Thursday Bolts – 1.30.14
Ken Berger of CBSSports.com: “More than that, Durant (with help from Serge Ibaka, Jeremy Lamb and Derek Fisher, who hit five of OKC’s 16 3-pointers) out-Big-Threed the Big Three with the most important member of his supporting cast missing. Durant (33 points, seven rebounds, five assists) is on such a roll that when Westbrook comes back, there will be those who will foolishly question whether KD is better off without him. Nonsense. What the Heat should be thinking is this: How badly would the Thunder beat us in June if they beat us this badly in January without Westbrook? The Heat actually have bigger problems than that. Their age is starting to show. Wade can no longer be relied upon to consistently perform at an elite level. Their biggest weakness is their lack of size, and the Thunder sat their size on the bench for 44 of the game’s 48 minutes and trounced the Heat anyway.”
Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com: “The stats, though, have limited value in making this case. Watching James defend Durant on Wednesday said it all. One of the best on-ball defenders in the league because of his size, quickness and confidence, James repeatedly found himself on his heels dealing with the triple threat that Durant has morphed into as his game has been honed. James had a very strong game Wednesday, aggressive and locked in and playing like the game truly meant something. He scored 34 points, continuing a recent trend of kicking up his own play. But James, who had three rebounds and three assists, was outplayed by Durant, who had seven rebounds, five assists and two steals. And it happened at both ends of the floor. It was narrow, to be sure, but after losing six in a row dating to the 2012 Finals to James and the Heat, Durant struck back in this one and did so in quite an impressive way.”
Darnell Mayberry: “I didn’t think it could happen. I didn’t think anything or anyone could do it. But Scott Brooks and Kendrick Perkins did. They stole the spotlight from Kevin Durant and LeBron James. Seriously. It happened. Maybe not nationally. Maybe not in 49 other states. But in Oklahoma, where the Thunder passion runs highest, we know the significance of what happened down here in Miami on Wednesday. Brooks did something he’s done only one other time, something fans and close followers figured he ought to have done long, long ago. He switched his lineup against the Heat. He went small, matched up properly and watched his boys go to town. Because he did, one word effectively characterized this contest from the Thunder’s perspective: finally.”
Ethan Skolnick of Bleacher Report: “With Perkins out, Serge Ibaka, Nick Collison and Perry Jones III took turns on the interior, with Kevin Durant sliding to the four spot, and Jeremy Lamb getting 35 minutes on the wing. Brooks chose length over width, and that long, active lineup made Miami pay for poor passes and careless dribbles. At times, it even made the older, yet rested, Heat look heavy-legged. The result was a fresh start on what, at one point, seemed to be a budding rivalry. The outcome also had to be some relief for Thunder fans wondering when Brooks would bend.”
KD on Slim Reaper: “I like to bring light to people, basketball. Picture was cool. Hate the name.”
Tom Haberstroh of ESPN.com: “But that all changes when Perkins rides the pine. With Perkins on the bench, the Thunder score 110.8 points per 100 possessions with 23.1 percent of their points coming from 3s. When he’s in the game the Thunder’s scoring output drops to 102.7 points per 100 possessions and the portion of 3-pointers drops to 17.7 percent, according to NBA.com. Statistically, the defense doesn’t change in effectiveness either way. All of these numbers come as no surprise if you watched Wednesday’s blowout. The Thunder are a different team with Perkins. As a plodding, turnover-prone big man who sets hard screens, it’s easy to see why the Thunder would be more powerful with him out of the picture against most teams. Brooks may have found the recipe against the Heat. But was Wednesday’s performance definitive enough to start phasing out Perkins in general and go with speed instead?”
KD’s scoring streak is being done with unprecedented efficiency.
Ben Golliver of SI.com: “Perkins has usefulness in certain situations, but we shouldn’t be shocked that the Thunder’s defense held up without him. This season, Oklahoma City’s defensive rating is slightly better without him (99) than with him (99.3), and their offense improves drastically (from 102.7 with him to 110.8 without him) when the Thunder have a functioning five player rather than playing four-on-five. These results, and Brooks’ willingness to break from his standard, should be cause for excitement for Thunder fans, many of whom have been screaming for such changes for years now. The truly titillating thought is what happens when Russell Westbrook returns, adding major explosiveness to lineups that are stocked with Durant and plenty of athletes already.”
NumberFire on KD: “Either way, the fact that KD is currently seventh in the NBA in defensive win shares might put him in the conversation for his first All-Defensive Team. He’ll have a ways to go to catch up to LeBron’s five straight nominations to the first team, but it’s worth mentioning that LeBron was only named to that team for the first time at 24 and KD is only 25. The scary thing in all of this is that Durant likely hasn’t even entered his prime yet and his ceiling might even be a few years away.”
