Monday Bolts – 1.26.15
Andrew Gilman of Fox Sports Southwest: “However, OKC did seem to be playing its best basketball of the season, starting with a home win against Golden State and then extending the winning on in Orlando, Miami and then Washington. But, as is the case with Oklahoma City this year and in years past, the extension of greatness generally doesn’t reach past Westbrook and Durant. Winning at Atlanta and at Cleveland were not going to be easy on a good day, so don’t consider the defeats opportunities lost, consider them opportunities squandered. A win at either, and both games were gettable as the Thunder led in the second half against Cleveland and were close in the fourth quarter at Atlanta, and momentum could have carried OKC to a long run of wins. Instead, this team is exactly where we thought they might be, even with Durant and Westbrook healthy.”
Shoals for GQ on the Thunder and Cavs: “Who knows how long this warm and fuzzy feeling will last. At some point, the Thunder will probably go white-hot, soar into the postseason, and scare the living shit out of whomever has to face them in the first round. This will happen and we’ll forget all about OKC’s adversity. The Cavs will eventually exhaust our patience and quite possibly take a mulligan on this season. At some point, “what’s going on with LeBron?” could morph into “what’s wrong with LeBron?” Lucky for them, they’ll always be in the mix in the woeful East—a security blanket of sorts, but hardly reassurance.”
This from Tom Haberstroh of ESPN Insider is a must-read on quizzing Nick Collison.
Rob Mahoney of SI.com: “It would seem that this version of the Thunder — deconstructed in the absence of Durant and Westbrook, reassembled in whatever fashion possible and tweaked through in-season trade — is not quite congruent with the Western Conference finalist of last season or the top contender of the season before. Some of the areas in which those teams were sharp now appear dull, if not all the time than occasionally enough to raise alarm. Doom and gloom would be misplaced at this point, but Oklahoma City has work to do in redefining itself as the team it expects to be, and time alone may not be a sufficient remedy. A loss like Sunday’s is worrisome for just this reason. One would think that after having Durant in the lineup for 10 games the Thunder would be shaping into something resembling their usual form. For minutes at a time that was the case Sunday, as it was in OKC’s loss to Atlanta on Friday; the Thunder can be commanding in stretches before drifting slightly out of focus.”
Jon Hamm for NewsOK.com on tax stuff: “Those quotes came from Mark Cuban. The same Mavericks franchise that paid nearly $150 million in taxes under the old agreement have paid only $2.7 million on one occasion under the new agreement. Cuban controversially broke up a title winning team in order to regroup in this new tax world. The strategic aspect is important to keep in mind when looking at any team’s decisions. Being unwilling to pay the tax isn’t necessarily a sign of frugality; it has to make sense in the short and long-term team building plans.”
Story for ESPN.com last night.
Darnell Mayberry: “Scott Brooks said he was happy with what he saw. Kevin Durant did, too. Cleveland had just outclassed the Thunder with a methodical 108-98 victory, and still the coach and the franchise player gushed about the positives they thought took place Sunday inside Quicken Loans Arena. It reeked of spin or a subtle way of saying “it’s been a long road trip, and we’re just ready to go home.” Left unsaid was anything about the team’s defensive breakdowns, its poor rotations and closeouts that left shooters open all game, its rickety rebounding or its questionable shot selection, all things that enabled the Cavs to cruise after seizing momentum in the second quarter and taking complete control from there.”
Anthony Slater: “When Dion Waiters was acquired last month, there was still a general feeling that, as long as Reggie Jackson was in OKC, he’d remain the sixth man. Waiters was expected to dip into Jackson’s, and other’s, playing time. But Reggie was long established as one of the league’s best reserves. For the past two seasons, he’s been a legit Sixth Man of the Year candidate. But because of his struggles, particularly on defense, it’s become clear that he is no longer even the sixth man on this team. Dion Waiters is. He got 33 minutes against the Cavs on Sunday and Jackson got a team-low 10. And taking that back further, look at the minute totals of the shooting guards since Waiters arrived.”
