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Monday Bolts – 12.22.14

Monday Bolts – 12.22.14
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Berry Tramel on Westbrook: “You could see it in Westbrook’s body language. You could see it in his eyes. You could see it in his out-of-control play. You could see it with his absolute refusal to share the ball. In those final 298 seconds, Westbrook didn’t pass the ball. Not one time. I don’t mean he got no assists. I mean, he didn’t pass the ball. Westbrook took eight shots, most of them belonging in the dubious category, contested drives or quick long balls. Westbrook made just one of those eight shots and committed another turnover. The Thunder scored a solitary two points in the final 5 1/2 minutes and lost to the Pelicans 101-99 Sunday night.”

Andrew Gilman of Fox Southwest: “If there are Russell Westbrook haters still out there among us, this game was for you. By now, such a person likely doesn’t exist, but even the Westbrook supporters, and there are plenty of those around would admit Sunday wasn’t much of a resume-builder for Westbrook. Playing at an MVP-type level for most of the season, Westbrook made it perfectly clear in about a five-minute span that he needs Kevin Durant and that he doesn’t seem to have much trust in the rest of his teammates. For whatever the reason, Westbrook didn’t want to pass, but when he didn’t pass something worse happened: His shots didn’t go in.”

When keeping it Russell goes wrong.

Tom Haberstroh of ESPN Insider on underrated players: “And then there’s this: the Oklahoma City Thunder allow just 90.5 points per 100 possessions with Roberson on the floor — the second-stingiest on-court rating for any regular not named Dwight Howard. He can’t shoot worth a lick (he’s missed 18 of 19 3-point attempts this season), but he makes up for it with his defensive tenacity and gritty rebounding. Thanks to his power forward upbringing, he’s one of the best at cleaning the glass at his size (7.7 boards per 36 minutes). The guy hasn’t scored more than five points in any of his past 13 appearances, but he’s a plus-105 over that time. Playing next to Durant and Westbrook has helped, but he’s the selfless glue guy they need.”

Westbrook’s passing comments from last night.

Darnell Mayberry on Ibaka’s 3-point shooting: “Someone, whether it’s Serge or the coaching staff, should be embarrassed that Steven Adams, in his second season, has more of a post game than Ibaka, who is in Year 6 and sees himself as an All-Star. Can’t score with your back to the basket? Fine. Initiate offense from inside. Face up and shoot the short jumper. Pump fake, use one or two dribbles to get to the basket and finish or get fouled and go to the free throw line. Command a double team and find the open man. And for God’s sake, rebound. Get second chances for your team and putback opportunities for yourself. All of that falls under the definition of a low-post game and none of it requires Serge to have his back to the basket. But it’s as if the coaching staff and Serge himself have given up on the mere idea of him doing those things. Shame, too. Because longterm, those are the things that will help this Thunder team tons more than Ibaka camping out at the arc waiting to let another 3-ball fly.”

Nick Young on Steven Adams: “Just little hits here and there, when they’re coming off screens, he’ll stick his knee out and stuff like that,” Young said. “I’m not here to tell on him or anything like that. He’s doing his job. He did his job today to get me out of the game. That’s what they put him in the game to do.”

James Herbert of CBSSports.com: “If you go back and watch the tape, you see Westbrook being his typically aggressive self. He attacked the basket despite the presence of Anthony Davis and Omer Asik on the inside, and there were a couple of instances where he missed shots we’ve all seen him make. You could call a couple of his 3-point attempts questionable, but we’ve seen him make those kind of shots in clutch situations, too. If they dropped, he’d be the hero who knew when it was time to take over the game. They didn’t, so he’ll take heat for forcing the issue.”