Friday Bolts – 3.28.14
Ben Golliver of SI.com revisiting preseason predictions: “The prediction that I’m happiest about, though, concerns Kevin Durant’s scoring numbers this season: ‘Picking up the slack while Russell Westbrook is sidelined, Kevin Durant will win the fourth scoring title of his career and become the first player to average 32+ points since Kobe Bryant and Allen Iverson accomplished the feat in 2005-06.’ Durant is a shoo-in to win the scoring title and he’s averaging 32.2 points per game, the highest mark of his career, entering Thursday’s action. He’s also sitting on a streak of 36 straight games with at least 25 points or more, he’s the first player since 2008-09 to top 50 points twice in the same season, and he’s shooting 51/41/87 on more than 20 field goal attempts per game. If his numbers stay as is, Durant will be the first player ever to average at least 30 points per game while shooting 50 percent overall and 40 percent from deep. We will be telling our grandchildren about Durant’s scoring prowess this season, unless of course he tops it next year.”
KD on Johnny Football: “I seen the beginning of Johnny Football’s pro day and I was really impressed that he threw in pads and a helmet,” Durant said. “Everybody is throwing in shorts and a T-shirt and he wanted to take the challenge and do something different. You gotta applaud that … “I would take him in the top five, if I was a GM,” Durant said. “He might not be the tallest or the strongest, but he’s gonna go out there to play to win and give his all on every play.”
An interesting breakdown of Kyle Anderson, who some see as a good fit in OKC.
Neat chart of average field goal distance.
Zach Lowe of Grantland on the wild Western playoff race: “Holy hell, what a finish. The Grizzlies will be on the second half of a back-to-back when they face the Suns, who will be at home on a rest advantage. It’s just a shame one of these five teams must exit early, though it’s not unprecedented in the Western Conference, and the consolation prize is a very small chance to move up in the draft lottery. For now, let’s just cross our fingers and hope we get meaningful games right down to the wire.”
Berry Tramel on dragging replay reviews: “I know things have changed. I know we can’t go back in time. I know replay review is part of all sports these days. But what happened in the Thunder-Mav game was ridiculous. The process has to be sped up. It was clear after 30 seconds that Jackson’s fumble was indeed off Jackson. The other two calls were less clear, but still, there was no reason to spend more than a minute on them. The delays should have totaled three minutes tops. Not 9 1/2. Perhaps the NBA needs to take all replay reviews to a central location in New York. Perhaps stoppages over one second of time are not necessary, unless we’re in the final 10 seconds of the game. I don’t know what the answer is. I just know OKC-Dallas ground to a halt. Drama delayed is drama denied.”
