Thursday Bolts – 2.5.09

Statiscally, the Thunder are one of the most improved offenses and defenses. But there’s a reason: “There are three

teams that appear twice above. The Thunder are on the right end of both lists. They’ve improved both offensively and defensively, thanks in part to how horrible they were early in the season. They had nowhere to go but up.”

Some nice words from the Nuggets about Oklahoma City: “I love it here,” [J.R. Smith] said. “This is a great city with great people. Every since I played here in high school the fans have always embraced me. I really love it here.” “I love it here,” Anthony said of playing in Oklahoma City. “This is a great city with great people.”

Hoops World on the rumored John Salmons deal: “Salmons would be a solid choice for the Thunder to fill their one remaining hole in the starting lineup, at shooting guard. He may be better suited to the small forward position – owned by Kevin Durant – but like Durant can play both positions. He can shoot, pass, and score, something that would be a great asset on the Thunder.”

Why Portland should regret passing on KD: “And while the eyes and ears of Rip City constantly lie on Oden’s ill knee, Durant has been a rock so far in his career. He played 80 out of 82 games last season and has only missed one contest all of this year. Needless to say, Blazer fans wouldn’t have to worry about a guy being in and out of the lineup every other game, and that’s not to mention the long-term ramifications of micro fracture surgery.”

ESPN’s Award Watch: “Oklahoma City started the season 3-29, but is 8-8 over its past 16 games. As Durant began to show vast improvement in his all-around game, the team began to take off. With KD, who averaged 27.8 points and 8.8 rebounds in January, leading the way and combining with

and

to form the nucleus, this team will be dangerous in a couple of years.”

Another Michael Phelps column that for some reason chose Kevin Durant as an example: “How is it possible that this sort of thing doesn’t happen to every athlete, actor or celebrity under the age of 25? Facebook has not only enabled us to systematically organize, sort and comment on embarrassing pictures, it has created a situation where our generation feels obligated to photograph any embarrassing act. Now add this tendency to the terrifyingly intrusive, celebrity-obsessed culture in this country and you have a situation where any transgression will certainly be chronicled for the world to see. So where’s the picture of Kevin Durant smoking the Pineapple Express cross joint? Where’s Hilary Duff laying in a pool of her own vomit? Where’s Shia LeBeouf passed out drunk, with stuffed soggy French fries up his nose and a lit cigarette wedged between his lips?”

The Daily Kansas would rather have Mario Chalmers over Russell Westbrook. And I’m sure there’s no favortism there: “So did Chalmers get jobbed? Probably not. But if The Brew owned an NBA team, we’d definitely take the cheaper Chalmers over Westbrook and his $3.4 million salary. After all, these are tough economic times.”

BDL Behind the Box Score: “The Thunder are listening to Scott Brooks, they’re listening to assistant coach Ron Adams, and they’re putting the effort in. And sometimes, even against a team missing arguably its most important player, that’s still not enough.”

What if there was no draft and players just played for their hometown? Hint – OKC’s team wouldn’t be very good: “Essentially this team has 4 Guards playing right now, which leaves much to be desired in terms of size, rebounding and defense. And only two of the guards are good and can create their own shot, brewer has suspect range and Evans is a bench player with limited offense. These guys would get murdered on the block every game as Thomas is nowhere the player he was a couple of years ago and he is undersized for his position.”

Fun player’s poll from SI: “Which NBA players thinks he’s a lot better than he really is? Dahntay Jones (No. 20 pick, Celtics) and Perkins (No. 27, Grizzlies) were drafted in 2003 and immediately traded for each other…. Perkins and Stevenson went from high school to the NBA…. Upon signing with the Cavaliers in ’05 Damon Jones said, “I think I’m one of the top five shooters in the world.” He averaged 6.6 points over three seasons before being dealt to the Bucks.”