Thursday Bolts – 12.10.09
Forbes says the Thunder is the 20th most valuable franchise: “The Thunder’s inaugural season after moving from
Seattle and relinquishing the SuperSonics name was not much of a success on the court. The team managed to win only 23 games, a slight improvement on the team’s 20 win showing the prior year in Seattle. Off-the-court was a different story as attendance jumped a league best 37% and ticket revenues surged 145%. While other small markets struggled to turn a profit last year, the Thunder earned $13 million. The Ford Center is in the middle of a $100 million makeover that includes a new scoreboard, new restaurants and remodeled suites. This season the team got off to a decent start led by its trio of young guns: Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Jeff Green.”
Kevin Durant said he almost cried when Oden got hurt: “Once I heard he was having surgery, to be honest with you I almost drew a tear for him,” said Durant, who became the no-brainer No. 2 pick behind Oden in one of the most highly-debated decisions in the draft’s history … “It’s unfair to him because people don’t know how hard he works every day,” Durant said. “But they’re already ready to tear him down. That’s life I guess. But he works hard every day and he does his job every day and people don’t give him credit for that.”
This Tuesday, free agents signed in the offseason can officially be traded.
Russell Westbrook talking about things he likes and doesn’t: “Unnecessary celebrations: “I don’t like excessive celebrations no matter what sport.””
Harden is third in David Thorpe’s rookie rankings, but 10th in his “potential” rankings, and there’s a good reason: “To be fair, Harden is this low on the list only because he’s already so polished. He has learned to play a smart and crafty game — and has done so for years — because he’s not superathletic. As I’ve said before, he plays like a veteran with a steady pace, under control almost all the time. Sure, Harden can improve his athleticism to some degree, and that would help his overall game, but given the reasons the Thunder drafted him — his passing skills, shooting and ability to mesh with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook — the pressure on him to develop into a superstar is just not there; he may never even be an All-Star. But make no mistake, he has the talent to put up big numbers on a championship team.”
Harden up to eight on NBA.com: “Like DeRozan (see above), Harden is learning where he can most easily do damage — at the free-throw line. Harden had a career-high 26 points Monday in the Thunder’s 104-88 win over the Warriors, with 13 of those coming from the line. “James is a big guard who uses his size, as you saw tonight, to get to the line,” teammate Jeff Green said. “And he also has the ability to shoot. He has a good all-around game. He’s old school. There’s nothing spectacular about it, but he gets it done.” On the season, Harden is hitting 83 percent of his free throws, second only among rookies to the Hornets’ Darren Collison.”
HoopsWorld: “Okay, so two of the three games Harden played in the last week were pretty vanilla, but his most recent game against the Golden State Warriors resulted in a season-high 26 points and 9 rebounds. He also chipped in five assists and 2 steals, making it his best overall game of the season so far. And the best part is, his Thunder won the game, keeping them squarely in the hunt for a lower playoff seed in the west.”
FanHouse Power Rankings: “Above .500, playing great on both sides of the ball, and it’s not all Durant. Jeff Green has been a huge part, providing tough finishes, rebounds, and spacing with his perimeter ability. They’d be in the playoffs if they started today. So, you know, just five more months of inspired play in arguably the toughest division in basketball.”
Jack Jensen of Dime says the Thunder WILL be in the playoffs: “Above all of its statistics and improvements this season, the biggest factor in the Thunder’s realization of its talent has been its chemistry. Presti and the Thunder have brought in quality guys who have developed friendships with one another. This in turn has helped drive their success on the court. When you watch the Thunder, the guys look very comfortable and trusting playing together—as evident in their offense as well as their body language. The same cannot be said for teams like Golden State and Washington.”
More on the Forbes article: “Of particular interest is that the Thunder, in its first season in Oklahoma City, managed to pull a substantially positive operating income of $12.7 million. The value of Clay Bennett’s franchise also rose 3 percent, to $310 million. That was the league’s fourth largest value increase. The Blazers, despite losing that $20 million, saw its franchise value jump a remarkable 10 percent to $338 million.”
KD writes about what he likes doing with his free time: “By now I’m sure all of you know that I’m really into all kinds of music. But not all of you may know that I like to make music, too. Really, I’m not even sure how it came about. I basically woke up one day and decided I wanted to make beats. I was such a big fan of music and I was always curious on how they made it, the steps they went through to make it and I started researching it on YouTube and seeing how guys make beats. A lot of guys back at home, they do their music as well so I was really curious. So I bought myself a little beat machine and I tried to figure that out. I figured it out and then it became a passion of mine.”
