Thursday Bolts – 1.8.15
Zach Harper of CBSSports.com with a great breakdown of Dion Waiters’ debut: “How they maximize his talents or get him to be the complementary scorer Westbrook, Durant, and the second unit need in order to give this team the best attack possible as they march back toward the playoffs could be the difference between them becoming a title contender again, being a relatively quick appearance in the postseason, or missing the playoffs altogether. It wasn’t a good debut and it was a summary of the bad things with Waiters’ game, but there’s time to work on that. The Thunder believe in him after all.”
Anthony Slater: “When the Thunder left OKC on this road trip, things seemed to be coming together. They had rattled off a pair of impressive wins over the Wizards and Suns, looking much like the championship contender we’ve become accustomed to over the past few seasons. Finally at .500 and with Durant seeming to regain MVP form, a streak looked imminent. But after two ugly losses out on the West Coast – by a combined 47 points, with Westbrook shooting a combined 8-of-40 from the field – this team is again searching to find itself.”
Tom Haberstroh of ESPN Insider: “I tweeted last night that the OKC-CLE-NYK trade felt like a bunch of people regifting and hoping it all works out, but I like the deal most for the Cavs. No, it doesn’t address their need for rim protection, but I’d much rather have J.R. Smith on my team than Dion Waiters. Smith keeps the defense far more honest and he’s quietly averaging more assists per 100 possessions (7.0) than Cory Joseph (5.9), Monta Ellis (6.7) and Goran Dragic (6.0). He’s not Rajon Rondo out there, but Smith’s rep as a possession-killing ball hog is blown out of proportion. The Cavs got better; the Thunder got better leverage in this summer’s Reggie Jackson talks.”
The Knicks are reportedly interested in Reggie Jackson.
Jon Hamm for NewsOK.com on the Knicks reported interest in Reggie Jackson: “The problem is that the Knicks lack valuable assets. Years of short-sighted moves and lackluster draft picks have caught up with them. One semi-valuable asset they had on hand, guard Iman Shumpert, had to be dealt in order to get the contract of J.R. Smith off their books. Their most interesting young prospect is Tim Hardaway Jr., a second-year guard out of Michigan. He’s struggled with his shot and on defense since he entered the league, and he’s shooting only 38.7 percent from the field and 33.1 percent from 3. Other young players such as Shane Larkin, Quincy Acy and Cleanthony Early aren’t likely to crack the playoff rotation of any postseason-bound team.”
A metric to measure the top rim protectors.
Amin Elhassan of ESPN Insider: “Wilson Chandler doesn’t have the defensive reputation of Afflalo, but he still can give a team some much needed length and athleticism, and sometimes that alone can make a difference (although his penchant for missing rotations can be a curse). Chandler’s been a consistent, although not stellar, 3P shooter throughout his career (35 percent this season), and has rebounded well defensively for a wing (16.7 DREB percentage this year). He’s on the pricy side ($6.7 million this year, $7.2 million next), but he’s only guaranteed $2 million next year, so there’s some flexibility there.”
Andrew Gilman of Fox Sports Southwest: “Ball movement. Playoff momentum. Playoff matchups. Salary cap issues. Scott Brooks. Just a list of things that don’t matter as much as Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant playing well. We sort of knew it before it was confirmed in November, but it’s shown to be gospel the past two games. Nothing matters for this team if Durant and Westbrook play poorly, so worrying about peripherals such Andre Roberson’s minutes or Jeremy Lamb’s absence or even Serge Ibaka’s down year are just contextual issues.”
Chris Ryan of Grantland: “Waiters went 1-for-9 in 22 minutes of playing time. At one point, in the third quarter, he stood in the right corner, waving for the ball. He pumped his marker up in the air, passed up an open 3, shimmy-shook, and took a contested 13-footer that he missed.”
