Tuesday Bolts: 8.1.17

OKC will host Australia’s Melbourne United for a preseason matchup on October 8: “This preseason, the Thunder will welcome an opponent from Down Under. Melbourne United, a team from Australia’s National Basketball League, will play an exhibition game in Oklahoma City, The Oklahoman confirmed on Monday.”

Melbourne United’s Chris Goulding discusses facing the Thunder:

Rockets GM Daryl Morey isn’t over the MVP race just yet: In a phone interview Saturday, Rockets GM Daryl Morey raised questions about the MVP voting process, which involves a panel of 100 media members casting their votes at the end of the regular season. “I don’t know if this is a good process,” Morey told The Crossover. “The ones that are decided by players or executives or media, they all have their strengths and weaknesses. I honestly don’t think there’s a good process. You could argue for eliminating the awards altogether.”

Rick Fox is recruiting Steven Adams to join his eSports team: “Fox is the owner of team Echo Fox, a team that competes in Major League gaming … and when we got him out at LAX and told him Adams is a huge gamer, Rick went all Jerry West. “He’s got time, I’ll talk to him.” Rick’s logic? A big time NBA guy like Adams is just what the gaming community needs to bring in even more eyes to the sport.”

Jonathan Tjarks looks at the inefficiency of Chris Paul: “He is so fundamentally sound that he runs up the margins against bad players better than anyone, but there are no bad players the deeper you advance in the playoffs, particularly at point guard. The second-round series between the Thunder and the Clippers in 2014, when Paul guarded Russell Westbrook, was a perfect example of that dynamic. Oklahoma City won a six-game classic remembered mostly for its dramatic road comeback in Game 5, when Paul made two brutal mistakes in the final seconds of regulation that wound up costing Los Angeles the game. While it would be unfair to single out one or two plays as the difference in such a tightly contested series, Westbrook clearly got the better of the matchup.”

Tom Haberstroh counts nine teams to watch as potential superteams: “So, who is most likely to assemble the next powerhouse to challenge the reigning-champ Golden State Warriors? Joining up with ESPN’s Bobby Marks with an eye toward 2018 free agency, we look at the three primary models to building a superteam. This list looks beyond current contenders Cleveland, Houston and Oklahoma City — each of whom already has at least two superstars — to the next generation of potential superteams.”

Jeff Green discusses his heart problems in The Players Tribune: “Following a routine NBA physical with the Boston Celtics, I was diagnosed with a dangerous enlargement of the valve to my aorta, the main blood vessel in the body.  Most people only find out about this condition after the aorta ruptures, which is usually fatal. The Celtics doctor found the top aortic valve surgeon in America, Dr. Lars Svensson, who performed open-heart surgery on me in January 2012.”