Friday Bolts – 12.28.12
Ethan Sherwood Strauss of Bleacher Report: “We need to find a middle on this whole Russell Westbrook debate. People who yell that a team will never win it all with Westbrook as point guard are probably the same people who doubted that LeBron James could ever get a ring. “Will never” is usually a flawed place to start an argument or discussion. I’m also not with the people who say that we must accept the bad Westbrook plays because it’s all part of his aggressive style. Why sell the guy short if we believe he can be great? There’s no reason for why Westbrook has to take contested pull up threes with 20 seconds on the shotclock. He should cut that out because it’d be a mighty squandering of talent not to.”
Kevin Pelton of ESPN.com on why the Clips are better than OKC: “So far, Del Negro has done a great job of balancing the different choices instead of tinkering too much from night to night. In a possible playoff series against the Thunder, Del Negro would have more flexibility with his finishing lineup than Scott Brooks, who tends to rely on Kendrick Perkins down the stretch no matter the matchups. The Clippers also have a variety of options to defend stars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. On the wing, Del Negro will have three solid defenders with length in Matt Barnes, Caron Butler and Grant Hill once Hill works his way back from a bone bruise in his right knee. At point guard, both Bledsoe and Paul are terrific defensively, and Bledsoe is one of the few lead guards in the NBA who can match Westbrook in terms of sheer athleticism.”
KD tweet: “I love Chesapeake Arena, best fans in sports”
Tyler Parker of BallerBall on KD’s coast-to-coast: “Third, the mash. Detonation. Oddjob in Goldeneye. Yoshi in Mario Kart. Using Da Bomb in NFL Blitz 2000. Unfair perfection is what I’m saying. Moment of silence for Chris Kaman right there. He died for two seconds. Durant, because he’s a real American hero and a GI Bro, must have been mad at Kaman for playing for Germany in the Olympics. That slam jam was brought to us courtesy of the red, white, and blue. If Durant stood at the fifty yard line of JerryWorld and held his arms straight up, I think he’d be able to touch the bottom of the jumbo-tron. Does anyone call him “Arms”? Because his arms are so long, you guys. Someone should look into that. Arms. Oh. He also had 40 this game. God was super cool to give basketball fans Kevin Durant.”
Somehow, KD was a bit of an afterthought last night.
Jenni Carlson with one of those columns: “In other words, grow up and get over yourself. He’s looking at you, Russell Westbrook. On the same court where he scored 43 points in Game 4 of the NBA Finals, the Thunder point guard reminded us Wednesday that he is still a work in progress. Reinforced, too, that if the Thunder is ever to reach the tip top of the mountain, Westbrook is the key. He has to be better. Good news is, he can be.”
Tom Ziller of SB Nation lists Westbrook as one of the 15 most unforgettable NBA characters of 2012: “Teddy bear chic. Westbrook was also one of the very best players in the entire league. The Thunder’s 2012-13 success without James Harden shows how important to the team Westbrook is in support of Kevin Durant. Don’t forget that Westie, maligned in the 2011 playoffs and taunted as “Westbrick”, played really well all the way through 2012, and even dropped a 40-spot in the Finals. Russ isn’t going anywhere.”
From Elias: “Kevin Durant, Serge Ibaka and Russell Westbrook dominated their areas of expertise in the boxscore of the Thunder’s 111-105 overtime victory over the Mavericks. Durant had 40 points, Ibaka collected 17 rebounds and Westbrook contributed 10 assists; no teammate had more than half as many points, rebounds or assists, respectively. It marked only the second game in NBA history – and the first resulting in a victory – in which three different players reached those statistical levels – that is, one scored 40-or-more points, a second had 17-or-more rebounds, and a third had 10-or-more assists – while no teammate contributed more than half as many points, rebounds or assists. On Dec. 4, 2004, the Knicks, then coached by Lenny Wilkens, dropped a 107-101 decision to the Bobcats (then a first-year expansion team) in Charlotte; Jamal Crawford scored 41 points, Nazr Mohammed had 17 rebounds and Stephon Marbury had 11 assists, but no other Knicks player had half as many in any of those categories.”
Darnell Mayberry: “One last thing about Jackson. Can everyone please give the guy a chance before making judgments one way or another? Keep this in mind. Jackson hasn’t been through the NBA circuit a full time yet. He’s still playing opponents for the first time. Players naturally get better as they become more familiar with opponents’ tendencies and opposing teams schemes. Jackson got his feet wet last year, and that gave him confidence. Now that he has it he’s got to learn what’s being thrown at him. It’ll take time. So be patient.”
