Tuesday Bolts – 3.11.14
Sam Smith of Bulls.com: “Westbrook is so talented sometimes he overcomes it. But it’s as if he plays with no
understanding of the game. He dribbled down and pulled up each time. The media in Oklahoma City wrote about poor team defense. But shot selection is a major part of team defense. A good shot is when your teammates are in position to defend. It was staggering to watch Westbrook in his usual frenzy run up and shoot. More importantly, a good shot is when your teammates know it is coming. Westbrook thrives on instinct and shoots seemingly at a whim. He happened to miss every time down the stretch against the Suns as he did against the Lakers, which doesn’t happen often. Then every time the Thunder had a timeout they came out with a play for Durant. So it’s obvious they cannot control Westbrook’s impulses. It also was understandable why the Thunder played so well when Westbrook was out. The ball moved, others were involved, and Durant, one the game’s most efficient scorers, got the best space for shots and dictated the offense. And when he does the defense sets up. Westbrook doesn’t much provide that without point guard instincts, but mostly running into his own shots. It’s just the Thunder is so talented they’ll always be in contention.”
Matt Moore of CBSSports.com on MVP: “LeBron’s tail-off post-61 doesn’t put KD up front. Neither does how much he carried them with Westbrook out. This is just about how great Kevin Durant has been. This has been a special season for Durant. But then, I got to thinking. What season for KD hasn’t been special? Game by game, year after year, since he was a rookie in a Seattle uniform, he’s been something else to watch. I’m just glad we get to see him hit his prime.”
Marc Stein has OKC fifth: “Allowing 41 points to Gerald Green and 42 points to Jodie Meeks in back-to-back games has to be some sort of wake-up call for the Thunder, who need to finish with a winning percentage of at least .733 to record an increase in that category for a league-record-tying sixth straight season.”
NBA.com has OKC seventh: “When you’re offering the Lakers the option of an open layup or an open corner three, there’s something wrong with your defense, and it goes beyond the absences of Kendrick Perkins and Thabo Sefolosha. Those guys aren’t coming back any time soon anyway, so their teammates have to figure out how to defend the perimeter. They’ve allowed 10 or more threes in six of their last seven games.”
Damian Lillard joins the fun and says he doesn’t care much for Patrick Beverley.
Bill Haisten of the Tulsa World: “Is there a schematic flaw or an occasional match-up issue? Is OKC that defensively diminished by the absence of injured starters Kendrick Perkins and Thabo Sefolosha? Whatever the case, there is no excuse for a lack of effort. When a team repeatedly gives up baskets in transition, it’s a reflection of a lack of effort. From the 7:18 mark of the second period until the 9:42 mark of the fourth, the woeful Lakers outscored OKC 67-31. You will hear this said: “It’s one game. It’s a long season. It’s too early to push the panic button.” Bull. It’s the perfect time to push panic buttons, wave red flags or do anything that might get the attention of someone in the Thunder camp.”
Zach Lowe of Grantland: “No one is blameless. Ibaka still abandons stretch power forwards to chase blocks, even when other helpers have the situation covered. Kevin Durant has been sloppy with his help-and-recover decisions of late. Perry Jones’s inexperience shows. Derek Fisher loves to roam about as he pleases. The Thunder have long allowed a larger-than-average number of 3-pointers, and as John Schuhmann of NBA.com wrote last week, data-tracking cameras show a lot of those jumpers this season have been open. (Synergy Sports, for what it’s worth, disagrees, classifying most of the catch-and-shoot chances Oklahoma City allows as well-guarded.) The Thunder just have to be better.”
