Tuesday Bolts – 10.12.10

John Krolik of PBT on KD playing multiple positions: “According to 82games.com, Durant played 6% of his minutes at power forward last season. During that limited time, Durant averaged 41.0 points, 11.3 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per 48 minutes, and had a PER of 36.4 when he played at the power forward position. The sample size is far too small to be significant, but those are some promising numbers. Durant probably won’t play more than 10-15 minutes a game at power forward because of how much energy he would have to expend on the defensive end, but the Thunder will cause matchup nightmares when they set up on offense and Durant is on the low blocks or mid-post.”

Chris Silva on OKC’s versatility:  “Breaking down every position on the court during practice is one  thing. The coach is asking you a question, you’re giving an answer. The  play has stopped and you’re literally walking it through. We’ve seen  head coach Scott Brooks quiz Westbrook on the playbook toward the end of  practices. But knowing where everyone should be during a game, all the  while you’re reacting to defenses, players are trying to get into  position, and you also have to be cognizant of the shot clock, is a  completely different beast. Time speeds up. As coaches say, you have to  read and react. And that sort of thing, Westbrook says, only comes with  more repetition.”

The starting 2-guard spot is up for grabs. So who are you going with, Thabo or Harden?

I’ll be chatting on ESPN.com at 2 p.m. CT for the Daily Dime Northwest preview. So do join.

Royce Young of CBS Sports on Durant playing all five spots:  “What’s the benefit of this for the Thunder? For starters, matchups.  How does an opponent go about lining up against a group of Durant, James  Harden, Green, Ibaka and Cole Aldrich? Or what about a linuep with  Russell Westbrook, Harden, Green, Ibaka, Durant? Or the fact that Scott  Brooks could potentially flip Durant from the point to the post on  alternating possessions. That makes this Thunder team a tough group to  gameplan for.”

I forgot to welcome in my other new TrueHoop brethren in the Heat Index.

Oklahoma City (not the team this time) is kind of kicking butt. And a lot of it is because of the Thunder. A story in the USA Today talks about how OKC is growing: “Former Hollywood  producer Neal Nordlinger, raising funds for a technology venture a couple of years ago, was stunned when a partner suggested locating the start-up here in Oklahoma’s capital and leaving Los Angeles behind: “I said: ‘Are you blankety-blank crazy? Oklahoma City? It’s a cow town.’ ” That was then. Now Nordlinger is running a software firm here and preaching the virtues of the heartland — low costs, unclogged streets, friendly people. “It’s a dream here,” he says. “The selling price of a house here would not be the down payment on a house in L.A. … People in L.A. do something for you because there’s something in it for them. Here, they genuinely want to help you succeed.”

Some new pictures of the black KDIII. It looks pretty nice.

Road construction around the Ford Center (or whatever it’s called) is still bad and it doesn’t sound like it’ll be finished by the start of the season.

There’s a little DT online 2K11 basketball league forming. If you play XBOX and want in, post your XBOX name or add markallen0.

Also, you may have noticed the Bolts logo got a nice refresh for the season. Big thanks again to Colin Butler for helping out. Stellar work.