No Regard Presidential Previews: Oklahoma City Thunder (Teddy Roosevelt)

Oh the season. Oh the season! Election or NBA, both are upon us. We're getting into the spirit by bringing you our season previews (with a little help from the presidents). One per day for the next 30 days—which will bring us to the Day of Reckoning. So please join us on the campaign trail as we shake hands, kiss babies and sink jumpers.

“Believe you can and you're halfway there.” - Theodore Roosevelt

An irrepressible, trust-busting, 42-year-old Rough Rider took office upon the assassination of William McKinley. Believing in a policy of walking softly and carrying a big stick, President Theodore Roosevelt issued a corollary to the Monroe Doctrine intended to exercise international policy power whenever necessary. The world was officially on notice. 

The young, confident, occasionally belligerent Thunder came out of nowhere, have taken their lumps and are in this thing for the long haul. New challenges await in the west and a Finals return is not a given. Just as the original Bull Moose gave a 90 minute speech while bleeding through his shirt mere minutes after taking a bullet to the chest, Durant, Westbrook and Harden took to London shortly after their heartbreaking Finals loss and returned wearing gold (no thanks to their buddy Serge Ibaka, who took silver playing for Spain, despite being from the Republic of Congo, go figure). The Thunder are not scared of anything or anyone, and the return of Eric Maynor, as well as the absolute steal of Perry Jones, III in the draft could provide the additional firepower necessary to defeat the Lakers in what we can go ahead and assume will be an epic seven-game Western Conference Finals.

As one of only two current NBA contenders (the other being the Spurs) that was actually built through the draft, the Thunder provide a fascinating longitudinal study of what a team should look like when organically constructed. Durant, Westbrook, Harden and Ibaka have been together for three playoff runs of increasing length, and their ability to play together has improved noticeably each season. There is one final step left, but the road looks more difficult than ever. Will the rough riding Thunder break through the increasingly crowded field? Will Kevin Durant finally hoist a Podoloff trophy? Will Russell Westbrook stop dressing like his sole purpose is to confuse old people? (No, he probably won't.) 

Rushed Pull-Up Jumpers

Pokemon who the team should adopt as its new mascot: Pikachu

Headline we'll be most sick of reading: "Are Durant and Westbrook on the Same Page?"

Headline we're most looking forward to: "James Harden Shaves Beard, Visits Orthodontist"

If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you enter the pearly gates?: "My, you fellas have certainly grown."

The New Big Three?

Kelly Dwyer raises a very good point about the cover of Sports Illustrated's NBA preview issue:


Weird, right?! If I had to guess, I'd say that Russell Westbrook was busy studying up on Obama's tax policy and James Harden was combing his beard.

Love the cover nonetheless.

Happy Birthday, James Harden

Don't get any cake stuck in that beautiful beard.

Weekend Edition: Nenad Jailed, Thunder Sound Off

Oklahoma City Thunder Center Nenad Krstic, generally known for his jumpshot and aversion to physical contact, spent last night in jail after throwing a chair in a brawl that erupted during an international game between Serbia and Greece.

The Thunder met their demise this post season due to their lack of a true big man. Krstic's tenure with the Thunder has been regarded as a stopgap, a space-filler until the team can develop one of their young Centers. We've offered a few ideas for them, but so far none have taken. So at 8.4 points and 5 rebounds per game, Nenad Krstic remains their man. A Krstic suspension could spell bad news for the young guns of OKC. The Thunder have plenty to say about Nenad's brawl. Here are some highlights:

Top 5 Player Tweets of the Week - In Pictures!

From Skillanueva's half-time tweets to Gil's fateful outburst, we're keeping tabs on this whole Twitter thing. Each week we wade through the rants, shout outs and sheer insanity to bring you the best micro-blogging the NBA has to offer.

5. "AIRPLANE MODE BACK TO LA!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

- James Harden

4. "I call a pretty girl a "Fox", I say "jive" a lot, I call the police the "fuzz"....& I'm calm all the time. My shii is so 70s. #CatdaddyFresh"

- Chris Dougey-Roberts

Team Dreamin' 2011: THUNDER

At No Regard, we love basketball. We love the spectacle and strategy of the game, but sometimes the league's lack of imagination confounds and disappoints us. Call us optimists, visionaries, or kids who watched too much Space Jam, but we have ideas. Damn are we gonna share 'em.

The Thunder found near-immediate success settling into Oklahoma City; that which can't be credited directly to Kevin Durant's instant superstardom certainly goes to a young bench teeming with raw talent.

Watching a Thunder game this season guarantees three things:

1) KD and Russell Westbrook continuing to blossom before your eyes.

2) A host of rising stars jockeying to position themselves around Kid Delish and Jet Zero.

3) A gargantuan and vacuous black hole at the 5-spot, a position the front office seems intent to never actually fill.

The Thunder need more guards like Peyton Manning needs another endorsement deal. Ignoring the need for big men troubled them all season. Surrendering the paint buried them in the playoffs. Do we have ideas for them? Of course we do.

Consider the above photo. Pick out who is the most bored and who is the craftiest guy there. Easy, right? Bored goes to Nick Collison (Lower Left, Napping). Craftiest goes to James Harden (Top Back Right, Suit).

James, Nick, can you guys come over here for a second? Hey fellas, have you ever seen Freak the Mighty?

Perfect. Here’s what we’re gonna do…