Friday Bolts – 1.25.13

Ben Golliver of SI.com gives OKC an A+ for their first half: “The quality of the Thunder’s play can’t be overstated. Name virtually any aspect of the game and they rank somewhere between good to excellent. Their offense is the league’s most efficient (by a healthy margin) despite trading Harden, one of the league’s best individual scorers, just before the start of the regular season. Their much-improved defense is holding opponents to just 43 percent shooting, the third-best mark in the league. They are among the league leaders in field-goal shooting, three-point shooting, free-throw shooting (No. 1 by a wide margin) and rebounding. Durant is making a strong MVP case, Serge Ibaka has taken his game to new levels on both ends and Kevin Martin has plugged in smoothly for Harden. About the only knocks on these guys: They turn the ball over a fair bit (hard to avoid with aggressive playmakers in Durant and Russell Westbrook), and they lost to the Heat on Christmas. They will be the most feared team in the West come playoff time, and rightfully so.”

Justin Verrier of ESPN.com on Westbrook: “But a funny thing has happened through 43 games: Durant is thriving. And Westbrook is thriving. And Oklahoma City is thriving. Durant is on another level this season, with career highs pretty much across the board; to see him and James do their things live, in the prime of their careers, is truly remarkable, almost to the point of astonishment. His only foil at this point is history. But Westbrook has also upped his game. He struggled from the field out of the gate, particularly in December when he shot 39 percent. A recent string of four straight games over 30 points, however, is a clear indicator of the offensive weapon he has become through five seasons, in which he has somehow never missed a game.”

Russ and KD got a big shoutout on Parks and Recreation last night. Here’s the episode, the name-drop happens at about 18:30.

Danny Chau of HP on KD: “Now Durant’s crossovers leverage his full functional width against the defender. His near-7’5” wingspan exaggerates lateral movement which forces the defender to commit to a particular direction because of how much ground his limbs can cover. The ball glides from side to side and if a defender’s caught watching the ball being manipulated by Durant’s arms, he might miss the head swivel or the shoulder shift downward or the legs in continuous motion, propping themselves in new configurations to achieve the best angle of attack. Durant’s arms are a natural wonder, and an intrinsic focal point, but they only reveal so much of the drive. A butterfly’s wings tell you it is capable of flight, but its antennae tell you where it’s going.”

Serge Ibaka tweets following the All-Star announcement:  “#motivation”

 Zach Harper of CBSSports.com says Ibaka was a snub: “I had a hard time picking a third snub in the Western Conference because it’s hard to make a real case for anybody with Gasol and Curry already getting snubbed. I think you have a much easier time finding a third snub in the Eastern Conference. It was between Ibaka and Jamal Crawford for my third snub and I couldn’t go with my actual pick of Jamerge Crawbaka. I went with Ibaka because I believe Curry was a bigger snub over Gasol, so it’s hard to say a different guard was snubbed.”

KD on the Seattle/Sacramento stuff: “I loved the city of Seattle. It’s a great place to live. It’s beautiful, especially in the spring and summertime. The fans are unbelievable, man. They show so much support. It’s just a great city, a great NBA city. But I feel for the Sacramento fans because you never know when another team will come around. (Sacramento) is a great city. The fans are very enthused about basketball there in Sacramento so it’s going to be tough to see them leave.”

D.J Foster of PBT on Perk calling Rondo and Russ divas: “That’s it! Divas in a good way. Westbrook and Rondo are both unapologetic, in your face types of players, and that’s not what we typically associate point guards with. They aren’t running the show — they are the show. That attitude makes them great, but it also destines them for a career of rubbing people the wrong way. That’s never going to change. And that’s why diva is the perfect word, even if it has a negative connotation. Westbrook and Rondo know who they are, and they make no apologies for it. They take pride in it — just like a diva would. You love ‘em or hate ‘em. I don’t know which guy is Diana Ross and which is Mariah Carey in this analogy, but hey, Perkins is still spot on with his analysis.”

Ethan Sherwood Strauss of Bleacher Report on KD’s foul drawing: “Durant bobbles and the rock is loose. While it’s possible that Corey Brewer made some contract, I doubt that it was enough to provoke the exaggerated Maggette-flail that Durant emerged with. Either way, it meant free throws for KD. I’m not doing this to impugn his character or playing style—Kevin Durant’s ability to sell a call is a skill in and of itself. I frankly wish that players and teams that I root for would follow suit. I’m merely doing this to show that Kevin Durant has mastered some offensive subtleties divorced from simply shooting. The guy is an elite call-seller. Or, if you want to put a harsher tag on it, he’s an elite flopper.”