Friday Bolts – 3.18.16
Gary Payton: “As I look at it, that was left up to the ownership,” Payton said. “I think our
owner that had it before didn’t take care of it. He should have made sure that it stayed in Seattle, but he did not. … I can’t fault Oklahoma City. It hurts Seattle people, but I don’t have hard feelings about it. This is what happened. This is a business. It went here and this is what they are now.”
Jenni Carlson: “But Roberson’s lack of accuracy is no big deal. He takes a 3-pointer about every 14 minutes of court time, which is almost never, and when he makes one, it’s a huge momentum boost for the Thunder. Roberson’s percentage is not the problem. But Westbrook’s is. The Thunder needs the ball in Westbrook’s hands. Driving to the basket, where his finishing skills have exploded into efficiency, and passing the ball, which he does spectacularly, and shooting the mid-range jumper, at which he is really good.”
Henry Abbott on Steph Curry: “Poor Andre Roberson. Through furious hard work, the 24-year-old had become the Thunder’s best wing defender, nightly hustling after a who’s who of high-scoring All-Stars all over the court. Typically he ends up looking good. Until Saturday, Feb. 27, when Roberson played defense the way it has always been coached, and somehow became the crash-test dummy in Steph Curry’s Electric Highlight of the Year. Roberson’s crime: He didn’t see it coming. And by “it” we mean something that had never happened before.”
Anthony Slater: “Pinckney was found dead near the 2300 block of Morris St. in south Philadelphia, shot off the dirt bike he so often rode. Drive one mile north and a half-mile east and you’ll find Edwin M. Stanton Elementary. Nine days after the shooting, Waiters was there, presenting the school with a $10,000 check. It was an event long planned. The money will go toward building a much-needed playground for the students over its current rocky, unkempt blacktop. The Thunder organization chipped in $2,500 more, plus sent some of its players and coaches to the school to support Waiters.”
Moratorium has been shortened.
From Jonathan Abrams new book: “Billy Donovan sensed the hesitation in the voice of his prized recruit. Donovan had once been an NBA player, although briefly, and appreciated the forces that the elite amateur players now faced. Donovan coached at the University of Florida and had quickly lifted the program to great heights. The NBA’s lure began chipping away at his talent and now Kwame Brown, in the spring of 2001, had just informed Donovan that he would forsake his commitment to the Gators to become a professional. To Donovan, Brown sounded as though he were trying to convince himself of the decision and not Donovan.”
