Thursday Bolts – 4.15.10
KD responds to Phil Jackson’s criticism: “Ever since KG said something, everybody’s been questioning how I get to the line,” Durant said. “If you watch our games, you wouldn’t question it. The NBA should put us on national T.V. more, I guess” Then when asked if that fired him up he said yes and went on: “Because it’s taking away from what I do,” he said. “That’s a part of my game, getting to the free throw line and being aggressive. If you say that I get superstar calls or I get babied by the refs, that’s just taking away from how I play. That’s disrespectful to me. I don’t disrespect nobody in this league. I respect every coach, every player, everybody. I never say anything bad about anybody else or question why they do this or do that. So for them to say that about me, I don’t even want to use no foul language.”
J.A. Adande says the Lakers have the most question marks going into the playoffs: “For months, it seems, we’ve been wondering if the Lakers will turn it up for the playoffs. Time to put that question to bed. The bigger questions are whether we’ve seen the last of Kobe Bryant as a game dominator, and whether we’re about to see the last of Phil Jackson as the Lakers’ coach.”
I hear there were an inordinate amount of DT shirts in the building last night. Props to you guys! I suppose now would be a fine time to purchase a Why Not? shirt if you already haven’t. You know, with the playoffs starting soon and all.
A couple fun Beat LA picture/avatars.
Sekou Smith on KD: “Perhaps most impressive is that Durant’s scoring exploits have had a direct impact on his team’s fortunes (he’s not just piling up points on a mediocre or bad team). The Thunder are just a couple of days away from the first playoff appearance of the Durantula era; a date with the Lakers is their prize for a 50-win regular season. As big of a problem as that might seem like for the Thunder, Durant has become an equally puzzling issue for opposing teams to solve.”
Art Garcia makes a case for a playoff restructure: “Those who argue that the NBA regular season is meaningless might get ample support from the Thunder, Spurs, Blazers and Nuggets. They’re stand to begin the playoffs on the road simply due to geography. Solution? Seeding the current playoff teams from both leagues 1-16, using the current tiebreaker rules, would even out the first round. The No. 1 seed would face worst record, No. 2 gets 15 and so on.”
A classy move by Silver Screen and Roll on accepting Thunder fans: “The Thunder fans don’t deserve to be treated poorly. They didn’t do anything wrong. All they do is support their professional basketball team. Sure, they are excited about having a team, but I’d wager even they aren’t thrilled with the circumstances by which the team was acquired. If you were put in the same situation, 80% of you would react the same way that they have and cheer your hearts out. 1% of you might actually boycott the team based on principle. Everyone else is lying to themselves.”
I should’ve pulled video of it, but did anyone else see Rumble almost kill himself last night? That was horrible.
John Rohde doing his darndest to sum up this improbable season: “When the Thunder held its Media Day last September, here’s what I anticipated would happen on April 14, 2010: Beating the Grizzlies would give the Thunder its 34th win of the season. Instead, the 114-105 triumph was the Thunder’s 50th win. Fifty? Really?”
KD admits he kind of sort wanted the scoring title: “It’s not something I came into the season saying I wanted to get,” Durant said. “But it feels good to be a part of history. … It feels even better to get 50 wins.” Durant has downplayed the scoring title and averaging 30 or more points. “I’ve got to tell you guys that,” Durant said, smiling. “But it was in the back of my mind the whole season to be honest with you. It’s going to be cool to go home and say you’re the scoring champ at 21 years old. It’s a blessing, something I can’t take for granted.”
