Thursday Bolts – Buzzer Beating Edition
- Well wouldn’t you look at that. The ESPN “Worst Ever” tracker is missing a team.
- David Thorpe has Russell Westbrook at No. 2 in his latest Rookie Watch: “All of which makes Russell Westbrook‘s rise more impressive. He’s fourth in this class in minutes played, yet he has been able to advance his game every month. He is now playing at a level equal to Rose and Mayo, and he has even been better in some areas. Most importantly, Westbrook has helped his team earn four wins thus far in January — equal to Chicago’s win total this month and three more wins than Memphis has in 2009. Of course, having Kevin Durant as a teammate is a big help, but Westbrook was huge in three of those wins. He is playing like a legit ROY candidate now. I expect Rose and Mayo to regain their edge and finish the season in grand style. Both of them were ready for this season long before it started. They have the pride and smarts to figure things out and get themselves going again. But the question is, when will Westbrook hit The Wall? And when he does, will it knock him down for good or just prove to be a temporary obstacle?”
- Ball Don’t Lie, Behind the Box Score: “This game should have been fun, and maybe it was the six hours of basketball-watchin’ talkin’, but I just wasn’t feeling it. I dug seeing the Thunder play well, and attack attack attack, but it just doesn’t feel legit against that Warrior “defense.” That’s not said in retrospect, either. It felt that way during the actual, close, contest. Kevin Durant missed some shots, but 27 and 12 boards and five assists … yes. Jeff Green, very active, very nosy, game-winning bank shot that you know he didn’t call, 26 points in 32 minutes. And Russell Westbrook? This cat can ball. Strong as hell, 30 points and seven assists, and Sam Presti really nailed this one. Gutsy call that looks like one of the bigger draft steals of the last decade. Nobody had this guy going at fourth overall except for Presti, and it looks wholly deserved at this point.”
- A Q&A with ESPN’s Ric Bucher: “This is my new favorite team, because I love the chemistry, I love the transformation and the way they’ve played since the coaching change. I love seeing a young team that is excited about playing together and is playing loose and free without any pressure and clearly enjoys being on the floor playing. And that’s what I see from the Thunder right now.”
- Maybe this is why OKC shot 91 percent from the line last night and got rid of those 13-24 nights: “White, a rookie, hasn’t suited up for the Thunder all season, sidelined by jaw surgery. He still hasn’t been cleared to practice. But every player on the roster participates in coach Scott Brooks’ post-practice free-throw contest. Each day, Brooks pits one player against another in a one-on-one competition. Players receive two points for a swish, one for a made free throw that touches the rim. They alternate shots. First one to 21 wins.”
- Change. Change. Changechangechangechange. SI’s Steve Aschburner offers some suggestions for the league: No more allotting Ping-Pong balls in inverse order of record. Let’s tier it: the worst 10 teams, the middle 10 teams and the top 10, with teams on each tier getting the same number of chances. That removes much of the advantage in tanking — the fifth-worst team would feel no pressure to lose more frequently — and the break between Nos. 10 and 11 would be close enough to playoff qualifying that a few more balls wouldn’t matter either.
