SB Nation - Ryan Bowen

Loud Links: 11.25.09

daddydai — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 23:06:23 -0000

25 days ago: Oklahoma City Thunder's Thabo Sefolosha, right, fights for a ball with Utah Jazz's Carlos Boozer during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Salt Lake City, Saturday, Nov. 24, 2009. The Thunder beat the Jazz 104-94. (AP Photo/George Frey)

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ESPN NBA Awards Watch
[Just in case you didn't notice, Thabo has been mentioned by ESPN as a possible Defensive Player of the Year.] Thabo Sefolosha, Thunder: He is building a reputation as one of the top one-on-one defenders in the NBA. Go check the tapes to see how he slowed down Brandon Roy, Kevin Martin, Kobe and D-Wade. [Add D-Will to that list.]

ESPN - Elias Says: Sports Statistics - Stats from the Elias Sports Bureau - ESPN
[Another reason to keep an eye on KD.] Kevin Durant scored 28 points on Tuesday, giving him 407 in 15 games this season. Only three other players in league history had as many as 400 points over the first 15 games of a season at age 21 or younger: LeBron James (twice), Shaquille O'Neal and Michael Jordan.

Thunder suffocate Jazz to end three-game win streak | StandardNET
Defensively, the Thunder held the Jazz to just 39 percent from the field and forced six turnovers. "They really made it tough for us to run our offense," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said. "We just started taking shots (in the third quarter) and got into casual mode. I thought they did a terrific job defensively, they got up and really made it tough on us in almost everything we did." Credit Thunder guard Thabo Sefolosha for causing the most trouble. Assigned to Williams much of the night, the fourth-year player from Switzerland used a four-inch height advantage to frustrate Utah's star point guard. "He's just a bigger guard, he took a lot of things away from me," Williams said. "That's my role, playing defense and trying to be that spark on the defensive end," Sefolosha said. The Jazz fell to 4-3 on their home floor this season. They still have four more home games between now and December 4.

NBA.com - The Game Happens Here
A brilliant adjustment made at halftime by Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks was one of the differences in the game. He put defensive-stopper Sefolosha on Deron Williams in the third quarter, and it took Utah's point guard out of his rhythm. Williams, after an effective first half, shot 1-for-5 and committed six turnovers in the second half. "Deron Williams is a phenomenal player and Thabo is one of the best defensive players in the league," said Thunder forward Kevin Durant. "It was fun watching him play defense like that and helping our team out. He's grown as a player, and he always helps on the defensive end." Sefolosha's defense was one factor in Oklahoma City blowing the game open in the third quarter. The Thunder, who led by one at halftime, outscored the Jazz by 15 points in the third period, limiting them to just four points in the final six minutes of the third. "We didn't do a very good job trying to contend them," Sloan said. "You've got to knock them off the boards every time you can and help each other on the defensive end. We got confused on defense and when we have those kinds of problems it's tough to pull yourself out of a slump."

How Good is Kevin Durant and the Thunder? " The Wages of Wins Journal
After 15 games this year it is beginning to look like "noise" was the culprit. According to BasketballValue.com, Durant’s adjusted plus-minus score is 16.09. This is the second highest mark on the team. So it looks like everyone is now in agreement. Durant is officially a "good" player (ain’t that a relief?). Fortunately for the Thunder, he is also not alone. Here are the top producers of wins in Oklahoma City [WP48 = Wins Produced per 48 minutes].

Kevin Durant: 579 minutes played, 0.204 WP48,13.5 projected Wins Produced
Thabo Sefolosha: 491 minutes played, 0.182 WP48, 10.2 projected Wins Produced
Russell Westbrook: 512 minutes played, 0.138 WP48, 8.0 projected Wins Produced
James Harden: 296 minutes played, 0.219 WP48, 7.4 projected Wins Produced

This quartet are on pace to produce 39.0 wins. As a team, Oklahoma City has an efficiency differential (offensive efficiency minus defensive efficiency) of 2.4, a mark that projects to about 47 wins across an 82 game season. So the four players listed above are responsible for about 83% of the team’s wins.

NBA Insider -- OrlandoSentinel.com
[Orlando respects KD realistic outlook.] Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant entered Monday ranked fifth in the league in points per game with a 27.1 scoring average. So, can the 21-year-old prodigy win a scoring title this season? "I doubt it," Durant said. "There's too many great scorers in the league." Durant would make history if he overtakes Carmelo Anthony, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. Bob McAdoo holds the NBA record as the youngest player ever to win a scoring title; he was 22 when he averaged a league-best 30.6 points per game in 1973-74 for the Buffalo Braves.

Thunder notebook: Kevin Ollie scheduled to have MRI on knee | NewsOK.com
Kevin Ollie, who missed Tuesday’s game at Utah with a sore right knee, will undergo an MRI exam today. Ollie said his knee has been troublesome for about three weeks, but the pain became unbearable in the first quarter of Sunday’s road loss against the Los Angeles Lakers when he attempted to challenge a shot by guard Jordan Farmar. "When I explode it hurts, but when I’m running it’s fine," Ollie said. "That’s the frustrating thing. In basketball you have to jump. You can’t go out there and play cautious and whatnot. So I think I’m hurting myself and most importantly I think I’m hurting my team.

Thunder 104, Jazz 94 | Thunder Rumblings
[Nice lengthy article by Mayberry, check it out.] Weaver, who was relegated to the D-League on Saturday and recalled from the Tulsa 66ers hours before tip-off only to provide emergency duty behind starting point guard Russell Westbrook, had played only 15 garbage-time minutes in the Thunder’s first 14 games. Fourteen of those minutes came in one contest. But on Tuesday night, Weaver matched his season total in minutes. And he provided more than just a steady hand. Weaver made plays, pestering Jazz point guards Deron Williams and Eric Maynor with his defense and seamlessly setting up the offense and swishing key shots. He finished with seven points on 2-for-3 shooting. He turned the ball over twice but had a career-high-tying three blocked shots to go with one assist.

Ibaka, meanwhile, continued to be a game-changer around the basket.One game after a career night — an 11-point, 13-rebound, five-block performance against the Lakers — Ibaka pulled down five rebounds and had one steal and one block in 21 minutes. He coolly filled in for Jeff Green when the Thunder’s starting power forward picked up two early fouls. He gobbled up a rebound following a Paul Millsap miss. He netted an 18-footer following a feed from Kevin Durant. He pulled down another board after Mehmet Okur’s missed jumper, giving him two points and two rebounds in just four minutes. Ibaka later spelled a foul-plagued Nenad Krstic and did much of the same. But most impressive was the 20-year-old’s confidence. When the Jazz came alive in the fourth quarter and used a 4-0 spurt to cut the Thunder’s 19-point lead to a tenuous 15 with eight minutes remaining, Ibaka smoothly sank an 18-footer. Thabo Sefolosha then nailed two free throws to push the lead back to 19.

And all James Harden did was bounce back from a woeful performance he turned in two nights earlier that could have rocked the rookie’s confidence. After a 2-for-15 shooting night (0-for-10 from 3) against the Lakers, Harden netted four of five shots and one of two 3-pointers for his 10 points during his 19 minutes. His second-quarter production showed his moxie. He poured in all of his points during a 3 minute, 14 second span that started with the Jazz leading by a point and ended with his 3-pointer that gave OKC a 39-36 lead with 6:54 remaining in the half. The Thunder trailed only twice the rest of the way, both times by just a point.

Thabo Sefolosha stymies Deron Williams; OKC wins | NewsOK.com
Williams was 1-for-5 from the field in the third quarter. His lone basket after halftime came on a breakaway. While Sefolosha was glued to him, Williams had just one assist and committed two turnovers in the third quarter. The Thunder outscored the Jazz 31-16 in the period. "He was unbelievable," Durant said of Sefolosha. "Deron Williams is a tough cover at the point guard position. He did a great job on him. That’s what we need from him every night and that’s what he’s been doing."

THUNDER: A Look Back on the Thunder's 104-94 win at Utah
Speaking of Weaver, the second-year guard/forward had a huge night. Weaver was recalled from Tulsa and joined his teammates in Utah. With both Kevin Ollie and Shaun Livingston out with injuries, Weaver became the backup point guard. Weaver finished with seven points, three blocks and an assist in 15 minutes off the bench. Although he hasn’t been in the regular season rotation, Weaver stayed ready for an opportunity like Tuesday.

From Darnell Mayberry's Twitter:

The #OKCTHUNDER has waived forward Ryan Bowen. A backup point guard could soon be added.
It's not all bad, folks. S. Livingston had stitches removed from his knee 2day & says the timetable for his return is up to him.
More bad news Thunder fans. Kyle Weaver left today's practice with a shoulder injury. Went to the Doc. Questionable for Friday. #OKCTHUNDER

From KD's Twitter:

RT @uclabruin4lyf8 @KevinDurant35 who was your role model growing up?(my mommy, she showed me how to work hard)
RT @kayso5 If u kud play anybody one on one old or new players who would it be? @KevinDurant35(magic Johnson)
RT @SLEINWANT @KevinDurant35 What was your all time favorite moment as a pro basketball player(getting drafted in 2007)
RT @3O5_ @kevindurant35 are you the team captain?(yesss)
RT @Stence3 @KevinDurant35 r u playin in the in 2012 olympics(that's the goal, gotta continue to work)
RT @gowherehiphop @KevinDurant35 what song has been pumpin' you up before games lately?(I'm good-clipse)
RT @Harry_Stevens @KevinDurant35 No MJ in your all-time 5?(I forgot about mj lol)
RT @aj_is_now @KevinDurant35 if u weren't a pro b'baller in the @NBA ,what profession would u pursue?(meteorologist)
RT @uclabruin4lyf8 @KevinDurant35 what did you do with your first NBA paycheck?(bought my family cars)
RT @jharriswhite @KevinDurant35 Who's in your all-time starting 5?(magic, Oscar Robertson, wilt chamberlain, Hakeem Olajuwon, lebron)

Thinking about Thanksgiving
What’s up everybody? Thanksgiving is only a few hours away and I’m ready to eat, spend time with friends and family and just chill. Tomorrow will be about friends, family, food and even some basketball. I’m just going to be here in Oklahoma City enjoying the off day with some of my teammates and brothers. That’s about it. Same thing as last year. I’ll enjoy a good meal with my teammates and get ready for my game on Friday. I’ll probably go to the gym tomorrow, lift some weights, get some shots in and then enjoy the rest of my day off. Russell said he’ll come through and I’ll go over James’ house. I’ll just move over from James, Jeff and Russell’s house throughout the day. It’ll be fun. Growing up, Thanksgiving for me was having all my family be at my Aunt’s house. All the kids, there was about 20 of us, We’d play football in the front yard and wait for the food to be cooked. Either the Cowboys or Redskins would play and we’d watch that. Thanksgiving was always big in our family. As far as favorite Thanksgiving Day foods go, my Aunt used to cook this macaroni and cheese. It was unbelievable. Different than anything I’ve ever had before. I don’t know how to describe It except that it was extra cheesy. Oh yeah, and about those Redskins. I know they’ve had a tough season, but they’re still my team. They had a hard loss against the Cowboys on Sunday but we had a good win against Denver the week before so hopefully we can still build off of that. And even though the ‘Skins won’t be playing tomorrow, it’s always fun watching football on Thanksgiving. Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Talk to you soon.

2010 NBA Rookie Card Page - ESPN
[Harden is now #4 on ESPN's Rookie Watch] Nov. 25: Thunder GM Sam Presti had the opportunity to draft Ricky Rubio or Tyreke Evans with the No. 3 pick. But Rubio had the buyout hanging over his head and wasn't a sure thing to come play in OKC. And Evans, who needs the ball in his hands a lot to be effective, would be a tough fit with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, who have similar needs. Harden, meanwhile, was the rare scorer who had terrific passing skills and could impact games without taking lots of shots or dribbles. And so far in his rookie season, he has been true to that evaluation. He has an assist rate that puts him in the top 10 of the class, making him the only non-point guard in that group. He's been a solid defender on a top-10 defensive team. And although his shooting numbers are down, he has the mechanics to get that back up soon.

Game 1 Recap: Oklahoma City 102, Sacramento 89

Zorgon — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:47:30 -0000

More photos » by ALONZO ADAMS - AP

That ball must smell really bad. Either that, or Russell Westbrook's "Intimidation Face" isn't working.

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Yahoo! Box Score:

Breaking News! The Thunder are the #1 team in their division, in their conference, and in the NBA. Undefeated, baby!

Well, that was a pretty big win, considering it was again a one-man-team. There was a point in time in the early 3rd quarter that Kevin Martin had literally half of his teams points. Now, that's acceptable early in the game or if you're having an absolutely monster night, but not in the second half of a blowout. In all honesty, nobody but Martin helped to step up and alleviate the scroing draught on the Kings. Cassipi had 18, but he scored most of his points in garbage time.

And that's why we won this game. We turned the ball over a lot and we had some missed opportunities, but when the other team has absolutely no scoring help for their star, they're not going to win a lot of games.

Granted, you could also say that the win was due to our excellent start, and that was also a contributing factor. Once the bar was set at 10 points, the Kings never managed to climb back within that range.

You could also chalk up the win to the excellent play from our starters. Sefolosha struggled as he tried to defend Kevin Martin, but Russell Westbrook had a near triple-double with 14 Points, 7 Rebounds, and 13 Assists, and Krstic, Durant, and Green all hauled in over 20 points. But, if you're going to give the Thunder Wonder award to anyone, you'd have to give it to Russell Westbrook, especially since he limited himself to two turnovers.

For those of you who don't know, my recaps use an award system. The Thunder Wonder is the award for the player with the best overall performance. The Thunder Down Under is the award for the player who was the second best contributor or that simply had a much better than usual night. The Thunder Blunder award is given to the player whose performance is the most detrimental to the team. Lastly, the Thunder Plunderer award is given to the player on the opposing team who hurt us the most. Clever, eh?

Nevertheless, the Thunder Down Under award goes to Nenad Krstic, who had an amazing night of 20 Points and 7 Rebounds. If anything was going to convince Scott Brooks of his starting spot, that would be it. Both Green and Durant had their usual nights, but Jeff Green had an usually high 3 blocks.

There is no question in my mind that Etan Thomas is the Thunder Blunder here. I don't need to list his stats; in fact, I'm not even going to list his stats at all. All I know is that whenever he got the ball in the post, it was almost a guaranteed turnover. Okay, granted, he only has one turnover on the stat sheet, but he had 3 shots blocked, and who knows how many more balls swatted out of his hands that were fortunate enough to land in the hands of teammates. He had one dunk, and believe me, I cheered for him when he finally got that dunk, but this guy has either got to step it up offensively, or pass the ball back out to the perimeter. To be honest, he's reminding me of me and Adonal Foyle on offense. And that's a very, very bad thing.

Kevin Ollie is just as surprised as I am at his poor performance tonight!

I was a bit surprised by the poor play of our bench tonight. James harden had triple singles, which is to be expected for a rookies first game, but Nick Collison had 2 Points, 1 Rebound, and 3 fouls, while Kevin Ollie had 2 Points and 1 turnover. Collison should step it up after this game, but his might should really be a lot better than Etan Thomas', especially when those nights are against the Kings. I'm not really expecting much from Ollie, since he's a journeyman. Whats more puzzling about his performance is why Shaun Livingston never got any minutes. I thought we were in universal agreement that Shaun was being groomed for playing the backup role? Did P.J. Carlesimo take the coaches chair again? It would be great for me if he did, but bad for everybody else. Hopefully Livingston gets some minutes moving forward.

Also of note is the decision to put Kyle Weaver on the Injured Reserve. I have a feeling that will change over the next couple of weeks, but it might just be wishful thinking. Obviously, B.J. Mullens and Ryan Bowen were going to the reserve, but for that third spot, you have to decide between Thomas, Weaver, Ibaka, and White. In all honesty, you only need one of Ibaka or White, and the only reason Thomas is on the roster is because he's getting paid the big bucks. Heck, I'd rather have Weaver on the floor than Ollie at any point of the game. His future Thunder career is looking pretty grim at the moment, but he's just an injury or sloppy performance away from getting on the active roster and having a shot at playing.

There should be no question in anybodies mind that Kevin Martin was the Thunder Plunderer tonight. 27 Points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals speaks for itself. I think the tragedy of this guy is that while he scores in bunches on his own, he doesn't do a whole lot to improve the players around him. It's not necessarily a huge knock on him, but on a team that is struggling and needs some scoring help from other sources, it can't do a lot to help the win column.

Durant and Westbrook "Thundering Up".

As an aside, I'd really like to applaud the Thunder's TV coverage team. I'll be the first to admit that Nenad Krstic saying, "Thunder Up", James Harden saying, "Community", and Jeff Green saying, "Rise Together" was hilarious, and it made no sense. And then when a ball bounces into the middle of an empty gym, and they start dancing like they're in a Space Jam music video, my jaw just dropped. I didn't know what to say. And then, when you had Brian Davis and Grant Long trying to be, "cool" by crossing their arms, I almost died of laughter. But, almost every other station used standard stock music, standard FSN or Comcast graphics, and an overall average looking product. But the Thunder went the extra mile to make their broadcast look presentable, and that all but makes up the horrible coverage they have early last year.

Also, some guy in front of me tonight had a sign that read simply, "Kings Suck". And he didn't just scribble it down, it looked like he spent a good 5-10 minutes on the sign. But why? It's too vulgar to get on TV, it's too simplistic to be of any worth design-wise, and it's stating the obvious. I mean, if he held up a sign that said "Beat the Kings" and it had artistic value or was a free give-away, then it's an acceptable sign to hold. But it wasn't any three of those things, so he might as well have held up a sign that said, "Birds Have Wings".

Next Game: October 30th, 2009 at the Pistons

Can we continue our undefeated run for 82 more games? Hey, anything is possible.

Lastly, apologies for the late recap everyone. I try to make it a point to do the recap on the same night, but I was just so exhausted after a long day that I needed a nights rest before completing this. Thanks for understanding!

Waive Goodbye, Part 2

Jon L — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:00:42 -0000

More photos » by Nam Y. Huh - AP

Go ahead and smile, Derrick Byars. You made the team. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

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Today we continue our look at the players waived or, occasionally, kept by NBA teams as the regular season begins. Next up we move into the middle of the country, or as I like to call it, "America's already-bloated snackhole." (I can say that because I live there.) That's right, it's the Central and Southwest Divisions. (Except that I was looking at the wrong division list when I wrote this and it's actually the Northwest Division. Deal with it, America.) And if you're just tuning in, don't forget to check out part 1.

Chicago Bulls

Who got cut: Curtis Stinson, Chris Richard, Steven Hill

Who got kept: Derrick Byars

Forget Stinson and Hill, this really came down to Byars vs. Richard for the last roster spot. And with all due respect to Richard, they made the right call. Richard played okay, although he averaged less than seven points per 36 minutes, and given that the team that already sports Joakim Noah in the frontcourt they really probably can't handle yet another guy who can't produce on offense. Not that Richard unequivocally can't, he just didn't demonstrate that sort of ability in the preseason, which is when he needed to demonstrate it. Byars helps the team in case Deng gets hurt again, or if John Salmons starts creaking (he turns 30 later this year). I won't discuss Byars in great detail here, because you can read this. It probably makes up for the Bulls cutting DeMarcus Nelson, maybe. Stinson and Hill are both probably headed to Europe, though I could see Stinson sticking around the D-League.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Who got cut: Luke Nevill, Andre Barrett, Russell Robinson, Rob Kurz, Darryl Watkins

Who got kept: Coby Karl

See Marge? These guys get it. Karl actually didn't play particularly well in the preseason, but he had a pretty good Summer League with Denver, and he's definitely talented. He's a nice multi-faceted player who can shoot (and make) threes, help distribute the ball, pick up some steals and rebound a little bit. So in other words he's exactly the right kind of guard for Cleveland. He's also worked damn hard, and he deserves another shot at the NBA. It never feels good to get cut (I'm assuming), but it's probably especially hard for Rob Kurz, who was starting for the Warriors just last season. He'd definitely be a prime call-up candidate should he go to the D-League, as he's a 6'9" guy who can make threes, although he could stand to pick up his rebounding and defense. He also profiles well as a Euroleague guy, so he could end up there. Russell Robinson also could pick either option. He played pretty poorly both in Summer League and the preseason, with turnovers being the major problem. Another stint in the D-League could help that, as he averaged just two and a half per 36 minutes for Reno last season. I'll mention again that I haven't been including Jawad Williams in this discussion because he was signed at the end of last season and has a partially-guaranteed deal, so while he theoretically could be waived later on, the team has been somewhat more committed to him than these other guys. I'm somewhat optimistic about Williams's playing time, since at this point he's more capable than J.J. Hickson or Darnell Jackson, but Leon Powe and maybe Jamario Moon are around to take most of the backup forward minutes.

Denver Nuggets

Who got cut: James White, Kurt Looby, Keith Brumbaugh, Dontaye Draper

Who got kept: Joey Graham

Massive disappointment here, although there's nothing personal against Graham. There was just so much hope that this would be White's year in Houston, then the team decided it wouldn't be, then Denver decided it wouldn't be his year for them, either. Looby getting cut isn't a huge surprise, as he's still carpaccio-raw. But, White getting the boot on top of Sonny Weems being sent away is enough to make one question Denver's commitment to ~~Sparkle Motion~~ the D-League. That would be rash, of course, and unfair to Denver who is clearly trying to win soon. Graham's per-36 numbers are almost identical to White's NBA figures, but I guess there's still too much uncertainty over what White can do when there really shouldn't be. He's headed over to Europe now, I assume, since he's said he's done with the D-League, and who can blame him. If an NBA team says they're committed to your development, then semi-promptly gets rid of you, that would be disheartening for anyone.

Detroit Pistons

Who got cut: Maceo Baston

Who got kept: No one.

Sorry, Maceo. Have fun at your House Party. (Admit it, that's not the clip you were expecting.) (Also, note to self: when you get older, shave your head but leave the sideburns and add a mustache.) But hey, here's a crazy idea; the Pistons also waived their second round pick Deron Washington, who's a 6'7" small forward. James White is a 6'7" small forward. WHAT IF THEY'RE ABOUT TO SIGN JAMES WHITE? They're probably not, but they should be. While Austin Daye looked really, really good in Summer League, and Jonas Jerebko could be pretty good, it seems a bit crazy to rely on three rookies (remember DaJuan Summers) as key bench contributors, rebuilding or no rebuilding. And while James White doesn't have that much more NBA experience, he's been around for a few years and he can contribute. Come on, Joe Dumars. LET'S DO THIS.

Indiana Pacers

Who got cut: Rod Benson, Demetris Nichols, Lawrence Roberts

Who got kept: No one.

Rod Benson is probably going back to Europe this year, even though he didn't have the best experience there last season (although being injured didn't help). I'd guess Nichols goes the same route, and both of them are good enough to play in the NBA right now. (Roberts is already over there.) As for the biggest question, whether we'll seee a return of Boom Tho-ness, I have no idea. Personally I wouldn't expect too much except maybe a continuation of his posts over at Ball Don't Lie. If this website were FreeDarko I'd probably launch into a discussion about whether this year's return to (or first crack at) seriousness for Benson and Gilbert Arenas reflects some kind of "down to business" vibe given off by the Obama Administration, but I have neither the time nor the ability to get into that right now. Or who knows, maybe Benson could write a book that would probably be better than Paul Shirley's (which I haven't read, but Benson's a better writer than Shirley so it's pretty much a lock.)

Milwaukee Bucks

Who got cut: Marcus Hubbard, Mark Tyndale, Charles Gaines, Dominic James

Who got kept: No one.

This was bound to happen eventually, but I don't really have much to say about these guys. Hubbard could do with another season or two in the D-League and work on either a.) becoming a proper interior player, or b.) shooting better than .256 on his three-pointers. Because this in-between thing isn't working. Gaines played well for Austin last season, averaging 15 points and 10 rebounds per 36 minutes, and shot a good percentage with Maccabi Tel Aviv. I'd like to see him in the D-League again this season, but I'm not sure he's close enough to a call-up to make it worth his time. Let's see, what else can I talk about with these guys...uh hey, I think Ersan Ilyasova can be pretty good, but that's not really under the purview of this series. Three or four players likely going over to Europe. Whee.

Minnesota Timberwolves

Who got cut: Jack McClinton, Alonzo Gee, Jared Reiner, Devin Green, Mustafa Shakur

Who got kept: Jason Hart

I don't have much to say about Jason Hart since he's 31 years old now and last played in the D-League eight years ago. This is probably a stale comment by now, and the team waived Antonio Daniels so they haven't gone completely crazy, but what's the deal with Minnesota and point guards? Who are these people? Who are the ad wizards that came up with this one? I've already written about this, but whatever NBA team ends up with McClinton (and there will be one, eventually) is going to love having him, and kick themselves for not having him earlier. Reiner got a raw deal by getting cut right before the game in his hometown, sure. But Nate Jawai is in Minnesota now, and that's something, right? It's at least as much a something as Oleksiy Pecherov being there, certainly.

Oklahoma City Thunder

Who got cut: Michael Ruffin, Tre Kelley, Mike Harris

Who got kept: Ryan Bowen

I saw Kelley play a little bit, and he looked pretty good. He's very quick, and he can get to the basket. Of course, he was being guarded by Curtis Jerrells at that point so take it with a grain of bacon salt. He's almost certainly headed to Europe. Michael Ruffin, eh. I have a sort of personal animus against him through no fault of his, since Eddie Jordan overused him when they were both with the Washington Wizards, but he's already landed on his feet overseas. The question of what Bowen can give the team at this point in his career is a good one, as he's 34 years old and has been pretty inconsistent the last few seasons. I just have to keep telling myself that the Thunder still have D.J. White and Serge Ibaka, and be content with that.

Portland Trail Blazers

Who got cut: Ime Udoka, Jarron Collins, Donell Taylor, Quinton Hosley

Who got kept: No one.

I wonder what will happen to Udoka, as he's probably still good enough to contribute at the back of someone's rotation, but he's also 32 years old and most of the teams that would be interested in him are already full up. He's a solid candidate for a mid-season replacement in case some small forward somewhere gets hurt. He can shoot the three a bit, his rebounding has improved the past few years and he doesn't turn the ball over much.

What, you want me to talk about Jarron Collins?

Utah Jazz

Who got cut: Ronald Dupree, Alexander Johnson, Paul Harris, Spencer Nelson

Who got kept: No one.

Wes Matthews and draft pick Goran Suton aren't really included in this, but in the interest of full disclosure Matthews is in and Suton is out. Suton would be a solid big man in the D-League should he decide to go that route. You're probably expecting me to express disappointment at Dupree being waived, but the fact is that he didn't play well in the preseason. At all. Well, I suppose that's not completely true as he averaged about ten points per 36 minutes, but he's capable of much more than that, and he didn't really contribute much in the way of rebounds, assists or steals. He's really only had one good game, though, against the Clippers when he shot 4-7 from the field and 3-4 from the free throw line, and in the rest he shot 5-13 overall. I'd like to see him in the D-League again this year, and maybe if he plays his normal solid, slashing game he'll restore some of his call-up-ability.

Thunder Gameday: Phoenix Suns at Oklahoma City Thunder

Mr Pappagiorgio — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 20:56:05 -0000

So the Oklahoma City Thunder will make their 2009-10 home debut tonight in the Ford Center as they take on the Phoenix Suns. Thus far the Thunder are 0-2, with both losses coming last week on the road. All in all the Thunder have been able to take a lot of positives and negatives from each of their first two games. In reality, The Thunder probably should have won both those games as they let 4th quarter leads slip away to big runs. Tonight will be another important step in getting this team ready for the regular season, and being as its the first home game, perhaps head coach Scott Brooks has a plan to get us a win.

The starters have yet to play much more than 25 minutes in either game last week, but perhaps being the first home game, guys like Durant, Green, and Westbrook can get into the 30's (minutes) for the first time this pre-season, in an effort to not only get them a little bit closer to regular season type minutes, but to also re-energize Thunder fans as they make their way back into the Ford Center for the first time since last spring. In the process it could very well give this team a much needed win and a boost as we head closer to the regular season opener. I also apologize for not getting this up sooner and being as late as it is, we'll skip the long winded game preview that usually gets posted, and instead let you take a quick look at the roster as you're probably already about to head down to Bricktown for a little wining and dining before trotting on over to the Ford Center for tonight's game. So make the jump and take a peak. Tipoff is 7pm, and we'll have an OPEN THREAD posting 30 minutes prior as we usually do for commenting and such.

Oklahoma City Thunder Roster

	#	Pos.	DOB	W	H	College
Ryan Bowen	40	F	11.20.75	218	6-9	Iowa
Nick Collison	4	C	10.26.80	255	6-10	Kansas
Kevin Durant	35	F	9.29.88	215	6-9	Texas
Jeff Green	22	F	8.28.86	235	6-9	Georgetown
James Harden	13	G	8.26.87	220	6-5	Arizona State
Mike Harris	-	F	6.15.83	240	6-6	Rice
Serge Ibaka	9	F	9.18.89	220	6-10	None
Tre Kelley	6	G	1.23.85	188	6-0	South Carolina
Nenad Krstic	12	C	7.25.83	240	7-0	None
Shaun Livingston	14	G	9.11.85	185	6-7	Peoria Central HS
Byron Mullens	23	C	2.14.89	260	7-1	Ohio State
Kevin Ollie	7	G	12.27.72	195	6-2	Connecticut
Malik Rose	9	F	11.23.74	255	6-7	Drexel
Michael Ruffin	51	F	1.21.77	248	6-8	Tulsa
Thabo Sefolosha	2	G	5.2.84	215	6-7	None
Etan Thomas	36	C	4.1.78	260	6-10	Syracuse
Kyle Weaver	5	G	2.18.86	201	6-6	Washington State
Russell Westbrook	-	G	11.12.88	187	6-3	U-C-L-A
D.J. White	3	F	8.31.86	251	6-9	Indiana

Phoenix Suns Roster

	#	Pos.	DOB	W	H	College
Louis Amundson	17	F	12.7.82	225	6-9	U-N-L-V
Leandro Barbosa	10	F	11.28.82	202	6-3	None
Earl Clark	55	F	1.17.88	220	6-9	Louisville
Dan Dickau	12	G	9.16.78	180	6-0	Gonzaga
Goran Dragic	2	G	5.6.86	180	6-4	None
Jared Dudley	3	F	7.10.85	225	6-7	Boston College
Channing Frye	8	C	5.17.83	245	6-11	Arizona
Taylor Griffin	32	F	3.16.89	238	6-7	Oklahoma
Grant Hill	33	F	10.5.72	225	6-8	Duke
Robin Lopez	15	C	4.1.88	255	7-0	Stanford
Steve Nash	13	G	2.7.74	178	6-3	Santa Clara
Carlos Powell	11	F	8.29.83	225	6-7	South Carolina
Emir Preldzic	-	G	6.9.87	220	6-8	Bosnia
Jason Richardson	23	G	1.20.81	225	6-6	Michigan State
Amare Stoudemire	1	F	11.16.82	249	6-10	None
Raymond Sykes	4	F	7.3.86	220	6-9	Clemson
Alando Tucker	29	G	2.11.84	205	6-6	Wisconsin

Thunder Gameday: Oklahoma City Thunder at New Orleans Hornets

Mr Pappagiorgio — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 13:30:22 -0000

The first thing you need to know about tonight's second pre-season game is that it isn't "tonight's" game at all, its actually an EARLY afternoon game, which tips off at 1pm Local time. Once again, the game won't be televised, and you're only chance to watch this one is going to be listening to WWLS, The Sports Animal, on FM 98.1 / AM 640 in the Oklahoma City area, or on 97.1 FM in the Tulsa Area. Again if there is anyone out there with a little bit of pull or power that wants to push for all the pre-season games to be televised next season, we'd certainly appreciate it, and I think just by me watching the game it'll have better ratings that "Matlock" and "In the Heat of the Night" which apparently was more important for KSBI to broadcast than showing a Thunder pre-season game. So if you can get that taken care of for us, I'm sure all us die hard Thunder fans would appreciate it.

As the Oklahoman points out in this article, essentially four players are battling for one roster spot. Those guys are Ryan Bowen, Mike Harris, Tre Kelley, and local boy Michael Ruffin. In the Thunder's first pre-season game the other night against the Memphis Grizzlies, Ryan Bowen got a nice chunk of playing time to show what he could do, while the other 3 guys watched from the bench. Bowen got 21 minutes of playing time which he used to take just 2 shots, both of which he missed (1 of which was a 3 point attempt), grab 3 rebounds (1 offensive), block 1 shot, and turned the ball over just once. All in all, just looking at the stat-line its hard to judge his performance, especially when we didn't get to see the game since it wasn't televised, but he didn't have too bad of a game, considering he's making an attempt at being the last guy on the bench, so to speak. From the article linked above, it was his hustle that really stood out, and I think one thing all Thunder fans love, and me especially (which is why I love Nick Collison so much), is hustle. Today's game should give one of the other three an opportunity to prove what they can do. Click the jump link to hear some more about today's game and what we are hoping to see.

The first thing I'm looking for in today's game is Russell Westbrook, and whether that 10 assist effort the other night was a fluke, or if he's improved his style of play so much this off-season that he's already going to be one of the leagues better point guards this season. He took just 4 shots, and racked up assist after assist to go along with 4 rebounds and only turned the ball over twice. Sure, we're used to RW0 racking up at least double digits in points, but with the addition of James Harden to the mix, perhaps that pressure for him to score upwards of 20 points per game is being lessened, significantly. If that's the case, imagine how many double doubles the kid is going to have this season, seriously! If he can keep up distributing the ball like this he'll be pushing the double digit assist mark all season, and I think we can pretty much bet that he'll be at least double digit in score on a nightly basis as well, and that's not even mentioning his rebounding which can sometimes pop up there into double digits as well.

The next thing I'm looking for is Jeff Green, and a much a improved outing for him. In Wednesdays game he had probably his work game, at least statwise that I can ever really remember seeing from him. Again, its hard to know what else he was doing on the court just from listening to the game, but, in 26 minutes of play, he managed just 6 points on 3-10 shooting to go with only 2 rebounds and 2 steals. This is not the Uncle Jeff we know and love, and this is not the guy we expect to see on a nightly basis this coming season. So it'll be interesting to see how he responds today and what kind of game he has. I'm banking on a 16-20 point performance with 5-7 boards today for Jeff Green. Let's see if he can do it.

Thirdly, is that even a word? I guess so since spell-check didn't change it, anyway, we're going with it. Thirdly, I want to see more of the young guys, Serge Ibaka, James Harden, D.J. White, and Kyle Weaver. I want to see what Ibaka can do with 20-30 minutes if he was able to score 4 points (2-2 shooting) and grab 2 rebounds in just 4 minutes of playing time. I want to see if D.J. White can continue to perform at such a high level in back to back games, and against good competition. Perhaps throw DJ out there early in the first quarter to get him some time against Nola's starters and see what he can do. Of course to do that, you'd likely have to cut into Jeff Greens time early, but hey its pre-season, why not start D.J. and throw Green out there late in the first and let him work the remainder of the 1st and most of the 2nd before bringing D.J. back in with the rest of the starters to clean up the end of the half? Look at me trying to be coach here. Anyway, I'm just intrigued by the way D.J. played on Wednesday and want to see what the kid can really do, as I'm sure Uncle Jeff's performance was just a fluke, we all know what he's capable of.

Finally, I'm just interested to see what Brooks plans on doing today. Is he going to give starters 25 minutes of playing time again? Is he gonna play with the rotations more? Work some of the young guys in with the starters to see how they will work with our premier players and against better competition? What's he gonna do? How is he going to continue to get this team prepped for the season opener which is already less than 3 weeks away! Can you believe that? just 18 more days until live regular season Thunder basketball! Man I'm excited, so turn that radio (come on guys, its the Hornets!) on at 1pm today and Thunder UP!

Oklahoma City Thunder Roster

	#	Pos.	DOB	W	H	College
Ryan Bowen	40	F	11.20.75	218	6-9	Iowa
Nick Collison	4	C	10.26.80	255	6-10	Kansas
Kevin Durant	35	F	9.29.88	215	6-9	Texas
Jeff Green	22	F	8.28.86	235	6-9	Georgetown
James Harden	13	G	8.26.87	220	6-5	Arizona State
Mike Harris	-	F	6.15.83	240	6-6	Rice
Serge Ibaka	9	F	9.18.89	220	6-10	None
Tre Kelley	6	G	1.23.85	188	6-0	South Carolina
Nenad Krstic	12	C	7.25.83	240	7-0	None
Shaun Livingston	14	G	9.11.85	185	6-7	Peoria Central HS
Byron Mullens	23	C	2.14.89	260	7-1	Ohio State
Kevin Ollie	7	G	12.27.72	195	6-2	Connecticut
Malik Rose	9	F	11.23.74	255	6-7	Drexel
Michael Ruffin	51	F	1.21.77	248	6-8	Tulsa
Thabo Sefolosha	2	G	5.2.84	215	6-7	None
Etan Thomas	36	C	4.1.78	260	6-10	Syracuse
Kyle Weaver	5	G	2.18.86	201	6-6	Washington State
Russell Westbrook	-	G	11.12.88	187	6-3	U-C-L-A
D.J. White	3	F	8.31.86	251	6-9	Indiana

New Orleans Hornets Roster

	#	Pos.	DOB	W	H	College
Hilton Armstrong	12	C	11.11.84	235	6-11	Connecticut
Earl Barron	55	C	8.14.81	268	7-0	Memphis
Bobby Brown	6	G	9.24.84	175	6-2	Cal State Fullerton
Devin Brown	23	G	12.30.78	210	6-5	Texas-San Antonio
Darren Collison	2	G	8.23.87	160	6-0	U-C-L-A
Ike Diogu	1	F	9.11.83	250	6-9	Arizona State
Sean Marks	4	C	8.23.75	250	6-10	California
Emeka Okafor	50	C	9.28.82	255	6-10	Connecticut
Larry Owens	25	F	1.8.83	210	6-7	Oral Roberts
Chris Paul	3	G	5.6.85	175	6-0	Wake Forest
Morris Peterson	9	G	8.26.77	220	6-7	Michigan State
James Posey	41	F	1.13.77	217	6-8	Xavier
Darius Songaila	9	F	2.14.78	248	6-9	Wake Forest
Peja Stojakovic	16	F	6.9.77	229	6-10	None
Marcus Thornton	5	G	6.5.87	205	6-4	L-S-U
David West	30	F	8.29.80	240	6-9	Xavier
Julian Wright	32	F	5.20.87	225	6-8	Kansas

NBA Previews- The Hornets

atthehive — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 08:23:30 -0000

More photos » by Gregory Smith - AP

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As part of CelticsBlog's annual round of previews, it's the Hornets' turn.

Team Name: New Orleans Hornets

Last Year's Record: 49-33

Key Losses: Tyson Chandler, Rasual Butler, Antonio Daniels, Ryan Bowen, Melvin Ely

Key Additions: Emeka Okafor, Darren Collison, Marcus Thornton, Ike Diogu, Morris Peterson, Darius Songaila

1. What Significant Moves were made during the off-season?

New Orleans did its fair share of wheeling and dealing. Tyson Chandler for Emeka Okafor was the headliner, with the Hornets swapping out a defensive ace with injury questions. Okafor enters the season nursing his own injury, but the hope is he can offer more consistent minutes than Chandler did in '09. The Hornets also saved money by offloading Rasual Butler and Antonio Daniels. Via the draft, Chris Paul's new backup- Darren Collison- joined the team, as did Marcus Thornton, a potential scoring threat off the bench. Toss Darius Songaila into the forward mix, and the Hornets enter 2009-2010 with a significantly different look and feel- three new players will step into the starting roles (Peterson, Julian Wright, Okafor), and a plethora of backcourt and frontcourt minutes should go to Collison and Diogu.

2. What are the team’s biggest strengths?

The point guard position. Obviously, that's been the strength since 2005; however, the Hornets seem to have the backup PG position locked down for the first time in a while. The organization has shown continual confidence in UCLA's Darren Collison. On draft night, they took him over a variety of front court options. They unloaded incumbent 2nd string PG Daniels relatively early in the offseason. And instead of bringing in a veteran 3rd string standby, they decided to roll the dice on Minnesota's Bobby Brown. If things go according to plan, not only will Chris Paul be awesome, his backup will allow him a couple more minutes of rest a game.

3. What are the team’s biggest weaknesses?

One of New Orleans' biggest issues last year was an utter lack of offensive rebounding ability. Only 5 teams went one and done more often last year (now, granted 2 of those were Orlando and San Antonio... but they made up for it in many other areas). Granted, a lot of the problems had to do with severe injury issues. However, neither Okafor nor Ike Diogu is an o-rebounder in the ilk of a healthy Chandler, so that weakness could persist.

On that same note, front court depth was another huge issue. While the addition of Diogu should help, Sean Marks and Hilton Armstrong still figure to get decent minutes off the bench. That shouldn't need much elaboration. The bench sucked in general last year, but more on that under Question 5.

Finally, the team still lacks a creative scorer outside of West and Paul. Obviously, having three marquee scorers on one team might be a little too much to ask for, but having a creative wing would help snap the stagnant stretches the offense is prone to fall into. Some have hyped Thornton into the role. I'm not saying a 6'0" shooting guard can't get that job done; there are a few examples across the league. But I'll believe it when I see it.

4. What are the goals for this team?

Hard to say. From a media perspective, the Hornets certainly won't have too much expected of them after last year's disastrous ending. From a player perspective, I'm sure a few guys are feeling some pressure. David West will be 29 next year. Chris Paul's only 24, but his chances at a title have taken a step back from 2007. From a fan perspective, I feel like a first round series win would satiate the majority of New Orleans appetites. Realistic goals will only become clear at least a couple weeks into November. Between Okafor, Wright's starting job, Collison, and Diogu, there are simply too many new pieces to say for sure.

5. Will the bench suck as badly this year?

The second unit was arguably the Hornets' biggest shortcoming last year. Antonio Daniels is the only guy I can possibly defend. Julian Wright, serious step back. James Posey, mediocre. Morris Peterson, invisible. Sean Marks, eh. Melvin Ely, bleh. And that's without even getting to the unmentionables, Hilton and Devin. Speaking of which, we should combine them into one player this year. Delton Browstrong. Okay, that sounds way cooler than this combo player possibly deserves to. Helvin Brownarms. There we go. Helvin Brownarms.

The overall point is that the bench can't possibly be this bad again. I mean... it could. But it can't.

Darren Collison is a respectable player by all accounts. Ike Diogu can be rock solid if healthy. Peja Stojakovic could have a rebound year and keep his back healthy, coming off the pine. Of course, Marks, Armstrong, and the rest are going to pick up some minutes. But a second unit of Collison/Thornton/Peja/Posey/Diogu with light servings of Bobby Brown and some Kiwi sprinkles should easily outperform last year's. It simply has to.

So to answer the question, no the bench will not suck as badly.

Projected Finish: 53 wins
Projected Finish Rationale: None whatsoever

Preseason: Grizzlies beat Thunder

djturtleface — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 03:40:48 -0000

More photos » by Lance Murphey - AP

2 months ago: Memphis Grizzlies forward Rudy Gay (22) tries to block a dunk by Oklahoma City Thunder's Kevin Durant (35) during the first half of a preseason NBA basketball game Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2009, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Lance Murphey)

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WIN, WIN, WIN. The rivalry is settled -- the Grizzlies proved they are exactly eight points better than the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Grizzlies won the game 99-91 after posting a spectacular 4th quarter blowout. Sam Young played the hero by scoring 15 in the 4th quarter, rallying the Grizzlies behind a slashing attack that got him to the free throw line almost at will.

Over the jump is your basic summary based on read-outs, box score, and the radio feed:

Zach Randolph had an ugly game, but *GASP,* adjusted and essentially took himself out of the offense.
Sam Young and Rudy Gay killed it. This is no surprise, as people are beginning to learn that Kevin Durant kind of sucks on defense -- his adjusted plus/minus is actually worse than the Thunder's backups, and the other Thunder forward was some goofball named Ryan Bowen.
Hasheem Thabeet limited his fouls, played within himself, and looked pretty damn good.
In fact the Grizzlies' second unit of Marcus Williams, Trey Gilder, Sam Young, DeMarre Carroll, and Hasheem Thabeet actually posted the best plus/minus on the team. This is encouraging, though its worth noting that the Thunder are pretty thin.
Only 18 assists tonight, mostly because Rudy Gay and Sam Young were isolating effectively.
O.J. Mayo shot the ball poorly again, as did Mike Conley. Both guards played solid defense, however.
DeMarre Carroll and Zach Randolph struggled to handle the Thunder's big men like Nenad Krstic and D.J. White. It sounds like Thabeet struggles to help on bigger players, though he's defending the rim against slashers pretty effectively.

OKC Thunder @ Memphis Grizzlies OPEN THREAD

Mr Pappagiorgio — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 23:30:17 -0000

TV: None | Radio: WWLS (98.1 FM, 640am in OKC, 97.1 FM in Tulsa)

Opponent Perspective: Straight Outta Vancouver

2009-10 Oklahoma City Thunder Pre-Season Roster
NUM	PLAYER	POS	HT	WT	DOB	FROM	YRS
40	Ryan Bowen	F	6-9	218	11/20/1975	Iowa	9
4	Nick Collison	F-C	6-10	255	10/26/1980	Kansas	5
35	Kevin Durant	F-G	6-9	230	09/29/1988	Texas	2
22	Jeff Green	F	6-9	235	08/28/1986	Georgetown	2
13	James Harden	G	6-5	220	08/26/1989	Arizona State	R
	Mike Harris	F	6-6	240	06/15/1983	Rice	1
9	Serge Ibaka	F	6-10	235	09/18/1989	Congo	R
6	Tre Kelley	G	6-0	188	01/23/1985	South Carolina	R
12	Nenad Krstic	C	7-0	240	07/25/1983	Serbia & Montenegro	5
14	Shaun Livingston	G	6-7	185	09/11/1985	Peoria Central HS (IL)	4
23	Byron Mullens	C	7-0	275	02/14/1989	Ohio State	R
7	Kevin Ollie	G	6-2	195	12/27/1972	Connecticut	12
51	Michael Ruffin	F-C	6-8	248	01/21/1977	Tulsa	9
2	Thabo Sefolosha	F-G	6-7	215	05/02/1984	Switzerland	3
36	Etan Thomas	C	6-10	260	04/01/1978	Syracuse	7
5	Kyle Weaver	G	6-6	201	02/18/1986	Washington State	1
0	Russell Westbrook	G	6-3	187	11/12/1988	UCLA	1
3	D.J. White	F	6-9	251	08/31/1986	Indiana	1

2009-10 Memphis Grizzlies Pre-Season Roster
NUM	PLAYER	POS	HT	WT	DOB	FROM	YRS
00	Darrell Arthur	F	6-9	235	03/25/1988	Kansas	1
1	DeMarre Carroll	F	6-8	212	07/27/1986	Missouri	R
11	Mike Conley	G	6-1	185	10/11/1987	Ohio State	2
31	Thomas Gardner	G	6-5	225	02/08/1985	Missouri	2
33	Marc Gasol	C	7-1	280	01/29/1985	Spain	1
22	Rudy Gay	F	6-8	222	08/17/1986	Connecticut	3
2	Trey Gilder	F	6-9	185	01/24/1985	Northwestern State-Louisiana	R
15	Hamed Haddadi	C	7-2	265	05/19/1985	I.R. of Iran	1
45	Steven Hunter	C	7-0	240	10/31/1981	DePaul	7
3	Allen Iverson	G	6-0	165	06/07/1975	Georgetown	13
55	Marko Jaric	G	6-7	224	10/12/1978	Serbia	7
32	O.J. Mayo	G	6-4	210	11/05/1987	USC	1
50	Zach Randolph	F	6-9	260	07/16/1981	Michigan State	8
21	Leon Rodgers	F	6-6	217	06/19/1980	Northern Illinois	R
24	Mike Taylor	G	6-2	165	01/21/1986	Iowa State	1
34	Hasheem Thabeet	C	7-3	267	02/16/1987	Connecticut	R
5	Marcus Williams	G	6-3	205	12/03/1985	Connecticut	3
4	Sam Young	F-G	6-6	220	06/01/1985	Pittsburgh	R

Thunder Gameday: Oklahoma City Thunder at Memphis Grizzlies

Mr Pappagiorgio — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 14:00:42 -0000

Finally, finally, finally! The Oklahoma City Thunder get their 2009-10 season underway tonight, in Memphis, against the Grizzlies! Who cares if its only the pre-season? Thunder Basketball is back, so get ready to Thunder Up! Sadly enough, at the time of this writing (Last night), we don't have any update as to whether or not this game will be televised anywhere that Oklahomans will be able to see, but at the very least we should all be able to listen on the WWLS, The Sports Animal, which should be carrying the game (although I haven't confirmed that yet either). I'm sure you are quite tired of hearing me complain about the game not being televised, but let's face it, if you are reading this blog on a regular basis, chances are you are a pretty big Thunderhead yourself and just as pissed off. So hey, I'm being your voice, and you just never know who is reading. I griped and moaned all season about games that weren't broadcast in HD and a quick look at the TV schedule for the upcoming season will show that perhaps someone was listening as every single game is listed as being in HD this season.

It is still just a pre-season game, so why should you even care? Well, I'm gonna take a few minutes and hopefully give you enough reasons to be interested. First and foremost is your Thunder Roster is very different than it was just a few short months ago as the team closed out its inaugural season. When you make the jump, you'll see the entire pre-season roster which will be cut down substantially before the season begins. Gone are the likes of Robert Swift, Malik Rose, and Earl Watson, and inserted in their place are a host of new players that you should be just as anxious to see such as Etan Thomas and Kevin Ollie. As young as this team was last season, it may have gotten even younger this year as James Harden joins the mix along with some other terrific young players including Serge Ibaka, and Byron Mullens, amongst others. So go ahead and make the jump to see the full roster, along with our continued preview which will have a few more reasons to be interested in tonight's game, because there are a few more, I assure you.

If you can remember back a few short months, there was some extremely heated debate regarding who the Thunder should take, Hasheem Thabeet, or James Harden. Regardless of who we wanted or who we would have picked (although it does seem pretty clear that Harden had emerged as our guy shortly before the draft), the Grizzlies went ahead and made things a bit easier for us by picking Hasheem Thabeet with the #2 overall pick. So tonight will be our first chance at seeing these two guys match up head to head, even though they'll rarely be close to one another on the court since Harden plays guard and Thabeet is six million feet tall.

Another reason you are going to want to tune in is to check out Allen Iverson in his new home. We all know him, we all um, okay, so we all don't love him, but you still have to respect the guy on the court, no matter his flaws. For now he doesn't even seem to be a clear cut starter on the team, but it'll be interesting to see if that's a motivating factor for him in the pre-season. It'll also be fun to see how he works and interacts with guys like O.J. Mayo and Rudy Gay. Oh wait, that's what you could have looked forward to if he didn't get himself injured on Sunday, so I guess we'll have to look forward to seeing that later on in the year. The Grizzlies are quite possibly the most exciting young team in the league outside of our own beloved Thunder, so this game will definitely be intriguing as two of the leagues better, up and coming, young teams, square off head to head. I tend to think we're a bit further ahead in our cycle than they are and should come away with a win, even if it is just a pre-season game, but the fun part will be watching, err, listening tonight.

Also, we will have a Live Game OPEN THREAD for commenting tonight as I'm sure one way or another a lot of us will be either listening to or watching the game. Hell, if we are listening, there is no reason to not be on the site commenting, so you better get your ass into the thread by tipoff so we can get some nice live game commenting going. Also, we'll update this post and the live game thread with anymore information on TV and Radio Coverage as the information becomes available.

2009-10 Oklahoma City Thunder Pre-Season Roster
NUM	PLAYER	POS	HT	WT	DOB	FROM	YRS
40	Ryan Bowen	F	6-9	218	11/20/1975	Iowa	9
4	Nick Collison	F-C	6-10	255	10/26/1980	Kansas	5
35	Kevin Durant	F-G	6-9	230	09/29/1988	Texas	2
22	Jeff Green	F	6-9	235	08/28/1986	Georgetown	2
13	James Harden	G	6-5	220	08/26/1989	Arizona State	R
	Mike Harris	F	6-6	240	06/15/1983	Rice	1
9	Serge Ibaka	F	6-10	235	09/18/1989	Congo	R
6	Tre Kelley	G	6-0	188	01/23/1985	South Carolina	R
12	Nenad Krstic	C	7-0	240	07/25/1983	Serbia & Montenegro	5
14	Shaun Livingston	G	6-7	185	09/11/1985	Peoria Central HS (IL)	4
23	Byron Mullens	C	7-0	275	02/14/1989	Ohio State	R
7	Kevin Ollie	G	6-2	195	12/27/1972	Connecticut	12
51	Michael Ruffin	F-C	6-8	248	01/21/1977	Tulsa	9
2	Thabo Sefolosha	F-G	6-7	215	05/02/1984	Switzerland	3
36	Etan Thomas	C	6-10	260	04/01/1978	Syracuse	7
5	Kyle Weaver	G	6-6	201	02/18/1986	Washington State	1
0	Russell Westbrook	G	6-3	187	11/12/1988	UCLA	1
3	D.J. White	F	6-9	251	08/31/1986	Indiana	1

2009-10 Memphis Grizzlies Pre-Season Roster
NUM	PLAYER	POS	HT	WT	DOB	FROM	YRS
00	Darrell Arthur	F	6-9	235	03/25/1988	Kansas	1
1	DeMarre Carroll	F	6-8	212	07/27/1986	Missouri	R
11	Mike Conley	G	6-1	185	10/11/1987	Ohio State	2
31	Thomas Gardner	G	6-5	225	02/08/1985	Missouri	2
33	Marc Gasol	C	7-1	280	01/29/1985	Spain	1
22	Rudy Gay	F	6-8	222	08/17/1986	Connecticut	3
2	Trey Gilder	F	6-9	185	01/24/1985	Northwestern State-Louisiana	R
15	Hamed Haddadi	C	7-2	265	05/19/1985	I.R. of Iran	1
45	Steven Hunter	C	7-0	240	10/31/1981	DePaul	7
3	Allen Iverson	G	6-0	165	06/07/1975	Georgetown	13
55	Marko Jaric	G	6-7	224	10/12/1978	Serbia	7
32	O.J. Mayo	G	6-4	210	11/05/1987	USC	1
50	Zach Randolph	F	6-9	260	07/16/1981	Michigan State	8
21	Leon Rodgers	F	6-6	217	06/19/1980	Northern Illinois	R
24	Mike Taylor	G	6-2	165	01/21/1986	Iowa State	1
34	Hasheem Thabeet	C	7-3	267	02/16/1987	Connecticut	R
5	Marcus Williams	G	6-3	205	12/03/1985	Connecticut	3
4	Sam Young	F-G	6-6	220	06/01/1985	Pittsburgh	R

Training Camp Invite Round-Em-Up

Jon L — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 13:00:18 -0000

John Lucas will be attending the Miami Heat's upcoming training camp.

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This is something that qualifies as a transactions post as well, but a lot of NBA teams are finalizing their training camp rosters, so I thought it would be worth compiling the news into semi-regular (or maybe it'll just be this one, who knows) posts rather than fanshotting every single story. (And also because I'm trying my best to ignore Brandt Anderon's latest harebrained scheme.) Because this is RU I'm just covering those players who are at the end of the roster, invited on non-guaranteed deals basically as either longshots or "why not" guys. As always, some teams seem to know what they're doing, and some...well...

Phoenix Suns: Dan Dickau

Really, Phoenix? Dan Dickau? Look, I get that you need a third point guard, at least for training camp, and I get that Zabian Dowdell's rehabbing an injury. But there's really no other way to describe Dickau at this point other than "terrible." Several of the better options aren't available either, having signed with other teams or gone off to Europe, but off the top of my head Eddie Gill, Walker russell and Cliff Clinkscales are all still around and would be better options. You say that Goran Dragic and Dan Dickau are currently your backup point guards? And that your starter is 35 years old with semi-serious back problems? Yeah, good luck with that.

Oklahoma City: Michael Ruffin, Ryan Bowen, Tre Kelley, Michael Harris

As much as the Thunder have used their D-League affiliate in Tulsa, I get the sneaking suspicion that they've recently started to lean towards "crusty veterans." Kevin Ollie being exhibit A, Ruffin here being exhibit B. Ruffin never had an offensive game, and in his heyday (if you can call it that) with the Wizards he didn't do much other than rebound. He was decent at it for a few years, and while the per-minute numbers are still there he hasn't been able to stay on the court long enough over the past three seasons or so for it to really matter. He's mostly here, much like Etan Thomas, because he played college ball in the state. How's that working out for the Bobcats? Bowen is known as a "hustle guy," which teams always like to have. I do wonder, though, what these two signings might reveal about Oklahoma City's thoughts about D.J. White and Serge Ibaka. White had some injury trouble last year but looked pretty good in the D-League when he was able to play, while if there's one center in the league who can keep up with Russell Westbrook, it's probably Ibaka. Oddly enough, Kelley was dropped from the Miami Heat's roster last year when they signed Shaun Livingston, who's now with the Thunder. Harris spent 17 games with the Houston Rockets a few years ago and put up some pretty good per-minute rebounding numbers. The season before that he played for Colorado in the D-League, where he made almost 62 percent of his field goals. Kelley and Harris are both unlikely to make the team, I think, since the Thunder have so many players on their roster already.

Cleveland: Rob Kurz

I like this move for Cleveland, as Kurz is a three-point shooting power forward which means that a.) he won't be trying to share space with Shaquille O'Neal or a driving LeBron James, and b.) he's another person for James or whomever to kick out to. It makes even more sense in the wake of Delonte West's recent...thing, and all the uncertainty around his status now. West is a guard, true, but Kurz might help the team replace some of his offense. Kurz not going to Denver (as he had been considering) also means that James White now has a better chance to take Linas Kleiza's old rotation spot.

Philadelphia: Dionte Christmas, Sean Singletary, Brandon Bowman, Jared Reiner (possible)

Christmas isn't a surprise, as he's a local "make-good" story, and he played for that 76ers/Nets combined Summer League team. He had one pretty good game a in Orlando, though from what I remember he struggled in the rest of them. Singletary has been traded a lot, though he's managed to play in 30-some odd NBA games and a few D-League games, but he's probably best served going to play in Europe. He's a point guard who averaged 3.4 assists per 36 minutes in those NBA games, which isn't what you'd call "good." He was more of a scorer in college, anyway, and he remains an alright three-point shooter. Bowman played for Bakersfield for two seasons before spending last year in Germany, but he didn't score very efficiently in the D-League. Reiner played for Philadelphia in last year's pre-season as well, but was cut before the actual season started. He was a second team All D-League player a few seasons ago with Sioux Falls, and he's a decent rebounder. What we have here is a collection of players with notable college careers, but who all have reasons they haven't stuck in the NBA (prove me wrong, Dionte!)

Sacramento: Lanny Smith

This is a good move for the Kings, as Smith is a solid point guard who most recently played on the "NBA Generations" team. If there's one thing Kings fans aren't satisfied with (one thing?) it's the point guard spot, as Beno Udrih had a pretty miserable season last year. The team then drafted Tyreke Evans and traded for Sergio Rodriguez, though, so it'll be tough for Smith to crack that rotation, but he played for new Kings assistant Bryan Gates in Idaho, so maybe that will give him an advantage on Udrih, who doesn't have the best recent history, or Rodriguez, who's still mostly an unknown.

Miami: John Lucas, Andre Brown

I really, really hope that Lucas makes the team, not just because it's nice to see D-League players succeed, and not just because he's a talented player, but because Miami's backup was and is Chris Quinn. Miami has a history of rotating D-League players in and out without really committing to the idea (and also they haven't exactly signed the cream of the D-League crop anyway), but I would certainly hope they give Lucas every chance to beat out Quinn, because he can. Lucas played a fair amount of shooting guard alongside Eddie Gill last season, but he's a point guard who ran the offense well, and while he's not the biggest guy around, he's found a way to fight through screens pretty effectively. Brown has bounced around a few training camps the last few years after playing in the D-League in 2006. He also spent about two dozen games with the Toros last year. His rebounding has held but his shooting percentage, free throw shooting and overall scoring have gone down the last few years.

San Antonio: Curtis Jerrells, Dwayne Jones

I'm assuming Jerrells was signed to push Marcus Williams for the third point guard spot (and also because he both went to Baylor and is from Austin), which is fine and probably good for Williams, but I don't see Jerrells making the roster. He may, as 48 Minutes predicts, end up with the Toros, who will need another point guard with Williams going to the Spurs and Stanley Burrell headed to Europe. I was not optimistic about Jones making the roster until I saw that the team waived Jack McClinton in order to sign him. My overall thoughts on Jones can be found here (short version: I like him a lot). I'm still not sure he'll be with the Spurs coming out of the preseason, but Theo Ratliff's 70-year-old body could break down any day now, and I expect several of their players to see some time in Austin (such as James Gist). It's also about that time for Ian Mahinmi to show the team that he can play, and after recovering from an injury this offseason, he still might be behind development-wise.