Tuesday Bolts – 3.5.13
KD on techs: “He (Brooks) talks to us about it, but during the heat of the moment, it’s kind of different,” Durant said with a smile. “I’ve got 12 of them. I’m not happy about it, but I don’t regret them. I’m just going to go out there and play with that fire I’ve always been playing with and hopefully I just shy away from getting the techs. Whatever happens, happens. Just live with it. Every single moment of me playing in this league, I’m going to cherish it. Try not to take it for granted, I guess.”
Tzvi Twersky of SLAM with a great feature on Russell Westbrook: “There is no irony lost in Westbrook saying he can’t make a mean or scary face. After all, if you entered the Thunder locker room pre-game and saw Westbrook with a towel shrouding his head, or if you watch the Thunder play on national TV, you’d think Westbrook (and not his teammate Perkins) invented the disgusted scowl, invented the hard stare. You’d think that he was an ornery guy who walks around all day with a chip on his shoulder the size of a Larry O’Brien trophy. You’d think that, as one person close to him put it, he looks like a villain. You’d think…wrong.”
Food Republic NBA cereal power rankings have OKC third: “Lucky Charms: The Thunder are both lucky and charming. Lucky in that Portland picked Greg Oden instead of Kevin Durant. Charming in that these guys represent the white hat cowboys of the NBA. They’re flashy but not showy, dominating but not cruel, and seemingly thrive on internal competition. If I were making a feel-good basketball movie, I’d base it around the Thunder. And no, I’m not talking about Thunderstruck. I thought the only bombs Kevin Durant dropped came from beyond the three-point line… Hey-o!”
OKC’s up to No. 2 in Marc Stein’s rankings: “We might have just witnessed the most significant weekend of OKC’s season (or at least the regular season). The Thunder were in a 3-7 road funk before moving to 3-0 for the season against the Clips. Have to favor ’em now to snag the West’s top seed if Tony Parker indeed misses a month.”
John Schuhmann of NBA.com has OKC third: “The door is seemingly open for the Thunder to get back the No. 1 seed in the West. And no, they should NOT be afraid of a first-round matchup with the Lakers. But including Tuesday’s game against L.A., they have a pretty tough stretch of five games in seven days, which concludes with a visit to San Antonio next Monday. Sunday’s win over the Clips ended a three-game road losing streak.”
Kobe says he would’ve “smacked” Serge Ibaka.
Israel Gutierrez of ESPN.com says OKC needs home court: “The Spurs have the best road record in the league. The Clippers aren’t necessarily affected by where they play. And the Grizzlies have a defense that’ll travel. The Thunder simply have the best home-court advantage of all these teams, and they’ll need it to get past the Spurs this time around.”
