Thursday Bolts – 4.9.09
Ball Don’t Lie Behind the Box Score: “First, the “112.” Because the Thunder just continue to grow, game in and game
out. Kevin Durant’s shot wasn’t falling, in relative terms (9-20, 2-6 from behind the arc), so he took it to the line 12 times and finished with 31 points. Russell Westbrook was using his dribble to set up his … shot? 14 and 11 assists for this firebrand, who did turn it over five times. Jeff Green (24 points) is savvy beyond his years. And I’m not saying that, as many do, because he’s slow. He’s slow and savvy and young and awesome. Shaun Livingston had six points, two rebounds, three assists, a turnover and two steals off the bench in 17 minutes, and though he had no chance trying to guard Chauncey Billups, considering how he’s spent his last two April 8ths, I’d say this was a step forward. And the Thunder lost. Because they’re young, and the Nuggets are not.”
David Aldridge has 10 things that would help the NBA: “It would be good for the league if Blake Griffin goes to Oklahoma City. Obviously, having Griffin — can I say his name now? — play professionally 40 minutes from where he starred in college would be huge for the Thunder’s bottom line. Oklahoma City’s management team has astutely built a promising nucleus, and needs a space-eater inside. But Griffin to OKC would also benefit the league by assuring that Kevin Durant, a superstar in waiting, gets the kind of exposure he deserves as he enters the meat of his career. Durant’s game is hellacious, but if the Thunder keep losing 50 games a year, nobody’s going to notice.”
ESPN has this “clip reel” thing that’s got a bunch of Thunder links and videos and such. Very neato: “In our new issue, we have a feature on the Oklahoma City Thunder—potentially the Western Conference’s new “it” team a few years down the road—which you can read by clicking here. Ric Bucher’s words are epic, to be sure, but sometimes when reading a story about something that hasn’t quite happened yet, you want a few more resources on the squad, both print and video, right? That’s where this comes in.”
The best Kevin Durant clips on the web (according to some guy): “The GM of the Thunder, Mr. Sam Presti, is a Spurs guy (RC Buford, the leader of the Spurs, might be the most underrated exec in all of sports) and he’s building a pretty good team in OK City. The number one dude is Kevin Durant, a ridiculous offensive talent who could be a consensus bar debate answer to “ten best players in the Association” in three or four years. This Thursday, we’re dropping a feature about the Thunder’s future (can you imagine if they nab OK boy Blake Griffin?) which you should read. In the meantime, it’s time to evaluate the best KD clips on the world wide web.”
George Karl on the Thunder: “I love the nucleus of their team,” Karl said. “It’s a young team that’s going to have growing pains. But (Kevin) Durant is going to lead the league in scoring someday. (Jeff) Green, a lot of people compare him to Scottie Pippen, and the reason is because he’s fundamentally sound in almost every area. And (Russell) Westbrook, if you don’t stay in front of him, he’s extremely dangerous … (Nenad) Krstic is playing well. They seem to have some more confidence in him. (Thabo) Sefolosha, I think they’re trying to turn him into a Bruce Bowen-type of player, and I think he’s capable of handling that situation … I think they’re in a great place. And I read that they have like 47 draft picks in the next two years. They’ve put themselves in a good place. And not many people know about it, but Oklahoma City is kind of a tough place to play.”
Roundball Mining Company: “There you have it. An uninspiring win against a scrappy team (note I said scrappy, not crappy although their record would suggest otherwise). My final thoughts are that Nene was absolutely terrible on defense. He never stepped out to challenge a shooter when he had to and he was soft on screens. Birdman blocked a bunch of shots (seven), but went after a bunch of other shots that opened the lane up for offensive rebounds. The Thunder were only credited with 13 offensive boards, but I guarantee you that number is low. Once again the transition defense was nearly nonexistent.”
FanHouse power rankings: “Malik Rose “doesn’t think” the Thunder are packing it in — and I “don’t think” he has a clue.”
Dime has its top 10 D-League players and Gary Forbes is No. 6: “Forbes is in elite company in UMass history. He and Julius Erving are the only two players to record 1,000 points in two season or less. Now the 6-7 forward is the picture of consistency. He’s good for 18 points and 8 boards pretty much every time he’s on the court. Forbes is the kind of player who gets his no matter what’s going on around him – on the road this year, he’s shooting 50.4% from the floor and a sky-high 47.6% from three.”
Interesting note from Hardwood Paroxysm: “So Griffin’s going pro. Surprise surprise. Now the fun part begins. There’s a widespread assumption that he’ll go #1. I’m not so sure. Look at the teams at the top of the lottery. The Kings have Shock and Hawes and need something to undo the horror that is Udrih’s contract. Plus if they don’t take Rubio, Tom Ziller will hold shiva. Now, Tom told me that when you’re a team that wins 17 games, you take the BPA approach. But you have pieces to build around there. I’m not certain if Griffin is the direction they want to head.” And he says obviously the Clippers are front court loaded already. So could there be a possibility of OKC getting say the second or third pick and still have a chance of landing Blake?
Shaun Livingston almost signed with Denver: “Coach George Karl confirmed Wednesday the Nuggets late last month went after free-agent Shaun Livingston. And, for a time, they were very optimistic about landing him. “I got the feeling it was pretty close,” said Karl, who said Denver, which signed point guard Jason Hart on March 3, came in second for the former top prospect who is trying to come back from a devastating knee injury. Shortly after the Nuggets had courted Livingston, he ended up signing March 31 with Oklahoma City, which fell 122-112 to Denver on Wednesday night at the Pepsi Center. “It was an option,” Livingston said of the Nuggets. “We looked at Denver. They were probably up there because of the opportunity to play in the playoffs.”
Hmm, I know which one I pick: “What’s worse at this point? Playing with more energy but still being incapable of executing down the stretch like the Thunder has shown in its last two? Or not showing much fight whatsoever and losing by 35 and 18 on your home court as OKC did in the previous two? I think we all know the answer, but both are bad to watch. The former perhaps tougher because it’s the same thing time and time again.”
Berry Tramel: “To the Thunder fan experience. The Thunder gradually has raised the game-night presentation all season, and the giving away of three new cars Tuesday night was a nice thank you to the fans who have supported them well.”
