Friday Bolts – 8.20.10

Nenad Krstic was held overnight by police: “Prosecutor Costas Simitzoglou released Krstic pending an investigation into the brawl. Investigators from Greece’s sports violence squad will examine video footage of the game and take statements from witnesses before deciding whether to bring charges.”

Another thing: Chris Sheridan says Team USA coaches showed the fight to players and used it as a teaching moment. I wonder what KD and Russ were thinking as they watched it.

A preseason preview of the Thunder: “So what needs to be different for this Thunder squad? The key for the Thunder is  – win a title ASAP. The burden of expectation year in and year out play on the psyche of young players. Hearing every preseason and offseason you’re the team to take the West and the NBA title can corrode the team from the inside if they don’t achieve that level of success soon.”

Ziller ranks the performances during the brawl. Krstic comes in way last: “Krstic was clearly the Carmelo Anthony of this fight. I couldn’t find a single instance where Nenad swung at someone who was looking at him, instead choking and slapping at Fotsis from behind (15-second mark) and pounding the back of Sofo’s head (34-second mark). Then there’s the back-pedalling flight, no less wimpy than Melo’s moonwalk across Madison Square Garden. And finally, the coup de wuss: the chair toss, which misses the intended target by at least 10 feet, hits a guy in street clothes and leads to a second Krstic back-pedal. The only thing missing is a flop. I hope Krstic’s reputation never lives this down.”

I believe this picture really says it all. I might make a shirt with only this on it (via @mhaubs):

Chris Mannix with questions about Team USA: “Will Durant rise to the occasion? Durant has dodged questions about his role, but U.S. coaches have acknowledged that for this team to win, the Oklahoma City Thunder star will have to dominate. The NBA’s reigning scoring champ needs to be a scorer, rebounder and facilitator as well as a vocal leader on an inexperienced roster. The pressure will be on, too. Anything short of a gold medal means the U.S. will have to qualify for the Olympics next summer, when the entire roster could be detonated if the NBA is involved in a work stoppage.”

Mo Pete is fighting some legal battle: “Michigan State alumnus Morris Peterson of the Oklahoma City Thunder joined current and former athletes from several sports today to tell a state House committee they oppose the current version of “right of publicity” legislation. They say the measure would make it too easy for video game and souvenir manufacturers to use their likenesses without athletes’ permission.”

Dime on the energy guy: “For Serge Ibaka, the rising 2nd-year big man of the Oklahoma City Thunder, that means blocking seven shots in Game 2 of OKC’s first-round playoff series against the Lakers. Or forcing Tim Duncan into crucial missed shots and turnovers down the stretch of a March game against San Antonio. It’s having a cult-like following among OKC fans who give him nicknames like “The Sergeon,” “Dr. Nasty” and “Chewblocka.””

I think I have to agree with Darnell Mayberry on this one: “That’s not taking away anything from the drummers. They’re not the problem. They actually had moments of quality music last season. It’s the idea that’s rotten. It’s as if the man who came up with this idea had never seen an NBA game. The Thunder Drummers descend from the nosebleeds at the most inopportune times. And nothing, I mean nothing, sucked the energy out of the building like a timeout with these guys on the court. There were games in which the timing couldn’t have been worse. Thunder down one. 34.5 seconds left. OKC ball. Let’s send out the Thunder Drummers. That’ll get everyone pumped. No, it actually does the exact opposite. It leads to folks sitting on their hands, wondering what they just experienced.”