Friday Bolts – 8.13.10
Trey Kerby of Ball Don’t Lie interviewed KD: “TK: How do you like playing on this team with a ton of athletic guys? I know Oklahoma City has a bunch of athletic guys too, but with Team USA, every single guy on the roster can run and jump and just get out on the floor and play fast. Is that fun? KD: Man, it’s so fun. I remember yesterday in practice I got a rebound and pushed it up the court. I’m used to having Nenad Krstic and Thabo Sefolosha running on the sides — nothing against those guys, of course — but Nenad is not as athletic as Derrick Rose. (laughs) And I had D-Rose on one side and [Andre] Iguodala on the other. So I’m like, “Who do I throw it to?” So I just threw it up. (mimes a lob pass) And it was a bad pass. I’m like, “Awwww, turnover.” (hangs head) But Iguodala came out of nowhere, grabbed it with one hand and dunked it. (smiling excitedly)”
KD is giving back to his home community: “Youngsters in Seat Pleasant now have one of the coolest hangouts in Prince George’s County, courtesy of NBA star Kevin Durant. When he was growing up in Seat Pleasant, Durant spent countless hours at the Seat Pleasant Activity Center, honing the skills that have made him one of pro basketball’s best players. Last year, the Oklahoma City Thunder forward donated $25,000 to the center, which used the funds to renovate a gaming room/lounge. The room, dubbed Durant’s Den, has a whole new feel with a vinyl floor made to replicate a basketball court, two 55-inch LCD flat-screen televisions, a projection screen, an Xbox 360, a PlayStation 3, bar stools, couches and lounge chairs.”
On Team USA’s forwards: “Durant and Iguodala seem to complement each other best. And come Aug. 28, they very well may be the starting forwards for the U.S. If you look at the pairing simplistically, it’s an offense-defense combination. But Durant has made great strides defensively over the last year, and Iguodala has the ability to put points on the board, both on the break and as a secondary scorer in the half court.”
HoopsWorld ranks the Thunder first in the Northwest: “It is almost impossible to pick against this team for so many different reasons, foremost among them is young stud, and MVP candidate, Kevin Durant.”
Ken Berger has the latest on the labor talks: “First, there seems to be agreement on both sides that something needs to be done to improve the competitive balance of the league. How to do it, however, remains hotly contested. The players believe many of the owners’ woes can be solved through broader revenue sharing, for which they included a plan in their proposal. The owners continue to believe that how the owners divvy up hundreds of millions in annual losses doesn’t solve the problem that expenses are too high. According to sources, the owners seem to be hunkered down in their pursuit of shorter contracts with less guaranteed money – and they appear to be focusing on those issues even more than reducing the 57 percent share of basketball-related income (BRI) that the players receive.”
A writer looks at the top 10 plays to come out of the DC area.
Darnell Mayberry is doing a tremendous job of breaking down OKC’s schedule: “December: Degree of difficulty: Cakewalk. Nine of the 16 opponents this month did not make the playoffs last season. A 10th, Cleveland, regressed with the loss of LeBron James, Shaquille O’Neal and Zydrunas Ilgauskas. And against the remaining six playoff teams, the Thunder went 9-8. But six of those eight losses were by an average of 5.6 points. It also should help OKC that four of the five toughest teams it faces this month — Denver, Phoenix, Dallas and Atlanta — will be at home.”
