Wednesday Bolts – 2.13.13

A study from Kenpom on fouling when up three: “However, I think that says something about how difficult it is to determine the proper strategy. To me, the only conclusion one can make is that the criticism of coaches that choose to defend appears to be misplaced. A small percentage of the time you’ll get burned no matter what you choose to do. We will continue to see teams make game-tying threes near the end of games more often than they get fouled simply because more coaches choose this strategy. In the long run, it’s difficult to prove it’s a bad idea.”

Kelly Dwyer of BDL on halfcourt heaves: “When Durant says “it depends on how the game’s going,” he truly and technically is referring to his individual game on that night. To some this reeks of stat-padding, and needlessly obsessive stat-padding: NBA fans typically don’t freak out over shooting percentages on shots that players tend to take possibly once or twice a week; especially for someone like Durant who averages 19 shots per game on his career. In terms of sheer honesty, though? We love it. Though Kevin Durant is just about the only player we’ll let get away with it.”

Trey Kerby of TBJ: “Jokes aside, Scott Brooks is totally right and the Thunder should take those last second heaves. Even if they only make two a season, those two might happen to come in games where they end up losing by one. Who knows? That’s why you shoot it. And though Shane Battier is pushing for shooting percentage reform, even if these shots still negatively affect percentages, it’s still worth shooting because it does nothing but help your team. (Which, in turn, is probably why teams shouldn’t hold it against players who throw up these desperation heaves while negotiating contracts, which is exactly why a lot of players choose not to shoot them. It’s a vicious cycle.)”

PTI discussing the halfcourt heaves thing.

Brett Pollakof of PBT on it: “We think of lower-tier players being more likely to pull this trick, especially ones who may be in a contract year where their statistics at the end of the season will, at least in part, directly translate into the amount of future dollars that will go into in their pocket. Durant’s response was honest and refreshing, but if the game was on the line there’s no doubt at all that he’d hoist it the length of the court if it would give his team a chance to tie or win in the final seconds.”

KD tweets: “I love playing in Utah, just upset at how the fans treated us behind our bench….we don’t deserve that..but I’m movin on.”

DeMarre Carroll called KD’s flagrant “dirty.”

Twenty years from now, Will Ferrell will be Bill Murray. Book it.

Darnell Mayberry: “Westbrook simply walked off. The temperamental team captain got fed up with a reporter’s question and suddenly turned his back and ended the interview before walking away. The exchange was as follows. “Russell, did you guys lose this game, or did the Jazz win this one?” Westbrook: “Whaaaaat? Bro, what are you talking about, man? I’m out man. Y’all n***** trippin’.” Westbrook’s sound bite was good for a quick laugh and easily makes his top three all-time interview quotes. But what was sad about the exchange is that everyone on the team, players and staffers included, simply supported him. They came to his defense even after he lost his patience, snapped on a reporter, prematurely ended an interview and used offensive language. It’s one of the reasons Westbrook will always be Westbrook. Nobody seems to hold him accountable, on the court or in front of the cameras. A pretty generic question, one that players get asked all the time in every sport, caused him to erupt. But by now, that behavior is just what you expect out of Westbrook.”

Here’s video of Westbrook’s blow-up.

Interesting tweet from @NBAGuru: “‘Bad Shooting Night’ – player with 15+ FGA and <40% FGM. Among All-Stars: Westbrook 17; Harden 16; Kobe 14; ‘Melo 10; Durant 6…LeBron 1.”

A cool breakdown of ‘Bad Shooting Nights’ from Bucksketball.

From Elias: “The last five games played by the Thunder have all been decided by a margin of at least 15 points. They won by 21, 21, 31 and 28 before losing to Utah by 15 points on Tuesday night. That matches the longest such streak within one season in the history of the Thunder franchise. The SuperSonics had two such streaks: one early in the 1982-83 season and one in November 2004.”