Looking at Kevin Durant's hot spots

I love these NBA.com hotspots. I could shuffle through them all day and look at where guys hit shots from. As you look at them, you notice strange trends. For instance, Kevin Durant:

Look at how many more shots KD has taken on the right side of the court (209 to 159) and how much higher a percentage he's shooting from the right side (40 percent to 37). Also, he clearly likes the right wing/straightaway three over the left wing trey. A lot of that has to do with the fact that in the offense, he mostly starts out on the right side of the court, but I still find that slightly interesting. And for some serious perspective on how much better KD has been this year, check out last year's graph:

But here's what started to catch my eye more than anything from both seasons. He also doesn't shoot well from the baselines about 6-8 feet out (34.7 percent this year). I've always said that's the hardest shot in basketball. It's too far to be an easy lay-in and it's too close to be a pull-up jay. You've got no backboard -- it's basically swish or miss. I probably airballed that shot 30 percent of the time in my prestigious basketball career. LeBron James is shooting 24.4 percent from the baseline tweener as I like to call it. (Because you don't know whether to take a full jumpshot or if you should float it or if you should drop step toward the rim and try and lay it. Just a tough shot.) Kobe is hitting 38 percent on the tweener (10 percent below his season percentage). One of the best shooters in the league, Joe Johnson, is hitting 38 percent on the tweener (six below his season percentage). I don't think this is big news to anyone, because most everybody knows players hit a higher percentage the more they are in front on the rim. Instead of looking at just a little thin rim, you've got everything to focus on -- the backboard, the hoop, the square, etc. But that tweener shot is closer than the jumper five feet behind it, yet for the most part, players hit that jumpshot more than the tweener. Swish that around for a minute and take it for what it's worth.

Also with LeBron, just because it's crazy -- he's shooting a wonderful 50.8 percent on the season. Good, right? Well, look at his hotspots:


Unless he's at the rim, he's not a good shooter. At the rim, sure -- he's hitting 71.6 percent (compare that to KD's 59.6 -- Bron knows how to finish). But anything else, he's hitting just 34.8 percent. Wow. It's not like this is any major revelation here because we all know LeBron's game is getting to the rim, but when you really look at it, it's kind of amazing. It's very interesting to see the difference in two of the top six or seven scorers in the league and how they get their points. Durant hits silky jumpers. Bron finishes at the rim. Nothing revolutionary there, but again, I was just struck by that when it was laid out so plain and clear with the hotspots.

Tuesday's Five

1. Kevin Durant's PER is at a solid 19.48 right now compared to 15.87 for his rookie season. He ranks 37th in the league in PER, ahead of players like Carmelo Anthony, Gerald Wallace and Rashard Lewis. The two categories KD really needs to improve in order to get into "elite" status are assists and cut down of turnovers. Something many don't realize is that Durant ranks SIXTH in the entire league in scoring at 23.8 ppg, and THIRD in the West. And he's in his second year and is 20 years old. Durant actually ranks ninth in the league in three point percentage (44.4). One other thing is that under Scott Brooks, KD is averaging about seven more minutes per game than under P.J. Carlesimo. I had that as one thing that needed to change for Durant almost two months ago.

2. A somewhat disturbing stat: Oklahoma City has hit 135 three pointers on the season. The team is shooting a pretty solid 38 percent from three which ranks 11th, but the 135 made ranks second to last. Between Jeff Green and Kevin Durant, those two have made 89 threes (Green 45, Durant 44), accounting for 66 percent of OKC's made threes. The next highest total comes from Damien Wilkins who has made 16 on the year, followed by Russell Westbrook who has 15. After that, Earl Watson has 11, Kyle Weaver three and Joe Smith one. I think three point shooting is an issue.

3. David Thorpe on Russell Westbrook: "Westbrook has not disappointed his coaches on either side of the ball. He notched his third five-steal game of the season on New Year's Eve after scoring 31 points two nights earlier. The Thunder were expecting the steals, but not the points this early in his first season. He's scoring well while still not being a good shooter, a skill that can be improved over time. That bodes well for both Westbrook and the Thunder." Hmm. Seems like somebody else was saying that about Russell. Look out league if he can get a consistent jumper? Yep.

4. Nenad Krstic appears to be fitting in nicely with his new team. He's already been given the nickname "Krispy." There's no definite word on whether Krispy will play tonight against the Knicks, but all signs point to yes. He's been cleared to play and the way Scott Brooks talked, I bet minutes will be limited (something like 8-10), but we should get a look at him at least.

5. Kevin Durant leads the Thunder in blocks with 30. The next closest player is Nick Collison with 24. And if you're wondering, no, Krispy is not a big-time shot blocker. He has averaged just 0.7 bpg over his NBA career.

Kevin Pelton on the education of Kid Delicious

I know this was included in today's Bolts, but this is just too good to not put a neon sign on. Pelton wrote and awesome feature about the evolution of Kevin Durant. Just read the whole thing. It's wonderful. Pelton says what we've all seen: Though P.J. Carlesimo and Scott Brooks both have the same 1-12 record, there's a ton of differences between the results of the two.

I've been talking about the improvement of the team, and while it hasn't done much in the win-loss area, the team has gotten better. It's undeniable. Pelton of Basketball Prospectus puts together some awesome numbers and breaks down the difference between the two coaches - most notably, the way the Thunder's stud has performed under the two.

Check this little diddy out:

Coach       Pace   OffRat   DefRat    Diff   ExpW
Carlesimo   94.6     93.4    107.7   -12.3    1.2
Brooks      91.0    106.8    116.4   - 7.5    3.3

"Despite the record, it's easy to see that Oklahoma City has played better with Brooks at the helm. Their point differential is still bad, but at least respectable. On average, a team with the Thunder's -7.5 differential under Brooks would have won about three out of 13 games. It's easy to see where those wins could have come; within Brooks' first week on the job, Oklahoma City had lost a pair of home games by a combined three points on last-second shots. The team is also competing on a nightly basis: only one of Brooks' 12 losses has come by more than 12 points."

So there's a few positives. I don't think it's outlandish to say that if Brooks were at the helm from the beginning of the season, OKC would have at least two to three more wins than it has now and a 6-18 record really wouldn't be out of the question. But as much as the offense and scoring has improved, the defense has regressed. But it's not all that bad of a tradeoff, considering where OKC was heading on the offensive end under Carlesimo.

"Under Carlesimo, the Thunder was threatening all sorts of league records for offensive futility. That has changed under Brooks, and impressively so. Actually, Oklahoma City's 106.8 Offensive Rating over the last 13 games is not far off of league average for the season (108.0). The Thunder has been far more potent at late. The tradeoff has come at the defensive end, where an OKC squad that was reasonably competent early in the season has been porous since the coaching change. No team is allowing more points per 100 possessions than the Brooks Thunder, though again the league-wide shift inflates the magnitude of the change."

Pelton has Durant's numbers under P.J. and under Brooks:

Coach        2P%    3P%    eFG%   TS%  Usage    2A%    3A%   FTA%    TO%
Carlesimo   .447   .438   .462   .513   .294   .712   .055   .088   .145
Brooks      .476   .500   .532   .592   .271   .613   .156   .124   .107

"Durant has improved virtually across the board. The most telling numbers might be the rightmost series, what I group as player tendencies--the percentage of possessions used on two-point and three-point attempts, free throws and turnovers. The two most efficient ways to score are on threes and at the free-throw line, and Durant has improved his sum of the two categories from 14.3 percent of his possessions under Carlesimo to 28.0 percent under Brooks. Quite simply, Durant is playing a different game. It's also a much better one, as reflected in the massive spikes in his effective field-goal percentage and his True Shooting Percentage. Durant has gone from a low-efficiency, volume shooter to the kind of lethal, highly-efficient scorer he was in his lone season at Texas. And he's done it while slashing his turnovers as well."

Pelton doesn't really buy into the whole, "Oh, well it's because KD moved to small forward" argument. He said after reviewing a Thunder game, he didn't really see any difference between the way Durant is being used between Carlesimo and Brooks. But he does see what I've said I see - improved spacing, freeing up KD's jumper and his driving ability.

Pelton wraps up with this:

"There's one final factor, one which should be disconcerting for the Thunder's opponents in the long term. Durant is still a babyfaced 20-year-old, and he's figuring out things all the time. The development of his game from where he was at the end of his rookie season was obvious against the Spurs. He has become much more accurate from the perimeter, most notably from three-point range. Because of his low percentage, Durant gradually phased the three out of his game near the end of last season, continuing that at the start of 2008-09. However, when Durant started making more of his infrequent attempts, he began ramping back up. Under Brooks, he has been hitting at an even 50 percent clip from long distance while making nearly two threes a game. A long 6'9" player who can gets shots off against any defender while hitting almost effortlessly from range? That's the Durant everyone envisioned coming out of the University of Texas, and slowly but surely--with the assistance of the Thunder's coaching change--we're starting to see it at the NBA level."

If that doesn't help sway you a little to the "optimist" category then there's not much hope for your sad self. I understand the reason to see the future being a tad dim, but there's a lot of upside for this group. And it all starts with Durant and so far, under Brooks, it's starting to look better.

Thursday Bolts - 12.18.08

• According to HoopsWorld, OKC is listening to offers for its big men: "The Oklahoma City Thunder have big men to spare, and are rumored to be listening to offers for Joe Smith, Chris Wilcox, and maybe even Nick Collison. The problem there is that the last thing they need is another small forward." - With Joe Smith not playing Tuesday night simply because there just wasn't room for him on the floor, I'm thinking something is going to happen soon.

• Rick Kamla of NBA.com says the coaching axe reminds him of a horror movie: "The Thunder's P.J. Carlesimo was the curmudgeon cop who harassed the young couple having fun in the back of the van. He gets ruthlessly rubbed out early in act one to establish that this boogeyman means business."

• I love these House of Hoops ads by Foot Locker. Here's the Kevin Durant one:

• Trying times for the young Thunder, writes Art Garcia: "The losses continue to mount and so does the frustration. On pace for the worst record in NBA history, with its head coach already fired, can anyone fault the Oklahoma City Thunder for sinking into the depths of basketball depression? Teams go through bad seasons. This is a disaster."

• Russell Westbrook stays in David Thorpe's top 10 rookies: "Being a phenomenal athlete alone is not enough to be a great defensive player in this league. It takes an active mind and a willingness to study. Consider this action by Westbrook in Dallas: He was defending the weakside, with J.J. Barea in his corner and Devean George on the wing, both behind the 3-point line, while Erick Dampier had the ball in the high post. Westbrook cut off the simple pass to George, going for a steal, and left open the corner pass to Barea. Did he do the right thing, considering the corner 3 is the easiest shot worth 3 points (based on distance)? Barea was shooting 40.9 percent from 3 going into the game, while George was at 35 percent. But it would be a mistake to just look at those numbers in the scouting report. Barea was just 1-for-4 from that left corner, up to that point, and George was 1-for-3 from the wing. Small sample sizes, yes, but nothing alarming enough to convince Westbrook to stay with Barea. So the risk was worth it. And even though Westbrook did not get the steal, Barea did miss the shot."

• Tom Ziller writes about Kevin Durant's silent breakthrough: "[Kevin] Pelton has all the numbers, and I encourage you to check them out. It's certainly a promising sign. From the cheap seats, Brooks' 1-12 record makes it seem like there's been no improvement. But quietly, Durant's becoming the player we'd dreamt of. And it's all because Brooks has put some other shooters on the floor with him."

• The Lost Ogle's gives us Peace, Love and Thunderstanding, moral victory edition: "I took a week off from writing a formulaic Peace, Love and Thunderstanding column and instead let Patrick post fifteen ideas for improving the Thunder experience. While that article was well received, the real reason for the delay was hope that the team might give me something to write about if I gave them an extra week to do something. Since the last true P, L & T ran, would anyone like to guess how many times the Oklahoma City Thunder have won a game? Here’s a hint, there have been seven games since that point."

Tuesday's Five

1. Currently, the Thunder are 1-11 under interim head coach Scott Brooks. Former head man P.J. Carlesimo was canned with a 1-12 record under his belt. Tonight's game against the Clippers just became huge!

2. During Oklahoma City's two game swing in Texas, The Thunder shot 48.8 percent from the field and 89.6 percent from the free throw line - 4.5 and 13.1 percentage points higher than their season average.

3. Since Brooks has taken over, Jeff Green is averaging 17.5 a game compared to 13.7 under Carlesimo. Kevin Durant is averaging 25.1 compared to 21.2. While scoring is up, defense is down.

4. OKC's next ten games are against opponents that are a combined 118-119. Five of those teams have winning records and are a combined 80-39 (Cleveland 20-4, Denver 17-7, Phoenix 15-10, Detroit 15-9, Atlanta 13-9). The remaining five are 38-80 (LA Clippers 6-17, Toronto 10-14, Washington 4-18, Golden State 7-18, New York 11-13).

5. Kevin Durant is leading the team in turnovers per game with 3.1 giveaways. My guess is over half those turns came because he was bumped on a drive and lost control. He has to get stronger with the ball and just stronger in general.

Wednesday Bolts - 12.10.08

• A first look at Kevin Durant's first signature Nike Shoe, the KD 1: "They feature a bright orange upper which is paired with yellow accents and blue shoe laces, all of which are reminiscent of the Oklahoma City Thuder’s team colors. Some nice details include the use of a speckled design on the midsole, swoosh, and inner lining, along with his KD logo at the ankle area."

• Harlan Schreiber of Pro Basketball News: "While I'm not a huge Carlesimo fan, Phil Jackson or Red Auerbach would stink coaching this team too. As for Scott Brooks, he was a heady player but we have no idea how he'll be ultimately as a coach. In the short term, it seems like he'll be in the exact same boat as Carlesimo, taking lumps with a chance for modest improvement near the end of the year. While Thunder management doesn't really have to worry about being fair to its coaches, this job is rigged for failure in the short term and any deck shuffling is only meant to distract the fans."

• Ask and ye shall receive - USA Today has a statistical look at the Thunder under P.J. and now under Scott Brooks: Under Brooks, OKC is scoring average is up from 88.9 to 97.0, but the team is giving up over three more points a game. Field goal percentage is up six points, but opposing field goal percentage is up six as well. Assists per game are up 5.8 to 21.5, but rebounding is down from 44.7 per game to 34.1. But strangely, opposing rebounds per game are down from 45.5 to 40.5. So it's pretty clear, other than actually winning games, OKC has improved quite drastically under Brooks.

• And because some are oh-so-interested: "In an effort to quell what he believes to be unfounded rumors about Chesapeake's financial stability, CEO Aubrey McClendon first addressed a conference call for analysts and reporters - which he said drew about 600 listeners - then spoke by phone with a handful of media outlets, including The Associated Press. His message: Chesapeake is making money and will continue to do so in the coming years."

• Thunder players offer a hand for those in need: "Jacob Franks raced his bicycle down the aisle with Kevin Durant. An unsuspecting customer leaped back, unaware last year’s NBA Rookie of the Year and Jacob, 6, were test driving bikes at a Target in north Oklahoma City."

• The Thunder has started to hug it out: "In this most desperate time — a 2-20 record and current four-game losing streak entering tonight’s game against Memphis — Thunder players have turned to the most desperate of measures. Hugging."

Wednesday Bolts - 11.12.08

• Vote your favorite Thunder players to the All-Star team: Oklahoma City has three players on the ballot - Kevin Durant, Chris Wilcox and Nick Collison.

• Oklahoma City has to get a new court: "Connor Sport Court International built the current Ford Center floor with 3-point lines one foot short of the NBA’s 23-feet, 9-inch standards. The $110,000 court arrived late last month and had to be sanded and repainted days before the Thunder’s Oct. 29 opener. The new court, being constructed in Michigan at no charge to the team or Oklahoma City, will be slightly longer on both ends to better fit the Ford Center.

• An article from Bleacher Report wonders if Kevin Durant is future MVP material: "If Durant can improve on his rebounding and defense (of which he has none) then he of course has a chance to win the Maurice Podoloff trophy. Unfortunately for Durant, so does everyone else in the league. Kobe Bryant spent 10 years ripping nets and balls from defenders' grasps before capturing his first MVP hardware in 2007-2008."

• ESPN's David Thorpe has Russell Westbrook at No. 14 in his rookie rankings: "The good news about this jet of an athlete is that he makes his team better, taking good shots (good shots have a better chance of being rebounded by a teammate than a bad shot), making easy passes and playing good defense. The bad news is that he's a poor finisher around the rim and still is not a good perimeter shooter. But if he was a stock on the market, I'd be a big-time buyer. I think the game will slow down for him, especially on drives, and he'll learn to be a much better scorer."

• Thunderguru Joe has some thoughts on the poor shooting too (it's a really great read and I highly recommend checking it out): "The Thunder just love to shoot the jump shot. I thought when I began looking into the numbers that I would find the Thunder as one of the teams with the highest number of jump shots as compared to the total of all their shots. Surprisingly I was wrong. The Thunder actually shoot 63% of their total shots in what is considered “long” or outside of the paint; those shots from about 15 feet on out. 63% is smack in the middle of the NBA. Many teams actually take quite a few more than the Thunder like Toronto (78%) or the New Orleans (74%), but the Thunder are just about the average on long jump shots. The problem is that the Thunder shoot them really poorly. On those longer jump shots, the Thunder shoot them at an effective field goal rate of .346. In perspective, that means that they miss just about 65 out of every 100 that they take. That’s just dandy if it were a baseball batting average, but with a jump shot, a staple of the game, .346 puts them in some bad company."

• Pro Basketball News' power rankings: "Kevin Durant has grown into his frame and is taking smarter shots, making him an unstoppable scorer in just his second season. He's going to go on to do special things, and figures to become even more effective when the core around him strengthens, allowing him to be more selective."

• Tom Ziller from Fanhouse was impressed by KD Monday night: "Same story, second verse: Kevin Durant is back at it, taking the lion's share of all the Thunder's shot attempts. The Un-Sonics rolled into Indiana for a cross-conference affair, and Durant proceeded to yoke up 27 FGAs and nine free throws. KD came down with a somewhat efficient 37 points, a big total that just wasn't enough to pull out a win. (Surprisingly story, that.) Just as encouraging? Three blocks and eight rebounds for Durant. KD isn't going to be a perennial All-Star at the two. He'll be making his case for greatness at a forward position. So even if P.J. Carlesimo straps him to the backcourt, it's encouraging to see him branch out and maximize his physical potential."

So I thought this Durant guy was supposed to be good?

We are four games into the season and the Thunder is 1-3. Not too far off from what everyone thought they would be. Most would say bravo for winning a game this early. But when eyeballing the team, most are a little surprised by the production of the proclaimed team star, Kevin Durant.

Checking other blogs and fantasy sites, one thing is on people's lips when it comes to the Thunder (well, besides all the usual spew about Seattle and the name): What's the deal with Durant? Is this the beginning of a sophomore slump?

They say he's not scoring enough. He's not shooting a high enough percentage. Where's the stat stuffer we expected? Should we panic?

Answer in short: No. He is still playing relatively well (18.3 ppg, 41.4 percent from the field) but isn't popping eyes like some thought.

Keep in mind a couple things here:

1) He is only 20 years old. When Kobe Bryant was 20, he averaged 19.9 for the season. Durant already has a 20.3 average in the books. Seriously, think about it for a minute. He is only 20 years old. We are expecting quite a bit from a guy that voted for his first president and can't buy a brew. For 20, the guy is quite a stud. Heck, overall in the general sense 20 or not, he's a stud.

2) He is it. Right now, there's really not much of a Plan B for the Thunder. Jeff Green played much better last night, but he's not that second scorer yet. When Durant is on the floor, teams are locking on him. There's really no post man to dump down to that can kick out. No guy that can isolate on one side of the court and play the two-man with him. He's already got a team on his super-skinny shoulders and he needs time to progress.

3) He's only playing 34 minutes a game. Likewise, when Kobe was 20 he played almost 38 minutes a game. Why is Durant not getting 5-10 more minutes on the floor? Think about it: Five minutes is almost half a quarter. That much time Durant could easily add two more buckets and be averaging 22 ppg and no one would be saying a word right now. Maybe Coach Peej is trying to ease him into the superstar mold of 40 minutes a night (he played 34 last season) so that he doesn't wear out. Maybe there's a method to this. Who knows. I just know I get a little frustrated watching the offense completely shut down and Damien Wilkins dribble the ball of his foot while KD sits on the bench with a towel over his head. But maybe that's just me.

4) He's forcing it, but not forcing it enough. Let me explain. When Professor Chaos/Big Train/Kid Delicious is on the hardwood, you can almost read his mind: "Get me the ball. I need to score. Get me the ball. I need to score." Which in turn, when he gets it, he sometimes rushes it. He takes two dribbles and shoots with 16 on the shot clock. He needs to have the mind set of scoring, but if the shot isn't there, kick out, move around and try again. There's nothing wrong with shooting with four on the clock. I want KD taking most the shots. He's the best player. But he needs to force it in the right way, if that makes sense. Take it to the rack. Wiggle loose and get a clean look at the hoop. Last year, the complaint about him was poor shot decisions. He took too many threes. This year, he's only tried four. He hasn't made one yet, but still, only one per game.

5) He has to create his own shot way too much. There's no offensive rhythm. I'm not calling for a change yet, but it just seems there's too much jump shooting going on and not enough ball movement. Durant is getting little to no support when he's on the floor. When the ball is in his hands, everyone in the arena is thinking, "Shoot it. Shoot it. SHOOT IT!" Durant isn't getting any "flow" shots. What I mean is, he's not getting the chance to float around the perimeter and get a dish from a driving guard where defense collapses, leaving KD standing wide open to knock down a 15 footer. Most of Durant's shots are ones he creates for himself. He either is dribbling at the top of the key and Nick Collison sets an on-the-ball screen to which Durant steps over and shoots over his defender; or he curls off a screen and gets no air, but he still pulls the trigger because what else is he going to do? Kick it to Earl Watson with the shot clock running out?

Look, I'm an unabashed Russell Westbrook fan. When he's in the game, he's all I watch. I don't know why. There's just something about him. I feel like he can do something special all the time. But one thing is for sure - he adds another dimension to the offense that Earl Watson doesn't. Westbrook can penetrate and get to the rim. Watson prefers to stand and distribute. Westbrook likes to get up the floor. Watson is always the guy giving the slow-down motion with his off hand as he walks it up the court.

Ok, so maybe I do want change. I'm all Obama'd up right now and maybe a-change needs to be a-coming. Why is Westbrook only getting 21 minutes compared to Earl's 28? Like I said, I'm not saying the starting lineup needs to be changed up right now, because the worst thing we can do is get impatient and start panicking over a team no one thinks will be any good anyway. We are only four games in with 78 more to go. A lot can happen. Maybe KD goes puts up 44 for Obama and Earl has 14 assists tomorrow night. But right now, when you look at the production, it's clear Westbrook is ready for more time. Watson: 6.3 ppg, 5.3 apg, 25.7 percent from the field - Westbrook: 11.5 ppg, 2.5 apg, 38 percent. And when you look at those numbers in average per 48 minutes, it gets worse. Russell Westbrook is leading the team in most categories! He averages 26.3 points per 48 while Watson is at the bottom of the team averaging 8.0. To me, that is extremely telling.

So what I'm getting at, is maybe one thing to aid Durant is more Westbrook. I understand Russell is a rookie and there's a grooming process and there will definitely be growing pains, but he needs more time. It will help Durant and most likely, help the Thunder. Don't panic about KD. The guy is a star on the cusp and the thing is, he can get his shot anytime he wants it. He will score. Before the season is over, people will fawning over his ability and dreaming of what he may do next year. Right now, he just needs some help. Jeff Green's progression is a start. Russell Westbrook's is the big step.

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?

Kevin Durant's Q&A with Sporting News Today

For those of you that don't subscribe to Sporting News Today, quit reading and do it now. It's awesome. It's basically a digital newspaper delivered to your email every stinking morning and it's FREE.

Today they have a great interview with Thunder star Kevin Durant. He talks about the new look, the new team, his goals and what it's like in OKC. A really great read. (Click it to make it bigger. That's what she said.)

A few interesting things he said:

1. "Your team name is supposed to make people afraid. People are afraid of Thunder." I hate to disagree there Kevin, but who's really afraid of thunder besides six-year-olds? "What was that, dad?" "Nothing son, just thunder. It's only a sound. It can't hurt you." Remember that conversation when you were a kid? Also, who's afraid of the Lakers? Or Mavericks? Or Spurs? Oooh, the Spurs. Are those really terrifying names that intimate opponents before they step on the floor?

2. "I talked to Chris Paul about it, and it seems like a good, quiet kind of place, a family-oriented kind of place. And he said the fans are great, they're unbelievable. It sounds like it is almost a college atmosphere when you get to game night." Darn night KD. People around the country make fun of OKC about being a small town. They think we have teepees and ride horses to work. But that's fine because if they actually knew what it was like, they'd all be moving here in a heartbeat. Low crime, virtually no traffic, great jobs, great economy, extremely low cost of living, wonderful people and great schools. I think I've said too much.

3. Q: How about the chances of seeing the Thunder in the playoffs? "Oh man, it's way too early to think about that. We still need to jell together, to get better as a group, as a family. Let me think about training camp before the playoffs. Ask me in the middle of the season about the playoffs, and maybe I can give you a real answer." Translation. And the reason he'd rather be asked in the middle of the season is because by then the Thunder will be 12-29 and no one in their right mind will be asking about the playoffs.

Training camp roster set

This has been the lead story on pretty much every news channel here in the state and on every sports talk radio station all day. The Thunder has set its training camp roster. I don't know why this is such big news, because it's not like we didn't know who was going to be on it. Oh well, when a state's as bananas as Oklahoma is about the Thunder, the Oklahoman could put out a story about P.J. Carlesimo shaving that dirty beard and we'd eat it up.

Here's who made it:

• Nick Collison (Forward, Kansas)
• Kevin Durant (Forward, Texas)
• Jeff Green (Forward, Georgetown)
• Johan Petro (Center,France)
• Desmond Mason (Forward, Oklahoma State)
  
• Mohamed Sene (Center, Senegal)
• Joe Smith (Forward. Maryland)
• Robert Swift (Center, Bakersfield (Calif.) HS)
• Earl Watson (Guard, UCLA)
  
• Kyle Weaver (Guard, Washington State)
  
• Russell Westbrook (Guard, UCLA)
• D.J. White (Forward, Indiana)
• Chris Wilcox (Forward, Maryland)
• Damien Wilkins (Guard, Georgia)

The only surprise that would come out of training camp is if Joe Smith makes it out with both knees intact. Practice kicks off at SNU next Monday and supposedly the Thunder's new threads will be unveiled then as well.