with the colors and the numeral style. For Friday’s clash with Detroit at the Chesapeake Energy Arena, the Thunder will be attired in the new uniforms. While it isn’t as striking as ones worn by the Chicago Bulls, Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves, the new Oklahoma City jersey might be a hot sales item because Thunder fans are fanatically loyal.”
Hasheem Thabeet is making his homeland proud. And here’s Thabeet’s yellow hair patch explained.
From Elias: “Serge Ibaka scored 21 points in Oklahoma City’s win over Chicago, three shy of the team leader, Kevin Durant, who scored 24 points. Ibaka has never led his team in scoring in 226 career NBA games. This is the third time in his career he has come within three points of the team leader, and he’s done so in each of his last two games. Ibaka (17 points) came within two points of Russell Westbrook in the Thunder’s previous game, versus Toronto.”
Kelly Dwyer of BDL: “The Oklahoma City Thunder’s new alternates, officially released on Thursday, fall into the latter category. That doesn’t mean the duds are no good, though. Rather, we think they’re kind of cool; especially considering that the designers were working off of a relatively staid logo and pattern with the typical Thunder uniforms. Sure, they’re a money-grab; but it’s still a pretty fetching design.”