Stringing up the Lights ...

Yesterday while putting up my Christmas tree, I made the rookie mistake of putting on the lights before checking to make sure all the strands worked. The picture to the left shows the results of this action. Sadly this was not my first "season" of putting up the tree, and I have no good excuse for making the mistake.

As a result, the process of finding the burned out bulb (or in my case, the two burned out bulbs) took quite a bit longer than need be. But in the end, everything worked, and the whole tree was lit up.

The Thunder are a lot like my Christmas tree ... a few dead bulb replacements away from being something special. Unfortunately unlike my experience, there aren't a supply of replacement bulbs available to fix the problem (ok, technically there are, but OKC doesn't have the resources to acquire them). The Thunder will get another crack at picking up some replacement bulbs at next year's draft and through free agency. Don't expect the Thunder to be big spenders though.

Continuing gforce's quarter-season awards from yesterday and keeping with the Christmas tree theme I've started so far, here are my winners:

Shining Star Award: Kevin Durant

Hey, if gforce gets to give him an award for this, so do I. There is no understating how valuable Durant is to the organization.

Burnt Out Bulb Award: P.J. Carlesimo

See ya, wouldn't want to be ya. The Thunder are playing a lot better now that P.J.'s gone, and that probably doesn't speak well for his future employability.

Dale Earnhardt Ornament Award: Jeff Green

Dale's number was 3, and this award goes to the player that's made the most 3s: Jeff Green. Green's averaging 1.3 per game and also leads the team in 3 point percentage at 46.9%.

Garland Award: Russell Westbrook

Ornaments and lights change frequently year over year, but garland (at least in my limited experiences) is something that is kept. Westbrook is quickly becoming the number two star of the team and will be a piece that the Thunder are going to want to keep around for a while.

Barry Bonds Ornament Award: Johan Petro

Hallmark made a Barry Bonds ornament a few years ago, and I received it as a gift for Christmas. The past few years I didn't have the heart to not put it on the tree, but I couldn't justify putting it where it could be seen. And so each year, I've put the ornament on the back of the tree. Since the coaching switch, Petro has gone from starter to not even coming off of the bench. Can't get much more "behind the tree" than that!