Spencer Lund of Dime on why KD is better at the last shot than LeBron: “Listen, we’re not trying to say Durant is a better player than James. Part of the reason LeBron got so many looks at the rim last night, and throughout this season and last, is the way he and his Heat teammates — when they’re dialed in (which isn’t as consistent as Miami coach Erik Spoelstra would like)–have forced so many turnovers, which lead to easy transition dunks and layups at the rim. In fact, they started last night with four consecutive dunks after forcing the Lakers into 16 first half turnovers. LeBron’s ability to defend four positions and hassle opposing ball handlers with that deadly trap on the high screen and roll, plus his vision on offense, make him a better all around player than Durant. But with the game on the line and with only one shot attempt at victory, Durant is a better option.”
Andrew Feinstein of Denver Stiffs: “Russell Westbrook is making a great case to be included in the “most hated Nuggets’ opponents of all-time” conversation alongside Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe Bryant and Manu Ginobili. Those of us who have followed this Nuggets/Thunder series since its inception several seasons ago have known what a punk Westbrook is the entire time. But in tonight’s 121-118 Nuggets overtime victory, Westbrook took his “punkassness” to another level … The referees did everything they could to help the Thunder out – sending them to the free throw line for an astonishing 48 attempts – but even with help from the zebras and an offensive onslaught from Durant and Westbrook, it just wasn’t meant to be Oklahoma City’s night.” Keep Reading…
Checking in on the Thunder narrative
(Editor’s note: Michael Kimball is an occasional Daily Thunder contributor and Thunder season ticket member whose archive can be seen here. Regular readers will recognize it as the work of Patrick James, a name he used at DT when working full-time for his then-employer, The Oklahoman. He graduated in 2007 from the University of Oklahoma with a journalism degree and was a student media colleague of Royce Young’s, including a brief stint as Royce’s cruel and unfairly demanding supervisor. You can follow him on Twitter here.)
Roughly halfway through the season, Kevin Durant is an All-Star starter, Russell Westbrook is on the verge of being named as a backup, a third Oklahoma City player is on the bubble and the Thunder are sitting pretty in the playoff race.
What else is new?
The answer for most close Thunder watchers is, well, sort of a lot, but sort of not much at the same time. It’s kinda complicated. Let’s go ahead and get the words “James Harden” out of the way right here, because that’s obvious. Some things have changed. Keep Reading…