Wednesday Bolts – 4.4.12

Bill Simmons on KD’s MVP campaign: “It’s hard for me to believe that any basketball team would be better off with someone else taking more shots than a once-in-a-generation scorer who was built to score points the same way sharks are built to eat. Come playoff time, when it truly matters? I have a feeling Durant will be taking back a few of them. But the philosophy behind that sacrifice is really interesting. At least for now, the more shots Westbrook gets, the more aggressive he becomes … and when Westbrook is flying around and doing his thing, that’s when Oklahoma City becomes abjectly frightening. I love that Durant sees and appreciates this.”

Brendan Haywood say all NBA players aren’t really tough: “Well I guess he’s got something no one else has. Like I said it is a physical game and sometimes guys get testy with elbows, throwing forearms. No one throws any punches out there. NBA guys? We are not about that. It’s all WWE to us. We’re fake tough guys. No one throws any real punches. It’s unfortunate Stan feels that way. I know he has to protect his guy, but it’s just not the case. No one has any footage of it I guess except him, so unless he has Patrick Ewing on the bench taping with his iPhone I don’t think that really happened.”

Dwyane Wade is a game time decision tonight.

Interesting: Tim Legler does a mock draft involving the Heat and Thunder.

Trey Kerby of TBJ on the Thunder employee getting fired: “In conclusion, I think we can all agree on two things. First, the Thunder should maybe relax because I can actually (sadly) see “Thunder Your Butts Off” becoming a thing. There are certainly cross-promotional opportunities there, like t-shirts or whatever. Second, fake rap is a dangerous thing. No matter how much you love Wu-Tang, there’s always a strong chance something will go wrong. You’ve been warned.”

John Krolik for PBT on the employee thing: “The video doesn’t appear to be offensive at all, but if “lunchmeat” did sign a contract that said he couldn’t do this, he probably should have thought a little harder before imploring people to Thunder their butts off whilst identifying himself as a Thunder employee. (Seriously, between the pseudonym and the mask, would the Thunder really have recognized him if he didn’t explicitly say he was a Thunder employee, considering the video only has 2,537 views as of this writing?) Of course, we don’t know exactly what “lunchmeat” promised not to do when he signed his contract, so the Thunder may simply be in the wrong on this one. We’ll see if there’s any fallout from this.”

Kelly Dwyer of BDL on the EmployeeGate: “We love the Thunder. And despite the town’s sleepy image, the Western Conference’s best team has some rabid and devoted fans. Not only is it an absolute joy to watch Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook bash around the NBA at just 23 years of age, but watching a Thunder game played in OKC is a real treat. Those people love their team. “Lunchmeat,” the rapper/fired guy in this video, is amongst that lot. And why his team went out of their way to cite some lame contract provision and dump the him for creatively lauding his favorite team is beyond us. Then again, a lot of the things the Thunder ownership does are beyond us. And beneath us.”

I asked the team if they had a comment about this issue and they said they “do not comment on personnel matters.”

He Who Must Not Be Named talks about KD calling him out.

Kelly Dwyer on You-Know-Who and KD: “This isn’t to say Westbrook, in his fourth season, hasn’t had his growing pains. The same goes for Durant. Both have struggled to find their way towards the end of close games in the half court, a typical pang that young players go through. But if Bayless wants to ignore in-game action and go off of the stats, let’s re-iterate. The Thunder is 20-4 when Westbrook takes more shots than Durant, as opposed to 20-9 the other way around. The team owns the NBA’s best offense, statistically. Statistically, Skip Bayless is a fame-hungry boob and Kevin Durant is awesome. It’s science.”

Interesting look at the NBA’s great duos.

Alex Raskin of HoopsWorld: “That’s not just because of their offense. The Thunder aren’t the best in terms of defensive efficiency (they currently rank 11th and allow 100 points per 100 possessions), but that’s largely because they rank in the bottom third of the league in 3-pointers allowed. Opponents are making just 45.2% of their 2-point attempts against the Thunder and that’s actually the fifth-best in the entire NBA. In other words, you better be hitting from outside against the Thunder because you’re not going to score down low against Serge Ibaka, Kendrick Perkins and Nick Collison.”

Britt Robson of SI.com’s power rankings: “After the Thunder beat the Heat, Lakers and Bulls, it makes sense that they would be caught exhaling by the Grizzlies on Monday; Memphis is fighting for a playoff spot and has the memory of last year’s playoff elimination against OKC as motivation. Even with the loss, the Thunder seem primed for a long playoff run and look at if they could peak at just the right time. Each of their top three players has improved substantially over the course of the season: Kevin Durant is performing like a veteran leader who takes his own shots and point production for granted; Russell Westbrook has cut his turnovers without a corresponding dip in his aggressiveness; and James Harden is taking full advantage of the greater latitude he has been given to run the offense, whether or not Durant or Westbrook is on the court. All three are getting the big men more involved in the offense, and the return of Thabo Sefolosha and the sterling play of Nick Collison — if there were a Seventh Man of the Year award, he would win it — have solidified the defense again.”

Matt Moore of CBSSports.com: “The back-to-back loss against Memphis can’t erase three signature wins in a week’s time. The Thunder have come a long way since being the young pups with some fight. Now they’re the dogs who run the yard.”