Tuesday Bolts – 12.1.09
Daily Thunder shirts are officially on sale. They’re going fast so you best hurry. Again, if you don’t get one today,
no fear, more will be along. They are available in store and online. Just click the picture on the right and it’ll take you right there.
Kyle Weaver and Kevin Ollie both had successful surgery yesterday. Weaver will be out a minimum of four months and Ollie up to four weeks.
Marc Stein has OKC at No. 13 in his latest power rankings: “Morey after Houston inflicted Oklahoma City’s fourth home loss: “Huge W against vastly improved OKC [team] playing like a top-10 [team].” Top-15 is more like it, but add him to the (growing) list of Thunder admirers.”
NBA.com has OKC at 13 as well: “With Sunday’s loss to the Rockets, the Thunder failed to put together a three-game winning streak for the third time. They remain pretty inconsistent on both sides of the ball and on the glass. They gave up 23 offensive boards to Houston.”
SI’s power rankings has OKC at, you guess it, 13: “Another sign of the Thunder’s rapid maturation: they are winning despite a rash of injuries. With Nenad Krstic, Nick Collison, Shaun Livingston, Kevin Ollie and Kyle Weaver on the sidelines, OKC won by double digits in Utah and wiped out Milwaukee at home. Of slight concern is the long range shooting of Kevin Durant, who has made just 24.3 percent of his three-pointers this season.”
HoopsWorld has OKC at 14: “The Thunder looked like a playoff team Friday on their national TV spotlight against the Bucks.”
Some interesting notes from the Thunder-Rockets game: “In time, with Durant at the helm, Oklahoma City will be good. Making the playoffs in the competitive Western Conference is within the realm of possibility. Don’t be surprised if that happens sooner, rather than later. Thing is, he needs help, something he didn’t have much of against the Rockets.”
Nice look at Serge Ibaka on an up and comers list: “So now you’re a huge fan of his and you’re pulling for him to become a star, but you might not have seen him play yet. So, let’s talk about how he plays. Well, everything positive I said about Amir Johnson applies here: he protects the paint, runs the floor hard, crashes the boards, and can score around the basket. He makes his presence known. Plus, he has a jump shot! And, again, he’s only 19. The potential here is ludicrous. Already, there’s a lot to love about how he plays on both ends of the court. Imagine him in five years. Can’t wait.”
Shaun Livingston and Nick Collison practiced yesterday. Collison should see some time tomorrow night against Philly.
I really liked this feature on Mike Wilks: “It wasn’t to be for Wilks, the 5-foot-10 point guard who the Thunder signed Thursday out of desperation. Wilks played his college ball at Rice, went undrafted in 2001 and has spent the past eight years journeying the country in search of a job.”
Improv Everywhere strikes again, this time at a Knicks game.
Remember, SHIRTS!
