First of all, an editor's note: I was supposed to recap the Friday night win over the Wizards, but apparently my DVR didn't know this.  I swear I recorded it and put it as the first priority; you can probably imagine what happened.  So I didn't get to watch that game, and didn't think I should recap it not having watched it.  The gods of basketball then proceeded to smite me, and all Thunder fans, with last night's game.  What happened?  Read more after the jump.

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Here’s my first Stock Report of Thunder players, since the season is approximately 10% completed.  It is important to look at this through the proper lens; for example, I have KD as "treading water" but that’s mostly because he is performing as expected on the whole.  Feel free to disagree below.  More after the jump. 

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Greetings from Minneapolis en route to Pittsburgh.  I am a new writer for the blog; I've never posted here before but I've been reading for about a year and I think I'm ready to share my thoughts on our Thunder.

A little about me: I am from Pittsburgh, been there my whole life; my real name is Josh.  I'm a big Pittsburgh sports fan, which is one reason I can root for OKC; I could never root for someone like the Cavs or Sixers because I hate other sports teams from those cities.  I'm also a huge Pitt Panthers fan - sorry to you OSU basketball fans for last year's NCAAs, but we needed to get you back for that Sweet 16 game in 2004.

I'm a big fan of lists, so most of my stuff here is going to be listing various things about players, teams, etc, maybe some game reviews (European soccer style, for anyone familiar with that), and really, if you have anything you want me to do, consider it done.  I also hope to attend a few OKC games that are more in my area (the following are in play: IND, CLE, WAS, CHA, PHI, NYK, NJ, TOR). 

Most of all, I hope to watch the Thunder blossom into a playoff team with all of you, and add a few insights and Seinfeld quotes along the way. 

Johnny Baseball was on the pre-game show to list his top 10.  Here is what he had:

1. Alvarez
2. Alderson
3. Tabata
4. Lincoln
5. Gorkys
6. Starling Marte
7. Tony Sanchez
8. B Morris
9. Robbie Grossman
10. Rudy Owens

Made the point that Clement and Ascanio don't qualify because of not  having prospect status anymore.
Now that I've made you read this, does anyone know what McCutchen's AB music is?  I love the song but don't know what it is.

Dear Spurs Fans:

Hello.  I am a lifelong Pitt basketball fan who is feeling very snubbed right now.  I thank the Spurs for ending the free fall that accompanied Dejuan Blair's draft status last night.  I am excited to see that so many Spurs fans are excited for his arrival.  My take on Dejuan's game (after watching him for around 80 games the last two years).

• Obviously, the thing that everyone talks about is his ability to rebound.  Rebounding seems to be about a lot of things: reach, jump, desire, positioning, etc.  His reach has been covered ad nauseum; it's long.  He isn't a great, explosive athlete, although he can finish with authority.  His desire is top notch when it comes to getting loose balls.  But what is really impressive is his positioning.  He has described watching shots in the air and seeing the trajectory so that he can try and predict what the ball is going to do.  He has an uncanny ability to do this.  Also, his hands are as big as the basketball itself, and they are very soft as well.  His rebounding rates were no accident; he's the best college rebounder of the decade.  Also much has been written about rebounding translating well into the pros.  WIth all of these factors, the Spurs have gotten a player who is truly excellent at one thing.
• Something less talked about is his ability in the low post.  This will undoubtedly be tougher for him as an undersized 4 in the league, but he still has the ability here, and he consistently took it to guys who were much bigger than him in college.  With his penchant for grabbing offensive rebounds, plus 3-4 legitimate post moves, he can start to score a bit immediately in the league. 
• He needs to work on his face-up game.  There isn't much to add to this; he's not a good shooter from 15 feet.  He needs to work on this.  He knows this.  He has the desire to improve, and him being slighted will only improve his drive.
• His defense isn't great.  I think this can be attributed to a lot of things.  He was the biggest body (not tallest of course) on the court in almost every game he played at Pitt, and he got some fouls called on him for this.  Plus, he has a penchant for stupid fouls, especially on the stupid hedging we would have him do out on the perimeter.  He was always a foul concern, which I think impacted how he played interior defense.  He has the intelligence and the heart to play good defense, but its a work in progress. 
• Another thing that is overlooked, and a way in which he could contribute immediately, is his interior passing skills.  He's got great vision on the low block.  He's very unselfish and is willing to make the extra pass for the easy bucket.  This might be my favorite aspect of his game.
• His attitude is top notch.  He's confident and easygoing.  He's always got a big smile on his face.  And yet, he's still an intense competitor who often feels like he has a chip on his shoulder.  It's a delicate balance that he's able to pull off rather well.
• Edited: I can't believe I forgot another aspect of his game.  He's extremely agile.  While on the defensive end he's not great in the post, he is really active in passing lanes.  Look at his number of steals in his 2 years of college ball.  Outstanding for someone his size, who plays his position.  It did lead to a few of his dumb fouls, but the upside on defense is there, I believe it.

In short, I know Spurs fans are excited to have him.  I just wanted to stoke those fires a bit.  Plus, you've got a guy who will be happy to visit sick kids in the hospital, sign autographs until the day ends, and appear in local car commercials until you get sick of him.  And this guy somehow falls to the 37th pick.  I almost went into a rant here about how awful the NBA is.  I mean, c'mon, I live in Pittsburgh.  We don't have a team.  The only enjoyment I get here is seeing guys from my alma mater succeed in the League, which hasn't happened in my lifetime.  Our best NBA player is Mark Blount.  But I'll stop my rant. 

Dejuan, I hope you love San Antonio, I hope their fans love you back, and I hope DirecTV takes my credit card to buy the NBA League Pass.  And Spurs fans, I hope that you'll allow me to join your bandwagon.

 

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09163/976968-100.stm

Sanchez has signed, right around slot ($2.5mm).  The first part of Neal's diabolical plan is in place.  It was a controversial pick of course, but it will be nice to see Sanchez get a full summer in, and I wish him all the best success and hope he's receiving and batting 8th for the NL Central champions in 2012.

Let's go Bucs!

Does anyone know what happened with Patel and Singh, the two pitchers we signed from India?  When will they (if ever) play in the Pirates minor league system?

Apparently fanposts have to be 75 words long, so I'm just writing stuff here to be filler.  Please don't read this.  Please don't.  The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain.  I never meant to cause you any trouble, never meant to cause you any pain, I only wanted to see you laughing, only wanted to see you laughing in the Purple Rain.  Purple Rain, Purple Rain.