Friday Bolts – 5.27.16
Ben Golliver of SI.com: “Golden State’s centers helped expose some recognizable cracks
in Oklahoma City’s supporting cast members. Serge Ibaka shot well from outside, but he wasn’t able to generate second-chance opportunities or do any damage on the interior. Roberson, fresh off a huge Game 4, was reduced to an afterthought as he missed both of his attempts inside the arc. Waiters, who is always extremely hot or extremely cold, was a total no-show, struggling with his control on drives and failing to get to the free-throw line.”
Berry Tramel: “The game was not yet a minute old when Russell Westbrook drove into the lane for the first time. Westbrook being Westbrook, he went straight to the basket. And a big man was there to greet him. Andrew Bogut stood his ground and caused Westbrook to loft a shot from just in front of the rim, rather than get to the comfort of the backboard. The ball hit the iron, bounced off and was grabbed by Bogut. Westbrook being Westbrook, he immediately stole the ball from Bogut. Alone on the baseline, Westbrook went up for an easy 10-footer. Except here came the 7-foot Bogut to contest the shot. It, too, bounced off.”
A thing about the Thunder needing Game 6. Badly.
Anthony Slater: “Golden State went with Shaun Livingston, Leandro Barbosa, Andre Iguodala, Harrison Barnes and Marresse Speights to start the fourth. The crowd grumbled. But Livingston eased the tension with a 16-footer over Enes Kanter, whose rough night led to a postseason-low six minutes. Dion Waiters, who went scoreless off the Thunder bench, threw a bad pass on the ensuing possession. It was picked off by Barnes and fed to Iguodala on the fastbreak eight seconds later. From the wing, Iguodala canned a 3. In 56 crucial seconds, Golden State had spiked its lead from four to nine.”
Tim Bontemps of the WaPo on Westbrook’s laugh: “Just when it didn’t seem possible for this series to have more drama and intrigue, with the defending NBA champions now heading to Oklahoma City to try and force a Game 7 in front of one of the most hostile and imposing home atmospheres in the NBA, there is now even more to focus on between these two teams between now and when Game 6 tips off Saturday night at Chesapeake Energy Arena.”
Jenni Carlson on the airport lady that puts your fandom to shame: “When she received the captain’s packet, there was a Thunder flag inside, and during the 2014 playoffs, she started taking it to the airport to help welcome back the team. But one night as she stood outside the fence waiting, she thought, “Why just the playoffs? I love these guys, and I want them to know we support ’em all the time.” The idea stuck in her mind, and when the 2014-15 season began, Bryan decided she would go to the airport anytime the team was coming home. Not just the playoffs. The regular season, too.”
Sam Amick of USA Today: “But this would have been different, this painful notion that the defending champions would be put out to pasture by an Oklahoma City Thunder team that exploited the very rim he’s paid to protect. Bogut had been bad in Games 3 and 4, with poor play and foul trouble leading to a combined 23 minutes. And then, at the all-or-nothing time when they needed him most, Bogut came up big and helped the Warriors to a 120-111 win which puts the series at 3-2 Thunder as the two teams head back to Oklahoma City for Game 6 on Saturday.”
Patrick Redford of Deadspin: “If the Thunder’s defensive strategy is aggression, the Warriors’ is the opposite. Golden State trotted out a zone and sagged off any tricky perimeter shit the Thunder tried to pull. It successfully frustrated Russell Westbrook into trying to take over the game and pull up off the dribble, which is always the easiest way to make OKC beat themselves. But the zone also kept the Thunder from the line, and they only took 24 free throws.”
Jeff Zilligit of USA Today: “This is the fifth year of the Presti’s leadership program in which 20 kids from three schools – Centennial, John Marshall, and U.S. Grant – are selected each school year. Presti and the schools are looking for certain teens. Not the captain of the football team or debate team. Not the leader of the marching band or the class vice president with a 4.0 grade-point average.”
