Tuesday Bolts – 4.19.16
Rob Mahoney of SI.com: “Players like Durant typically roll with a loaded die; exemplary length
and touch afford his shot attempts a different probabilistic outlook from the league standard, particularly when it comes to contested shots. There are attempts Durant feels comfortable taking that other players (with slower form or lower release points, for example) would be foolish to even try. When those shots, in particular, stop falling, the often rudimentary Thunder offense is shown for its simplicity. More could have been done from a coaching standpoint to create quality looks for Durant. But Billy Donovan, not unlike Scott Brooks before him, had maintained a high-level offense in large part by relying on those same difficult attempts.”
Berry Tramel: “Yet the deeper the game went, the more the Thunder relied solely on Durant and Westbrook. In the final 6:45 of the game, the Thunder took 16 shots; 13 of them came from the two superstars, and of the three that weren’t, two were follow shots by Adams or Enes Kanter. The Thunder resorted to mostly a two-man game, with disastrous results. All the optimism built around the Game 1 blowout of Dallas was replaced by the pessimism that the Thunder can’t sustain consistency, which is absolutely paramount after OKC dispatches of these game but flawed Mavs.”
My ESPN.com story on last night’s game.
Anthony Slater: “Too little offensive movement? Not enough space/creativity? Or just a pair of superstars failing to make necessary plays down the stretch? Let the video help you decide. But for the Thunder, whatever the issue, they better correct it. Against Dallas, those late-game troubles may not prove fatal. It’s possible the Thunder rack up three more blowouts. But the Warriors and Spurs so rarely get blown out. And they so rarely have issues closing games. The Warriors outscored opponents by 110 points in 144 clutch minutes this season. The Spurs outscored opponents by 54 points in 106 clutch minutes. But the Thunder? A minus-22 in 171 clutch minutes.”
Russell Westbrook was not pleased with the Mavs’ pregame antics last night.
Tim Cato of Mavs Moneyball: “Dallas coming away with a Game 2 win and a 1-1 win seemed improbable entering Monday. But so many things about the Mavericks seemed improbable this season. What’s one more improbability?”
Enes Kanter finished third in Sixth Man voting. Jamal Crawford the winner.
Patrick Redford of Deadspin: “Durant probably won’t take a shit on the court like this again in the playoffs, and OKC, for all their problems, still had a great chance to steal this game at the end. Dallas has no choice but to defend Russell Westbrook with a combination of Deron Williams, Ray Felton, and prayer. But Rick Carlisle is a playoff wizard, and if he can coax Durant into melting down like this again, Dallas could really push this series.”
