Monday Bolts – 4.20.15
Ian Thomsen of NBA.com with a nice piece on April 19 and the Thunder: “The reason there is a team thriving in Oklahoma City is the same reason that the Thunder were able to remain in playoff contention in spite of the injuries to seven players that contributed to a 3-12 start, their constantly-changing lineups as players fell and returned and fell again, and their newcomers who had to be integrated throughout the long year. It is the reason why, when the players and coaches returned home after midnight, having learned in the season’s final hours that they had failed to make the playoffs, there were 4,000 fans waiting for the airport to welcome them home. It is all part of the same standard.”
Denver Post writers hoping for Scott Brooks for the Nuggets: “Does this coach have patience? Does this coach have a vision? Does the coach want to run, run, run? As for the third, clearly, Hunt and D’Antoni would want to run. But what Denver really needs is a Scott Brooks — literally or figuratively. Brooks took some lumps with the Thunder but grew a culture there, and he helped transform Westbrook and Kevin Durant into all-stars. The Nuggets will probably get the No. 7 pick in the draft, which is June 25. They will stink next season, then get another top lottery pick. So, as morbid as this will sound, I think they need a Brooks-type coach who can lead them into the playoffs … in 2017.”
Berry Tramel: “Retain Scotty Brooks, because the known is better than the unknown. For all the angst over coaching decisions and rotations, Brooks’ teams have produced when healthy. And no one wins it all when not healthy. When Brooks has his team, he’s unbeaten in the playoffs since the 2012 Finals. And most say the upcoming Thunder roster figures to be its most talented, though I wouldn’t agree when factoring in defense. And I would factor in defense every time.”
Russell Westbrook was on CBS News yesterday.
Via the AP: “NBA owners held their first serious discussions about the playoff format, though Commissioner Adam Silver said Friday it was too soon to tell if there was interest in changing it. The playoffs will open Saturday without the Oklahoma City Thunder, who finished ninth in the Western Conference with a 45-37 record that would have made them the No. 6 seed in the weaker East. Two teams in the East field finished below .500, renewing calls to make the playoffs for the best 16 teams, instead of the current top eight in each conference. Silver said owners reviewed data over about 30 years, while also considering the need for traditional rivalries born out of having divisions and conferences.”
Masai Ujiri got fined $35,000. For saying a bad word. Okay.
Kevin Pelton of ESPN Insider on needs: “A strong case could be made that Oklahoma City had the least fortunate season in league history in 2014-15. Let’s start with health. The Thunder lost 19.2 WARP to injuries, the second-highest total in the six years I’ve been tracking games lost leaguewide. Still, Oklahoma City tied for the NBA’s 13th-best record, one that would have been good for sixth in the Eastern Conference. Moreover, the Thunder won two fewer games than their point differential (12th-best in the NBA) would have suggested. As a result, they ended up missing the playoffs on a tiebreaker won by the New Orleans Pelicans because Anthony Davis made a 3-pointer at the buzzer of the teams’ final meeting (in February). Add in untimely playoff injuries to Westbrook and Serge Ibaka in the past two postseasons, and Oklahoma City’s biggest offseason addition might be a four-leaf clover.”
