OKC loud links: Thursday roundup

Today's various and sundry.

Harden and the Opportunity Gap | HoopSpeak

Mason attempts to quantify the difference between Russell Westbrook and James Harden. It's not so easy.

PJIII and Playing Time | Daily Thunder

Young offers a closer look on how Perry Jones III is shaping up in the roster.

Practice Report | NewsOK

The team is high on Perry Jones III's play as of late. The problem of course is that there are precious few minutes available to a guy who is backing up Kevin Durant. The solution of course is for PJIII to make himself indispensable, because there are other positions where he could slide in, most notably power forward and even at shooting guard.

How to Really Shorten Games | Grantland

Like us, Zach Lowe finds this new truncation of pregame rituals silly, so he addresses actual things that could be altered if the NBA is really serious about shortening games.

Pregame Rituals Galore | Sports Illsutrated

Golliver's post is fine, but the gold is in his collection of pregame rituals embedded within.

Could the Lakers Replace Kobe with LeBron? | Sports Illustrated

Just shoot me now.

The Uniform Power Rankings | Grantland

Not surprisingly, OKC does not make this particular list.

Dream Role | ESPN

Natalie Nakase has a dream to become the first female coach in the NBA. Is this realistic? There are two general routes for her, and only two - work up the assistant coach chain for 20 years, earn the respect of both other coaches and all the players, OR win an NCAA men's championship. The first path is more likely.

Can Happiness Improve Players? | Wages of Wins

I'd love this question to be put to Kevin Garnett.

Previews of the Roundtable: Southeast | Hickory High

It's all-Heat, all the time.

Jeremy Evans Summons Dr. J | CBS SPorts

Wow.