Weeping with the Enemy: Q&A with OKC’s Blue Blitz

OKC Thunders Russell Westbrook is a guy to watch.

OKC Thunder's Russell Westbrook is a guy to watch.

As we near the end of this sorry season, the Toronto Raptors get to face teams that are “down there” with them. Tonight, Toronto hosts the similarly sad Oklahoma City Thunder. Zeb of Blue Blitz comes to share some insight, some hopes and some dreams for his Thunder. 

We all know about Kevin Durant. But what about Jeff Green and Russell Westbrook – are they “studs,” bona fide starters?

Honestly, if you asked any Thunder fan who the three most valuable players on the Oklahoma City Thunder were, the automatic response out of their mouths would be, “Kevin Durant, Jeff Green, and Russell Westbrook”. If you asked them the fourth, many would stumble between guys like Nenad Krstic, Nick Collison, Thabo Sefolosha, and Desmond Mason. There’s no question who the most valuable guys on the team are. When it was suggested that we were going to trade Jeff Green for Amaré Stoudamire, many fans stood up in outrage (well, typed onto their computers in outrage) at the thought of breaking up the trifecta.

Now, most would say this is no indicator, as Oklahoma fans are, according to Phil Jackson, uneducated about the NBA game. And, even if I pointed to stats, most would point right back at the fact that the Thunder have no one else to rely on. So, my last resort has to be their performances against bona-fide teams. In the win against Dallas, Russell Westbrook recorded a triple-double. Jeff Green put up 22 points against Utah. Russell Westbrook has out-rebounded his scoring on more than one occasion, showing you he’s not selfish with the ball. Jeff Green put up a double-double (25-10) against Orlando. I could go on, but I think it’s pretty obvious that both of them could start on 25 out of the 30 teams in this NBA, and be the best player on some of the cellar-dwellers. But, will they be All-Stars? That’s something that only time can tell.

Interesting to see Westbrook doing well at PG, since he came into the league with questions about his ability to play lead guard. (Incidentally, I have Earl Watson on my fantasy team.) What are his ballhandling, court vision and passing like?

They’re not super excellent or anything. His main forte seems to be driving and dishing the ball. He’s not a Steve Nash, but he’s unselfish with the ball, never jacks up bad shots, always seems to get something out of every possession, and will always get away with excellent steals on weak, opposing PGs. So, his strengths lie in the fact that he defends on the perimeter extremely well, can drive, drive and dish, and not jack up shots. He’s not the type of PG to carry out an excellent pass to a cutter for a layup or dunk, but more so the guy that will just keep the offense moving and not spend 18 seconds dribbling it at the top of the key like a Baron Davis.

Earl Watson is more of a pure PG, and has much better court visions and passing skills. His inherent flaw is that he has absolutely no offense, and can’t rebound nearly as well, and that’s why we go with Westbrook.

Both the Thunder and the Raptors are expected to pick high in the draft this year. Do you have any favorites?

Well, the hugely obvious favorite for everybody down here is Blake Griffin. Our chance at the #1 pick is dwindling with our recent wins, but most fans are confident the Thunder Organization will do anything, and I mean anything, to obtain that #1 pick. Otherwise, fans around here would like to see James Anderson from OSU or Willie Warren from OU on the team.

Personally, I don’t watch much college basketball, so I’m not an expert on the issue, but I think if we don’t go for Griffin or Thabeet, I think there’s a lot of scoring guards in this draft, and someone like Stephen Curry would seem to fit the bill. Whatever we do, I just hope we don’t waste the pick on a crappy big man. It took us long enough to get rid of players like Johan Petro!

How about free agency and trades? Who’s on your wish list?

If any trading does happen, I think it will be very small time. A blockbuster trade involving Green, Westbrook, or Durant is unlikely to happen, for reasons stated earlier. Personally, I’d like to see us get rid of some of our useless picks for some value. [Pete's note: Our GM may be looking to buy some "useless" picks.]

In Free Agency, most people are taking aim at a big man, and since this Free Agency Class is riddled with guards, all of the forums are abuzz over Carlos Boozer. Personally, I think if we get him, that’s great, but the chances realistically of him coming to Oklahoma City are very small. And if we do get him, what would our lineup be? Krstic/Boozer/Durant/Green/Westbrook? That lineup is looking really big to me.

This presents a whole ‘nother problem in the fact that our team is fundamentally flawed. Westbrook is a great point guard and an excellent rebounding guard, there’s no denying that, and we need him. But Jeff Green and Kevin Durant play the same position. [Pete's note: Sounds familiar. *cough* J.O. *cough*] Kevin Durant is too big and not enough of a shooter to be a Shooting Guard, and too small to be a Power Forward. Honestly, he’s a tweener. He’ll get overpowered by some of the NBAs bigger guys, and I think Russell Westbrook does a better job of rebounding than he does. So our team is extremely susceptible to big man combos, and might have to really consider trading Durant/Green in the future.

So Krstic is 100% healthy now? Do you consider him part of the Thunder’s future?

I haven’t seen anything from him to indicate that he’s injured. Obviously, he’s no high-flying player, so it’s hard to tell, but he hits mid-range shots and layups as well as he ever has. Considering the fact that he’s on a three-year contract, I could see him being a part of the big man rotation at least for the next few years, if not longer. The only things I could see getting in his way would be another injury or if we landed Blake Griffin and there just wasn’t room for him in the rotation anymore.

How do you feel about the much-maligned Thunder logo now? Do you expect a redesign in the near future?

I still hate it. It’s a freaking basketball shield with two dashes and “OKC” over it. The logos for the “Create-A-Teams” in NBA Live 98 when I created the “Oklahoma City Tornadoes” were much better. But, I’ve learned to live with it. I still don’t wear it on any shirts, but I see it often and that initial “yuck” effect has gradually worn away. The uniforms are just as bad, and I honestly think that they don’t look like real NBA uniforms. But, again, it’s worn away over time.

As for a redesign, I’d give a strong no. From what I understand, the ownership group stepped in and said, “This will be the team name and logo”, forgoing all of the marketing and design guys who were supposed to decide. Since then, the team has sold lots of jerseys, and the fans seem to be happy. So no, it’s not happening any time soon, no matter how much I wish it.

Rumble the Bison.

Rumble the Bison.

What do you think of Rumble the mascot? Better than Lion-O?

I’m not sure who Lion-O is, but I think Rumble is just pretty average as far as mascots go. I mean, when you have a mascot, he’s supposed to be either really cute (think the Rockets mascot), really weird (Magic mascot), or really tough (Warriors old mascot). Here, we just got a mascot that’s middle of the road. Not weird, kinda cute, but not super tough. Honestly, I think they were just trying to get as close to the old Sonics “Sasquatch” as possible, so the performer would be used to the costume. Still, I love mascots, and I’m being really nitpicky. The old Hugo was really awesome too.

This is Lion-O of the Thundercats. What do you think?

I never even knew the Thundercats existed until I was 12 or 13. I thought they looked gross and weird, and I still think they look gross and weird. Rumble easily trounces them.

Thanks for your answers, Zeb.

Be sure to check out Blue Blitz for my A’s to Zeb’s Q’s.

Posted on March 27th, 2009 by Jeff W
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