Thursday Bolts – 8.29.13
Berry Tramel on stability: “Miami lost Mike Miller to Memphis — the Heat amnestied Miller, thus making him a free agent — but otherwise returns its top 12 players. Other than Miller, the player with the most minutes from last season now gone from the roster is Josh Harrellson, who played 31 minutes all season. The Heat will miss Miller, and the Thunder will miss Martin more. But both teams are patching, not filling. Both teams are plugging, not retooling. And it’s the same with San Antonio, which lost Stephen Jackson (cut before the playoffs) and Gary Neal but otherwise has the same squad that could have, should have, won the NBA title.”
Lang Whitaker of NBA.com on best NBA tweeters: “1) JR Smith, because nobody is as honest and transparent and funny. 2) Metta World Peace, because his Twitter account is like a box of chocolates — you never know what you’re going to get. 3) Kevin Durant, because he interacts with fans and isn’t afraid to admit his feelings when he’s upset or vulnerable. It’s cool to see such a huge superstar be so open.”
An email from Chris H.: “Fun fact (I’m bored): On the night of the series premiere of “Breaking Bad,” The Thunder was 8-34 and also in its first season. I was going to get real in depth on how Walt’s empire basically grew at the same trajectory as the Thunder’s increasing success, but then I realized that Walt’s empire is currently crumbling down upon itself. And then I got scared that the Peake would have “Perkins-berg” spray-painted all around the concourse come time for the season opener, and I thought better of it. Carry on. Nothing to see here…”
Sean Highkin of USA Today on jerseys: “Unfortunately, the Thunder’s jerseys are pretty bad. They look pretty generic in any color scheme, and the dark blue alternate tries to go for a retro feel with a team that has no history prior to 2008. It feels cheap. Pick your poison, I guess.”
Steven Adams says he’d cook beef wellington if he was on Iron Chef.
