Wednesday Bolts – 8.12.09
Dime thinks they know five things about the Northwest Division: ”I think I know that the Thunder will be a sleeper 
team. Kevin Durant is going to have one of those seasons that will be shake-your-head good. I consider him a superstar already, but he gained a type of confidence last season that is essential for him to truly put himself at a level above the rest of the league. He’ll also have more help with the drafting of James Harden, a jack-of-all-trades type player and an improved Russell Westbrook to guide the offense. Jeff Green has also worked to become a better player each year he’s been in the league, and next season will be no different. Ultimately, what really showed me the Thunder could sleep on some people this year is the confidence they played with at the end of last season. Though they only won 23 games, they lost almost 10 games by less than 6 points which is an obvious sign of a young, inexperienced team. I’d expect closer to 35 wins by the Thunder in ‘09/10.”
John Hollinger looks at the order of the West (Insider): ”OK, hungry fans, it’s time to turn our attention to the Western side of the menu, after Monday’s look at the new pecking order in the East. I’m not sure the pecking order in the West is quite so “new;” less changed in these parts since the end of last season. But I’m here to break it down all the same. Much like the East, the West can be broken into five distinct groups. Make that five and a half, actually, as there’s one additional category we didn’t have in the East.”
The Nick Collison-Jenni Carlson Twitter War came to a head yesterday. Nick tweeted late yesterday: “DISCLAIMER(the following is in no way shape or form commentary on Oklahoma City)…….but….. its another beautiful day in Seattle.” Before that, after asking him about it, Nick said: “an example of incentive for athletes to be boring and full of cliches,” in reference to Jenni calling him out for things. Jim Traber ranted on the radio about both people and in the end, NONE OF IT MATTERS. Why does anyone care where Nick Collison lives in the offseason? And so what that he evidently enjoys living there? Is that not allowed? You can’t like where you live? Next time Kevin Durant tweets, “Wassss up alll my dc peeeps holla,” should we interpret that as, “Oh, well I guess KD wishes he was playing basketball in DC instead of OKC”? Sheesh.
A small interesting debate – more scoring titles: LeBron or Durant?: ”LeBron is stronger, Durant is a better shooter. LeBron shoots more from the floor and the line, however Durant has been a more effective shooter. It seems like LeBron could score more if he wanted to, however, he’s always been about getting his teammates involved. At LeBron’s age, Michael only had two scoring titles, of course, Mike would win the next eight.”
HoopsWorld looks at six teams on the way up: ”The rebuilding project continues for the Thunder, perhaps ahead of schedule. Kevin Durant is rapidly emerging as one of the league’s most potent scorers. While his average climbed from 20.3 points a game to 25.3, he only needed 24 additional shot attempts to make the jump. The difference was a substantial climb in his field goal percentage (from 43.0% to 47.6%). Durant also averaged 7.1 free throws a game, up from 5.6. The Thunder added shooting guard James Harden in the draft to solidify what could be one of the most exciting young cores in the league with Russell Westbrook at the point, Durant at the three and Jeff Green at the four. The center position remains in flux with Nenad Krstic, Nick Collison, Etan Thomas and rookie Byron Mullens. It remains to be seen how much support the Thunder will get off the bench from players like Shaun Livingston, Kevin Ollie, Thabo Sefolosha, Serge Ibaka, Kyle Weaver and D.J. White. The Thunder remain a young team that in all likelihood will return yet again to the lottery. Nonetheless they’re talented, well coached (by Scott Brooks) and a threat to hit at least .500 this coming season.”
A Q&A with Detlef Schrempf: ”Q: You worked as an assistant coach for a while. Would you like to get back into that? A: I don’t know. Not right now. I still have a kid in high school, and I want to be there. I am working for a wealth management firm, so I am happy. In the right situation, down the road, I would like to get back into it. Hopefully, there will be a team in Seattle. Q: It had to be tough for you to watch the Sonics leave. A: Yes, it was. It was frustrating. I almost couldn’t believe they were letting this happen. But I am looking forward to getting a new team into the city.”
The Thunder’s Summer Caravan will be in Yukon and El Reno this weekend (Aug. 15). Go check it out if you have absolutely nothing to do with your life.
And now there are just 77 days until the Thunder tip off the 2009-10 season:
New Memphis blog, Straight Outta Vancouver, had some issues with Hollinger’s article, specifically the way he separated OKC and Memphis. After explaining why the two teams should be ranked closer to each other, he writes this…”Look for a longer column comparing the Thunder and Grizzlies in the future further comparing these two teams, which are remarkably similar, though the media perceives them in two totally different ways.” Despite some significant similarities, I think I understand why the media would perceive them in two totally different ways. Any thoughts?
http://www.straightouttavancouver.com/2009/8/11/985672/john-hollinger-calls-grizzlies
@Alex
There’s so many differences between the Thunder and Memphis that, well, it’s funny.
The Grizzlies don’t have a long-term plan. Rudy Gay is their “star” and are we sure he’s going to be there in two years? They will have cap space in 2011-12, but that’s right when Gay is maybe gone and Marc Gasol will be a free agent. Oklahoma City has set itself up to spend on a few free agents, while keeping the roster intact.
What draft assets do the Grizzlies have? And you’re telling me a core of Mike Conley, O.J. Mayo, Rudy Gay, Marc Gasol and Hasheem Thabeet is supposed to be as up-and-coming as Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Kevin Durant, Jeff Green and [somebody].
The Grizz have a decent future ahead of them, but I don’t think it’s accurate to call OKC and Memphis equals.
I would agree with the writer of the article Alex posted on what it would take to get Boozer and what he is actually worth…
I know that the ESPN “experts” are prone to drinking way too much kool-aid on some teams while completely bashing teams that are just as good or better, but there has to be a reason that OKC shows up on every NBA article or show for being up and coming and the Grizz don’t. Of course I am biased as an OKC fan and so are the people at the Grizz blog.
@Morgan
You’re right and that’s the most important thing to keep in mind. We all have our biases.
In theory, the Grizzlies should have a bright future, but when you consider the cheapness of Michael Heisley and the stupidity of Chris Wallace, they probably won’t be going anywhere. If they had a new owner and GM, they would be a whole lot better.
@Vega
Plus, a fanbase that actually cared enough to go watch the games.
@Lefty
Which can be attributed to the cheapness of Michael Heisley who apparently doesn’t care about putting a winning team on the court.
@Vega
And maybe a little bit to the University of Memphis. I mean, if you want to go watch good basketball…
Personally, it would not surprise me to see the Grizz do pretty well next year. I still think the Thunder will be better, but it would not shock me if the reverse turned out to be true – particularly if Thabeet grows a pair.
If any one of the new Thunder big men have a breakout year, though, the Thunder will def make a lot more noise than the Grizz. But if none make meaningful progress and Mullens turns out to be Swift 2.0, (nothing like wasting the 25 pick on a 7′ boat anchor), it could be a long season while Presti tries to find a nice trade.
Memphis and OKC are almost polar opposites. The only thing they have in common is being relocated.
@Bryan
I don’t think anyone’s expecting a breakout year from the young big men. Mullens and Ibaka are both projects and barring injury, White won’t play significant minutes. I think Collison and Krstic are both pretty much known commodities at this point.
@Vince
They are all projects, I know. Especially Mullens. It’s mostly just wishfull thinking that one of the big men really steps up. Heck, maybe that’s Kirstic. He could get back to his original form.
It is so crazy that we are all discussing how similar OKC and the Grizz are when they are built on completely different principles. OKC is being built with a bunch of high character team players and Memphis is being built with guys who can score and thats about it. Some of the guys (Zach Randolph) are terrible teammates. They are young and athletic, but they have not shown that they can be team players yet and those are not the kind of guys that OKC wants. These teams are not similar other than the fact that they are not title contenders.
Judging strictly by the luck of the Clippers (or lack thereof), I expect Randolph to blow up and become and all-star, while Griffin ends up plagued by injuries.
It’s the Clipper’s curse
Oh wait, duh, forget I just said that
In regards to the Griz article; I don’t think it’s a big deal. The author of that article didn’t really compare the two teams other than to say they’re both trying to build with young talent. That’s a completely fair assessment. Both teams were bad last year. Both teams improved during the off-season with their acquisitions (still not a fan of thabeet though). Neither team lost a significant contributor. Both teams young stars should be better just by experience’ sake alone.
Let’s see if we can’t hold off till his compare-and-contrast article comes out later (which he promised to do) before we start falling all over ourselves.
No way did you come up with a Gheorge Muresan pic from the short shorts era.