Monday Bolts – 8.13.12

Bradford Doolittle of ESPN.com: “In the end, the Lakers still project to be about 3-4 wins worse than the Heat and Thunder. That might prove to be worse considering that Oklahoma City’s core entirely comprises players still on the ascent. L.A. projects to be better than every non-Heat team in the East, but to get a shot at Miami in the Finals, the Lakers not only have leapfrog the Thunder in the West, but also the Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Clippers, San Antonio Spurs and — just maybe — the Minnesota Timberwolves.”

Tom Haberstroh of ESPN.com: “Think about this one for a second: Durant is 23 years old and just scored more points in one Olympics than any player in history (156). He made a mockery of the shortened international dimensions, drilling 3-pointer after 3-pointer during the tournament. All in all, Durant shot 52.3 percent from downtown and scored 30 points every 40 minutes in the eight games Team USA played. He made more 3-pointers than Anthony and Love combined. Again, 23 years old. As hard as it is to believe, he’s only getting started. If he continues to raise his passing game like he did last season en route to the NBA Finals, James will have some company in the “greatest player alive” competition sooner than we think. At his young age, Durant has somehow already earned the “greatest pure-scorer alive” label. Not bad.”

Serge Ibaka looks pretty happy with his silver.

KD on if OKC’s still the favorite in the West: “You never know, but we feel confident about ourselves,” Durant said. “The Lakers, we always respect them. We always have battles with them. I’m sure it’s going to be even more fun this upcoming season when we play against those guys.”

Berry Tramel on the Lakers: “The big, bad Lakers are back, just like always. Back enough to unseat the Thunder as the Western Conference champ? Not necessarily. But a lineup of Dwight Howard, Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Steve Nash and Metta World Chaos is a roving Hall of Fame exhibit. Four guys past their wondrous prime, plus Howard, who has gone from Superman to Superpain. There might be enough fuel in the tank for the Lakers to mount another championship run. Heck, the Celtics dang near made the NBA Finals with an Over-the-Hill Gang; no reason the Dwightmares couldn’t do the same.”

Matt Moore of CBSSports.com: “Durant proved in the 2010 FIBA championships that he could lead a team to a world championship. In the 2012 Olympics, he showed that he can be a part of a team, and be the tip of the dagger without demanding the ball. Durant is undoubtedly still full of disappointment off the Finals. But in his first Olympics, he set the record for most points in a single tournament. He introduced himself to the World, set a record, and won gold. Not bad for a 23-year-old.”

What might the 2016 team look like?

KD on playing in Rio: “We’ll see. You never know how these things are going to play out. Hopefully I get a chance to go to the next one.”

Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports: “Kevin Durant broke the American Olympic scoring record with 156 points, but James could’ve decided that he wanted the record and gotten it for himself. He controlled these Olympic Games the way he controlled the NBA Finals: always the proper blend of pass and score, defend and rebound. He’s forever dominant now.”

Josh Levin of Slate: “That seven-and-a-half-minute display of shooting, driving, dunking, and defense was the best demonstration imaginable of America’s continued basketball dominance. The fact that the 2012 Olympics team needed to go on that run to win gold shows how much the game has grown in 20 years. Yes, the original Dream Team had 11 Hall of Famers, but the best team they played against was a bunch of college kids. We don’t know how much the 1992-ers would’ve been tested against today’s competition, but we do have a good sense of the current state of basketball in the United States. The world’s best still isn’t good enough, but it takes our best to prove it.”