Thursday Bolts – 4.29.10

Jenni Carlson with a nice story on the Thunder developing our community: “The Thunder has made folks feel united in a way that this state has never experienced. You could sense it in the late-game sing-a-long that broke out Saturday night at the Ford Center when they played “Sweet Caroline.” You could hear it in the roar that went up when this team came out for warm-ups before the first two home playoff games. You could see it on the streets outside the arena after the home games. Bricktown became a rolling block party Saturday night. Folks hung out of cars high-fiving pedestrians. Fans cheered. Horns blared. A railing that runs along Reno Avenue between Rooster’s and Starbucks became a prime location. Fans stood on that railing and were able high-five pedestrians on the sidewalk and motorists on the street. One out-of-town visitor said Thunder fans were Red Sox like.”

Ron Artest on his performance in the series: “I don’t care,” he told FanHouse when asked if he felt as if his defense was being overlooked. “All those guys who kill me (in the media) can kiss my (butt). I’d tell them to their face, but I don’t get a chance because I’m not worried about it. “They talk about my offense, but it doesn’t even matter because my defense is so unbelievable. Who cares about offense?”

Time for a Russell Westbrook comeback: “Russell Westbrook surely must have known Kobe Bryant was coming for him. Now he has two days to decide on a comeback. After all, Westbrook grew up just south of Los Angeles and starred at UCLA. The Oklahoma City Thunder point guard was a witness to the Lakers’ three NBA titles with Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal at the dawn of the last decade, all won on steely determination as much as talent.”

Man, Bango the Milwaukee Bucks mascot is getting a ton of national attention for his backflip dunk off a ladder. If only Rumble had made his…

Former Thunder great Matt Harpring will officially retire after this season.

This story is weird: “Los Angeles Lakers star Derek Fisher wants to make one thing clear — he’s no Waffle House brawler. Reports surfaced yesterday that the Lakers guard was involved in a fight at a Waffle House in Oklahoma City last week. But Derek told TMZ the full story, and says the only truth is he was at a Waffle House — a year ago! He says the brawl went down when two dudes began scrapping over Derek’s autograph. Derek says he was “an innocent bystander,” and cops eventually broke up the fight.”

Darius of FB&G with a brilliant post on the triangle offense: “Spacing and Timing. The Triangle is an offense that, at it’s heart, is built off of two distinct principles – spacing and timing. Against the Thunder, both have been disrupted all too frequently. The Lakers spacing has been thrown off by the Thunder’s bigs fronting the post and their sagging perimeter defenders that have subsequently cut down the passing angles that LA’s wings have to make their entries into the bigs. The timing of the Lakers offense has also been thrown off for these reasons.”

This isn’t Phil Jackson’s last year coaching, but maybe his last in LA.