Tuesday Bolts – 1.12.10
As you’ve probably heard, NBA Jam is coming back and this time you get to vote for who you want to represent OKC. However, there is no Serge Ibaka on the list, which is a giant sized bummer. He would have boom-shakalaka’d like no one before him.
Commenter Vega, visionary: (On Oct. 1): “I guarantee that New Orleans will ship Hilton Armstrong off to Sacramento or OKC. Put it in the Smart Thoughts or something so that it will officially be on the record.” And what happened? Hilton Armstrong was shipped to Sacto. Points for you sir.
Dustbury on the game: “‘Shot down’ defined: (1) Chris Duhon got only three points. (2) Danilo Gallinari didn’t score at all, though he did reel in 11 rebounds. (3) The Knicks as a whole shot only 38.2 percent, (4) and 21.4 percent — 6 of 28 — from the three-point line. New York was competitive on the boards, recording 46 rebounds (the Thunder had 47), but the Thunder did a better job of keeping a lid on the basket, Nate Robinson’s 19 points off the bench notwithstanding.”
Seth from Posting and Toasting: “The defense against Durant was curious, to say the least. D’Antoni started with the 6’1” Chris Duhon guarding Durantula, then doubled whenever he caught the ball. Not only did this leave every other Thunderperson open for easy makes and offensive rebounds, but the Knicks couldn’t even double right. Durant went to the line 10 times in the first half, and went 13-16 from the stripe on the game. Wilson Chandler’s defense against him was underwhelming and foul-prone, and I wish he got more time to face Durant one-on-one.”
Power! Dime has OKC at 13: “Breaking news: Kevin Durant is a scoring machine. In his last 11 games, he’s dropped 30-plus points nine times.”
Stein at 12: “The word for Durant’s past 10 games is ridiculous: 32.7 ppg on 57.4 percent shooting and 47.1 percent on 3s. In related news, OKC has quadrupled its win total from last season’s 5-31 mark at the same point.”
SI at 11: “Further proof Kevin Durant is becoming a complete player: The soon-to-be-All-Star/Olympian has been a better rebounder this season. The NBA’s No. 4-ranked scorer (28.7 points) leads the Thunder in rebounding (7.0), up half a board from last season.”
NBA.com at 11: “Kevin Durant is on one of those runs. He’s averaging 32.7 points on a scorching 57 percent shooting over the last 10 games. The Thunder are just 2-9 against the other seven playoff teams in the West and play two of them (Spurs and Mavs) this week.”
KD, still in NBA.com’s Race to the MVP at six: “Here’s all you need to know about Durant: The Thunder won 23 games last season and 20 the year before. It currently sits at [21] wins with a [21]-16 record. Durant is averaging 28.4 points and 7.0 rebounds. Does any other proof need to be put forth?”
Austin Burton of Dime names his “All-Foxhole Team“: “When I interviewed Kevin Durant for his Dime #51 cover story over the summer, he told me that Thabo was the heart and soul of the Thunder. The designated defensive stopper and one of the oldest guys on the team that actually plays, Thabo can stick anybody from Danny Granger to Kobe Bryant to Rodney Stuckey from game-to-game without a double-team, using his quick feet, active hands and long limbs to make them work for everything they get. While he isn’t much of a scoring threat, you hardly see OKC playing in crunch-time without Thabo on the floor.”
