Wednesday Bolts – 9.2.09

Sactown Royalty is asking a question about whether or not Tyreke Evans and Kevin Martin can co-exist in the

backcourt, but Ziller dropped this little dime about Russell Westbrook: “No one comes into the league as a stopper — it took Rajon Rondo one season (and an injection of KG) to figure it out, and Russell Westbrook is the sort of hypercosmic freak you can’t base hypotheses on.”

The Hoop Doctors rank the top 75 fantasy basketball players and Kevin Durant comes in ninth, Westbrook 52nd and Jeff Green 68th.

Vince Thomas of NBA.com asking questions to himself using “celebrities”: “Mike Gundy – Q: We have an enormous game against the Sooners on Thanksgiving weekend. I’m hoping it’s for the Big 12 title. Meanwhile, I’ve been hearing good things about this upstart Thunder squad, too. What did they win, like, 20-something games last season? What’s the likelihood that, just a month into their season, they’d have as many as wins as us in late-November? A: Coach, you’re the man. You’re 42. Sorry. Had to do it. But, let’s look at schedules, here … OK, I have you losing your season-opener to Georgia and your Halloween slugfest against Texas. So coming into your season-ender against your cross-state rivals, I have you guys with nine wins. On the flip-side, I have Oklahoma City going 8-8 during that same span. So, no, the Thunder will be a shade under your win total. Although, for a young squad, with a good amount of games against probable playoff teams to open up the season, going .500 would be one of the bigger NBA stories of November.”

Power rankings from The Outsiders has OKC at 26: “We all expect Kevin Durant to have a monster year. Westbrook is growing up to be the new Billups. Jeff Green will be an All Star Forward in the near future. James Harden is the perfect match with all those guys. That being said, how sweet would have been if they have drafted Rubio? They would be that team that everybody would want, like to watch, the buzz of the NBA. We could make an argument that they hurt the league because if they have drafted Rubio, he would probably come to the Association.”

NBA Primetime ranks the top 25 NBA players and KD is 15th: “Kevin Durant is by far the biggest prodigy in the NBA at the young age of 20. Standing 6’10”, he has the exceptional capability of dribbling the ball through traffic and slamming it down with enthusiasm. Not to mention, KD has already averaged 25 PPG in only his second season in the league. With the Thunder’s youth continuing to improve, Durant’s stats will keep progressing into scoring title type numbers.”

Tony Mejia ranks the top 20 rookies and strangely, he has James Harden sixth: His name might lead you to believe differently, but the Thunder’s rookie guard makes the game look pretty easy. Scouts at both NBA summer leagues were raving about his comfort level and decision-making as he started building chemistry with backcourt mate Russell Westbrook.

HoopsWorld ranks the top six coaches: “Six coaches—Vinny Del Negro (CHI), Kurt Rambis (MIN), Scott Brooks (OKC), Jay Triano (TOR), John Kuester (DET), and Alvin Gentry (PHX)—are still too wet behind the ears for them to be seen as elite coaches in the league, even by the end of this upcoming season, although Brooks has the best shot of anyone in this group of getting himself noticed this season by virtue of coaching an impressive young Thunder squad.”

Chris Silva took a tour around the revamped Ford Center: “The flooring has been redone to the point where the entire concrete pathway in Loud City has been ground to its original core and finished with a new base that highlights more color, stone and gives a shine almost to a marbling affect. It’s unique in the sense that the every runway leading to the seating area will have a Thunder blue reflective finish. Red and yellow, the Thunder’s other colors, will be used in a similar manner as accent colors in the common areas and near concessions.”