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."

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:

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.

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

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.

Wednesday Thunderbolts

• I just couldn't let this go (caution: heavy cursing inside and turn your speakers down). An awesome, awesome (and by awesome, you know what I mean) YouTube rant about the new Thunder jerseys. Holy cow, it's good. Better (or should I say worse?) rant - the eruption of Mount Gundy, Lee Elia's head exploding or MadThad0890's on the Thunder? And in case you were thinking about doing it, save your time: I counted - he said Thunder 46 times.

• Speaking of Mike Gundy, Jenni Carlson of the Oklahoman on the team growing together: "The franchise and the face are going to grow up together. 'For him to come here early in his career ... ,' Thunder point guard Earl Watson said, '20 years from now, 30 years from now, you think of the Thunder being in Oklahoma City, you're going to have to think of Kevin Durant.' This is a youngster who has not only the ability but also the personality to be a superstar. Look at what happened a year ago. He played for a dreadful team but still won the NBA Rookie of the Year. He landed on the West Coast but still emerged a marketing darling."

• He put it up yesterday, but there was a lot going on with the unis. Be sure to check out Part 7: Power Forward, of Joe's Thunder position-by-position breakdown. "[Head coach P.J. Carlesimo] essentially started some combination of [Kurt] Thomas, [Nick] Collison and [Chris] Wilcox at the PF and Center spot on most nights, interspersed with a few shots of Robert Swift before injuries and Johan Petro. In the end, Kurt Thomas was mercifully traded to a contender before the deadline, Wilcox got hurt and Nick Collison proved why he is one of the most underrated front court players in the game today. The big men for the Thunder this coming season will be the same crew less Kurt Thomas but with the addition of first round pick D.J. White and Joe Smith, both are also Power Forwards. As a whole, the Power Forward position was the second most effective and efficient position for us. Shooting guard was slightly better."

• ESPN the Magazine's Chad Nielsen on Serge Ibaka's impressive dunking: "I didn't drive to Zaragoza at 170 km/hr to backseat-judge a dunk competition. I came for one reason. (Okay, two reasons. After a week fighting traffic and soccer club bureaucracies in Barcelona, I was stoked to rent a Citroen C5 and hit the road. But it took 45 minutes to rent the car and Zaragoza was about 60km further than I was led to believe. So I had to rush a bit.) No, I came to see the kind of hops that legends are made of—legends like Serge Ibaka."

• Joe Smith, Man on the Move via Ball Don't Lie: "Joe Smith is an Oklahoma City Thunder, now; but if you'd forgotten that he'd been traded to the team over the summer, you're forgiven. He kind of flies low on the radar. Hell, I had to look the trade up. It was a three-way deal. However, if you failed to assume that Smith had been traded during the offseason, you're still on the hook. After all, the man's been in the league since 1995, he's played for nine teams, and two of the nine twice. So 11 teams, really, and all pretty much with the same haircut. Same jumper, too. Always there, always the same."

• John Klein of The Tulsa World: "Yet, just like the team, the questions on media day eventually got down to what will be most important in a couple of years. What type of team will this be? When can the Thunder realistically expect to be competitive in the NBA? For the first couple of years, that won't matter. Folks are going to jam the place excitedly. In 2-3 years, they may want to see some wins."

• John Hollinger's breakdown is coming later today. When it's up, I'll make sure you see it. It's going to be sweet.
  

• From the official site, photos and video from the first day of practice of training camp.