Tuesday Bolts – 10.27.09
Top pick Blake Griffin is out as much as six weeks with a stress fracture in his knee. How did he get this injury you ask? 
By getting drafted by the Clippers, that’s how. Not only is this a shame for the NBA, but out six weeks means he won’t be ready Nov. 15th for his Oklahoma homecoming. I’m so peeved. We can only hope he switches on Wolverine mode and heals this thing in four days like he did with his injuries at OU.
Mark Heisler of the LA Times picks OKC 13th in the West: “If this were a 25-and-under league, you’d really like their chances. Kevin Durant, who just turned 21, now must do the hardest thing of all: turn those stats into wins. Russell Westbrook, 20, and Thabo Sefolosha, 25, might be the game’s most athletic backcourt, with versatile Jeff Green, 23, alongside Durant. That leaves them one center and another year or two away.”
Jeff Green and Kevin Durant have been named captains. Captain KD has quite a ring to it. Captain Uncle Jeff… not so much.
He’s learning. HE’S LEARNING: ”But one small development in his game has stood out and could have a major impact on the Thunder this season. Westbrook is now coming to get the ball following defensive rebounds rather than relying on a risky outlet pass in traffic. It’s a small quirk Westbrook didn’t exhibit last season but one that could cut down on turnovers this year. “I learned,” Westbrook said. “Last year, I was running out and things like that. And after watching other point guards, you’ve got to come back and get the ball and run the team. I watched a lot of film of myself this summer and it’s just me seeing what I can get better at.”
Marc Stein’s power rankings and OKC stands pat at 21.
The OKC Thunders are my favorite team.
The Ottawa Citizen asking questions to itself: ”Is the Oklahoma City Thunder playoff-ready? Kevin Durant is a future all-star and perhaps a scoring champion; Russell Westbrook is a frenetic guard who can get to the rim with abandon; Jeff Green has the makings of a do-it-all utility forward; Rookie James Harden is the prototypical shooting guard the Thunder needed. But calm down, Thunder fanatics: the team has no proven power forward — it passed up on signing David Lee and Paul Millsap — and will be starting Nenad Krstic at centre. Oklahoma City will be fun to watch, but wait another year for the post-season.”
Darnell Mayberry says stop following Thabo Sefolosha’s Twitter. What you thought was Thabo is actually an impostor. Thabo is not on Twitter. Very strange considering Thabo has a verified account.
Sham Sports breaks down OKC’s spending plan: “This summer saw a team that could have had nearly 8 figures of cap room opt not to use any of it. The Oklahoma City Thunder did pretty much nothing with their offseason once draft day was completed, and having won a total of 23 games last year, it’s justifiable to ask why that was. There follows some exploratory maths, which get a bit dull and confusing.”
Gov. Brad Henry for the Edmond Sun: “Oklahoma’s star is rising. That fact is evident not only in reports and rankings, but in the announcement early this month that Tulsa soon will be home to a WNBA team that will play in the world-class BOK Center. The announcement came just as Oklahoma City readies for a second season of NBA action with the Oklahoma City Thunder.”
Get yer Big Country t-shirts! Getem now!
The Book of Basketball is out today. Be a real fan and go buy it.
The season starts tonight. We kick things off tomorrow. Remember when we thought it would never get here? Well, it’s pretty much here.
Sefolosha announced his child’s birth on twitter. I don’t get it.
Oh yeah. I’m seriously bummed about Griffin. I bought tickets for entire family (including mom and step-father).
@Dai
I don’t either. Maybe it’s Thabo’s agent or his firm or PR guy or something. And Thabo said, “No I’m not on Twitter,” just meaning he physically isn’t.
Man, 2009 is going to be great! Bradford will win his second Heisman and he and Gresham will be Top 10 picks. Griffin will be Rookie of the Year in the NBA… what a year!
OH SHI–
@Royce
Is there any chance that there is some sort of “alternate Thabo Sefalosha” on Twitter?
Maybe I’ve been watching too much Fringe, but hang with me for a second. Maybe he accidentally passed over into this universe and is unaware that he’s not the real Thabo. Maybe he’s a poor defender but has a killer outside shot. Maybe he still has his dreadlocks.
@Dylan
lmao!!
Just wanted to point out that at the top of the LA Times article, it says the teams are ordered how they finished last year, not their projections this year (unless I’m reading wrong). OKC’s too trendy of a pick to be that far down this year, come on!
And I really liked the Sham Sports article, but I’m a nerd for numbers and statistics and stuff.
Do you think the NBA could get away with outlawing certain franchises from drafting high? I mean, how many lives must the Clippers ruin?
wow, i must be in the minority, but i don’t give half a crap about blake griffin. it’s lovely that he’s from oklahoma, but i’m not gonna root for him just because of that. he’s a clipper, and screw the clippers. it’s too bad he’s hurt, but oh well. i’m more concerned with oklahoma city’s team. we’ve got to learn to cut the cord with local players. i hate the new england patriots, so therefore i don’t like wes welker. i’m sure everyone disagrees with me, but once these players leave oklahoma i no longer care. rooting for the clippers because griffin went to ou is like hating the thunder because durant’s a longhorn. i don’t care where they went to college, only where they’re playing now.
@donuteyes
I hate the Pats too, but more because the majority of their fanbase is made up of fair-weather fans who don’t live in nor are associated with Boston, and I can’t stand them. As for Blake, it’s not about OU for me, it’s about him being the only star in the draft. I wanted to see him play because I enjoy seeing a young player growing up and becoming great. Unfortunately, it’s also about the inevitability of the Clippers. I don’t care about their win-loss totals either, but it’s sad to see them constantly being rewarded (high picks) for failure and ruining careers.
It’s part that he’s from OU, but it’s mainly that he’s the top overall pick in the draft. I think people get the two confused when stuff about him is talked about around here.
If LeBron James had busted his knee back in 2004 and was going to have to miss a game in OKC, I think we’d all be bummed a little.
But I root for Oklahoma athletes all the way through. Even OSU ones. As most know, I’m a huge Dez Mason fan. Heck, Adrian Peterson is the reason I’m a Vikings fan.
Then you obviously didn’t grow up with some of these guys (Welker, Griffin, etc), which is somewhat understandable but I think you’re focusing only on the college side of things and not the homegrown kid becomes superstar aspect of it.
You’re more than welcome to be a staunch Thunder-only supporter, I’ll definitely cheer and side with you on that. But cheering on the hometown kid who’s done what few ever do, and that’s make it to the big stage and the apex of his sport/dreams, is kind of what makes Oklahoma…Oklahoma. We’re not a hugely populated state, we’re somewhat of a small, close-knit community even though we’re now considered a “big league city” and when one of our own goes on to bigger and better things, we’ll support them as much as we can because they’re literally one of our own that we’ve watched grow and mature into the person/player they’ve become to reach those heights…
Now were you to ask me if I’ll cheer for him when he returns to the Ford Center to play against the Thunder…well that’s a different question altogether, now isn’t it?
@J.G.
Very well put.
Freakin Clippers….. sigh.
So Griffin’s injury is announced the day after I buy 4 Thunder/Clips tickets?
That’s stupid.
@donuteyes
I don’t have a favorite NFL team, so I follow the teams who have players that I like. It’s pretty common.
I like Blake Griffin, like watching him play, wish success for him. I hope his team loses to mine, but I still watch his games.
I still watch as many Hornet’s games as I can too.
Holy crap – I need to hit refresh more often before posting.
Good news, we’ve got a better chance at beating the Clipps!
Apparently, Thabo is not going to sign an extension and will become a restricted free agent after this season. I love Thabo, but I hope that Presti is smart and doesn’t overpay for him.
@Vega
It doesn’t hurt for him to test the market. We obviously just drafted someone to replace him in the starting lineup, so he wants to see if another team could use him in a larger role. As is, we still hold his RFA rights, so he’s not going anywhere unless we want him to. Given the size of contracts in the NBA, I think 5 million per is his max, but needs to show off some offense to even deserve that yearly. Even the best defensive stoppers needed a little offense before they got paid (See Bowen and Battier).
well as far as the from oklahoma bit goes i keep up with everyone. Even plays from OSU (I am a fan) I will only cheer when they are announced. After that they get no love if they are on an opposing team. *shrug* I suppose I’m one of the few like that. But I still like Welker.. but been a Pats fan since Bledsoe was the QB.
Just picked up The Book of Basketball…It is so girthy!!!
@Keith
I was a little bummed to read about Thabo not signing an extension, but think your observations on the topic are pretty spot on. Battier will be making roughly 7mill per for the next two years. Being the “poor man’s Battier” means you should expect to earn less than Shane Battier. With the cap dropping and the obscene number of free agent wings on the market next year, I bet we wind up paying less than whatever his agent was pushing for with Presti.
I hope we keep Thabo – I think he’s an excellent defensive model for our team – if he leaves, then who’s our outside stopper??
————
part of it is really on him though. What did he have, one good game in preseason (from 3 pt land)? The few games I saw he was still tentative on the outside. We can’t play 4 on 5 on offense . . .
Who’s going to make a fake Robert Swift Twitter account?
@kev
Yep, couldn’t agree more. If Thabo can’t improve to become a more complete player, then he can only blame himself for the Thunder drafting and then using that player to replace him in the starting lineup.
Though I’d hope he’d still get 26-30 minutes a game as a reserve anyway though, which is about all I’d expect him to get as a starter in the first place if he still can’t hit an open jumper.
…i agree that it’s bad for the league in general when the number one overall pick goes down. it’s just that in the last twenty-four hours that’s all i’ve heard about. i understand that he’s a local guy, and i do not like to see him injured.
for me, i guess this is really just another symptom in the general disease that is our local media regarding the only professional team we’ve ever had. unless you listen to sports radio (which i do not, and will never), you don’t hear much about them. if not for the internet, i would know nothing about the thunder, except kevin durant. and now blake griffin goes down, and it completely overshadows the start of our own team’s season. i know this has always been a college town, and i know i am in the minority because i don’t care about college sports at all… but that’s another topic. i just wish our young, talented team with SO much potential and national hype would get that sort of recognition from the media in it’s own damn city.
donut – we don’t have an established franchise. We live in a football state. Period. It’s all about OU and OSU football. Tubbs had Tisdale (RIP). He couldn’t sellout every game. OU was ranked #1 at times from 1988-1990. They still struggled to sell out some games in a relatively small (11,000) arena.
Then the Thunder comes to town. Our record stinks. You aren’t going to get that much press a football environment without winning. Durant is a good start, but until we start winning, the media (and general public) won’t care.
@Alex
I got mine in the mail on Monday…It’s awesome…