Friday Bolts – 4.2.10

KD is ‘cool’ with being in the MVP race: “Nah, it’s pretty cool,” Durant said in Boston on Wednesday night. “It’s cool, man. A kid like me, coming from where I came from and how I’ve grown as a player, for people to say that I’m in the talks for MVP in the NBA, that’s something I never really dreamed about. Never really envisioned it. It’s pretty cool, but at the same time, it’s something that I’m not worried about.”

Henry Abbott yesterday writing that Eric Maynor matters: “And watch the highlights above. There’s Eric Maynor connecting on a huge fourth-quarter lob to Kevin Durant in a win in Boston Garden. It’s not like he’s an MVP candidate at this point, but he’s a rookie not just getting minutes but also producing at point guard for a really good team that also has blue-chipper Russell Westbrook at that position. Maynor’s a young player the Thunder trust, and he shows a ton of promise.”

If you haven’t tried Hollinger’s playoff simulator, give it a go. It only took me 21 tries to get the Thunder a title.

KD’s response to Garnett’s criticism: “I can care less, it was a great win for us, I respect kg’s passion.”

Hollinger looking at who the Lakers want to avoid: “The Thunder own one of the best individual defenders in the league in Thabo Sefolosha. The Spurs don’t have quite as good an arsenal, with Keith Bogans the most qualified candidate. So San Antonio would be the preferred opponent in this situation. Size up the three categories, and I think it’s clear the Lakers don’t want anything to do with Portland, and wouldn’t be real excited to face Oklahoma City either.”

On NBA.com, Kevin Durant is dominating a poll asking who should be runner up in the MVP vote behind LeBron.

Thabo and Jeff Green were on NBA.com’s Five on the Rise: “It’s easy to look at the box score from OKC’s win over the Lakers last Friday and see Russell Westbrook had 23 points, Kevin Durant scored 26 and Kobe Bryant just had an off night (11 points, 4-for-11 shooting). What’s lost in simple stats, though, is the masterful defensive job Sefolosha did on Bryant to spark the Thunder’s blowout. Keep in mind that in the previous three OKC-Laker matchups, Bryant had burned Sefolosha and Co. for 32.3 ppg and put up 40 points on them earlier this season — and L.A. was 3-0 in those games. It was a nice redemption game for Sefolosha (and his reputation as a defensive stopper) as he kept after the Lakers’ star the entire game, staying on the ground as Bryant threw every head fake and batch of footwork he could at Sefolosha. In the end, Bryant had nine turnovers (two shy of his career high) and even he had to admit that Sefolosha was a big reason in his struggles that night.”

John Schuhmann of NBA.com names Thabo to his All-Defense Team: “By now the secret is out that the Thunder are one of the best defensive teams in the NBA. Nick Collison has the best on-court defensive efficiency in the league and Kevin Durant’s defense has improved dramatically from last season, but Sefolosha is their designated stopper. He’s done a particularly good job on Wade this season, holding him to 40 percent shooting in the Thunder’s two wins over the Heat.”

Magic Number Watch: Still sitting at one for the Grizzlies. They play tonight against New Orleans.