Friday Bolts – 9.7.12
Don Nelson: “I got a kick out of Miami winning it all,” Nelson said by phone from his home in Maui. “They didn’t use their big lineup all that much. They really matched up and caused problems for Oklahoma City. I thought Erik (Spoelstra) did a great job coaching.”
Peter Keating of ESPN the Mag on OKC being the top franchise: “Like other teams that always rank near the top of our Ultimate Standings — the Spurs and Packers, Angels and Red Wings — the Oklahoma City Thunder deliver lots of wins, amped by hugely enjoyable game days, at reasonable prices. They’re also incredibly young. At 23, Kevin Durant is actually the oldest of the four players who led the Thunder in minutes last season, highlighting the fact that this club has established its long-term commitment to fans in just a handful of seasons. And they’re easy to love at a distance too. In our fan voting, Oklahoma City not only was No. 1 in the NBA in having a fan-friendly environment but ranked first among all teams in engaging fans through social media and in connecting fans to information online or via mobile devices. In the 43rd-largest metro area in the U.S., but with fans all over the middle of the country, the Thunder have more than 1.5 million Facebook fans and, according to Social Media Today, lead the NBA in Twitter engagement. So yes, the Thunder’s owners were wrong to abandon Seattle the way they did four years ago. But in the here and now, through geographical necessity, smart management and hellaciously fun play, Oklahoma City is doing a better job than any other sports franchise of turning fans into family.”
Russ be crazy with his clothes.
Westbrook in a weird Q&A: “I like True Blood. I love the genre. But I don’t watch so many shows — I don’t have time! If I’m playing, then the shows are going off.”
Something about Aubrey McClendon.
Zach Lowe of SI.com in writing about Tyreke Evans: “Making the trickiest passes is tough, especially for young players. Some don’t see those lanes consistently (Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook), while others don’t probe deeply enough to create them (Milwaukee’s Brandon Jennings). Some see those lanes and ignore them. Evans suffers from all three issues, though Smart emphatically says Evans is not a selfish player, citing multiple huddles in which Evans apologized profusely upon learning he missed an open man. And Evans’ unreliable jumper only makes those lanes harder to generate.”
A different story from Peter Keating on the Thunder: “The team also pays close attention to its most loyal customers. Most NBA clubs have a few employees tracking the needs of their season-ticket holders. Oklahoma City has 14. So it’s no surprise that the franchise ranked No. 1 in the NBA (and third overall) in having a fan-friendly environment at games. But the Thunder also ranked first among all teams in engaging fans through social media and in connecting fans to information online or via mobile devices. It’s not just that Thunder fans love their players and appreciate their owners, it’s that they can do both up close and at a distance. And that’s where the Thunder really excel: reaching beyond their hometown.”
