How to turn OKC into a contender today

Wednesday night was so bitter sweet.

The excitement in the Thunderdome was spilling over because you know, it was the first game ever, but the team didn't really produce on the court. At a few points, if you looked around you could see people resting their chins on their palms likely thinking, "I wonder what Chris Paul is doing right now... (loud sigh)."

This team is young, raw, talented and young. They will get there but it's going to take some time because, well, you know, they're young. Did I say they're young? But as I watched the Thunder fall behind by 24 for a third time in the third quarter, I started wondering, how could we turn this team into a contender now? What (reasonable) pieces could OKC acquire that could guarantee 45 wins? Even before a thunderous (see what I did there) fast-break dunk by Dez that ignited the crowd, I was already putting together trades in my head that I couldn't wait to rush home and plug into the ESPN Trade Machine. (Now, I'm no Bill Simmons, the self-proclaimed Picasso of the Trade Machine, but I was determined to try.)

Just know: We miss you.

"Ok, how about Earl Watson, John Lucas III and cash for Kobe and Andrew Bynum? No? Ok, Robert Swift straight up for Al Jefferson. Denied? But Robert's upside! His upside!"

So I was a little overzealous with my trades. And the thing about the Trade Machine - as awesome as it is, it will basically accept any trade you propose as long as the money lines up. It doesn't really have a "common sense" factor. Chris Wilcox's expiring contract, Earl Watson and cash for Carlos Boozer? Yes please.

So moderating the fairness was difficult. You give me an hour on the Trade Machine and my starting five would be Chris Paul, Kevin Durant, Kobe, Carlos Boozer and Andrew Bynum. My bench would then have to consist of Keith Van Horn, a janitor and Matt Pinto, but you get the point about the Machine.

Anyway, I started plugging in stuff. I made a list of the team needs in "most needed" order. One was "big man to control the paint." Two was "deadly outside shooter." And three was "consistent complement to Kevin Durant." I truly believe the Thunder could win with a lineup like this:

PG Russell Westbrook
SG Kevin Durant
SF Consistent scoring complement to Kevin Durant (one day supposed to be Jeff Green)
PF Nick Collison
C Big man to control the paint

And then a lights-out shooter off the bench. So who should we go after? The thing is the Thunder doesn't have a lot of enticing pieces outside of the "off-limits" guys. The very tradeable guys are Joe Smith, Chris Wilcox, Earl Watson, Desmond Mason, Damien Wilkins, Mo Sene, Kyle Weaver and D.J. White. Not exactly a group that an opposing GM would skip lunch to swing a deal for. But regardless, that's who we were working with.

I set my sights on a good scorer to play the three. I needed to find a team that could use a decent point guard (Earl Watson) or a solid four (Chris Wilcox). I locked on to Indiana's Danny Granger. He's a good three-point threat (39 percent career and 40 percent last year) and averaged a solid 19.6 last season. He's got excellent size (6'8") and a good defender and best of all, he's got an expiring contract. The Pacers probably aren't going to contend this year, so they would likely be enticed by draft picks and expiring contracts themselves. So you send Chris Wilcox's expiring contract and next year's first round pick and get Danny Granger and Jarrett Jack in return (Jack is a throw-in to line the money up). Both Granger and Jack's contracts are up after this season and Indiana would probably go for unloading both to free up cap space. Plus, they could really use a body like Chris Wilcox on the blocks and it might give them a chance to groom Brandon Rush into a primo scorer. And honestly, I feel like Granger could kill two birds with one stone by giving OKC a consistent scorer and an outside threat.

Now I don't know enough about this and Granger may be an untouchable for the Pacers, but we can dream, right? Especially since Granger dropped 33 in the season opener, they might not take Kevin Durant and gold bullion for him. Oh well.

On to finding a good big man. With Wilcox gone, the best leverage to use is either draft picks or Joe Smith and Earl Watson. Here the Thunder needs to set their eyes on a well-tested big that they don't have to keep if they don't want to. The victim? Brad Miller. He's got a huge contract ($11 million plus) and the Kings would likely love to dump that. (Right now Miller is suspended five games for violating the league substance abuse policy). Miller has two years on his contract, so if the Kings could get rid of it for some expiring ones, they'd likely bite.

The Kings have a lot of needs so depending on what they'd bite on, you offer up any two-piece combination of Earl Watson, Joe Smith or Desmond Mason. More than likely, the Kings don't want Watson because he's signed through 2010. So a trade of Mason and Smith for Miller might work. Both Mason and Smith's deals are up this year and the money lines up. Smith could fill the void of Miller for the season and Mason could either start in place of John Salmons or provide a nice back up. It's win-win for both teams.

So now, the Thunder starting lineup looks like this:
PG Westbrook/Watson
SG Durant
SF Granger
PF Collison
C Miller

I think the Thunder could win 45 games with that lineup, don't you? Plus you've still got expiring deals with Granger and Miller in 2010, to which you could use Miller as trade leverage next season. Jarrett Jack or Watson could (and should) be traded to try and replenish Sam Presti's cupboard of draft picks. The bench just got lighter without Joe Smith or Dez, but you've got Jeff Green to play behind Granger and Johan Petro/Robert Swift/Mo Sene to fill the blocks.

Now, this will never, ever, happen because 1) The Pacers probably don't want to part with Danny Granger and 2) Presti doesn't really want to contend right now. It's not the plan. The plan is to draft wisely and sign a few good free agents. Which makes sense because the Thunder only has $20 million in committed salary for next season. So there's a lot of green to play with. Throw money at Carlos Boozer or Chris Bosh, draft Blake Griffin or Ricky Rubio... things are going to be alright in OKC.

But if we didn't want to slump in our chairs and dream of CP3 all season, this is what we do. Or maybe we just pray KD turns into a megastar, Jeff Green plays to potential, Chris Wilcox has a career year, Russell Westbrook develops faster than thought and Damien Wilkins shoots threes like he's lost his mind. It could happen. I guess. Until then... you think Chris Paul is maybe eating dinner now or breaking down game film?

Friday Bolts - 10.31.08

• An excellent feature from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer: "At some point you kind of have to let that go and learn from your mistakes, I suppose. But the thing is, nobody in this town has stepped up and said, 'My fault, I had a hand in this, I'm sorry.' Former ownership, politicians, nobody. I guess it's a region full of Fonzies. They can't say that 'S' word."

• And to be fair a feature from the Star-Telegram: "This NBA neophyte is still trying to get to a place where it can go through some growing pains. If you want to buy a No. 35 Durant authentic jersey, you’ll have to wait until January. None available now. The transplanted Seattle SuperSonics— now Oklahoma City Thunder — had only team logo-manufactured T-shirts and ball caps available for sale at the Ford Center on Wednesday night. And if you want to take the kids to see a cute-and-cuddly mascot ... well, uh, please hold that thought. One is still in the works."

• David Thorpe's rookie rankings has Russell Westbrook at No. 8: "Westbrook figures to get serious playing time right away, despite a far-from-ready offensive game. He was drafted because of his defensive talents and his ability to complement Kevin Durant and Jeff Green. And because he's a winner. Although he will suffer through some real struggles, especially as a shooter, the Thunder want him to develop into a future starter, so playing time is mandatory."

• You know you're in Oklahoma when people are already restless about Coach Peej after one game (See: OU message boards after an OU loss): "I am not a fan of PJ and I question many of his coaching decisions. His starting lineup and player rotations for one. This is the most glaring problem that the team has. The wrong players are playing at the wrong times. Second the fact that he didn't have his team ready to play last night was a horrible mistake. There was only one game that this team HAD to win and it was last night. Keep it up PJ, your days I numbered, I hope."
  

• More thoughts from Joe on the Bucks game: "I’ve been reading a book by Dave Berri titled “The Wages of Wins” after hearing so many good things about it, as well as reading Mr.Berri’s blog “the Wages of wins journal” (see link on blogroll). In his book and on his blog he puts forth a sort of big picture stat called the “Win Score”. The win score can be expressed in several different ways, one of them being win score per minute, and thereby can be compared to the win score per minute average by position to help us evaluate and compare players and performances."

• Looking for last minute Halloween costume ideas? Well, why not see what the Big 12 is dressed up as? "Sexy Nurse - Baylor. Robert Griffin is darn fun to watch but by the end of the night, everyone has had their way with them." (Sometimes I have to plug myself.)
  

Thursday Bolts - 10.30.08

• Thunderguru on last night's game: "As for the actual contest that was played, the headline here could easily be titled: “Thunder starters stink, bench makes it fun”. The opening lineup was Petro, Collison, Green, Durant and Watson and they played like a D-league team. Coach thankfully put Wilcox in for Petro halfway through the first, and started double teaming Bogut in the post, but the tone was set and we were in the hole by 10 points after the first quarter. We shot 25% to their 45%, were out-rebounded and had 5 turnovers."

• Blue Blitz: "The key to revitalizing the starting lineup here might be benching Earl Watson. While he and Westbrook had the same amount of assists, Westbrooks driving actually helps the Thunder. Watson will sit at the top of the key, hardly creating any ball movement. Westbrook will drive the ball down to the post, and create opportunities for guys like Chris Wilcox, Desmond Mason, and Joe Smith. His method isn't perfect, but every indication I'm getting now is full steam ahead for Westbrook."

Highlights from last night's game:

• Photo fun from Ball Don't Lie:

David Stern after last night's game:

• Jenni Carlson on Kevin Durant's less than stellar game: "On a night that Oklahoma City will long count as glorious, Durant had a game that was anything but. He had an utterly forgettable first half, missing every shot he attempted, scoring no points, rolling up fouls and turnovers but not much else. His woeful start helped sink the Thunder into a halftime hole from which it never recovered."

Milwaukee bucks Thunder in franchise opener

Tonight wasn't about the scoreboard. Though it did read 98-87 with a Thunder loss and it sure would have been nice to start out 1-0, it really didn't matter that much.

This night was about Oklahoma City. And during Mayor Mick's speech, I won't lie, I had tears welling in my eyes. I know that sounds crazy, but as someone that's spent all 23 years of his life in this wonderful state and someone that is Oklahoman to the bone, October 29, 2008 meant a whole heck of a lot to me. When Commissioner Stern grabbed the mic and said, "Oklahoma City... welcome to the National Basketball Association," I nearly lost it. The crowd hung on every word from the Commish and Mayor Mick and the Mayor even pulled Clay Bennett out of the shadows to which the crowd gave the Boss a full minute standing ovation. Just magical.

As for the game, not so magical. I hate to nit-pick and snipe at things about the presentation, but it's unavoidable. But we all need to keep in mind, this thing has been thrown together in a matter of months and this was the first go-round. Give it a year and I'm sure the in-game festivities will be cleaned up and much better. The emcee will be better with more practice. The transition from one thing to the next will be better. Heck, hopefully the team will be better.

A couple notes about the game presentation:
I never thought I'd say it because I've never really noticed it until now - the Thunder needs a mascot. One is coming and is supposed to be introduced before the end of the season, but the lack of a mascot is a gaping whole in the presentation. It's kind of like the Seattle SuperSonics - you never really notice them until they're gone. Ok, that was uncalled for. But not having a Hugo run around and de-pants (or pants, depending on where you stand on that issue) referees, throw t-shirts, dive through fire, break dance or do whatever really brought down the entertainment value. I'm a college guy through and through and mascots are always an afterthought because they have little to do with the game in college (it's all about the bands, the cheerleaders, the chants, the tradition). But in the pros, mascots are pretty key.

Even without a mascot, there was certain entertainment value missing. No t-shirt cannons. No unique fan contests or clever skits. They never played a single video on the jumbo screens. Though I loathe the movie, no Anchorman clip. No Noise-O-Meter. No cool graphic. The extent of what was on the video board was "Make! Some! Noise!" with a dark cloud behind it. Bor-ing. They didn't even pass out those long balloon things to distract the other team at the free throw line. Come on!

To be honest, it felt kind of like an OU basketball game without the band. A Midfirst bank giveaway, a "best/funny dancer" thing, a t-shirt toss and a couple performances by the "dancers." There was just an element lacking. Not having the t-shirt sling shot sucks for us proud patrons of Loud City because the Thunder Girls aren't exactly gifted with Brett Favre type arms.

I was slightly disappointed with the court. I loved the baselines, but the choice of color combos is just off. Mainly because the fact that the team has four colors. Putting the blue and yellow together in the lane was weird because the yellow is barely noticeable on the logo or the jerseys. I was under the impression that they were featuring the blue and orange-red? Guess not. They really need to cut one of those colors. I do like the simplicity of it though. I like the design and the look of it overall. Just not so sure about the color combination.

The crowd was unbelievable though. For the first quarter I think everyone had kind of a "So what are we supposed to do again?" feel because it was so surreal to be back in this situation. And it also tough to get loud because the team was down double digits before you could say Thunderstruck. But I've never seen a crowd ready to explode like the one tonight. Down 20 in the fourth, after a quick little 6-0 spurt that was lit with a monster Dez Mason jam, the Thunderdome faithful erupted. Then Russell Westbrook hit a three to cut it to 11 with five minutes left and you'd have thought he hit a go ahead three in game seven of the Finals. It was awesome. I hope we're in for a full season of that.

But I'll admit, I'm a little fearful of what it will be like in February if the team is 6-29 and just plain stinks. Will people still want to go? I won't lie: During a stretch in the third quarter when the Thunder fell behind by 24 again and couldn't get a defensive rebound and when they did, they promptly threw the ball out of bounds like it was on fire, I was thinking, "I don't know about this..." But then the little run in the fourth brought me back. But that kind of said to me: This team can get by for a while sucking; but they're going to need to get good at some point.

As for some expert breaking down of the game - it was rough. The lack of a low post scorer/defender was showcased by super stiff Andrew Bogut scoring the first six Buck points. The Thunder couldn't get clean rebounds and couldn't start any fast breaks. Kevin Durant not scoring until the third quarter hurt and only having 12 for the night really hurt. OKC has to have him lighting up the board. Has to. Russell Westbrook makes me feel better and better by the second. He plays so hard and is so athletic that I see great things for him. Heck, he led the team in offensive rebounds with four. I'm starting to become a little anti-Earl because 1) I love Westbrook and 2) Earl just screams "solid back-up point guard." Coach Peej might need to consider different alternatives to getting Westbrook time rather than just swamping him and the Earl. Peej seems a little set in his rotation, but maybe playing the Earl and Westbrook together could liven up the offense. I don't know... just thinking out loud.

We got out-rebounded by eight and the Bucks hit six more threes than we did. Turnovers were even but the Thunder shot much more poorly at the free throw line. All a recipe for a loss.

I officially have my first ThunderCrush

To wrap up - we all need to keep in mind that this is a major work in progress and we don't turn into the Boston Celtics overnight. We don't flip on a switch and have all the bells and whistles of a Dallas Mavericks game. It's a process and we all are growing into this. I'm learning how to be an NBA fan. It's just weird for me to get all super-pumped and paint my face with Thunder blue, dark blue, yellow and orange-red because this is all so new. We're all learning. The team will get better and the games will get better. Give it time. We've got the crowd thing down though - we're awesome at that. The Thunder goes to Houston on Nov. 1 and then returns home this Sunday. See you at the Dome.

BOX SCORE

View from the other side

An opening night for the ages

Tonight, something will happen in downtown Oklahoma City. Something that I can't really wrap my mind around. Something so unbelievably far-fetched that it doesn't seem real in any way.

A professional sport will be played in the Sooner State but with a catch - it won't be leaving any time soon.

I know. I know. We didn't get this team in the most favorable way. Some say we stole them. Some say we don't deserve them. And honestly, if I could change the way it went down, I would. I hate that Seattle won't see the emerald and yellow take the floor. It's weird to even think about it. The Sonics have been such a staple in the NBA over the past, well, 41 years, that not having them will be like turning on Spike TV and not seeing an episode of CSI. I bet nearly every Thunder fan would admit they don't like the circumstances in which a basketball team found its way to Oklahoma City. But that won't stop this city from exploding with excitement for NBA basketball.

Oklahoma City was the darling of professional sports back in 2005. Everyone couldn't believe how we embraced the transplanted Hornets. And it was unbelievable. A small market like OKC, filling the seats in an arena for a bad team that wasn't going to stay. It was truly something else. But just that little taste of the big time lit a fire under OKC - a fire that burns brighter than ever today.

But now, OKC is the whipping boy. Everyone outside of Oklahoma can't start a sentence about the Thunder without thinking or saying something about the empty hole in Seattle. And it is a shame because I wish the rest of the country could just have a taste of what we're feeling here.

In a few years, it will all pass. People will forget about the logo, the nickname and the jerseys. People will forget about the circumstances of the move from the Emerald City to Oak City. In three years, the talk will be about the players, the coaches and what's happening on the floor - not what happened off it.

I remember when Art Modell packed up the Browns' gear and put it on a bus to Baltimore. The entire country was outraged. Just furious. Especially when the new Browns picked purple as their primary color. But it passed. Nobody complains any more, except about the Browns' defense.

I remember when the Oilers quit pumping and scurried to Nashville. People couldn't believe there was no football in Houston. And have you seen the Titans uniforms? But the NFL still lets them play. And the animosity passed.

If you're a Thunder fan, you should root for one thing (besides Thunder victories) - that Seattle gets another team. Because then OKC can drop its No. 1 Enemy status and hopefully go back to being the little city that could. Seattle gets the pity and OKC gets the hate. But it will pass. And if Slick Sam Presti is doing as good a job as we think he is, it may pass a lot quicker than anticipated.

But four years ago, can you imagine this would be here? Thinking back to when I was in middle school, I remember OKC making a push for an NHL team. We thought that would be huge. We thought that was our chance to be a real city. Our chance to show people what we were all about. We were going to have a pro sports team to follow, to talk about, to write about. We were going to get to know the players, buy their jerseys, paint our faces and go to the games. For once, we were going to just get a taste of what it's like to live in Chicago or Dallas. But we failed. We didn't land the team. And after the ice melted, it looked as if our ship sailed right past the harbor and would never come back.

Some have this view of Oklahoma City as a cow town where cars battle stage coaches on the highway. Where the Ford Center is surrounded by tepees and barren wheat fields. Where we've yet to find out about the Internet and cable television. Before the Thunder, if someone in the Northeast heard Oklahoma, they either though "bombing," "college football" or "dust bowl." The NBA is giving Oklahoma a chance to show what we really are. To show the country that we're a really special place with extraordinary people. Some think Oklahoma is boring and the only thing to do here is rope cattle. But you know what? Keep it that way. Because if the people that made fun of OKC only knew what it was like here, they'd drop that latte they were sipping on, pack their crap and board a plane to Bricktown in a heartbeat.

Proof that the NBA has set this city on fire: Me. One year ago, you couldn't pay me to watch 48 minutes of NBA basketball. But over the past three weeks, I have watched seven preseason games in their entirety. Heck, I even started a blog to talk about the NBA. If you would've told me I would do that 12 months ago, I would've kicked you in the nards to see if you had a pulse.

As a life-long Oklahoman and someone that bleeds Oklahoma, this is as big a moment as I can think of, outside of any of the seven national championships the Sooners have claimed. (Look, as much as we love the Thunder, nothing, and I mean nothing, will knock OU football from the top of the mountain.) As I walked on OU's campus this morning, in a matter of minutes I saw a handful of students wearing Thunder shirts and Durant jerseys. And when I saw them, it hit me. I stopped. I smiled. I can't believe I am going to an NBA basketball game tonight for my hometown team.

This state's idols have been guys named Bud, Barry, Bob, Barry (Sanders), Eddie, Adrian and a slew of other college stars. Oklahoma is a state rabid about college sports and the Thunder will never nudge Oklahoma State or Oklahoma. But there's a spot for this team. And that was shown by the 13,000 strong that ate up season tickets in five days. OKC is one of four cities with season ticket waiting lists. Let me say that again: Oklahoma City is in the same company as Boston, Los Angeles and Phoenix. Oklahoma City. Mind blowing.

So you outsides, hate on Oklahoma City all you want. Call them the Bennett City Hijackers, call them Kevin Durant's team, or don't even acknowledge them at all. But just know that this city finally has something to hold on to - an identity outside of what happened on April 19, 1995 or what you perceive us to be. It's a fairy tale and us Oklahomans can't believe it's real. There's professional basketball in Oklahoma and no one can take that from us. You can bash us, make fun of us and laugh at us - but you'll never steal our Thunder.

Tuesday Bolts - 10.28.08

The NBA season tips off tonight! Hooray.

• One last season preview to toss up: "Let’s get the big one out of the way early: Kevin Durant is incredible. Absolutely incredible. And despite some criticism for supposedly underwhelming, the Durantula put up a LeBron-esque rookie campaign (sans assists, of course). The most exciting thing in OKC this season may be seeing what Durant does next. At the tail end of last season, Durant flipped the switch. He scored well all season long, but the last two months (err month and a half, really) he had pretty incredible efficiency for a rookie and his points per game skyrocketed despite taking fewer attempts. His defense…well, so he has some room or improvement."

• An opposing team's scouts sizes up the Thunder: "The move from Seattle will help them because they're in a city where they're wanted, and they'll have a nice home-court situation that they didn't have last year. The improved home court will help them, but I don't see as much improvement in their roster as a lot of people think. They don't shoot the ball well enough, especially from the three-point line. Jeff Green is a guy they're trying to push, but I don't think he's as good as they seem to think he is. They'll be fun to watch, but they're still such a young team."

• A nice treat for opening night tomorrow - free parking: "He’s still stunned, however, by where he will find that free parking space: Bricktown. "It’s really crazy to even believe they’re doing it,” Pauley said when told the district will provide more than 1,000 spaces. "I’ve always heard that’s the one place not to bother with.”

• A buzz in the air for opening night: "Former Oklahoma State star Desmond Mason said public appearances, season tickets selling out in five days and a packed house downtown for the nickname unveiling are signs Oklahoma City fans are stoked about the season opener Wednesday night at the Ford Center."

• Tremendous upside potential for big guy Robert Swift: "Underneath the flop-top red hair and all those tattoos lies a talented basketball player within Robert Swift. This must be true, or why else would the Thunder be clinging to this great unknown? Swift is remarkably agile for someone who stands 7-foot-1 and weighs 270 pounds, which are the primary reasons he occupies an NBA roster."

• Since we open the 2008-09 season today, why not look ahead to the 2009 NBA Draft? Currently, NBADraft.net has Blake Griffin going with the top pick and the Thunder taking seven-foot center B.J. Mullens at No. 2. We want Blake! We want Blake!

Monday Bolts - 10.27.08

You're running out of time to vote for your favorite Thunder blog. Do it. Do it.

• The Oklahoman ran an extreme amount of coverage Sunday (bravo) with predictions, previews, feature stories, pictures and player "getting to know yous." Excellent stuff. Mike Baldwin says OKC will win 32 games and the Hornets will win the NBA title. I can't disagree. I have OKC winning 30.

• Darnell Mayberry answers five questions about the upcoming season: "How will Oklahoma City play off the court? The Washington Post’s and ESPN’s Michael Wilbon called Oklahoma City the Green Bay of the NBA when the Hornets played here for two seasons. But Hall of Famer Charles Barkley called the state a vast wasteland."

• The 2005 Hornets v. the 2008 Thunder: "Chris Paul vs. Earl Watson. Advantage: Hornets. Paul entered the league as one of the best point guards."

• READ THIS. Please, read this. It's an excellent, in-depth feature about Clay Bennett, the acquistion and transformation of the Thunder and other things by the New York Times. The most interesting thing being that Bennett originally tried to buy the Hornets. Amazing. "Convinced that the city was ready to go national, Bennett tried to buy the Hornets and keep them in Oklahoma. According to a letter Shinn subsequently wrote to Stern, Stern recommended that he sell. "You pressed me to sell the team," Shinn wrote. "You even told me that owners were asking you, 'What's wrong with George - why doesn't he sell his team[?]' " Shinn's response made it clear that he, too, coveted the new territory. "We need to immediately begin laying the foundation for what I believe will be great relationships in Oklahoma City," he wrote. "I believe there are several options that we have, none of which involve returning to New Orleans."

• Marc Stein's new power rankings. OKC is dead last: "Might be misleading to say that Kevin Durant and Co. have nothing to play for in their maiden season in Oklahoma City. You have to figure they've got a shot to be crowned Most Raucously Supported Bad Team in NBA history."

• A little diddy from Sports Business Journal: "Inside a posh Oklahoma City dining club, where local power brokers gather to cut deals and filet mignon, hang photographs of the city’s business elite. Look closely and you’ll find a picture of Clay Bennett, the NBA’s newest, and perhaps most retrospective owner, wearing a pair of thick-framed glasses dating back more than a few years."

• Joe from Thunderguru has more terrific insight for us, as recaps the preseason: "The numbers are in, the preseason games are over. The Thunder faithful are now in a holding pattern waiting for the games that count to begin. I’m going to use this article to hand out grades for the preseason. This will be part 1 where I will cover the “starters”. These five are not so much the true lineup starters, as much as they are the top 5 statistical contributors. Coach understandably did much lineup shuffling due to injuries. Part 2 in the near future will cover the rest of the team. Also notice a glossary of terms at the bottom of the post."

ThunderLaked, 105-94

BOX SCORE

Not as good as ThunderClipped. I think my theory fails.

But something became very clear tonight: The Lakers are really good. The post combo of Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum is scary especially with how terrifyingly good Bynum looked. Kobe played just eight minutes but within those ticks he knocked down two jaw-droppingly sweet treys. Like those kind of threes that every slightly overweight white guy wearing a sweaty red headband at the Rec Center tries and airballs every time. A little cross-over, shimmy-shake pull-up-in-your-face three that just makes you mumble, "He's good."

It was fun to watch Oklahoma City on ESPN tonight. A little ironic former Sonic play-by-play stud Kevin Calabro was on the call. You think he had an iron fist clenched under the scorers table and was forcing that on-camera smile through gritted teeth like John McCain during a presidential debate? I think so. He spent 20 years calling games for the team and then they left him like Donald Gennaro split on Lex and Tim in Jurassic Park. I'm sure he's not bitter. Nah. (EDIT: But to be clear, Calabro didn't want to follow them to OKC, I just mean the team left him, so he left the team, if that makes sense.)

It took Calabro an hour to mention the 41 years of history and the Sonics move to OKC. I thought Marc Jackson and Calabro handled it pretty well though. It had to be touched on in some regard, but they kept it short and sweet; said what needed to be said and moved on. They weren't unfair to OKC at all and we're fair to Seattle. Nicely done. Just more unnecessary evidence that Calabro is one of the finest voices in the business.

Oh yeah, the Thunder. The team played like its typically feisty self in the last preseason tuner, hanging around and scrapping all game long, but coming up short, 105-94 to the Lakers (6-2). One key stretch stood out tonight as the difference in this game. Oklahoma City (1-6) had closed the gap on LA to two late in the third with a 7-0 run to cut it to 77-75. They were hustling, making plays and hitting shots. It looked like the game was going to turn into a fourth quarter gruelfest. But then the tide turned.

Faster than you can say Vladimir Radmonivic, the Lakers put up 10 points to close the third. OKC just melted. It turned the ball over, Earl Watson took a "What are you DOING!?!" three and the game got away. Because of that stretch, the team had to try and play catch up during the fourth.

But for a second straight night, Russell Westbrook was solid. The turnovers (six tonight) are a clear issue, but remember folks - this is just his seventh professional game. He's major league raw and learning the game on the fly. Turnovers happen with youth. But the fact that he played ball-hawking D and scored 23 in 28 minutes on 7-12 shooting was great. He attacks the bucket like Refrigerator Perry attacks an all-you-can-eat buffet. His jumpshot is coming along already and he's beginning to get the feel for the kick-out. I think this kid will be a star. I know I'm just excited about the team as a whole right now, but every time the ball is in Westbrook's hands I get a little more amped. He's just fun to watch. And he grabbed six boards. I love that he gets in there with the bigs and rebounds. He just cuts out the middle-man. If he snatches the board, he doesn't have to get an outlet pass to start his hellish fast break. He starts it on his own. I love that.

Johan Petro was ok, but it's clear Joe Smith is going to be a major help. He plays great defense and is a reliable post man. Good to have him back in the rotation. Another thing that's becoming more clear: Kevin Durant is going to have to be consistent for the Thunder to win. The team is going to rely a lot on him scoring 25 to stay in these games. He went for 15 tonight and looked a little passive again. He's a superstar in waiting and is figuring out the fine line between "get my team involved and don't hog the ball" and "take over the game and don't let someone screw this up." It's surely a difficult thing for a 20-year-old to get the hang of.

Lastly, Jeff Green is not a jumpshooter. He went 2-11 from the field and just doesn't look comfortable from 20 feet and out. The potential and skillset is there. He just needs to understand his game and get comfortable with what he does best.

Not the best game, but not anything to cry about. Now we're done with the meaningless things and time to get revved up for opening night on Wednesday.

Friday Bolts - 10.24.08

• Blue Blitz's recap of last night's game: "As soon as I saw that for some inexplicable reason Suns were starting Shaquille O'Neal, Steve Nash, and Amare Stoudemire, I knew we were screwed. Even a Shaq who could care less about the game and, judging from his quotes, hates the idea of NBA basketball in Oklahoma, he's still 10x better than anything we could have put on the court tonight, as far as big men go. Despite my forecast of impending doom, the Thunder showed heart in the first quarter, led by KD and trailing only by one."

• Thunderguru's: "I did a little number crunching as always and I compiled our Offensive Rating, Defensive Rating. our Pace and the number of possessions for last night’s contest. You may be surprised. We had 101 possessions and our Offensive rating was 92.3. 101 possessions is a lot. We had the ball in our hands and had our opportunities to score. The Offensive Rating was very low because we didn’t score as effectively as we needed to. The league average Offensive Rating 107.5!"

• The Commish will be in the Thunderdome for opening night: "NBA vice president of communications Maureen Coyle said Thursday that Stern would be attending the Thunder’s season opener against the Milwaukee Bucks. It’ll be the first official game for the franchise, which relocated from Seattle and changed its name during the off-season. Stern attended the Hornets’ final game in Oklahoma City in 2007."

• ESPN's David Thorpe has Kevin Durant and Jeff Green in his '10 sophomores that should soar': "I'm not expecting Durant's scoring numbers to jump nearly as much as his overall efficiency and productivity. Yes, he could average close to 25 points per game -- which would be impressive -- but doing so while rebounding better, defending with more purpose and getting more buckets inside the paint will establish Durant as a true future star. Building on this past April's play would be a good start ... The Thunder might see improvement only if Green makes a big jump in production. He settled for far too many outside shots last season with too few makes (similar to Durant). But he finished the season strong and occasionally dominated Orlando's summer league in July. The talent is there. He'd be better served by focusing on defense and rebounding, though, where he has the ability and agility to be excellent."

• What are they eating? Darnell Mayberry tells us: "The Thunder contracts a local catering service to provide meals for its players every day before and after practice. The goal is to ensure players receive optimal nutrition to help keep their bodies healthy and in the best possible shape. Team officials also hope players learn the importance of having healthier diets."

• SI's Power Rankings: "After two years of legal wrangling in Seattle, owner Clay Bennett finally got his wish and relocated the franchise to Oklahoma City. As a result, the NBA has a new team with a new nickname and a new uniform color scheme. Unfortunately for Oklahoma fans, the team still looks a lot like last season's Sonics. At least Kevin Durant is back to build on his Rookie of the Year campaign."

• Pro Basketball News' Sam Amico: "I wrote it before and I'll do so again -- my heart aches for pro basketball fans in Seattle. That city shouldn't sleep until a new version of the Sonics is brought to town. And someday, it will happen. That said, the fans in Oklahoma City have already been a constant reminder that when all else is wrong in the world, there's always the NBA. My goal this season is to get there for just one game and experience the love these people have for their new team. Just reading the blogs and message boards can tingle your spine. In OKC, the Thunder can do no wrong."

Thunder gets Sun burned, 102-93

BOX SCORE

Let me just say this: I want Robert Swift to become a great player. OKC needs him to. But Lord help us if he ever becomes the face of this franchise. Nothing against the big fella, but we all know he isn't exactly easy on the eyes. The hair, the pale skin, the tats. The awkward lumbering. But if he ever gets it he could be a major piece in the Thunder puzzle.

But the good news is Big Robert played tonight. Because without him, the Thunder (1-5) would've only had eight players dressed. And the nine that were in their light blue unis played hard all night, taking the Suns (5-3) to the limit in a 102-93 loss. The Thunder tipped a ton of passes and got most loose balls. Very impressed with the hustle this evening.

You add Chris Wilcox, Joe Smith, Earl Watson to the mix tonight and things might have been different. You could visibly see the team wear down late in the fourth. Phoenix started getting more of the loose balls, picking pockets and grabbing offensive rebounds. But even without them, Johan Petro played another solid game scoring 17 on 7-10 shooting. But missing Wilcox and Nick Collison not playing a lot due to foul trouble contributed to being outrebounded 38-35.

Jeff Green went down hard and appeared to have hurt his wrist. Kevin Durant limped off late in the fourth. Either these guys are all made of ceramic, they're big babies or they're really unlucky. Pretty much anytime someone went up for a rebound, slipped a little or was fouled, I just knew they sprained and ankle, blew out a knee or broke their face. Seriously. With the rash of injuries, I've got it in my head that every play someone is going to get hurt. I saw Earl Watson bend over to tie his shoe and I swear I saw his MCL snap.

Bob Swift looking ridiculous.

Other than the hustle and active hands, there were some other major positives. Russell Westbrook played his best game of the preseason. He led the team in scoring and knocked down some nice looking outside shots, but he played really, really good defense on Steve Nash. Every now and then I see Westbrook cross someone and dive to the bucket and I think I'm watching a perennial All-Star. In a few years, that hesitation-cross over move Westbrook has could be deadly. Dare I say it looked kind of Chris Paul-ish? Tonight Westbrook finished with 22 points on 7-13 shooting and was 6-6 from the line. He pulled down six boards and dished four assists, but did turn it seven times. But that comes with him playing the most minutes of the preseason (39) and having to handle the ball basically the entire game.

And the sequence with Green's awesome block then Durant ooping to Westbrook was electric. That, combined with all the blocks and steals showed how athletic this team is.

Durant was ok, netting 19, but seemed reluctant at times to try and take the game over. Green was ok as well, putting up 12 and seven, but on 4-12 shooting. Damien Wilkins might as well have stayed home tonight, as he had two points in 18 minutes on 1-5 shooting.

All in all, I think this game might be a microcosm of what lies ahead for the season (other than army of players missing with injuries). The squad played hard until the finish, but didn't have the gas or the wherewithal to finish. They couldn't secure a major defensive rebound with about five minutes left that turned into a big Sun three. They couldn't score with 40 seconds left down six. There were just small things they didn't do which resulted in the loss. They turned it 23 times and were sloppy at times. But they worked hard and showed flashes of brilliance. Just keep telling yourself as it goes on - they're young; it will come.

Kyle Weaver for three! Cue... what?

Now other than the obvious - playing the riff of Thunderstruck or the "Thuhn-daa! Nuh-huh-uh-uh-huh-huh-uh-uh!" part every time we score - each player needs a unique song to celebrate when they score a basket or do something worthwhile. Some more than others, because it doesn't happen very often (Mo Sene.) Since the team is new and to my best knowledge, they may not be settled on this, I thought I'd lend a hand. Some are more ridiculous than others, but what the heck. All in good fun, right? Right? Hello?

Remember every time Chris Paul scored, Ric Flair's "Woo!" would echo throughout the Ford as everyone yelled it? That was awesome. Or when Desmond Mason scored, "Who Let the Dogs Out?" would blare and the crowd would bark the "Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh-ooh" part? (But seriously, Who Let the Dogs Out? Sheesh.) No reason to change Dez's, because we're all familiar with that.

Robert Swift. Tough decision here. First I settled on Crazy Train (for obvious reasons) and just blast the "Aye! Aye! Aye!" part. But then I reviewed recent pictures of Big Robert with the freakish Carrott Top hair and the painted nails and the tats and all that stuff and I thought just playing this entire video might be more appropriate. (Disclaimer: if you haven't seen this movie, I recommend to stop watching at about 2:38. Some things can't be unseen. Don't say I didn't warn you.)

Russell Westbrook. As mentioned with CP3, the "Woo!" was awesome. So why not keep the theme with young, rookie, drafted at No. 4 point guards? Nothing seems to complement "Woo!" better than this. Westbrook cuts and dives to the bucket and lifts it up and in and then we hear the Macho Man's, "OOOOH YEEEEEAAAAAH!" Perfect.

Johan Petro. I remember in like my third grade music class, we learned this song called Alouette. It was some French song about pulling the feathers off a bird. Whatever. But evidently, football fans (not the good football) of Chelsea sing a version of this song loudly at bars while the team plays. Petro is French. Check. The song is French. Check. Loud chanting and yelling in the Ford Center. Triple check.

Kevin Durant. Honestly, nothing sounded good. Maybe I misheard, but I could've swore I heard an announcer call him the Big Train. (He's from DC just like the real Big Train, Walter Johnson, so it fits I guess.) So maybe a steam train whistle? Boring and lame city. Whatever is picked for KD has to be cool because there's potential to hear it 10 to 15 times a night. When I think of KD, I think of cold-blooded killer, as in cold-blooded scorer. So let's just nickname him Jules and play this when he scores. So maybe that really won't fit into the context of a basketball game, but I can dream right?

Mo Sene. He's from Senegal. Which is in Africa. Play the first four seconds and you've got a winner here. I hope Mo scores 60 a night.



Jeff Green. Lots of people are calling Jeff Green a sidekick - Robin to Kevin Durant's Batman. The Dwight Schrute to Michael Scott (or Dwigt to Agent Michael Scarn). The Ed McMahon to Johnny Carson. So what's the best sidekick to use? Mr. Smithers, Fall Out Boy, Goose, Tattoo from Fantasy Island? I choose the best sidekick ever - General Disarray. As to what to actually play when he scores, you tell me. I just know that Jeff Green = General Disarray which in turn means Kevin Durant = Professor Chaos. Nickname solved.

So if Jeff Green is Fall Out Boy, does that make Kevin Durant Radioactive Man?

Joe Smith. Ok, so I couldn't come up with anything for ol' Joe. But word is, he has to wear one of those protective masks for a while because of his broken nose. So we could just cop out and play a clip from "The Mask." Maybe "SMOKIN'!" or the whole Cuban Pete dance or even just this. But I say let's take it a step further. Let's play a clip of the real man in the mask.



I just hope Joe doesn't get suckered into doing something this embarrassing.

Chris Wilcox. Ok, so I couldn't come up with anything, so I just picked my favorite song from when I was six.

Kyle Weaver. This was the most obvious choice for me. "Westbrook penetrates, kicks to Weaver standing open for three. Weaver, rises... KNOCKS IT DOWN FOR THREE!" Crowd erupts. Cue the chorus of this.

Nick Collison. I looked up his nickname. Evidently, it's "Mr. USA Basketball." Lame. So I've got nothing... nothing... nothing... ah heck, just play this.

Earl Watson. Probably the worst pick here, but just cop out and play the opening bars of Duke of Earl by Gene Chandler. But if that's what we played, then maybe we could nickname Earl "The Duke" and play this instead. Much better. Pilgrim.

Damien Wilkins. Damien really hasn't accomplished a whole lot in his four-year career, but his uncle sure did. I vote just play one clip after another of uncle Human Highlight Film doing one awesome dunk after another.

So that's it for now. No D.J. White because he won't be playing for a while and no John Lucas Three because who knows if he'll have a jersey. And just as a bonus - I think Coach Peej should be nicknamed "Dr. Thunder." He looks like a doctor with his glasses over his nose and who doesn't love the awesome generic brand of Dr. Pepper?

Who knows if management will listen to my plea. I asked for Never Been to Spain for the game closer, so we'll have to wait and see there. But, please at least play MAAAAA-SAAAA-BAAINYAAA!!! when Mo Sene scores. I don't ask for much.

Thursday Bolts - 10.23.08

Vote.

• UPDATE! Ball Don't Lie just added their season preview of the team: "Here’s hoping they do trade Wilcox and Smith. Chris will be in his prime and he can really put a team over the top without needing plays called for him, while Joe can still contribute and has a salary that matches most MLE-types. These two are very trade-o-ble, and you just hope that GMs will look past the fact that they’re dealing with the savvy Presti and work toward improving their team. While we’re waiting, the Thunder will struggle to win 20 again. The home court advantage might play into the team’s hands, but beyond that this will be a horribly inefficient team with too many shortcomings to list. That doesn’t mean things won’t pick up, considerably in the future. Here’s looking at 2010-11, kids."

• Sports Illustrated's team scouting report: "There will be no shortage of references to a certain Rogers and Hammerstein musical when the Oklahoma City Thunder, a transplant from Seattle, begins play as a long shot to even improve upon last season's 20-62 record. So let this be one of the first. Thunder coach P.J. Carlesimo could call upon this lyric from Oh, What a Beautiful Morning to describe last year's SuperSonics defense: All the cattle are standin' like statues/ They don't turn their heads as they see me ride by. Thus, Carlesimo spent most of the preseason concentrating on that more bovine end of the floor."

• Speaking of said SI Preview, Kevin Durant is on the regional cover. Very spiffy.

• Joe surmises that Coach Peej may be having an identity crisis - or worse: "I’d love to have a sit down conversation with P.J. because when I look at the numbers for the teams he’s coached, I see some fairly consistent themes in his coaching style; his coaching worldview if you prefer. Yet when contrasted with his first season with Seattle/OKC I see a stark contrast from his past coaching style."

• Deadspin's preview: "They already have their franchise cornerstone in the form of last season's Rookie of the Year, Kevin Durant, who fills the basket the way a waiter at Ponderosa refills your Pepsi: Effective (20.3 PPG) even if he's a little sloppy (43 percent shooting from the field, 28 percent from beyond the arc). Plus, it looks like he spent the summer slurping down some Weight Gain 4000, and the added beefcake should help him both on defense (where, hopefully, he'll get to play in position this year) and on the boards (4.4 RPG last season)."

• The Sports Network's preview: "This season certainly doesn't look promising for the Thunder on the floor but the future looks bright. When you add Westbrook to a nucleus that already contains Durant and Green, you have to feel good about the next two-to-three years." (try to ignore the fact they got our record wrong - but we'll take the two extra wins.)
  

• Joe Smith to wear a mask and players react to preseason prognostications: "One year in Milwaukee, when Dez (Mason) and I were together, we were picked last in the East and made the playoffs,” Smith said. "You can’t go by what they say. With the talent we have I think we’re going to surprise a lot of people.”

• And be sure to acquaint yourselves with the Thunder's division foes by looking at other blogger previews of the Northwest Division.

Denver Nuggets
Jeremy: Pickaxe and Roll
Nick Sclafani: The Nugg Doctor

Minnesota Timberwolves
Derek Hanson & Staff: TWolves Blog
Andrew Thell: Empty the Bench
Stop-n-Pop: Canis Hoopus

Oklahoma City
xphoenix87: BallerBlogger
Zorgon: Blue Blitz
Royce: The Thunderworld

Portland Trail Blazers
Mookie: ...a stern warning
Benjamin Golliver: Blazers Edge
Coup and SJ: Rip City Project

Utah Jazz
UtesFan89: The Utah Jazz
Basketball John: SLC Dunk

Wednesday Bolts - 10.22.08

Don't forget to go vote for your favorite Thunder blog.

• ESPN.com's massive team preview is up for both the Western and Eastern conferences. Be sure to check out point No. 6 on the Thunder page. Booyah.
  

• Please read this wonderful season preview from Pro Basketball News. It's perfectly written and it really expresses everything I've ever tried to say concerning the Sonics evolution into the Thunder. "Set aside how screwed the people in Seattle feel long enough to realize that fans in Oklahoma City have nothing to do with said screwing. All they did was support New Orleans' team impressively enough to wind up inheriting their own when local businessman Clay Bennett essentially gifts it to them ... Sentimentality is all that makes the situation different. Seattle just had a team ripped away from it. Oklahoma City is perceived as a pack of poachers. The wound is too fresh right now to see it at face value. That knowledge won't stop many of you from casting an evil eye towards the league's newest fan base, anyway." Amen. Amen. We just love our new team. Don't hate us.

• Big surprise here, the Thunder waived Chris Alexander and Derrick Byers.

• The Ankle Sprain Fairy has struck again. Doesn't seem to serious with the way Coach Peej was talking and the fact that Kevin Durant "may" miss the last two preseason games.

• And here's some *awesome breakdown of the injuries by Darnell Mayberry and some other guy. Could NewsOK possibly put anyone more awkward on camera? That's not a challenge NewsOK.
  

• Here's a look at OKC's season tickets which started arriving on folk's doorsteps yesterday. (Thanks to artbypaul from OKCThunderFans.com, click to make bigger.) Where does Paul live? In a Saudi Arabian castle?

The World's official OKC Thunder preview

This is our installment in Jeff Clark's (CelticsBlog.com) amazing series of NBA blogger previews.

Last Years Record: 20-62
Key Losses: Fransisco Elson (signed with Bucks), Luke Ridnour and Adrian Griffin (trade with Bucks/Cavs), Donyell Marshall (waived)
Key Additions: Joe Smith and Desmond Mason (trade with Bucks/Cavs), Russell Westbrook (drafted)

1. What significant moves were made during the offseason?

Other than drafting Russell Westbrook at No. 4, the signing of Joe Smith is a pretty big deal. Smith has almost always played on a contender and should be the "P.J. Brown" to this team's young players. Desmond Mason was picked up in a three-way deal and he should be a nice safety cushion in case Jeff Green falls on his face this year and doesn't appear to be working out.

2. What are the team's biggest strengths?

Youth and exuberance. I highly doubt any team will play harder night in and night out than the Thunder this season. This team is thirsty for wins. They want it. But right now they're too young and too raw to get it done. But with the foundation GM Sam Presti has built, it will come. Defensively, they stunk last year (allowed 106 ppg) but should improve because of hustle and effort and also because there's some real length and athleticism there. And that's been one of coach P.J. Carlesimo's main focuses this preseason.

3. What are the team's biggest weaknesses?

Kind of like explosions in a Michael Bay flick, this is getting a little redundant. The answer: no consistent outside shooter and no consistent low-post scorer. Johan Petro has played decent in the preseason and everyone is waiting for Robert Swift's upside to become a reality (or for him to be healthy), but for now, the Thunder stinks in the post. And Damien Wilkins is not the answer from the outside.

4. What are the goals for this team?

To go .500 at home. Most people are picking them to finish last in not only the West, but the entire NBA. Most experts don't think they'll improve on their 20 wins from last year. But by playing good .500 ball at the Ford Center this year, they'll be assured of 20 wins right there and then if they play decently on the road, they could be looking at a 30 win year, which would be a huge, huge boost. Look, no one gave the 2005 Hornets a prayer to compete. They won 18 games the year before and appeared to have gotten worse. But behind a bump from a rabid city and a really, really good point guard, the team challenged for a playoff spot. There's no reason the Thunder can't aspire to do the same. (Key word: aspire. Look it up.)

5. Will the current roster resemble the roster at season's end?

You know Sam Presti probably worked his magic again by acquiring Joe Smith. Smith will be a great bargaining tool at the trade deadline and OKC will probably pull a few draft picks from a contending team that needs a warm body in the post. (Atlanta I’m talking to you and we’ll take that unconditional 2010 pick, thank you.) But Smith will serve his purpose here. He helps the Thunder not be totally incompetent in the post and should guide along Johan Petro and Bob Swift. Heck, he could probably show Chris Wilcox and Nick Collison a thing or two. Come 2010, this team should be a serious contender. Presti can either hand pick all the top talent from college or use the bevy of picks as trade leverage and land a couple veteran pieces. There’s going to be so much cap room to work with it’s not even funny and some pretty good free agents are hitting the market soon. And it’s not like there aren’t good pieces in place already. Kevin Durant will be a top five scorer for the rest of his career and once Jeff Green “gets it” he could turn it on and be very Scottie Pippin-ish (not that Durant is MJ, let's be clear there). Russell Westbrook should be able to lock down any guard and by all appearances, may turn into a dang nice player. And Serge Ibaka. Good heavens, Sergeant Slam (yeah, that’s my nickname for him, get it?) He’s more raw than sushi, but boy, he is a talent. He has dunking machine written all over him.

Predicted Record: 30-52,fourth in the Northwest, 13th in the West.

Tuesday Bolts

First off, LABallTalk.com is trying to figure out the best blog for each team and The Thunderworld is one of many Thunder blogs entered in the contest. If you feel deep within your bones, go vote for The TW. Or Blue Blitz. Or Thunderguru. Just one of us. Much thanks.

On to Tuesday's media hits...

• Speaking of LABallTalk, how about a preview from them: "GM Sam Presti is to be congratulated for shaping a positive future for the Thunder. Anyone who can turn Kurt Thomas into three first round picks is doing good work, to say the least. As for the present? OKC opens a day after Halloween, but there isn't a costume on the planet scarier than the hardwood horrors the Thunder will give their new fans (who, given the excitement at having pro spots in town, likely won't care). Oklahoma City is led by the young twosome of Rookie of the Year Kevin Durant at the two- he'll be a better fit as a forward down the line- Georgetown product Jeff Green at small forward, and have a decent third piece in power forward Chris Wilcox."

• The Big Lead's team preview: "Because Kevin Durant is a tremendous joy to watch, let’s start with the positives: We like Chris Wilcox’s power game, Nick Collison is becoming a garbage man power forward, we really like Russell Westbrook’s potential as a lead guard - perhaps becoming a Gilbert Areans-type player - and DJ White, when healthy, was a nice college player."

• Mike Baldwin on the open practice: "The Thunder’s annual session Monday night at the Ford Center was an opportunity for approximately 3,000 fans to see players in a non-game environment. 'We wanted to see these guys on a more personal basis,” said Stephen Smith, who brought his two sons. "You get to see them interact with their coaches and find out more about their personalities.'"

• Fan reaction from Monday's open practice

• Blue Blitz on the open practice: "So, tonight I got a small insight into how the Oklahoma City Thunder practices go. It was my opportunity to be Darnell Mayberry! I got there at about 6:15, and they were running drills. I got my pizza and Mountain Dew, and watched. There were several mini-hoops and face paint set up outside the Ford Center, and it was all free. Admission was free too, but since I got there late I had to stay behind the green railing. Eventually I was let down into the first row, but not onto the floor."

Monday Bolts

• Nick Collison sprained his ankle Friday: "Nick Collison sprained his right ankle Friday and did not finish practice. Collison was battling what team officials called soreness in his left ankle in Tuesday night's game, limiting him to 15 minutes against the Clippers."

• CBS Sportsline supports the Bump: "In a sports-crazy part of the country usually concerned only with football at this time of year, Oklahoma City is embracing its first major professional franchise, the NBA's Thunder.

• Jeff Green = Scottie Pippin? Mike Baldwin makes the comparison: "It would be unfair to compare any duo to Michael Jordan, arguably the greatest player in NBA history and Pippen, who collected six NBA championship rings. But if Oklahoma City is to evolve into a playoff team, much less a Western Conference contender, Durant and Green must improve in upcoming seasons. There are similarities between Green and Pippen. Both were selected No. 5 overall. One reason Green admired Pippen was he played multiple positions and was a perennial all-defensive player best known for his all-round game."

• Q&A with Kevin Durant: "What have you learned about this team so far? We work hard and play hard and we play for each other. We love being around each other. That’s one thing that always helps a team out, and we didn’t have as much of that last year. Now you can see the camaraderie and us jelling together. We should be good throughout the year. "

• The Thunder's early schedule favors the team and leads Mike Baldwin to think OKC may get off to a decent start: "One advantage working in the Thunder’s favor is the schedule. Oklahoma City could gain early season momentum and post a respectable record at the All-Star break. Almost half (25) of the Thunder’s first 51 games are against teams that missed the playoffs last season. In contrast, starting Feb. 17, Oklahoma City will play 21 of its final 31 games against teams that reached the playoffs."

• If you're an ESPN Insider, you can read about John Hollinger's second year studs: "Second-year players always make great breakout candidates, particularly in the backcourt. The hard part is choosing a horse -- you can make a case for darn near anyone based on what he showed you on a given night. But four players in particular have the strongest case for making an upward ascent this season. Each one has strong college numbers and at least a halfway-decent rookie campaign on his side."

• Blue Blitz put together a monster season preview post for the upcoming year: "Our #1 skill is, undoubtedly, rebounding. Our lineup, quite simply is huge. Durant is big enough to play PF, but he's an SG. We have a log jam of inside tendencied SF/PFs (Mason, Collison, Wilcox, Smith, Green), and our Centers (Swift, Petro) are like sticks. I mean, we don't have a Troy Murphy like rebounding star, but we can rebound the ball simply because we'll have so many tall guys with hands in the air."

• Joe's final installment of his position breakdown: "The Center position as it was played last year is nothing short of a train wreck. By the numbers it wasn’t the worst statistical position of the five (that dubious honor goes to the Small Forward position), but it was the second worst. It would have been much worse than it was if PJ hadn’t played Kurt Thomas and Nick Collison (both rugged Power Forwards) 53% of the team’s minutes at Center. The remaining 47% went to Johan Petro for the most part (33%), and a bit of Francisco Elson, Robert Swift, Chris Wilcox and Mo Sene."

• User Thor from OKCThunderfans.com had a chance to talk with Kevin Durant at the Oklahoma State-Baylor game: "I had the pleasure of getting to converse with Kevin Durant at the OSU-Baylor game today, and all I can say is Wow. What a great kid! He was nice enough to talk for about 4-5 minutes and sign a autograph. He said that he was having a great time in Stillwater, reminded him of Austin in ways. He was running around with JLIII for most of the day. I am glad KD is the cornerstone of our franchise!"

• And don't forget, today is the open practice!

Thunder and Lightning Round

There's some downtime between games and we're all real itchy for the real season to get underway. So first of all, Joe over at thunderguru.com rounded up us Thunderbloggers and had us do a little survey. If you want to see what us smarties predicted, click HERE. But with this little lull, I'm going to use my ridiculous, expansive knowledge of Thunder basketball to answer a few questions that I know are keeping you up at night. Since I don't have enough dedicated readers to actually produce a "mailbag" type thing, I'll make one up on my own.

Where are the points going to come from?
The points will come from three people, mainly - Kevin Durant, Chris Wilcox and Nick Collison with a little here and there from Earl Watson, Damien Wilkins, Jeff Green and Desmond Mason. And maybe a little icing from Russell Westbrook if he starts to get the hang of NBA basketball. Scoring has been an issue in the preseason, but I'd expect it to improve a little during the regular season as Durant gets more in the flow and Wilcox and Collison see more minutes.

What will it take for the Thunder to get near .500?
Someone to surprise and Kevin Durant to rise into the NBA elite. Look, Cleveland had to start somewhere with LeBron James. As he became a superstar, so the team improved. Nothing says that KD can't emerge this season into a prime player and the Thunder starts shocking people. Remember, the Hornets' 2005 roster looked much worse than this roster (I mean come on, they had Arvydas Macijauskas, Moochie Norris and Kirk Snyder playing significant minutes) and those Hornets won 38 games.

Is there any shot we'll see a 2005 type Hornets run because of the OKC bump?
I say yes because I believe in the Bump. But by run, I mean "exceed expectations." Home court advantage is huge and I think every player will feel it each time they step on the floor at the Ford. They know the excitement in the City so they'll probably play just that much harder for us. They want to win. And more importantly, I think they want to win for us.

What's more important for this team to improve: offense or defense?
Defense, for the simple reason that defense is what Sam Presti is building the team around. He's going with the Spur model and that model says defense wins games. There's already some solid scorers on the team even though the offense has looked inept at times during the preseason. But keeping the ball out of the basket is more important than putting it in, especially when you have difficulty with the latter.

What would be better: the Thunder to win 35 games and show serious improvement but fall well short of the playoffs, or win 18 games and land the No. 1 pick in next year's draft?
As I wrote that question, I had my answer in mind. But as I re-read it to check for errors, I'm having a little trouble deciding. Both look extremely good in one way, but extremely bad in another way. It's like a question my old college roomie posed to me once: You're in a tank, tied down and can't move with puke filled up to your bottom lip. Someone is about to throw a pile of crap in your face. Do you duck your head into the barf and dodge the poo or take the dungaree right in the kisser? There's really no right answer. Anyway, with this question, I settled with "get the No. 1 pick" because I would dance naked on top of Leadership Square wearing cowboy boots and a ribbon in my hair if OKC landed Blake Griffin next year, but I've changed my mind to "win 35 games."

The reasoning: Because that means the youngsters made serious improvement and that's better than getting another high pick. Presti already has an army of draft picks lined up and he'll probably lock away another couple before the end of the year, so it really isn't that big of a deal. But if OKC won 35, Russell Westbrook will have had to evolve into a darn nice guard and more importantly, Jeff Green will have had to made a giant leap. And KD will likely have upped his averaged and played more efficiently.

Will the Thunder roster look the same at the end of the season as it does today?
No chance. Sam Presti wheels and deals more than a Wall Street day trader. But for Presti, times aren't nearly as tough right now (or are they?). Joe Smith, Earl Watson, Chris Wilcox and Desmond Mason could all be shopped to a contender later on in the season if some other GM dangles some draft picks in front of Slick Sammy. We all know he eats those draft picks up like Rosanne at an ice cream buffett.

By the end of the season, will the league and the general public respect the OKC franchise?
Tough to say. Right now, OKC is the punching bag for every blogger, journalist and TV dude out there. They can't start a sentence that contains the words, "Oklahoma" "City" or "Thunder" without snickering about the colors, the logo, the jerseys, Clay Bennett or the name. And that's just the way it's going to be for a while - sadly. But if OKC starts putting together a serious franchise and has the look of a competitve team by year's end, people will stop focusing on the negatives and start talking about what's been happening on the floor - not off it.

Will Kevin Durant be an All-Star?
Probably not. There's so many good twos and threes in the West that it will be hard to outshine them; especially playing on a subpar squad. He'd have to average 25 or 26 to catch anyone's eye.

Will Russell Westbrook overtake Earl Watson as the starter by the break?
This is my Vegas "Lock-O-the-Week." Lock it up. Westbrook is the future of this franchise and Watson is some contender's solid backup point guard. If OKC falls ten below .500 quickly out of the gates, Sammy and Coach Peej will jump ship and start looking toward the future - which is bright with Westbrook, Jeff Green and KD.

Who is going to win the Thunder "David West Award" for "Who saw that coming?"
How about Chris Wilcox? He's only 26 and has as much athleticism as any four in the league. If I could explain to you why a guy with his ability is a career 9.6 ppg/5.5 rpg guy, my name would be John Hollinger and I'd actually be making money for all this pointless writing. Before West's 2005 season, he averaged 5.0 ppg and 4.2 rpg. Then in '05 he jumped to 17.1 and 7.4. One big reason? His minutes almost tripled. The same issue has plagued Wilcox. He's never averaged more than 30 minutes a game, but as a pillar to this team's "success" he should see more time and maybe put up bigger numbers. Last year, Wilcox showed a little life averaging 13.4 ppg and 7.0 rpg. If he bumps those up to 17 ppg and 10 rpg, he could be what pushes OKC into that "surprise team" catagory. And, like I've said before, this is a contract year for him and money talks - and makes you play harder.

What are the main missing pieces?
We've been over this before, but quickly: a consistent outside shooter, a big man that can score and a point guard that distrubutes and manages the game.

Who needs to go?
Time to throw up the "peace out" to Watson and Joe Smith. There's a serious youth movement in OKC and those two guys are just holding us back. They'll serve their purpose for this season (or maybe half of it) but by year's end, OKC will be looking at bringing in new guys and drafting even younger ones. Watson and Smith will provide some nice veteran leadership to this group for now, but they won't be here next year.

If the team really, really stinks, will the Ford Center still be full by seasons end?
Yes. No doubt about it. Yes. OKC will be known for having the best fans in the league within ten years. Mark it down.

Friday Bolts

• No big surprise and not really big news anymore; Kevin Durant and Jeff Green's options are picked up.

• The Bleacher Report's preview of the Oklahoma City Thunder (one of the better ones if you ask me): "Barring significant “jumps” from multiple youngsters on this roster, the first regular-season Oklahoma City Thunder campaign should come in abysmal fashion—at least as far as the win column is concerned. Once again, this team is loaded with promising young talent, and they won’t fail to entertain fans, but they simply aren’t ready to compete with the big boys just yet."

• The Sporting News' preview of the team: "All eyes should be focused to see if combo guard Westbrook can begin running Kevin Durant's club. Westbrook is the prize at No. 4 overall. Rookie D.J. White, taken with the 29th pick, had a benign growth removed from his jaw and will be sidelined four to six months while he heals from surgery. Fellow first-rounder Serge Ibaka, an 18-year-old 6-11 post player, likely will stay overseas, but second-round selection DeVon Hardin of Cal could contribute this year inside."

• AOL ranks the top 50 NBA players. Kevin Durant clocks in at No. 37. How could they leave Bob Swift off the list? But his upside! His upside!

• Darnell Mayberry on Russell Westbrook: "The sequence embodied the best of Westbrook this preseason. He’s been tough and tenacious, courageous enough to take on any challenge and confident enough in his abilities to believe he’ll win any battle."

• The Oklahoman's media "expert" Mel Bracht breaks down Thunderman Matt Pinto's radio call: "If anybody can work solo, though, it’s Thunder radio voice Matt Pinto. His high-energy delivery through the preseason has been delightful as the injury-plagued Thunder struggled to a 1-4 start."

Thursday Bolts

• Another team preview from The Scores Report: "For this season? Dire. For the future? Reasonably bright. Durant looks like a future franchise player, and while Jeff Green struggled in his rookie season, the team has all the ingredients for a turnaround in the next 2-3 years. They have a young core, a ton of draft picks, and oodles of cap space to work with. The upside is that they’ll be playing in front of the patient Oklahoma City fans who will be grateful to have a NBA team in town, even if the horribly-named Thunder don’t win very many games."

• HoopsWorld on Russell Westbrook: "What a difference a year makes. Oklahoma City Thunder first-round draft pick Russell Westbrook is the proliferation of that statement, and if the trend continues, he will provide the Thunder with a bolt of lightning sooner rather than later."

• Stat geek gone wild: "I am going to warm up the Thunderguru readers to the concept of Offensive Rating, Defensive Rating and Pace. If you’ve been a reader, you know that I use these numbers in my Roster breakdowns to help you see how the team performs when a given player is on/off the court. These numbers paint a much clearer picture of what’s going on with your team when you try and draw comparisons. It misses the point if you just talk about points per game, or points allowed per game, or to say a team plays “fast” or “slow”."

• D.J. White's surgery was a success: Team physicians will perform the second phase of the surgery, mend ing the jaw with a bone graft taken from White’s hip, in approximately six weeks.

• Thunder notebook; defensive improvement showing: "We know we have a lot of work to do, but we’ve made a lot of progress defensively,” coach P.J. Carlesimo said. "At times, we look like a good defensive team. We certainly don’t look like a good offensive team. We don’t get into our sets. We don’t do a good job with shot selection. A lot of that is me, because we emphasized defense.”

• Carrie Coppernoll on the excitement of 'watching the Thunder roll': "The song "Thunderstruck” by AC/DC needs more play. As I’ve said before, you can never have too much of that." Heavens no. It's already been pounded into our heads enough. I was walking on campus this morning and passed a guy wearing a Thunder hat and I kid you not, in my head without thinking (that really doesn't make sense does it?) I went "THUHNDA! Uh-huh-huh-huh-huh-huh-uh." That's not good. Less Thunderstruck please. More Never Been to Spain.

• And a fun video from preseason opening night. A Fan slam dunk contest! And it went as expected. A possible torn ACL, a belly flop face plant and a potentially gay cowboy galloping his way around the hardwood. Good idea, management. I hope they all signed waivers.
  

Wednesday Bolts

• Post game reaction from Blue Blitz: "Anyway, on to the game itself. The crowd seemed pretty apathetic towards the pre-game lineups, and the first quarter. The first was full of high energy low post maneuvers by both teams. Then, in the second quarter, the Clippers bought in all of their subs minus Ricky Davis, and it was a sludgefest through the third quarter. The Thunder had their starters out, but they played like total crap. It wasn't a defensively-minded game, like you would see in a Spurs matchup. Rather, it was just total crappiness and sloppiness on both ends."

• Post game reaction from the Thunderguru: "With a young team, one of the youngest in the NBA, the thing I’m looking for the most is to see my team compete. To give all and not give up. To not act like spoiled millionaires. To instead leave it all on the court. I’m proud to say that this team is doing that. If it’s not winning many games, nor likely will it anytime soon, at least they don’t quit and have been giving themselves an opportunity to get a win. I saw that last season. They stunk up the joint frequently, but they didn’t tank. Last night they were right in this thing till the very end and that makes me proud. I know it’s preseason, but my team is like a your little son."

• How was the Ford Center? From the people that were there: "I went to the Thunder game tonight and was very disappointed. The in game entertainment was lacking and I really missed the Hornets. I kept telling myself that this was pre season and it will get better, but the Hornets pre season games were FUN. Where was the music, games, dancers, etc? BORING BORING BORING"

• Create-a-caption, from Ball Don't Lie: "THUN-DER! Blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah ...VOICE IM-MOD-U-LA-TION SYN-DROME during last night's game against the Clippers. Any idea what PJ is preachin' screechin'? Best caption wins some earplugs. Have at it."

• Darnell Mayberry on the offense's struggles: "Carlesimo spent most of the team’s eight days of training camp establishing a defense identity. The Thunder then played five games in seven nights, leaving the team with little time to install many offensive sets. But with eight days until the Thunder’s next preseason game against Phoenix on Oct. 23, the plan is to focus more on offense."

• Coach Peej on last night's game:

• And the new name for the dance team? The Thunder Girls. Good Lord, could we be any more creative? Why not, "NBA Dance Team" or "Thunder Dancers" or "Half-naked Dancers that Serve No Purpose Other Than to Have Old Drunk Men Rape Me With Their Eyes So They Don't Get Bored During Timeouts and Keep Coming To Home Games"? Were those taken? They can't be serious about that name - it has to be temporary. I realize the "Laker Girls" is a classic, time-honored tradition but come on, we're OKC, not Los Angeles. Thunder Girls. Sheesh. Hold on, why do I care about this? Oh yeah, I don't. Thunder Whatevers. Just as long as they're hot. I need something to look at during timeouts.

• Reaction from ClipperBlog about last night's game: "Mike Taylor forced the action in the final minutes of a harrowing, albeit ugly, preseason win for the Clips in Oklahoma City last night. Al Thornton put up nice-looking numbers from the field (8-13) and the line (6-8) -- but turned the ball over five times. Baron Davis, Marcus Camby, and Tim Thomas all sat out the game. Cat Mobley somehow managed to go 0-7 from inside of 15 feet. Other curiosities: Ricky Davis swiped nine rebounds in 27 minutes. Paul Davis continues to log quality minutes off the pine -- making life much harder for DeAndre Jordan in the Clips' crowded frontcourt."

ThunderClipped

The great thing about the nickname "Thunder" is that you can put almost any word with it and it's almost like a real word. It's a headline writer's dream. Especially for a sucky, non-creative one like me. When in doubt I'll just play off a Thunder cliche ("The Thunder rolls," "Thunderstorm warning: win in the forecast" "Thundersucking their way to 15th straight loss") or just put the opponent's nickname with it (ThunderBulled, ThunderSpurred, ThunderTimberwolved). Ok, so it doesn't work for everything.

I digress.

Officially, the Thunder came home. Came home to be greeted by 16,000+ fans that were stoked for preseason basketball. And even though the crowd was ELECTRIC! (more on that later), the team came up short, 90-88 to the Los Angeles Clippers.

The team fought hard til the finish, but honestly, I can't blame them. These guys are probably more exhausted than David Wells after a morning jog and on top of it played tonight without a full cupboard - even more empty than it has been in the previous games. Nick Collison and Chris Wilcox sat the entire second half and were sorely missed even though Johan Petro continues to evolve into a decent player. Jeff Green sat again nursing his ankle even though he said if it were a regular season game, he'd probably have played. No Swift, no Weaver, no Mo Sene. Granted the Clippers (2-0) weren't playing with one either, but when you're as thin as OKC, it's almost not fair.

The team closed well again in the fourth, outscoring LA by four. That's a positive. Save the Golden State game, the Thunder (1-4) has been in each game late in the fourth. The lost to Minnesota by six, Sacramento by nine and tonight by two. The signs of a young team. Learning to close is something that comes with experience.

Watching Russell Westbrook tonight was extremely "oh yes! oh no!" He'd make a great drive to the bucket and draw a foul but then would come up short at the stripe. He'd make a great move bringing the ball up the court, but then would lose the handle. The box score only has him with one turn, but it sure felt like more than that. Earl Watson turned it over six times and was erratic at times. John Lucas didn't do much to help his making the team as he seemed out of control for most the second half.

But one thing about Westbrook: If he continues to play with the type of reckless "I'm going at the rim and you're not going to stop me unless you grab both of my arms and put your armpits in my face" regard for the rest of the year, he's going to be wonderful. Especially once he develops the kick-out pass to a currently non-existent deep threat. Westbrook is a work in progress and we have to realize this is just his fifth big league game. Give him time to develop his outside shot, get used to on-the-ball pressure and get used to switching and reading on-the-ball screens. Once he starts getting that stuff down, he'll be a force.

The fans were good and got loud in the fourth at a few points, but holy crap Grant Long, you don't have to point out the patrons every time they clap loudly. Both Long and Brian Davis went on and on about how the crowd was ELECTRIC! and willing the team on. While they were most definitely more animated than any other group I've seen this preseason, they weren't ELECTRIC! It almost felt like Davis and Long were contracted to mention the crowd 12 times each during the game to boost morale.

Also, I heard three Thunderstrucks throughout the game. There may have been more but that's still not a good sign. Growing up rocking out to that AC/DC live album, I never thought Thunderstruck could get old but if I have to hear it six to seven times every single night, that might happen. In moderation guys, please - for the sake of my eardrums.

Overall, more reason to be encouraged. Again, Baron Davis and Tim Thomas didn't play, but that doesn't mean the Thunder didn't play well. The Thunder shot poorly from three again (3-11), from the free throw line down the stretch and turned it over 20 times, but yet only lost by two. Your superstar went 6-18 from the floor and had only 18 points but you only lost by two. Your two best postmen sat the entire second half and you just lost by two. Those are good signs. Petro played his best game this year and maybe ever, netting 12 and grabbing 15. If he breaks out this year, that could be the difference in winning 30 instead of 20.

The club gets a couple days off before putting back on the light blue unis and hitting the road to play Phoenix. (By the way, I dug the way the home duds looked. Much better than the road blues.)

BOX SCORE

Tuesday Bolts

• Sports Illustrated's online preview of the team. Be sure to pay close attention to the lower right-hand corner as the good guys at Blue Blitz have a little blurb about the upcoming season. Well done men.

• Kevin Durant is good, from Thunder Rumblings: "Kevin Durant showed tonight why the NBA world says he’ll someday be great. He simply took over down the stretch, scoring 18 of the team’s final 25 points and had 20 of his 26 in the fourth quarter. But he was the complete package tonight, playing even more impressively on the defensive end and finishing with five rebounds, four assists, four steals, three blocks and only two turnovers in only 33 minutes. He blocked two shots in the final minute that secured the game."

• Jimmie Tramel of the Tulsa World: " Watch out, mayor. If Kevin Durant ever wants to run for office, he's going to be popular enough to steal a lot of votes. Durant showed Monday night why he was the NBA's rookie of the year last season, scoring 20 fourth-quarter points and 18 of his team's final 25 points in a 110-104 preseason victory over the Houston Rockets at the BOK Center."

• Jonathan Feign of the Houston Chronicle: "For the fourth time in four preseason games, Rockets coach Rick Adelman changed starting shooting guards. Von Wafer got the start against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday, and keen observers likely noticed the difference between Wafer and the regular-season starter, Tracy McGrady. Wafer struggled Monday but had done enough the first two weeks of training camp and preseason games to push for a spot on the Rockets’ roster, demonstrating shooting range and ability to put the ball on the floor and finish above the rim."

• Post game reaction from Blue Blitz: "It didn't look good at first. I was relieved when I heard T-Mac wasn't going to play, but when I saw Nick Collison guarding Yao Ming, probably giving him a good 8 inches, I again had my doubts. My doubts may have been legit if it wasn't a pre-season game, he had 15 points and 16 rebounds in just 24 minutes. Nevertheless, as the game progressed, you could see a certain fight in the Thunder that just wasn't there before."

• Reaction from Thunderguru: "Houston was kind enough to keep Yao Ming, Ron Artest, Shane Battier, T-mac and Rafer Alston off the court in the 4th quarter, so we were definitely playing against their second team. We finished with Earl, Westbrook, Durant, Petro and Nick. My hat is off to PJ for realizing that Defense wins games. He interspersed that lineup with a little bit of Desmond Mason and no Chris Wilcox. Wilcox is nice but he is nobody’s tough defender. Petro hasn’t really impressed me with his defense either in his career, but he is 7 foot and can occasionally block a shot."

Analysis from Darnell and Mike:



Kevin Durant, P.J. Carlesimo, Desmond Mason speak about the win:

The Thunder rolls to first victory

Over/Under: three publications use some form of that headline for tonight's 110-104 Thunder victory over the Houston Rockets. I say push. What can I say, I'm very Michael Wilbon-ish.

Before we dig in, let me tell you, those 10 minute interviews with P.J. Carlesimo before each game are pretty painful. They seem to go on and on and on. Coach is pretty wordy and likes to ramble, but how about Matt Pinto's hair tonight? All slicked back and ready to rock. Reminded me of Coach Bombay in D2: The Mighty Ducks - we needed Jan to jump out and say, "Who vas dat man out der with the zuit and da vet hair? Vas it raining? ...It looked like you just got out of da showver!"

And anyone notice the change in the on-screen scoreboard? Could the KSBI crew be avid readers of the TW? Much smaller and much less obtrusive, but yet still a little on the big size. But definitely an improvement.

But as for the game, for blatantly obvious reasons, this is the the most encouraged I've been so far in this young preseason. There were flashes of some serious talent, but as expected with a young team, some flashes of serious failure. But coming out with a win is what matters. And the scrappiness and feistiness is what's most encouraging.

This is what P.J. can build on. The team can look at this tape and say, "This is what worked. Let's do more of that." Hang around, hustle, rebound, play tough defense and let your superstar take over in the fourth. That's pretty much the winning NBA formula. It may have just been preseason ball, but you could see clearly that OKC wanted to win this game. The team was well on its way to another loss down 93-85, but then something clicked for KD and he took over. He scored 20 of his 26 points the final eight minutes of the game, including the go ahead basket with just over a minute left.

One huge plus: only 10 turnovers. Considering the turnfest the team had going in the first three games, just turning it over 10 times can be directly tied to the win. Also, the Thunder out-rebounded the Rockets 45-40.

But let's get something clear before we start a parade down Reno and start flying banners - Yao Ming only played a half and Tracy McGrady only played a quarter. And keep in mind, Yao had 15 points and 16 rebounds in that first half. This game might have been very different had he played the whole thing.

Johan Petro (12 points, seven boards) did an admirable job on Yao and showed he has a little post game. He worked hard and played solid minutes down the stretch. And Nick Collison, (*stands up and claps*) I adore your hustle. He is the type of player that every team needs. He earns everything. Rebounds, points, minutes. He earns it. I love that. He scored 21 huge points and more importantly, inspired his teammates to play harder.

Chris Wilcox played better tonight as well (13 points, 14 boards). Looked strong on the boards and if he just gets it together, he could play with anyone. His physique is ideal and he has athleticism out the butt. But for some reason, he just hasn't turned it on. Maybe this is the year. I think this man needs a contract year to come out of his shell; dangle a little potential free agency millions in front of his face and maybe he'll do this for 82. Oh, would you look at that, his contract is up this year... hmm.

One reason to be encouraged:
The fourth quarter show-up. The Thunder outscored the Rockets 35 -27 in the money period and played with guts and heart to lock up the win. Kevin Durant showed why he is, the man. He struggled a little early but he came up big where stars come up big.

One reason to be discouraged:
None. There's things in the box score to pick at, but there's no reason. The team won and it feels good. KD played an excellent fourth and the squad closed. I'm not nit-picking tonight. But... the team did go 1-7 from downtown. Ok, sorry. I couldn't help it. Though overall, good game.

And how about the T-Town bump? And it wasn't even a full-fledged bump as the BOK Center only had just over 10,000 people show up for a half-full arena. But tonight's game reinforced my belief in the big-time home court bump for OKC. This team is going to play harder, faster and better at home because they want to win here. They feel the excitement and they want to produce. The Bump is real.

THUNDER BOX SCORE
HIGHLIGHTS

Blog Wars!

Anything better than two faceless names arguing over the Internet about something that means absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of life, much less sports?

Yes. Many, many things are much better.

But I feel like I am walking on clouds right now. Skipping in fact. Very merrily.

The best Thunder blog - nay, best NBA - nay!, best blog PERIOD on the Internet has plugged my dear little project. I've estimated that five, maybe six people read the incoherent crap I write on here, but evidently one of them is Internet pretend-celebrity, Claymate from super-blog "Bend It Like Bennett." (I mean, he did get interviewed by And One. Oh baby. OH Baby! OH BABY!) If there was ever a true wordsmith that could encapsulate everything I've ever wanted to be - a true scribe that can zing anything, and I mean anything - Mr. Mate (if that is your real name...) is that person. He's bitter, angry, vulgar, crude and mouthy and that's why he's great. He'll say it and say it in your face - the elderly, women and children included.

Evidently, one of my harmless little digs at the City of Bitterness and Sorrow got to the great Clay. Enough so for him to pen a nice 500 word feature about it. Which was incredibly kind of him - my readership probably doubled! And with it probably came some of his devoted Seattle readers. Awesome. And by the way, people still use the Internet catchphrase, "Wow, friend, just wow"? Are people still saying "Raise the roof" and "that's bad" when something's actually good? And we're friends? I wasn't aware. I eagerly await your Facebook friend request to make it official, guy.

Anyway, to recap the situation: I said I would like to buy a No. 40 Shawn Kemp Thunder jersey or a No. 20 Gary Payton uni. Evidently, this touched a nerve with Mr. Mate. Maybe he didn't get "it." That's ok though, "jokes" can be hard to "get." And Clay's humor on his award-winning blog is so sharp it could cut iron, I can see why it would be tough to "get" something as clear and obvious a joke as I wrote. Maybe if I just did neato photoshop pictures of every little thing, it could bring this bad boy up another notch and then Clay would "get" "it".

Here's how Clay quoted me on the matter:

“I've told friends I'm getting a custom Thunder Gary Payton #20 jersey or a Rain Man, Shawn Kemp #40 uni, but the price is pretty hefty. Maybe I could get a discount if I just got a Detlef Schrempf #11. Just one thing to make sure of: Do not, I repeat, DO NOT get a custom jersey with your name on the back. There is nothing worse than some fat guy sitting in Loud City with a No. 35 jersey with "Stravinski" strapped across the back of it. News flash: You don't play for the team. Kevin Durant does - so wear his jersey."

Here's what I actually wrote:

"I've told friends I'm getting a custom Thunder Gary Payton #20 jersey or a Rain Man, Shawn Kemp #40 uni, but the price is pretty hefty. Maybe I could get a discount if I just got a Detlef Schrempf #11. Just one thing to make sure of: Do not, I repeat, DO NOT get a custom jersey with your name on the back. There is nothing worse than some fat guy sitting in Loud City with a No. 35 jersey with "Stravinski" strapped across the back of it. News flash: You don't play for the team. Kevin Durant does - so wear his jersey. Or get a throwback like me and support our rich history (zing)."

Maybe Clay lost interest in my story and couldn't make it through. I'm sure the new Oklahoman will be to his liking since the stories are shorter and there's more pictures. Maybe soon Clay, they'll have a pop-up newspaper for you to read! Wouldn't that be cool?

But you see what I did there with that last little line? I obviously pointed out that getting the Kemp or Payton jersey was you know, a joke, and just a little dig at our very, very, bitter friends from the Northwest. Just to be funny, right? Kind of like what Clay has done with his whole outfit.

Actually, I'm betting he got the zing but conveniently chose not to include that line in his post because it really would've nixed his little diddy. Times must be tough at BiLB now that Clay is having to resort to calling out other lowly blogs and ridicule those just excited to have a pro sports team. I guess you can only burn the team name, colors, logo, Darnell Mayberry and Berry Tramel so many times before you have to move on to bigger and better things. Or in this case, smaller and worse things.

Look, I've grown very tired of everyone jabbing OKC at every turn over the whole team thing. Like I've said, get over it - it's done and time to move on. But some people have trouble with it. Some email Bill Simmons constantly and whine about it. Some refuse to call the Thunder, "Thunder." Some make fun of the name, the colors, the jerseys, the city and everything else associated with the team. Or some make a low-brow blog dedicated to covering all the aforementioned areas. Yeah, Clay. That's you.

This will be all I'll say on the subject seeing as Clay is much more clever and much more witty than I and will likely embarrass me with his next post with some awesome photoshopped picture of me. And Lord knows I don't want to become the Jerry Seinfeld to Clay's Sally Weaver - just giving him more and more material to illustrate how I'm the devil.

Monday Bolts

• A Q&A session with guard Damien Wilkins: "How do you view your individual performance so far this preseason? I’m not surprised by it. But it’s not about me, it’s about the team and us trying to get better as a team. So far we really haven’t shown we’re improving as far as the game goes. We’ve got to start translating our efforts from practice over into the games. Once we start doing that, I’ll feel better about anything I’m doing."

• Could the Thunder play more games in Tulsa? "It's been discussed on our end," said team chairman Clay Bennett. "We're very willing to pursue that. We'll do what the market wants us to do. We view Tulsa as a very important part of this endeavor. If there is support for multiple games we'd very much like to play in Tulsa."

• Not exactly Thunder news, but kind of. Gary Payton is getting involved to bring the NBA back to Seattle. "Former Sonics guard Gary Payton was at Qwest Field to raise the 12th Man flag before Sunday's kickoff, then later told reporters he is trying to get a group together to bring an NBA franchise back to Seattle by 2011." I am all for it. For one, I hate the way this whole thing went down and I hate that Seattle lost the Sonics. It wasn't right, but that doesn't mean that OKC shouldn't be excited about the new team. And also, it will take some of the nasty spew away from OKC if Seattle gets a team back.

• The Tulsa World previews tonight's game: "The Oklahoma City Thunder will play its first game on state soil and will face the Houston Rockets at the BOK Center. It will be the first basketball game played inside Tulsa's new downtown arena. Get used to seeing the NBA in town more often."

• Jimmie Tramel of the Tulsa World: "Oklahoma hit the jackpot when Chris Paul was a resident. During the Hornets' two-year stay in Oklahoma City, the point guard handled himself in a first-class manner, picking up a Henry P. Iba Citizen Athlete Award and giving fans every reason to believe they were watching a budding superstar. Now it appears the state's new basketball franchise hit a jackpot, this one going by the name of Kevin Durant."

Oklahoma City vs. Golden State: Recapped

Is there reason to be concerned? The Thunder (0-3) lost 122-102 to Golden State (2-1) tonight, which really wasn't a big surprise. We all knew the Thunder wasn't going to be good, but with Kevin Durant taking it on the chin again with a 4-16 night from the floor, is there reason to wonder about the season? The team is 0-3 and hasn't really played all that well. Should we worry?

No.

It's preseason basketball.

If Allen Iverson were here, he'd say "Preseason? We talkin' bout preseason! Not the regular season, not the regular season, not the regular season. We talkin' bout... preseason." Obviously, "worry" is relative because we know what the expectations are for this squad.

But I'll tell you one thing to maybe worry about - Jeff Green's ankle sprain. The guy was coming on. He played well against Sacramento and was looking good for a half against the Warriors. But hopefully it was just a light tweak and he was held out for precautionary reasons.

Other than that, there's really nothing to be worried about. The team wasn't playing with a loaded gun, seeing as Nick Collison was held out and a bunch of other contributers didn't see any time on the hardwood either. The squad is playing a stream of games in just a few days so they're pacing themselves. And the point of preseason is to get better, get more acquanited with your teammates and freshen up your game. Hard to say if that's really happening right now, but again, it's preseason ball and there's still four more to come.

Negatives:
Defense. But in reality, Golden State is very good offensively. So in most cases, in order to beat them, you have to outscore them.

Jeff Green's injury. Probably not too serious, but with the growing laundry list, it's not good to have another guy out. With the rate these guys are going down, by the end of this preseason schedule, Matt Pinto may be suiting up.

Fourth quarter. The team hasn't closed well at all. Tonight they went 4-17 in the fourth and overall, have been outscored 81-56 in the money period. That's not good. Definitely the youth showing through.

Positives:
Damien Wilkins. In double-digits every night so far this preseason as he had 23 points tonight, including 3-6 from downtown. Good stuff. The Thunder is looking for another scorer like a six-year-old is looking for Waldo and Wilkins may be that answer.

The team looked much crisper and the offense showed serious life. They scored over 100 for the first time and at times looked very crisp offensively. Russell Westbrook once again impressed and John Lucas had a nice game. The team is young, but tonight it showed improvement.

Next up:
In Tulsa against the Rockets Monday night.

Box Score
And your view from the other side (even though they refuse to acknowledge our presence).

Thunder vs. Sacramento: Pre-game primer

vs.

Oklahoma City Thunder (0-1) vs Sacramento Kings (0-1)
Friday, October 10
Arco Arena
Sacramento, Calif.
9:00 PM CST

TV: Thunder TV, KSBI-52 (Cox 9)
Radio: The Sports Animal, (98.1 FM, 640 AM)

Game thread 1 / Game thread 2

NBA.com game info

View from the enemy: Sactown Royalty

Oklahoma City looks to rebound after Thursday's 88-82 loss at Minnesota in Billings, Montana. The Thunder had trouble at times scoring, but eventually put together a solid run to hold a lead of seven late in the fourth quarter. The Thunder had trouble in the post as they only had three players to rotate into the four and five spot. Tonight Joe Smith and Chris Alexander will likely see the bulk of the playing time in the post as P.J. Carlesimo looks to rest his other big men as the team has five games in seven days. Also, Carlesimo said he'd divide the time a little more evenly tonight, looking to get each player about 20 minutes, also planning to play John Lucas, Derrick Byers and Kyle Weaver (if healthy).

What to watch for:
Russell Westbrook. He was electrifying in game one but a little erratic. After having time to watch tape and reflect on his first live NBA action, it will be interesting to see how Westbrook performs.

Friday Bolts

• D.J. White will be out 4-6 months after undergoing surgery on his jaw. Ouch. Big man depth was already pretty slim, but not it's even worse. Always sucks when one of your top picks really doesn't get any tick in his opening season. Shame.

• ESPN the Magazine has some fun facts on the Thunder: "In our neverending quest to provide content that's both informative and entertaining, we're rolling out a 'Fun Facts' on every NBA team. No idea what that means? Check out the entries for the WashingtonWizards and Memphis Grizzlies. Up now: the Oklahoma City Thunder, also known as The Team That Abandoned (depends on how you look at it) The Emerald City. We'll keep it fun, though. We promise."

• A secret weapon?!?! Go on...: "P.J. Carlesimo insists he hasn’t settled on a starting unit and a second string. But what became surprisingly clear following Wednesday night’s preseason opener is the Thunder coach could have ample ammo off the bench this season. The goal for the Thunder is now duplicating that productivity in tonight’s second dress rehearsal, against the Sacramento Kings."

• The braintrust at the Oklahoman weighs in on the Thunder's first game: "Tramel: The best solution at center for the Thunder is for Clay Bennett to use his influence with David Stern to get the NBA to begin playing 4-on-4. With the players getting so big and fast, sometimes the court gets too crowded. So let's play 4-on-4, open up the game and the Thunder won't have to worry about the center position. Otherwise, it's going to have to be Nick Collison." Oh Berry, you slay me.

• Another awesome NewsOK production here: The Thunder dancers get a makeover. I know. Hold on to your butts.

And for all six of you that come here to read what I'm feverishly writing, I won't be here to recap tonight's preseason game against Sacramento and likely won't be here to recap tomorrow night's either. I'll be in Dallas screaming my face off for the Sooners.

Thursday Bolts

• The Oklahoman's Thunder notebook - Kevin Durant still gets nervous before games: "Kevin Durant, the league’s Rookie of the Year, said before Wednesday night’s game that he doesn’t feel any different going into his second season than he felt as a rookie. Durant said he still gets nervous before games, and the jitters don’t subside until tip-off."

• Mike Sherman of the Oklahoman: "Remember all the folks who told us Oklahoma City was delusional to think it was getting an NBA team? Remember those who laughed when we thought the Hornets might stay? Remember when we were told that Mr. Microsoft, Mr. Coffee and Slade Gorton and all those superior intellects, millionaires and 'revealing emails' were going to force Clay Bennett's group to sell the team? None of that, none of those people, mattered on Wednesday night when Oklahoma City's -- that's right, OKLAHOMA CITY'S -- NBA team made its debut in Billings, Mont. The Oklahoma City Thunder might not be scheduling any ring ceremonies or NBA championship parades in this decade. But this preseason game was no small thing. It marked the first time a major league team that belongs to and in this city -- and this city alone -- ever took the court."

• Darnell Mayberry's gamer for last night's 88-82 loss to the Wolves: "Kevin Durant, Jeff Green and Earl Watson struggled to say the least, combining to go 5-for-27 from the field for 16 points and 11 turnovers. I wouldn’t read too much into that trio’s performance. Durant got decent shots for the most part, although he settled for a few too many jumpers instead of getting to the basket. Durant showed a few post up moves tonight as well, which should improve as the season wears on and get him a few more easy buckets."

• View from the enemy - Timberwolves blog Canis Hoopus recaps last night: "Last night in Billings, Montana the Wolves were ostensibly the home team. Judging by some of the sound effects and music played during the broadcast of the game, I'm pretty sure the Wolves promotion folks were running the audio inside the arena."

• Another Thunder season preview from www.betfirms.com: "The Oklahoma City Thunder, formerly the Seattle SuperSonics, are relocated with new colors, but they remain in the West’s Northwest Division. After a disappointing 20-62 season last year, the Thunder are hoping to emerge as a new contender with a fresh start in Oklahoma City. Certainly the fans will show up to watch out of mere excitement to have their own professional sports franchise. Read on to find out whether we think the Oklahoma City fans will be rooting for a winning team this season. The Thunder are +10000 odds at BetUS to win the Western Conference Championship, which means they are going to be underdogs all season long and you can count on plenty of NBA picks on them."

• And bbingham05 at OKCThunderFans.com has a couple of alternate NBA 2K9 covers. Very cool.

Thunder vs. Timberwolves: Reaction

This is what we all have waited for. It's amazing to think about where we are at. Thousands of us sat in front of a television tonight and watched a professional sports franchise that had "Oklahoma City" across the front and we didn't have to worry about them leaving. Try and imagine this happening four years ago. You can't. Why? Because there was no shot, no chance, no hope for little OKC to get a pro sports team.

But at 8 p.m. Wednesday night, we were all witnesses to the birth of Oklahoma City Thunder basketball. Just awesome. They lost 88-82 to Minnesota but who cares? We were watching our own team play pro basketball. (Highlights)

Anyway, enough of that. A few observations from the game:

• KSBI's production was, to put it nicely, lacking. The picture looked like I was watching a replay of the 1985 Orange Bowl. It wasn't clear and the camera work was weak. The graphics were poor and the music sounded like it got ripped right off Tecmo NBA Basketball for regular Nintendo. I swear the Cox High School Game of the Week looks better than that. I understand that the lighting in that high school gym or whatever it was probably had some effect, but not THAT much.

• And for basically the entire first quarter, some bar with a transparent gray screen kept flashing up about every 15 seconds just about giving me a seizure. Another issue was the scoreboard took up too much screen. It hung too low and too often were players' faces cut in half because they were in the scoreboard.

• The announcers need work. First off, there were two Seattle/Sonics slip ups. That's just bad. You can't call the Thunder the Sonics by accident. Especially if you're the team's announcers. And Brian Davis talks way too much and his pretend/forced announcer voice isn't helping anything.

• Russell Westbrook is reason for hope. Seriously, this guy is the real deal. I know it was just 20 minutes in a preseason game but the guy is a one-man fast break from hell. And boy, is he ever athletic. That swooping layup he had in the second quarter was a thing of beauty as he avoided the charge and finger-rolled it home. Very nice. He also showed some serious flashes of being a solid quarterback. He made a couple of nice dishes most notably the one to Chris Wilcox after he almost threw it away. Westbrook has the tools to be a star. He just has to put it together night in and night out for 82 games.

• On a related note: I haven't watched a ton of Earl Watson but he has backup point guard written all over him. He just doesn't have the look or the game of a floor general. It seemed like the offense was stagnant and everyone stood still while Watson was running the show. I'm thinking within the first 15 games, Westbrook has taken over the starting spot and Watson is playing off the bench.

• Turnovers, turnover, turnovers. Geez. You would've thought you were watching an OU women's basketball game with all the turning that was going on. Minnesota dropped it 25 times and OKC turned it 23 times. Holy crap. That's bad. Westbrook had six and Watson had five. It was the first time the team's have bounced a ball competitively in months and it showed. I don't know if it was good Thunder defense that forced the 25 turns or bad, bad T-Wolves offense. Either way, it could get ugly at times.

• Quick hits: free throw shooting wasn't bad, but not great (20-28). Kyle Weaver, John Lucas, Robert Swift, D.J. White, Mo Sene and Joe Smith all didn't play - which hurt because the team basically had to rotate three big men. Kevin Durant did not shoot the ball well (3-13, 10 points). At times, the team had major trouble scoring, including just 15 first quarter points and a seven minute drought within that. And P.J. got teed in a preseason game! Awesome.

But keep in mind one thing - this was the preseason. This game didn't count for anything and doesn't mean anything. The starters didn't play for virtually an entire quarter at a point. But there are a lot of good things and bad, bad things to take from it. And now we get ready for Sacramento.

THUNDER BOX SCORE

Earl Watson, PG	28	1-7	0-1	0-0	1	4	5	2
Kevin Durant, SF	27	3-13	0-0	4-4	7	2	3	10
Jeff Green, PF	17	1-7	0-1	2-4	5	1	4	4
Chris Wilcox, PF	30	6-10	0-0	5-8	3	0	2	17
Nick Collison, PF	31	2-7	0-0	0-0	6	2	0	4
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	TO	PTS
Desmond Mason, SF	8	1-2	0-0	2-2	2	3	1	4
Russell Westbrook, PG	8	5-9	0-1	3-4	3	3	6	13
Damien Wilkins, SG	16	7-12	1-2	4-6	5	0	2	19
Johan Petro, C	7	2-2	0-0	0-0	7	1	2	4
TOTALS		FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	TO	PTS
		28-69	1-5	20-28	39	16	23	82
		40.6%	20.0%	71.4%

(Preseason stats are far from accurate by the way, especially the minutes played. Westbrook actually played almost 20 minutes in the game, not eight.)

Preview week: Thunder preseason to-do list

There aren't a lot more satisfying things for a man than to finish up a little project or job and then stomp proudly over to that cursed to-do list and cross it off. Feels good.

So like a nagging wife, I'm giving Oklahoma City a little to-do list for the preseason. And more like a nagging wife, I have little faith the team can actually complete all the tasks on the list, to which I'll cross my arms and nag them from my seats high above in Loud City.

To-do #1: Establish a consistent starting lineup.
Right now, the probable starting lineup for tonight's game against Minnesota is Earl Watson, Kevin Durant, Jeff Green, Chris Wilcox and Nick Collison. The likelihood that's the starting five for the first 15 games? Unlikely. The team has got to use these meaningless games to figure out who plays well together and who should start.

To-do #2: Find out if Russell Westbrook can play at the League level.
The consensus after Draft Day 2008 - Thunder GM Sam Presti took a chance on the UCLA guard. Why not D.J. Augustin? Why not Mario Chalmers? Why Russell Freaking Westbrook? Well, after summer ball, Presti had to have had a little smug smile on his young, chiseled, wrinkle-less face. Westbrook played top-notch and had the look of a real-deal NBA guard. He could defend, he could handle the ball and he was athletic - boy was he athletic. But that was against other first and second year players and a couple fifth year guys that were hoping and praying to make a preseason roster. But now Westbrook will have the chance to handle real NBA pressure and defend real NBA scorers. It will be interesting to see how he does.

To-do #3: Mesh, jell, chemistrify, mold, whatever.
I mentioned it in No. 1 briefly, but this team needs to figure one another out. There's a bunch of new pieces and the team's average age is 24. Desmond Mason and Joe Smith are new acquisitions. Westbrook, D.J. White and Kyle Weaver are new to the League. Robert Swift hasn't seen a competitive basketball floor in years because he's injured all the time. And then there's a couple of guys that are up in the air whether or not they'll make the roster that are new. Oh yeah, and then there's the whole "brand new to Oklahoma City" thing, so they need to jell to the City and its fans. Just get used to playing here and living here.

To-do #4: Stay healthy.
I guess this doesn't apply to you Robert Swift (or any other center on the team for that matter) since you're already hurt, but the team needs to stay injury-free. There isn't a lot of depth here so if one or two main cogs go down before the season even starts, this thing could get ugly. P.J. Carlesimo has already said Kevin Durant and a few others won't play all the games, but the key is don't take any unnecessary chances. The guys trying to make the roster - have at it. John Lucas, dive on the floor, jump on people's backs, climb inside the rim - do whatever it takes to make it. But the mainstays need to stay clean, especially players like Westbrook so he doesn't lose his season before it even gets started and then is set back a year.

To-do #5: Look good.
This means a couple of things: 1) Literally, look good. Look spiffy in the new duds, put on your headbands and armbands and act like this is the big-time. Start getting your mind revved up for the actual season. 2) Look good by playing good. If the team exceeds expectations and plays tough defense, doesn't turn the ball over and has someone emerge as a decent second scorer, then that builds confidence going into the regular season. Confidence is a wonderful thing, but it's a tough thing to build. Look at the pre-2004 Red Sox compared to now. Then, they were looking for something to go wrong so they could say, "Oh, here we go again" but now, they know something is about to go right so they can say, "Oh, here we go!" A big key is building that winning, confident attitude.

There's five, pretty simple things to try and do. I know they probably won't get around to all five, but just tackling two or three would be a nice start.

Wednesday Bolts

And tonight, it begins. We did it OKC. Tune in to KSBI-52 to watch the Oklahoma City Thunder take on the Minnesota Timberwolves. More info and probables here.

• A little preseason game preview for tonight: "Presti and McHale have taken a similar approach, using trades to acquire both young players for the future and veterans who can help win now. Both execs are also relying on high draft picks to speed their turnarounds. Presti selected guard Russell Westbrook with the fourth overall pick in June. McHale chose his UCLA teammate, forward Kevin Love, with the fifth selection."

• An AP wire story on the team's relocation: "Kevin Durant and his Oklahoma City Thunder teammates will have to wait to get settled in their new hometown. The former SuperSonics spent the offseason relocating from Seattle, but their exhibition schedule hardly gives them a chance to be at home. They are scheduled to start a road trip tonight against the Timberwolves in Billings, Mont., and swing through Sacramento and Golden State before returning to Oklahoma. Even then, it won't be for a home game — the Thunder are playing what technically is a road game in Tulsa, Okla., against Houston next Monday before finally playing their first game in Oklahoma City the following night."

• SLAM Online previews the team: "Say what you will about Kevin Durant’s shot selection, but he’s a 19-year-old ROY with upside potential that makes Jay Bilas feel like moving furniture. As questionable as his choices were on offense early in the season, he showed improvement down the stretch. Putting up numbers on a team that won 20 games last season won’t make Durant feel like a winner, but with another year under his belt, the ceiling on his game is still under construction and the blueprint looks like a hell of a roof. The 2008-09 Durant has added muscle, patience, and, most importantly, experience that will help him do things like position for a rebound or pass up a deep three for a dime."

• According to The Sporting News, OKC is the 79th best sports city: "Oklahoma City is waiting for the NBA season to start, but we couldn’t wait with our Best Sports City rankings, so the city doesn’t reap the benefit of having the Thunder. But wait till next year!" said Sporting News Chief of Correspondents Bob Hille, who has coordinated the rankings since their expansion 12 years ago. Boston is ranked No. 1."

• Part nine of Thunderguru's roster breakdown: "Though an elder statesman by NBA standards at the age of 33, I wouldn’t call Joe Smith a “journeyman”. To me, a journeyman NBA player is someone who has sort of bounced around the league and contributed here and there, without really being one of the important cogs. Matt Bonner is a journeyman; Brian Cardinal is a journeyman. Joe Smith was the #1 pick overall in 1995 and has frequently been the first or second option on his team. He was Robin to Latrell Spreewell’s Batman in Golden State, and to Kevin Garnett in Minnesota. He was an important part of the team in Milwaukee earlier this decade. He’s been a regular starter on the teams he’s played for until the ‘04-’05 season. In the three seasons since, he’s been on 5 different teams, the Thunder being #6."

• From the Rip City Project, the Thunder has a fake wrestling fan: "I want to find the video of this but I can't. I was flipping through the channels and tripped upon WWE RAW (god I miss the Rock) and for some reason decided to stick with it. There was an Italian wrestler out there by the name of Santino Marella, whoactually is lightweight hilarious. Anyways he was out there talking and talking. In an attempt to become "more American" Santino decided to adopt an NBA team: the Oklahoma City Thunder."

• Steve Aschburner says P.J. Carlesimo is likely to be on the hot seat: "The pattern undoubtedly will continue, despite this silly admonition, and a certain number of terminated coaches invariably will seek out the NBA's safety net -- not unemployment insurance like the rest of us, per se, but sideline and studio credentials to work as TV analysts. Faced with that grim reality, we're identifying the five coaches more likely to find themselves on hot seats, although several others -- Woodson, Iavaroni, P.J. Carlesimo in Oklahoma City and Reggie Theus in Sacramento -- might want to avoid stocking their produce crispers.

• And so much for getting J.J. Redick as the Magic picked up the option on him.

Preview week, day two: Five burning questions

What are the five can't-miss games of the season?
Simple - Opening Night against the Bucks (Oct. 29), New Orleans return to OKC (Nov.21), Cleveland (Dec. 21), Portland (Feb. 6) and the Lakers (Feb. 24). Why these games? Well Opening Night for obvious reasons - it's going to be an all-out celebration. New Orleans for obvious reasons too - everyone should be there to give Chris Paul and the Hornets a standing ovation when they are announced over the PA at the Ford Center. Cleveland because of the King. Portland because they are the Thunder's interim rival and also to finally see No. 1 and No. 2 square off as Greg Oden and Kevin Durant finally go head-to-head. And the Lakers because of Kobe Bryant - especially to see if defensive whiz Russell Westbrook gets the chance to guard him and to see if he can.

How many times a game will we hear "Thunderstruck?"
I'm guessing seven to start off. One during player introductions. Two during some random timeout in the first quarter. Three, when they run back out after halftime. Four, five and six at some point mid-game they'll play the guitar lick and the "Thunder" chanting part when we need a defensive stand and seven, after the game. Look, we got it at the logo unveiling and at the jersey unveiling. All signs point to the team being named after the song. If I were naming a team after my favorite tune, we'd be the Oklahoma City Ants because I dearly love Dave Matthews Band's Ants Marching. They shouldn't play it that many times, but I'm sure they will. Like I've written before, Never Been to Spain needs to replace at least one of those Thunderstrucks, but no one ever does what I want.

Will the Thunder improve on its win total from last year?
Yes. Absolutely. Mainly because it doesn't take a lot to improve on 20 wins. But this team is better. I don't care what John Hollinger or anyone says. Kevin Durant is better and Jeff Green *should be* better. They've added pieces like Westbrook and Desmond Mason. And there's the unreal excitement in their hometown. Last season was total uncertainty for the team and this year they'll be in a city that deeply loves everything about them, will pack the stands and will scream their hearts out for two hours every night for them. I think that should help produce a few wins.

What are the main missing pieces?
I'm not going to be one of those sarcastic jerks that does the whole, "Geez, where to begin?" things, but seriously, where to begin? The Thunder needs helps in a lot of areas, most notably outside shooting. Thunderguru Joe suggested trading for the Magic's J.J. Redick, but I'm thinking a more proven three-point threat is what they need. Jason Kapono, Luther Head, Brent Barry, Kyle Korver. But that's not what they'll be able to get. While obviously not all or really none of those guys are available, right now OKC will have to hope and pray someone becomes a threat (Kyle Weaver? Nah.) But you know, Kapono, Head and Korver had to start somewhere, right? The Magic are openly discussing dealing Redick, so maybe that's the gamble Sam Presti ought to make. Give up very little (another expiring contract!) and hope he turns out to be good. I don't think you can really go too wrong there. Earl Watson and Damien Wilkins aren't terrible from long distance, they're just not consistent. A second solid scorer would be the second main missing piece, but let's not try to build Rome in a day here.

If I am going to buy a jersey, whose should I get?
I've told friends I'm getting a custom Thunder Gary Payton #20 jersey or a Rain Man, Shawn Kemp #40 uni, but the price is pretty hefty. Maybe I could get a discount if I just got a Detlef Schrempf #11. Just one thing to make sure of: Do not, I repeat, DO NOT get a custom jersey with your name on the back. There is nothing worse than some fat guy sitting in Loud City with a No. 35 jersey with "Stravinski" strapped across the back of it. News flash: You don't play for the team. Kevin Durant does - so wear his jersey. Or get a throwback like me and support our rich history (zing).

Tuesday Bolts

• Mike Baldwin on Joe Smith bringing much needed experience: "You talk to any guy in the league and Joe Smith is a guy everyone wants on their team,” said point guard Earl Watson. "He brings experience which you can’t replace. He brings toughness. He brings a dimension in the paint ... "He’s a guy who can pick and pop (a shot) which is so vital in the NBA. He can guard anyone in the league. He’s tremendous. He’s so versatile it’s hard to put into words what he brings to your team.”

• The Thunder will technically just be an expansion team as records will be separated: "Will Kevin Durant’s rookie season become nothing more than a footnote in Thunder history? Most likely. Thunder officials will keep separate records. Points. Rebounds. Assists. Everything. In next year’s media guide there will be a Thunder records section and a Sonics record section. It’s the right thing to do."

• The good people over at OKCThunderFans.com weigh in on coach P.J. Carlesimo: User, The_Mont: "I think he'll be a bridge to the next head coach, however I'm starting this season with a blank slate for the whole team. P.J. may be a better assistant coach, but he's done, and said, all the right things so far during his short stay in Oklahoma City. In my opinion, the jury is still out. Byron Scott spoiled us (not only with putting a competitive team on the court, but he also always spoke of Oklahoma City glowingly) for two years, and that's hard to compete with. I know several of us grew frustrated of his head games with the players, not to mention the infamous "Dog House," but last season is an indication that with a healthy team, his methods produce winners."

• And good man Jeff Clark at CelticsBlog.com has circled the wagons and is heading up a comprehensive team preview for all teams. So far the Atlantic Division has been wrapped. Get to know your opponents.

Boston Celtics
Jeff Clark: CelticsBlog.com
Jim Weeks: Green Bandwagon
FLCeltsFan: LOY's Place
John Karalis: Red's Army
Dustin Chapman: Celtics 24/7

New Jersey Nets
Dennis Velasco: About Basketball

New York Knicks
Joey: Straight Bangin'
Seth Rosenthal: Posting and Toasting

Philadelphia 76ers
Dannie & Pete: Recliner GM
Jon Burkett: Passion and Pride

Toronto Raptors
Franchise: RaptorsHQ.com
Ryan McNeill: Hoops Addict
Cuzzy: Cuzoogle

Preview week, day one: A ridiculously meticulous, incoherent way to break down the team

First off, let's get something straight - I'm not John Hollinger. I wish I was. I dream about being able to crunch numbers and invent amazing, insightful stats like him. But I'm not. But I tried to come up with something to help me rank the value of each player on the team - what I'm calling Thunder Importance Rating. It's basically Hollinger's Player Efficiency Rating (PER) but with a sick twist.

To make it short, PER is a player's per minute production. But what I'm trying to account for is how valuable that player was to the team's success.

Here's how I calculated each player's TIR: I tried to devise a formula that accounted for how important a player was in each of their respective team's wins last year. Obviously, when a team wins, its best players typically play better and that's why they win. I was going to add in what percentage of the team's rebounds, points and assists each player had on the season, but my brain was about to expode from all the number crunching I'd already done. Maybe next time.

So for instance, in wins last year, Kevin Durant played two more minutes per game, shot seven percent better from the field, averaged 1.4 more rebounds, .05 more assists and 4.6 more points per game. So adding all that together, Durant put together a score of 9.2. Since that doesn't totally account for the player's actual statistics, I then added Hollinger's PER number to it giving Durant an overall TIR of 25.02 which ranks the highest on the team, making him the most important player.

Now I know this formula may be bunk and it may be stupid, but I was looking for a way to figure out how much each player meant in each win. It also doesn't include defensive statistics/perception, which is really unfair for some players like Desmond Mason who play solid defense. I didn't include players like Bob Swift and Mohamed Sene because they really didn't play last year unless in mop up time. And other rooks that may not even make it like DeVon Hardin weren't included either.Now for players that are expected to improve greatly, then there's a bit of a curve. For instance, Jeff Green scored relatively low in both the winning formula and PER. But Green was just a rookie and is supposed to be much improved this year.

And there's four rookies that look to contribute. So there's no stats, no winning formula and no TIR for them. It's just a judgement call there.One surprising player that elevated his game in wins was guard Damien Wilkins. He played four and a half more minutes, shot 10 percent higher from the field, had 1.1 more rebounds and averaged 3.8 more points per game.

Three point shooting was an important aspect in Thunder victories last season. Durant shot 17 percent better, Earl Watson 23 percent better and Damien Wilkens 12 percent better from bonus ball territory. Wilkins also took one more three per game in Thunder wins. One interesting thing about Nick Collison - the former Kansas forward took one shot less per win, but also scored 2.3 more points per win, meaning Collison was much, much more efficient in victories.

PROJECTED STARTERS: (winning formula total, TIR)

PG Earl Watson - 23.70; 3
SG Kevin Durant - 25.02; 1
SF Desmond Mason - 13.59; 6
PF Nick Collison - 19.04; 4
C Chris Wilcox - 24.24; 2

BENCH
G Russell Westbrook - N/A; 8
G Kyle Weaver - N/A; 10
F Jeff Green - 11.62; 7
G Damien Wilkins - 22.26; 5
F Johan Petro - 00.05; 11
F Joe Smith - 16.29; 9
F D.J. White - N/A; 12

Again, rip it up if you want to, but it was only for fun and an attempt to decipher who means the most to the Thunder. Obviously, KD is by far the foundation, but who else needs to step up and play better to add on some wins? I think it's safe to say in order for the Thunder to increase on its 20 wins last year, Green needs to improve greatly. You know what you're going to get out of Mason - a solid 36 minutes or so with 10 points and six boards.

Also, someone really needs to surprise - whether that's Westbrook, Weaver or someone like Chris Wilcox (he's only 26) coming into his own, a player is going to have to elevate his game. Durant is clearly is most valuable player. No disrespect to Chris Wilcox, but anytime Chris Wilcox is your second most valuable player, your team is in store for a long year. Unless... like I said, someone elevates their game.

Looking at LeBron James - the league's leading scorer last year - his stats improved during wins, but not too much. He shot three percent higher from both the field and from three, four percent higher from the free throw line, had two more rebounds a game, 1.5 assists and averaged three more points per game. Kobe Bryant averaged three less minutes, shot seven percent higher from the field, took four less shots, averaged one more assist and three less points in the 57 Laker wins last year. That's pretty telling.

Understanding the important parts of each player's game to help the team win is vital. Absolutely vital. So it's safe to say the Thunder's success hinged a lot more on Durant's play than Cleveland's did with James. And that's not a good thing. A supporting cast is huge in the NBA, so if OKC is going to be successful, someone will have to elevate his game. Again, I'm talking to you Jeff Green.

Monday Thunderbolts

• Want to get a free glance at the team? October 20th, the Thunder will open practice to the public.

• Fox Sports Charley Rosen: "After being temporarily aroused by the young, exciting Hornets, will the locals keep the faith when the Thunder turn out to be the worst team in the league?" Want my answer Charley? Yes.

• Coach Carlesimo is very concerned about injuries, especially when all three centers are banged up. "The Thunder entered training camp with two of their three centers, Robert Swift and Mo Sene, hampered by injuries. On Saturday, the team lost its last healthy center when Johan Petro sustained a mild strain to his right hamstring. Team officials are listing Petro as day to day, but a prolonged absence will be a blow to the Thunder's frontline. Carlesimo said he's disappointed that Swift, who fractured his right hand in the offseason, is behind and likely will have a hard time catching up."

• What will the Thunder have accomplished in the next 10 years? Poster Wrap10 at OKCNBAFans.com has an idea and it's pretty entertaining: "What a difference a decade makes. Ten years to the day after settling a controversial lawsuit that brought a struggling franchise to this once quiet city on the southern plains, and in defiance of early-day naysayers, the NBA’s most fearsome weather event held another celebration. Complete with a mild storm, and yes, even a little thunder. It rained on Oklahoma City’s parade. And Oklahoma City loved every minute of it."

• John McGrath of the News Tribune, "Maybe the Sonics leaving town wasn't so bad": "Just lose, baby. Just lose, and trade imprudently, and draft unwisely, and keep paying Robert Swift $2,601,113 a season for averaging 1.8 points and 2.3 rebounds over eight games. In the meantime, keep this thought: Throughout the history of the NBA, good things seem to happen – and happen immediately – to sports markets that lose an NBA franchise."

• And Mike Baldwin did a pretty neat, "Get to know the Thunder" thing (click to make bigger):

And finally, later I'll start with my daily preview of the Oklahoma City Thunder. Today, I'll be taking a nonsensical look at the stats to attempt to determine who is the team's most important player and who needs to play well to win. I know. You can't wait.

Friday Thunderbolts

I hate the Cubs. Now onto the Friday's hits.

• Is the Thunder the NBA's worst team? That and more burning questions answered by the Oklahoman staff: Jenni Carlson: "Right now, the Thunder probably do belong at the bottom of the list. This is a team that won only a handful of games last season, is still very young and didn’t make any monumental offseason acquisitions. This is largely the same bunch that struggled mightily last year. Now, granted, the young stars are older and wise and better, and the draft upped the team's talent level. But those factors aren't enough just yet to assume that this team is going to win a bunch more games this season. This group has the potential to do that, but until they show something, it's hard to argue with the worst-in-the-league assessment."

• NBA.com has a little preview of the Thunder: "The Thunder isn’t an expansion team. It just feels that way. Many of the names and faces that take the Ford Center court this month wore Sonics green and gold, but the ties to the Pacific Northwest are quickly fading away. Seattle has begrudgingly moved on … with its old nickname intact should the NBA return one day."

• So the Warriors mascot was named Thunder and now he's no more: Warriors President Robert Rowell: "We're clearly going to do something to accommodate Oklahoma City and not have our mascot named Thunder. For the sake of not making things confusing, we're going to do something. We just have to figure out a good exit strategy."

• Mike Baldwin writes that Kevin Durant added some muscle this offseason. He can lift a can of paint with one arm! But seriously: "Another number showed where Durant’s game was lacking. Last year, weeks before he was selected No. 2 overall by the Sonics/Thunder, Durant was criticized for not being able to lift 185 pounds. Durant declined to say how much he can lift 15 months later. But he has improved his strength after working with Dwight Daub, in his 12th season with the organization."

• ThunderGuru's open letter to Sam Presti: "My idea I believe is a win win for us and the proposed trade partner. I propose that you send Chris Wilcox to the Orlando Magic in return for J.J.Redick and Brian Cook." And a response from user okcnba at OKCThunderfans.com forums: "There is no question in my mind that we need to be actively shopping Wilcox. He is going to cost more than he's worth next year, his stats SHOULD go up with it being a contract year and he should be decent trade bait for a team looking to make a run. Plus he can be dumped after the end of the season if it doesn't work out which makes him all the more enticing to a trade suitor. We have more than enough addiquate power forwards that will play for the right price, so Wilcox is one we should definately trade... just not for JJ Redick!"

• And, some training camp video from day three:

And get ready folks. Next week is preview week. Each day I'll have some new spin on a season preview. Player breakdowns, a stupidly stupid inside look at the stats in an attempt to figure out who the Thunder's most important player is, a schedule breakdown and bold predictions. It's going to rock your world.

Thursday Thunderbolts

Well, the Cubbies lost game one, so I'll be bummed all day today. Big Z needs to save us in Game Two. Anyway, on to the Bolts.

• UPDATE: Single game tickets to go on sale Tuesday: "At 10 a.m. Tuesday, fans can purchase single game tickets through Jan. 18. The Thunder is offering up to 1,500 tickets for each game, including opening night. About 200 tickets will be reserved for game day walk-up sales. Single game tickets will start at $10 and a limited selection of seats are expected to be available throughout the building. Fans can purchase tickets online at thunder.nba.com, at the Ford Center box office or by phone at 1-800-4NBA-TIX. There is a limit of four tickets per transaction."
  


• Recliner GM has a little season preview of the Thunder: "The Thunder drafted Durant and Green last year (and Westbrook this year), to be the cornerstones of their franchise. Durant showed enough potential last year to be considered a star in the making, and Green showed flashes as well. This will not be a very good team, and at this point for the franchise, all the OKC fans are looking for is some hope. If Green can improve on his solid rookie season (10.5 points, 4.7 rebounds), they can certainly dream about the potential of these two down the road. In order to do so, Green will have improve his poor shooting % (42.9%) for a 6′9 forward."
  

• Sportsline.com has a quick preview capsule: "Player to watch: Joe Smith is a pro's pro, just the kind of player who can help a contender. The Thunder is the furthest thing from a contender, which would make him a veteran on a young team. Nothing like trade rumors in October."
  
  
• A peak at the starting lineup? Not so fast says P.J. Carlesimo.
  
  
• Thunder fans excited to see Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol may have to wait. According to the Oklahoman, Lakers' coach Phil Jackson is considering holding the two stars out. "This week I'm just seeing how they feel, how's their energy level, and then we'll adjust," Jackson told NBA.com. "I was told not to say that I wasn't going to play Kobe in exhibition games. So I'm not going to say Kobe's not going to play in this exhibition game or that exhibition game. But there is a chance they may not play in an exhibition game."
  

• A first look into preseason training camp. Looks like they're having a good time. I just hope they're getting better at dribbling, passing, shooting... you know, basketball.
  
  

• And Day Two video with amazing, scintillating breakdown and commentary by Berry Tramel and walking mouth-fart, Darnell Mayberry.
  
  
• Mike Baldwin of the Oklahoman on Earl Watson's teaching ability: "I came in the league with Gary Payton so it will be easy for me to teach him the position, which to me is one of the hardest positions in the NBA,” Watson said. "The transition from college to the NBA at that position is as much mental as physical. It's an opportunity for me to teach him and get better myself.”
  
  
• Blue Blitz has started a "Getting to Know You" spot and the first feature is P.J. Carlesimo: "Anyone who has heard the name P.J. Carlesimo before he became the coach of the SuperSonics last year, probably knew about the time he was choked by Latrell Sprewell. In fact, that's probably the only thing they knew about him. But, lets start at the beginning..."
  
  
• One quick note: It's time to move on folks. I'm sick of every article about the Thunder having some little snip or quip or lip about the team. Enough. We get it. You think Clay Bennett stole them. You think the name sucks. You think the logo sucks more. You think the road jerseys look like Kramer's technicolor coat. You think OKC doesn't have internet and we still have black and white TVs. I get it. But just once, I want to read a preview article, a column or something that isn't tongue-in-cheek making fun of Oklahoma or the team. We're a team. We're named the Thunder. I cringe every time I type it or read it, but it's time to get over it. Move. The Eff. On.

Hollinger forecasts Thunder

ESPN.com's stat wizard, John Hollinger has his Western Conference preview up and within, he forecasts the Thunder's immediate future. His breakdown of the team is amazing and he's spot on with what needs to improve most - outside shooting. I've got a little something coming up in the next few days that highlights this stat, but in wins, OKC shot almost 12 percent higher from downtown than in losses last year.

They made on average two more three's per win than in losses. That's pretty telling, especially considering they lost 14 games last season by six points or less. Could've really used those two more threes (3+3+=6). That would have made the team 34-48 instead of 20-62.

Hollinger: "It's hard to see it now, but the Thunder (thwack) have as bright a future as any team in the league. Unencumbered by bad contracts and laden with draft choices, they are going to improve with remarkable speed from here on out. But in 2007-08, they are going to take more lumps. In order to set up their future, they're operating as a glorified expansion team; fortunately for them, the folks in Oklahoma are likely to fill the arena every night anyway to welcome the state's first major league pro sports team ... That may give the Okies enough of a home-court advantage to steal a few extra wins, especially since this team is going to play hard. They did last season even while getting their brains beat in, and with all the hustling defensive types they've acquired in the past two drafts, they should only redouble their efforts. But enthusiasm can carry them only so far given the absence of talent. Durant may bust out with a big season, and the other youngsters will have their moments here and there. But by any name, this team might not win more games than last season."

He has the team going 20-62 all over again, finishing last in the Northwest Division and last in the Western Conference.

But he does acknowledge the Oklahoma City Bump. So yeah, we've got that going for us.

Pictures of every player in his new uniform

Found via OKCNBAFans.com

Kevin Durant (above left)

Russell Westbrook (above right)

Nick Collison

Chris Wilcox

Damien Wilkins

Joe Smith (below, #7)

Mohamed Sene

Earl Watson

Kyle Weaver

John Lucas

Bob Swift (below)

Desmond Mason

(I'll be honest, I had to look some of those up.) No picture of Jeff Green or Johan Petro to be found. I couldn't find one. For lots more pictures of the players in different poses, check here and here.

And I think the jerseys are looking much better than I originally thought. They look pretty solid on the players. I really don't see anything to complain about, especially after looking at Sacramento's, Toronto's and Memphis' jerseys. If those are ok, then OKC's should be top notch.

Nice they let some of the guys that have no shot at making the team put one on and taking a couple of snaps. I'm talking to you, Chris Alexander.