Tuesday Bolts – 1.27.09

• Guess who’s not the worst in the league anymore: The Thunder are now a half game in front of

Washington who is 9-35 on the season, while OKC is an awesome 10-35.

• OKC has moved up to No. 26 in Marc Stein’s most recent rankings: “Why does Durant have no All-Star shot when Bosh and Granger are seen as locks from sub-.500 teams? OKC is making tangible, as is KD’s, but the Raps and Pacers are on the playoff fringe. There’s a difference.”

• Thunder vs. Nets was Ball Don’t Lie’s game to pay attention to last night: “While the defense rested and Devin Harris grimaced, the Nets lost five in a row before beating the hapless Grizzlies on Saturday, and while I submit that the Thunder aren’t exactly much of a challenge to behold, they can beat you. Any of you mugs. Right now. Sure, they’ve only won nine times. In 44 tries. But they try, now, the team defends much better under Scotty Brooks, and he’s pretty close to earning a full-fledged head coaching spot, instead of this interminable purgatory. Remember, “purgatory” doesn’t mean “hellish.” It just means “interim head coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder.” Devin Harris and Russell Westbrook. I’m down.”

• And now, BDL’s Behind the Box: “The Thunder nearly found a way to give it up, entering the fourth quarter up 82-54 and finishing the game with a nine-point lead, but a win is a win, especially over a team like the Nets. That’s not a joke. New   Jersey can play, and the Thunder will take what they can get. Former Net Nenad Krstic (11 points, six rebounds, two blocks in 18 minutes) provided a first half spark, the entire team seemed willing to make the extra pass, and Oklahoma City truly looked like a bunch of world-beaters for the first three-quarters. And I didn’t see much of the fourth quarter while I watched other games. So, as far as I’m concerned, the Thunder are about to peel off nine consecutive wins. He may have been hurting, but I credit OKC for the way Devin Harris finished with 10 points on 17 shots, as rookie Russell Westbrook did a great job keeping the should-be All-Star starter in front of him.”

• NBA recognizes teams for season-ticket sales: “The teams this year eclipsing the 10,000 full-season-ticket sales mark are the Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, Dallas Mavericks, Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers, New Orleans Hornets, Phoenix Suns, Portland Trail Blazers, Oklahoma City Thunder, Toronto Raptors and Utah Jazz. New to the list this season are the Celtics, Bulls, Hornets, Blazers and Thunder. Dropping off the 10,000 full-season sales list are the Cleveland Cavaliers, New York Knicks, San Antonio Spurs and Miami Heat.”

• Fantasy – would Kevin Durant be the third player picked if you could fantasy re-draft?: “Durant, to me, is by far the most interesting player in fantasy right now. Certainly, you’d take LeBron over Durant in a heartbeat, right? Maybe, but Durant plays more minutes, gets more rebounds, is a fantastic free throw shooter and provides you with positive value in every single category (assuming your league, like the Rater, ignores turnovers). OK, but you’d take Chris Paul over Durant 100 times out of 100, yes? Well … maybe, but Paul doesn’t hit very many 3-pointers, and Durant has been a deadeye shooter from long range all season. Oh, and Paul doesn’t provide you with the blocked shots Durant does.”

• Sean Deveney of Sporting News says Blake Griffin would be a perfect fit for the Thunder. Well, duh: “If ever a team was desperate to win the lottery, it is the Thunder this year. Griffin is a sure-thing No. 1 pick, and would have been a top 3 pick if he had come out last year. He is exactly the player the Thunder need — a tough, versatile big man. Scouts say picture Karl Malone, only more athletic. A starting five of Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant, Jeff Green, Griffin and Nenad Krstic looks promising. The fact that Griffin is an Oklahoma kid only makes him a more perfect fit for the Thunder.”

• Two really, really bad points from Basketbawful’s Worst of the Night: “This game was nowhere near as close as the 9-point margin would lead you to believe, as the Nets got their butts kicked up and down the floor for the first 40 minutes of the game, trailing by 28 with 7 minutes to play. Only a furious rally by New Jersey made the game look somewhat respectable, but you know it’s bad when you outscore the opposition by 19 in the 4th quarter and still lose by 9. P.S. THEY WERE PLAYING THE THUNDER … Klahoma City fans: Their team stinks all year, and when they finally put on a clinic to become only the second-worst team in pro ball, a mere 5,000 people were there to see it due to bad weather. That faint sound you hear in the distance is the basketball fans in Seattle cursing in unison.” *NOTE: 1) The “They were playing the Thunder!” stuff really doesn’t mean anything anymore. If you’d been paying attention, OKC’s playing pretty stinking good ball right now and 2) There were 18,264 tickets sold for tonight’s game. Seems like he just tries to whisper the “because of bad weather” line. If I-40 didn’t look like the Devon Energy Ice Rink, then a solid 18,000+ would have been there. Geez.