Thursday Bolts – Give Thanks Edition

Hola campers. I’m back. I’m glad we all survived the Royce sabbatical.  It was rough on all involved. Where

was I? Fulfilling my duty as a Young and deer hunting with my family. This was year 62 for the Young’s to trek off to the woods of Southeastern Oklahoma and shoot at animals.Much thanks to Joe, J.G., Mrs. DT and everyone else for holding down the fort. I won’t leave you again. Well, not any time soon at least.

David Thorpe’s rookie rankings has Harden on the move up to four: “Thunder GM Sam Presti had the opportunity to draft Ricky Rubio or Tyreke Evans with the No. 3 pick. But Rubio had the buyout hanging over his head and wasn’t a sure thing to come play in OKC. And Evans, who needs the ball in his hands a lot to be effective, would be a tough fit with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, who have similar needs. Harden, meanwhile, was the rare scorer who had terrific passing skills and could impact games without taking lots of shots or dribbles. And so far in his rookie season, he has been true to that evaluation. He has an assist rate that puts him in the top 10 of the class, making him the only non-point guard in that group. He’s been a solid defender on a top-10 defensive team. And although his shooting numbers are down, he has the mechanics to get that back up soon.”

Harden’s up to 10 on SI’s: “After an uninspiring start to his rookie season in which he averaged 5.8 points through his first 11 games, Harden has averaged 17.25 in his last four. Harden hadn’t scored more than nine points in a game before he exploded for 24 against Orlando and 25 against Washington in the next game, outscoring the Wizards reserves single-handedly. Harden also connected on 10-of-13 three-pointers in those two games, including seven consecutive at one point, which tied a rookie record for the most consecutive three-pointers converted by a rookie since Michael Dickerson made eight straight for the Rockets in 1999.”

Still not ranked on NBA.com though.

I must say, this Traber tweet has some serious unintentional comedy: “Hey Simmon’s clones… Your boy got suspended from twitter. LOLOLOL. Perfect!!” Grammar: Not The Ultimate’s strong suit.

No PL&T today. Watch football instead. Even though the games aren’t all that exciting. Alas, it’s Thanksgiving and it’s what we do. Well, watch the first 18 minutes and nap for the rest of the game.

Hollinger’s power rankings has OKC at seven. SEVEN!

Darnell Mayberry on Ryan Bowen’s waiving: “Well, with injuries to reserve guards Kevin Ollie (knee), Shaun Livingston (knee) and Kyle Weaver (shoulder), the Thunder now has a pressing need. Starter Russell Westbrook is the only healthy point guard on the roster. And while James Harden is capable of manning the point position, and Kevin Durant and Jeff Green can bring the ball up the court, OKC would walk into Friday’s nationally televised game against Milwaukee without an experienced playmaker if a move is not made. That’s why I expect a move to be made soon, perhaps no later than Friday morning.”

FanHouse power rankings: “Solid bounce-back win at Utah on Tuesday, after playing the Washington Generals to the Lakers’ Globetrotters show on Sunday. Kevin Durant has been the leader on the court, and he’s taking the lead off it as well: check out his latest music video with teammates Jeff Green and James Harden.”

Kind of hard to believe Allen Iverson has retired. Really hard to believe actually. I’m thinking Europe is in his future or he’ll sign with a contender later this year. Some players talking about it, including Durant.

KD, thinking about Thanksgiving: “Growing up, Thanksgiving for me was having all my family be at my Aunt’s house. All the kids, there was about 20 of us, We’d play football in the front yard and wait for the food to be cooked. Either the Cowboys or Redskins would play and we’d watch that. Thanksgiving was always big in our family. As far as favorite Thanksgiving Day foods go, my Aunt used to cook this macaroni and cheese. It was unbelievable. Different than anything I’ve ever had before. I don’t know how to describe It except that it was extra cheesy.”