Tuesday Bolts – 2.16.10

Portland has either completed a trade with the Clippers or is very close to it. Marcus Camby to the Blazers for Steve Blake and Travis Outlaw. Interesting deal. OKC was sort of rumored to be looking at Camby and it’s obvious the Blazers are still trying to make a push.

Tom Haberstroh of HoopData with another great piece: “Oklahoma City’s defense just gets better and better. As crazy as it sounds, this might be the best defensive unit in the NBA at this very moment. The team has shaved off seven points off their defensive efficiency since end of last season which is 2.3 points more than the next most improved defense. In my opinion, this is the story of the season.”

Rob Mahoney with some thoughts on All-Star Weekend: “Russell Westbrook spent the second half of the Rookie game gunning for Kevin Durant’s scoring record, but Chris Bosh/Patrick Ewing pulled Russ with a few minutes remaining in the fourth quarter and the record still in reach. The Durantula, who was coaching the rookies, met the move with standing applause. But after just about talking Ewing’s ear off begging to get back in, Westbrook finally broke him. Some impressive plays followed, but Durant’s record is still intact.”

I don’t know much about this sort of thing, but Oklahoma City is one of the best “bets” in the league: “The Atlanta Hawks and Oklahoma City Thunder are the top two moneymakers in the NBA with identical 32-19 ATS records. Both teams boast winning records, with Atlanta second in the Southeast at 33-18 and Oklahoma City sitting in third in the Northwest with a 30-21 mark.”

David Aldridge with an excellent piece to help you try and understand the labor situation.

I guess Iceland hasn’t heard about the move yet. Kevin Durant’s jersey is featured in an Icelandic Vodafone ad… but not a Thunder jersey. But hey, KD has gone worldwide it looks like. (h/t Hlynur)

NBA.com has a new set of power rankings out and OKC is six: “We could write about Kevin Durant until our keyboard breaks, but the Thunder were the best defensive team in the league between Christmas and the All-Star break, allowing just 97.1 points per 100 possessions as they went 16-7. They put their six-game winning streak on the line against the new-look Mavs on Tuesday.”