Thursday, November 13, 2008

Thursday Bolts - 11.13.08

  • Bethlehem Shoals of FreeDarko and Tom Ziller talking a little Kevin Durant (very interesting stuff): "Durant, possess no such mystical qualities. Barkley, I think, compared KD to Gervin, in terms of piling up points without anyone noticing. And it's true: Unless Durant hits five threes in a row and follows it with an especially acrobatic drive (which, with his length, he rarely resorts to), his style is impressionistic. Not understated—a 6'9" jumble of arms and legs that rises up for threes like he's floating is still an extraordinary sight. But between the lack of emphasis in his game, his build, and those limbs just seem to trail off into the rafters on every play, Durant can get pretty ethereal at times."
  • Joe breaks down the game: "The game was never in doubt. The Thunder were without Kevin Durant who rolled his ankle on Monday, but I don’t think it would have made any difference. This was out of control from the outset and Kevin is not our strongest defender. We needed stops and never really got them at any point. It’s true that we could have used his points, but we needed stops far worse.
  • The Lost Ogle looks at trade options for Earl Watson: "Losing him would not be a big deal. It shouldn’t be hard to find a guy who can guide the team to a 1-6 record. Currently, Watson averages 7.6 points, 5.6 assists, and one steal per game. That assist figure is in the top-25 for the league, but most of those come from handing the ball off to Kevin Durant and letting him do his thing. The real measure of how Watson is doing for the team is how the team looks on offense, since he is the starting point guard. No one who has watched more than a couple of ESPN highlights would suggest the Thunder run like a well-oiled machine."
  • And within that story, check out this odd quote from P.J. Carlesimo: "It certainly doesn’t mean anything to our (Oklahoma City) fans,” Carlesimo said. "What do they care if we’re better than last year?” (What's that supposed to mean? There are multiple ways of interpreting that one. Does he mean we're like an expansion team and this is our first year with the team so last year doesn't matter? Or is he saying that we don't care about wins and losses because we're just excited to have basketball? I don't know. You tell me.)

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

From the Sports Guy's mailbag today:

Q: Can we pull a Prince on the NBA and give the "team formerly called the Seattle SuperSonics" a wacky symbol with no identifiable name for all the NBA scoreboard and ESPN/FSN graphics? I don't think this is too much to ask.
-- Mark, Los Angeles

SG: I vote for the logo that Facebook uses when someone doesn't upload a profile picture. Or, we could use a black-and-white picture of someone's heart getting ripped out of their body.

Anonymous said...

WOW guys, Gaylord Entertainment Company's stock is down 42% this week! As you know, that is the company owned by Bennett's father-in-law. Clay, of course, is not independently wealthy; he charmed his way into a marriage with Gaylord's daughter. I don't care how rich you are, a 42% drop in your company's stock (which presumably represents the bulk of your net worth) is painful. In fact, let's take a look at how some choice stocks have performed since July 2 (the day the settlement was announced):

GED (Bennett's father-in-law): -63%
CHK (Aubrey's company): -68%
SD (Tom Ward's company): -82.7%

Now, how confident do you feel about your ability to sign a top notch free agent this summer and retain KD in 2011?

Anonymous said...

Read where the Clippers are shopping Kamen's 4 yr 40 mill. Contract around now that they have Camby. I'd love to see us Offer up Wilcox,Watson and San Antonio's protected first rounder. We would STILL be at the front of the line for Boozer next year, and we could focus entirely on drafting guards.
Anonymous- you need to get a hobby of some kind. I understand that knitting and scrapbooking are both a lot of fun and time consuming.

Anonymous said...

I have a great hobby - heckling OKC fans on stupid Thunder blogs.

Why do you guys suffer from this delusion that you are the frontrunner to get Boozer??? In fact, here's a snippet of an ESPN article that came out today:

2. Carlos Boozer, Jazz (PO)
Boozer is probably the biggest threat to leave his team in the summer. He's had his eye on Miami for some time and, with some maneuvering, the Heat should be able to get far enough under the cap to deliver the dollars Boozer is looking for. The Pistons also could be a serious option for Boozer if Joe Dumars decides to use his money.

Anonymous said...

My first impression of what Carlesimo meant in that statement was: What do the fans care if we say we're improving and are playing better than last year, but don't have any wins to show for it?

Reading the quote in context seems to make a little more sense to me.

Anonymous said...

Trade Watson?... yes...

Kaman at 40 million... no thanks...

John Rohde was born negative...

PJ seems to mean last year doesnt matter to us because we didnt see last year...

We're not signing any expensive free agents... thats not how Presti is building the team...

The owners have plenty deep enough pockets...

Anonymous said...

Don't get discouraged by the haters, guys. Great blog so far, and I hope you keep up the good work and make it even better.

/disgruntled sonic fan biting my tongue

Anonymous said...

Steve H-
You root for a team that was blatantly stolen. Some people did not like that. Are you familiar with the term "Karma is a Mother%$#@r"? I believe Anon was trying to make the point that since the OKC principals stole the Sonics, their personal fortunes have been "Thunder" struck, if you will. Steve, you have the team in your hometown. Try not to whine when others are bitter about that fact......

Vladamir said...

check out http://www.okcplunder.com/

i think some of you would look fantastic in a Plunder Thong.

derftron said...

guess what OKC whatever you are called....

we really dont care about your team, and actually resent you for stealing it from Seattle. Hopefully Bennett goes broke.


Signed,


Every NBA fan outside of OKC

Anonymous said...

Carlesimo said. "What do they care if we’re better than last year?” (What's that supposed to mean? There are multiple ways of interpreting that one. Does he mean we're like an expansion team and this is our first year with the team so last year doesn't matter?


He meant you're carpetbaggers who didn't care about the team last year when ownership forced them to suck, so why would you care that they're slightly less stinky year.

It's amusing to watch the OKC press try to convince themselves that the rest of the NBA cities have anything but contempt for them and that they didn't knife Seattle in the back and steal their team. Enjoy the lottery!

Anonymous said...

I agree with derftron. I'm a Trailblazer fan, one of the major rivals of the former-sonics and I waffle between feelings of disdain and well...nothing. I didn't realize it was possible to feel less strongly about a team than the Milwaukie Bucks or Charlotte Bobcats, but congratulations, OKC has done it. The only reason I feel anything at all is the retarded way that Bennett hijacked a legitimate franchise that gave my Blazers a great rivalry over the years. All I hope for is that every OKC game will turn into a blowout loss so they can move the Sonics back where they belong. You should've waited for Memphis or Charlotte to move and gotten a team that didn't have a massive, pre-existing fanbase complete with rivalries and history. Have fun being looked down on by legitimate NBA cities!


Question for anyone who has been to whatever arena the OKC whatevers (I can't bear to say the actual name, it sounds like an NHL team) play in - did they actually hang up the championship and conference final banners like I believe they were talking about? If they did, it must be really inspiring.

Abe said...

LOL'ing at the experts on players and roster moves of a team that has played real NBA minutes in their city for a total of 4 hours (5 home games.)

It's like watching an 8 year old trying to drive a car.

wv: grabili = perfect

Anonymous said...

to SteveH:
Boozer? You can't be serious. Even during my heavy LSD college days, I was never that delusional.

Oklahoma City Thunder Attendance said...

I am literally laughing my ass off at the thought that some Okies really believe the Plunder can sign Carlos Boozer after this season.

What, did you guys finally give up on signing CP3 after he refused to re-up with New Orleans? LMAO.

Unknown said...

No decent free agent is coming to OK City. And you guys are going to lose 65-70 games becasue the players you do have don't want to be there. You're going to be the shit on the heel of the NBA for decades.

Anonymous said...

Cmon guys with westbrook at point, durant at two, green at three, a draft pick at four some one who can really rebound, and a two headed moster at the five(petro-and whomever) this team can compete. the thing i would like to see is an identity. are they a defensive squad, a run in gun squad, a halfcourt sharpshootin buch. that identity is more important than just getting players. the spurs have average nba players beyond their big three yet they manage to keep on winning, well not right now cuz of injuries, but you see my point. get an identity OKC.