3 min read

Monday Bolts – 12.23.13

Monday Bolts – 12.23.13
BoltsLogoNew1

Michael Pina of USA Today with a highly informative and quality piece on Jeremy Lamb: “Lamb isn’t the first basketball player you think of when Oklahoma City is discussed. He isn’t the second or third, either. But then again, why would he be? Five Thunder average more minutes, and four hold a higher usage rate. So why is he important? The 21-year-old has size, length, touch, and half-dozen other characteristics that correlate with All-Star caliber wing play, and for the 20 or so minutes he’s out there every night, Lamb plays with unassuming gracefulness. He takes (and takes, and takes) what the defense gives while understanding the many limitations almost all 21-year-old NBA players are burdened with, himself included. But based on the circumstances in which he came to Oklahoma City — the pressure and stress and unfair timetable that comes with being a young, developing player on a championship contender acquired for a beloved star — Lamb is delivering like few thought he would.”

Fun piece from the Thundergurls on Thabo Sefolosha, which includes the real scoop on why he changed his number, via his wife: “He drew himself with the number 25 jersey playing for the Chicago Bulls when he was twelve and his mom still has the drawing. When he got drafted by the Chicago Bulls, it wasn’t available. So now, it’s available for him.”

Love Actually in the NBA.

Berry Tramel on locker room-gate: “The Thunder’s bad cop cleaned up the streets Thursday night, voicing his displeasure at Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah entering the Thunder locker room. After a short but heated (at least on Perk’s part) exchange, Noah left. And the NBA rallied around Perkins. Shaquille O’Neal, a noted Perkins critic, supported Perkins. So did Shawn Marion, who likened opponents in the locker room to taking somebody into the bathroom with you. Even Noah himself admitted he shouldn’t have been there.”

Tramel on the game: “OK, who had Toronto in the pool? The Rockets next Sunday, the Blazers on New Year’s Eve, the Warriors in mid-January? Sure. But Toronto? Who even remembers that Toronto is in the league? The Raptors served a timely reminder. They beat the Thunder 104-98 Sunday night, handing OKC its first home court loss of the season after a 13-0 start, and maybe we should have seen it coming. This had trap game written all over it.”

Something about last night’s game for ESPN.com.

Darnell Mayberry: “I am starting to wonder if Jackson is getting too confident. The degree of difficulty of some of the shots he’s taking are insane. But after his first two seasons, I’d much rather see him confidently take those shots than revert to the passive player who was unsure of himself a short while ago. Got to hope he doesn’t get carried away, though.”

Zarar Siddiqi of Raptors Republic: “Could the Raptors beat the Thunder in a seven-game series? Probably not, but that doesn’t mean this win shouldn’t count for anything as many would have you believe. I believe that you have to walk before you can run, and the Raptors are showing that their current roster, as constructed, is capable of playing good basketball.”

Andrew Gilman of Fox Sports Southwest: “OK, if Brooks isn’t worried, you shouldn’t be either. Jackson has shot worse than 40 percent from the field just twice in December. Jackson will be OK, but if Brooks isn’t worried, why didn’t he stick with Jackson in the fourth quarter? Good players slump, but Jackson has been in on closing time all season, why not Sunday when it was a tie game and Brooks instead went to Perry Jones with 4:36 to play. Jones immediately came in and missed a corner 3-pointer. Toronto scored on its next possession and Jackson came in for Derek Fisher with 3:31 left. Durant had the help of his teammates Saturday night in San Antonio. Seemed like just about everyone played well from Russell Westbrook to Steven Adams. But that wasn’t the case Sunday. Westbrook had 27 but Adams managed only 10 minutes of playing time, due to five fouls. Jackson struggled and in turn, that magnified Durant’s shooting woes.”