Thursday Bolts - 12.10.08

• This is a bit old, but I came across a revised opinion from Uni Watch on Oklahoma City's jerseys: "Uni Watch was originally less than impressed with the Thunder's uniforms. And yes, the team name is awful and the logo is a joke. But you know what? But you know what? That home uni looks pretty dang good out on the court. The colors pop, the type is sharp, and the whole thing looks crisp and clean, even from the back and sides. If this uni had already been in the league for a dozen years, we'd be praising it as a minor classic of no-nonsense design. Unfortunately, the road uni has major problems. For starters, the chest insignia is way too plain and top-heavy. Second, check out the side view and compare it to side views of the Knicks, Wizards and Bobcats. Notice a pattern? Finally, why would you use the color of a clear blue sky for a team named after stormy weather? Uni Watch suggests a hasty retreat to the drawing board."
  

• Found via TrueHoop and it has nothing Thunder related, but it's just some really good basketball breakdown: "One of the most memorable lessons George taught me in High School was how to play defense at the end of a game. His exact rules or explanation may differ, but my interpretation was basically to stick to your normal defensive fundamental strategy on the final play of the game. There is a reason that you are NOT taught to trap every possession, to go for every steal, or to try to block every shot. That reason is that it does not work a majority of the time, and it can often lead to fouls or even easier buckets from the other team."

• Some interesting thoughts from Brian Robinson of SonicsCentral.com: "Frankly I just don’t know who would break first. When I look at the situation I can honestly say it would be more horrendous than I had really imagined. I’m thinking crowds of 2,000, losses in excess of $50M. The players union would have seen their worst case scenario come true and would be bitter at everybody, the league, me, the city, you name it. The owners and players would probably be able to point at this specific market as a cause of reduction to next years salary cap. I truly think the situation would have been untenable." Brian is right. In a twisted way for Seattle fans, it's probably better the team left rather than spending a few lame duck seasons there. It could have been truly detrimental to the city's chances of returning the NBA and the image of the city would have been tarnished completely.

• Russell Westbrook is skying up the Rookie Watch rankings: "Westbrook is really coming on as a player, using his jets to fly around the court and hit midrange jumpers (something he struggled with earlier this season). The downside to his recent success is the attention he's getting from defenses. In his past four games, he has 19 turnovers. He'll learn to make easier plays and start anticipating blitzes and stunts as he uses ball screens."

• Ball Don't Lie behind the box score: "I got the feeling that Marc Iavaroni saved his job last night, then I remembered that Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley might not be all that interested in paying for an extended from an interim coach for the second time in three seasons. Either way, the Grizzlies were on pace to get blown out by the Thunder early on, but rallied for the win."

• Another installment of "Peace, Love and Thunderstanding" from the Lost Ogle: "Since the Thunder are such a torturous team to watch play – and an even more torturous team to analyze – I decided that it would be boring to write (or expect you to read) about the team’s failures in my first crack at Peace, Love and Thunderstanding. Instead, I figured it would be fun to list some ways that Thunder management could possibly make the home games more enjoyable, thus improving the Thunder experience."

• David Stern made an appearance on Bill Simmons' B.S. Report's 100 episode. Of the topics discussed, the situation in Seattle (about 17 minutes in): "BS: My one problem is that those guys bought the team with the intent to move it. It seemed pretty obvious from the get-go that they weren't genuinely interested in keeping the team there. Stern: That's not what their actions in my view confirm at all. BS: You investigated this? Yes. They spent lots of money with plans and lobbying and doing all the things that the ownership before them had done, but they did even more and it wasn't to be. And in fact the actual economic opportunity in Seattle with a new building was far larger than any other city that they could have moved to."
  

Let's listen to Coach Brooks and Company try and put together sentences after another excruciating loss:

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."

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."