Thursday Bolts – 1.17.13

Nick Collison for GQ in a Q&A: “What really goes on during team plane rides? I’m on the plane right now, so let me fill you in. Kendrick Perkins is knitting a sweater. He’s really into knitting. Scarves, sweaters, mittens, etc. Russell has his pottery wheel out again. It makes a mess but it helps him relax after games. He made me a vase. It’s sooooo dope. Hasheem, Reggie, Perry, DeAndre and Jeremy Lamb are in a heated debate over which budget cuts congress needs to make in a debt reduction deal. Actually, it’s kind of hard for me to write with all the yelling. Serge is painting a portrait of Thabo while Thabo paints a portrait of Serge painting a portrait of him. KD and Eric are playing Jenga, while all the coaches shoot dice. So, pretty normal stuff.”

Rob Mahoney of SI.com: “One of the benefits of the Thunder putting a game away early: The inevitable showcase of garbage time for Perry Jones. Many considered Jones to be the steal of the 2012 Draft when the Thunder snatched him up with the 28th pick, a distinction that he richly deserves based on talent alone. In his crumbs of playing time, Jones doesn’t exactly have a regular opportunity to actualize that talent in the form of impressive numbers. But each of his stints on the floor bears a tantalizing peek at his latent potential — and this game’s 14 minutes of court time were certainly no exception. We saw Jones control the ball at full speed in the open court, navigating traffic before making a clean drop pass to DeAndre Liggins. We saw his smooth form on a baseline jumper — the kind of shot that has made Serge Ibaka so important to the Thunder offense. We saw a dead-sprint disruption of what seemed sure to be an easy score for the Nuggets, as Jones broke up a pass intended for a streaking Jordan Hamilton. We also saw Jones ignite off the floor with every intent to tear the rim down, but change direction mid-air in order to finish around a defensive challenge with a silky lay-in. Jones isn’t yet ready for actual playing time, and frankly at this point the Thunder are doing just fine without him. But the idea that Oklahoma City could someday see yet another long-armed, multi-talented athlete climb into their every-night rotation just seems cruel to the rest of the NBA field at this point.”

Berry Tramel on the bench: “Thunder backups’ struggles this season shouldn’t come as a surprise. While the OKC starters have remained steadfast, the bench was dismantled. Only Collison remains from the B Team of last spring. James Harden, Derek Fisher, Nazr Mohammed and Daequan Cook all are gone. Eric Maynor has yet to regain the level of play he established before his January 2012 knee injury. Thus Durant’s and Westbrook’s minutes have risen. Durant is averaging 39.4 minutes a game, second in the NBA. Westbrook is averaging a career high 36.1. Both can handle that kind of load, but it’s better if they don’t have to.”

Did some journalism last night and can confirm that Hasheem Thabeet’s girlfriend is not a hoax.

Darnell Mayberry: “Good thing the Thunder was very much interested in showing up for work. That’s the big takeaway from tonight’s thrashing of the Denver Nuggets. Oklahoma City, despite its league-best record and despite its mounting winning streak and despite its ability to absolutely demolish a playoff-bound bunch any time it feels like it, is still very much interested in the process. We question it at times, mostly after sloppy wins and shocking losses. But it’s become abundantly clear in this recent stretch that the Thunder is continuing to handle business at a time when it could easily put the car on cruise.”

From Elias: “Russell Westbrook made 12 of 20 shots from the field and scored 32 points for the Thunder Wednesday night, two days after scoring 36 points on 14 of 24 from the field. Westbrook is the fourth player this season to score at least 30 points while making at least 58 percent of his shots from the field in back-to-back games. O.J. Mayo did it for Dallas in November, James Harden for Houston in December and Carmelo Anthony for New York in December.”

Ethan Sherwood Strauss of Bleacher Report: “Somehow, Durant has become an even more efficient scorer. His true shooting percentage (field goal percentage when threes and free throws are incorporated) has been ramped up from a merely awesome 61.0 to a dumbfounding 65.2. For context, Shaq, in his dominant MVP season, had a .578 true shooting percentage. It’s not often that a player improves by bounds and leaps as a passer and a scorer. Somehow, Kevin Durant has taken a near-perfect skill set and markedly improved it. Part of Kevin Durant’s MVP case should be that he might be basketball’s most improved player.”

Kalen of Roundball Mining Company: “Karl’s team was totally unprepared from the start. They were never in this game — not even in the first few minutes. It was like watching JV vs. Varsity. Durant and Westbrook are two of the best player in the league, but the Nuggets have several of the best defenders in the league. Why was Iguodala not on Westbrook more? Why was Brewer not on Durant more? Instead Westbrook schooled Andre Miller and overpowered Ty Lawson all night, while Durant took Gallo to the hole repeatedly. And it all starts with defense. The Thunder had almost 70 by half and finished with 117. That’s inexcusable. I don’t care if you’re coming off a week of hiking in the Rocky Mountains with little to no sleep — that kind of defensive effort just won’t cut it. I felt like this was a game Karl had no problems conceding from the start. At least, that’s how it looked.”

Denver Stiffs: “Not too much more to say about this game tonight – the Nuggets were playing on the second night of a back to back away, against the best team in the league, after an overtime victory at home late, on the fourth game in 5 6 nights, through a typically-OKC lopsided home whistle. While I’m disappointed that the team didn’t show more pride in keeping the game close, I can understand that this was a “schedule loss” and I’m not reading too much into it. You shouldn’t either.”