Daily Thunder.com

Andrew McNeill of 48 Minutes of Hell: “On one possession in the first half, Leonard was standing in the lane and defending a Thunder player in the opposite corner. When one of the other Oklahoma City players penetrated and kicked, Leonard was able to deflect the pass to his man out of bounds without having to close out on the shooter. Teams will eventually adjust to this and that’s fine. It will simply make it a little tougher for them to play effective offense without Leonard getting his hands on passes and dribbles. I asked Danny Green after the game if he felt any more prepared to defend against Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant than he did a few months ago, but he said he didn’t. Green cited a better comfort level among the team with its defensive communication and team knowledge in holding Oklahoma City to under 38% shooting on the night. An assessment with which Pop agrees.”

Dave of BlazersEdge previewing tonight: “The bigger worry for Portland is Russell Westbrook. This has a historical basis as well, as Westbrook likes to eat the Blazers, particularly on the offensive glass. But he’s also staring across the court at Damian Lillard having heard about Lillard’s well-heralded performance against the Lakers but also knowing Lillard’s defense is at best untested, at worst unreliable. Smart money says Westbrook will look at the rookie and think, “Fresh Meat”. The guy took 21 shots against the Spurs, hitting only 6. He’ll take that many again. Can Lillard and company keep his percentage as low? It doesn’t help that Westbrook blew OKC’s final possession of the then-tied game last night, leaving the door open for Tony Parker to win it. A fella’s got to take it out on someone.” Keep Reading…

John Hollinger of ESPN.com on his all-breakout team: “James Harden benefited from playing alongside Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant, right? It makes sense, anyway. It seems like this should be true, as these are the only two other dynamic offensive players on the Oklahoma City Thunder, and one would presume that all the attention they draw would make life easier for Harden. And thus, one would presume that he will have a hard time playing without those two now that he’s with the Houston Rockets. There’s only one problem: This theory holds less water than the Sahara. Harden didn’t benefit from playing with KD and Russ. In fact, the exact opposite is true.”

Incredible breakdown between Harden and Kevin Martin by Kirk Goldsberry of Grantland: “One thing that is commonly overlooked in shooting evaluations is the basic ability to get shots. Dunks and layups are the most efficient shots on the floor, but for most players, they are hard to come by. Harden is great not just because he makes shots at high rates, but also because he creates the type of shots convertible at those rates. Not many guards in the NBA can generate effective close-range chances in the face of the defense as frequently as Harden, and this area represents the biggest gap between Harden and probable replacement Kevin Martin. Last season, 42 percent of Harden’s field goal attempts were close to the rim, and he made 62 percent of them. For Martin, only 20 percent of his field goals were in this area, and he made only 53 percent of them. This means fewer layups, dunks, and free throws for the Thunder, but more for the Rockets.” Keep Reading…