Friday Bolts – 12.10.10
Shaun Powell of NBA.com on the Hornets: “The Hornets are the exact opposite of the Thunder in Oklahoma City, which interestingly enough was the Hornets’ temporary home during the Katrina crisis. It all comes back to Shinn and his refusal to sell for the good of the league and the Hornets, until he had no choice. He had opportunities before his franchise tanked. His best chance was in Charlotte, where there was still strong support for the team; the city would’ve built a new arena for a new owner, and there never would’ve been the need for the Bobcats. Instead, the Hornets went to New Orleans, where pro basketball failed before, where there never were any firm plans for an upgraded arena, where corporate dollars were scarce even before Katrina.”
Russell Westbrook was on the Scott Van Pelt show yesterday. Really good, fun, awesome stuff.
A pretty spiffy picture of KD.
Byron Mullens has been assigned to the Tulsa 66ers.
Rob Mahoney writing for the NYT on what makes an All-Star: “The All-Star Game is, in many respects, quite odd. It’s part coach-determined meritocracy and part popularity contest. It’s a game that means absolutely nothing, and yet the players are supposed to treat it as genuine competition. The honor of being selected has meaning to younger players but is an inconvenience to many veterans. It’s more celebration than exhibition, which makes it hard to draw a line between basketball and frivolity because there really isn’t one.”
Phil Jackson likes to have his way and he got it Wednesday against the Clippers. And his call turned out to be pretty huge.
Darnell Mayberry on Thabo Sefolosha’s offensive game: “In his second full season with the Thunder, Sefolosha has connected on just nine of 34 attempts entering Friday’s game at New Orleans. His current attempt rate is on pace to leave him 10 shy of last year’s career-best 131 attempts — telling the story of his tentativeness despite tales of his improvement — while his 26.5 percent shooting from the 3-point line currently ranks as a career-low. But maybe we’ve been analyzing the wrong thing. Lately, Sefolosha has shown an increasingly productive offensive game when he steps inside the arc and takes his game to the basket. The fifth-year shooting guard has been surprisingly effective putting the ball on the floor and finding ways to finish at the rim. And when he has, the Thunder’s offensive has looked much more dynamic.”
Hornets 24/7 started a foundation to try and keep the Hornets in New Orleans. Just passing along the word.
