Wednesday Bolts – 12.17.11

Ben Golliver of CBSSports.com says OKC is a schedule loser: “Boston, with 57 wins, and Oklahoma City, with 56 wins, both were among the NBA’s elite last year. However, both drew exceedingly difficult home-and-home opponents, likely by virtue of their television-friendly teams. Boston plays the defending champion Dallas Mavericks, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Thunder twice each. The Thunder is set to play the Celtics, the Miami Heat and the Orlando Magic twice each. If Tyson Chandler and/or Dwight Howard change teams prior to the start of the season that would probably be appreciated in Massachusetts and Oklahoma. Both Boston and Oklahoma City, despite being well above .500 last year, have differentials of zero thanks to the tough scheduling.”

Bill Simmons ranking 2-guards: “Look at that landscape. Our best four shooting guards are over 30 years old; only Wade still qualifies as being “unquestionably in his prime.” I watched Gordon in person for three years — he’s the no. 2 candidate to make a gigantic, Westbrook-like leap this season. (No. 1: John Wall; no. 3: James Harden.)”

Defense? Important.

A really bad trade idea from SLAM — Harden, Maynor and Robinson for Al Jefferson: “Harden is a really important piece in the Thunder’s offense, but they need a big man who can score. Serge Ibaka, Kendrick Perkins and Nick Collison are all strong defensively, but cannot be relied on as scorers. Jefferson, who averaged 18.5 points per game last season, would take a lot of pressure off of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook with his ability to put up points in the paint.”

21 can’t-miss games for the NBA season.

Darnell Mayberry on what he thinks is the toughest stretch for the Thunder: “Jan. 17 through Feb. 10. During that stretch, the Thunder will play eight of nine games on the road. Four of those games will be against playoff teams from a year ago.”

ESPN 5-on-5 on the schedule — Rob Mahoney of The Two Man Game: “The up-and-coming juggernauts of both conferences play each other only once this season, a fact that qualifies as a minor tragedy. Our nation weeps. All signs point to both the Bulls and the Thunder building on their already phenomenal successes of last season, and we’ll be treated to a nationally televised collision course almost an entire season in the making. Get hyped.”

Ology.com tried to figure out how Clay Bennett is rich: “Bennett also leads Professional Basketball Club, LLC, which is the group that purchased the Thunder. That’s lot of sh*t to put on a resumé! But we have NO IDEA HOW HE MADE IT THIS FAR! Where is his money coming from? Can some more powerful people help us figure this out? How did Bennett buy the Seattle franchise in 2006 for $325 million? How did he avoid the wrath of the NBA after executing a franchise move from Seattle to Oklahoma City that was as shady as Bennett himself, resulting in a lawsuit that alleged Bennett never intended to keep the SuperSonics in Seattle?”

ESPN LA has their can’t-miss games: “Between their steady improvement, the Kevin Durant-Russell Westbrook-James Harden core and collectively young legs well suited for a compressed season, the Western Conference championship strikes me the Thunder’s for the taking. On the flip side, the Lakers are 4-9 against OKC (postseason included) since their emergence as a playoff team. To reestablish their championship mojo, maintaining success against a legit contender is a must.”