Wednesday Bolts – 7.18.12
Shayne Lee for CNN.com on the Dream Team vs. 2012: “The general consensus appears to side with Jordan and Barkley. In informal online polls, an overwhelming majority of the public favored the Dream Team over our current Olympic Team in a hypothetical matchup. Judging by the polls, pundits and prognostications on the issue, few seem to be taking Kobe’s sacrilege seriously. But I do. In fact, I believe Kobe Bryant’s team would not only win, but also win comfortably. What makes this social scientist so sure?”
Mike Kurylo of Knickerblogger: “Logically there is no reason to be a Knick fan, and yet you, we, persist. By acknowledging we are Knick fans we publicly support the moves of the organization. By watching MSG or buying Knicks gear we give our monetary support to the team. And by staying Knick fans we share the same stubborn traits that continues to make this team doomed to failure. So as Knick fans we not only agree with James L. Dolan, but in some deeper way, we become him.”
Alan Sepinwall started his own blog to rant about Jeremy Lin: “And because the Knicks have traded most of their draft picks for the next several years to assemble this very old team, the only players on it with any upside whatsoever were going to be Iman Shumpert (coming off a knee injury that may steal some of the quickness that made him such a good defender) and Lin. The team as constructed, with Felton and DWI Kidd as the point guards, will be a good team. It will make the playoffs easily, maybe even be in the top half of the bracket. But it will not win a title. The pieces don’t entirely fit together, and most of the players are who they are. If Linsanity was a mirage, then they’re screwed anyway. But if it wasn’t? Then the Knicks gave away their best shot at legitimately competing with Miami, Chicago, OKC, et al, and THEY DIDN’T EVEN GET ANYTHING BACK.”
Those are just a reminder as to how good you have it being a Thunder fan.
An Oklahoma Celebrity fantasy draft.
Small twist: The Thunder won’t be giving a contract to Andray Vorentsevich.
Clark Matthews of The Lost Ogle on Dream Team vs. 2012: “Here’s the thing. The 2012 team is loaded with players that are babies compared to the 1992 team. Just looking at the Thunder players on the roster (who make up 25% of the team), Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden are all approximately 23 years old. In 1992, Barkley, Jordan, and Ewing were at or around 30 (Magic and Bird were much older…only Robinson-27-and Laettner-22-were considered young). Except, by professional experience, it is a wash. Jordan had just completed his seventh NBA season. LeBron James, two years younger, just finished his ninth. Even Durant has five years of NBA service, that’s three more than than David Robinson who was four years older.”
Behind the scenes with President Obama and Team USA.
Very interesting research from Court Vision on where rebounds go.
Marc Stein of ESPN.com with an important note on amnesty: “Don’t forget that teams can only use their one-time amnesty clause on players who were on the roster when the lockout ended last December AND who remain on the same contract in effect at the start of the 2011-12 season. Fifteen teams have used their amnesty clause thus far, leaving 15 teams with 41 players whose contracts are still valid entering the 2013-14 season.”