Odds and Ends
* You can get the game shoes off Chris Paul’s feet. Paul is auctioning his game shoes from the Thunder-Hornets game on Nov. 21 at the Ford Center on EBay. The proceeds will go to the Boys and Girls Club of Oklahoma City. Paul wanted to give back to Oklahoma City, his first NBA home, and he’s found a way to please a zealous fan with a collector’s item while also giving to charity. I’ll have more on this in the coming days.
* Utah coach Jerry Sloan is going for his 1,000th win with the Jazz in Friday’s game against the Thunder, which can’t be a good thing for an OKC team already playing a team that went 37-4 at home last season. Sloan is in his 21st season as coach of the Jazz, and no other coach has come close to 1,000 wins with the same team. Red Auerbach is second on the list with 795 wins with one team. Since Sloan was hired, 219 coaching changes have been made by other NBA teams.
* Those of you who like to listen to Thunder games on the radio rather than watching them on T.V., or simply prefer hearing the action on the radio while watching it on T.V., expect a new voice Friday. Veteran NBA broadcaster Jim Durham will be the radio play-by-play man against the Jazz, substituting for Matt Pinto who, along with his wife, are awaiting the birth of their first child. Durham will also call Sunday’s game against Atlanta and possibly more if needed. Durham has spent more than 32 years calling NBA games on T.V. and radio. He has previously worked with the Chicago Bulls, Dallas Mavericks, TNT and TBS. His stint with the Bulls came during the Michael Jordan-Scottie Pippen-led championship days. Durham also has called NCAA Tournament games for CBS and has called games for ESPN and ESPN Radio since 1995.
And finally, BetUS.com, which describes itself as “the largest most successful sportsbook on the Web,” has posted odds and predictions for the season and the Thunder is listed in several categories.
MVP
Kevind Durant: 30/1 (LeBron James and Kobe Bryant are co-favorites at 5/2)
NBA champion
OKC: 200/1 (ahead of Memphis, 250/1, and tied with Sacramento)
First coach fired
P.J. Carlesimo: 12/1 (New Jersey’s Lawrence Frank is the 11/2 favorite)
Team with the most losses
OKC: 5/1 (tied with the Knicks. Wolves are the 2/1 favorite)
Winning lottery team
OKC: 3/1 (They gave the field 2/1 odds)
Rookie of the year
Russell Westbrook: 12/1 (Michael Beasley at 3/2, O.J. Mayo at 3/1 and Greg Oden at 5/2 were the frontrunners)
-DM-
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Comments
When are you going to write about how you predicted the Thunder would beat Boston en route to a 37 win season? Never, right?
(Mark, I was wrong. The Celtics won the game. Happy? And the predicition was a 35-win season. Last I checked there still are 78 games left to play. -DM-)
I like listening to Pinto at the games. Unfortunately, it was well into the game Wednesday night before they took the broadcast out of delay.
Good luck to Matt Pinto and his wife.
I don’t agree P.J. is on the hot seat though. He’ll get at least two more years to develop Durant, Green, and Westbrook.
no you said 37, Berry Tramel said it on video. Don’t back out of your claim now.
(Joke, it wasn’t Berry Tramel’s predicition now was it? -DM-)
Go OKC Potatoes!!!