Tuesday Bolts – 4.22.14

Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com

: “Allen isn’t a star, but he has battled the Thunder’s biggest star reasonably well so far. In the first two games, Durant is 9-of-25 shooting when he has been guarded by Allen in the half court. Durant, who still ended up with 36 points Monday, is 10-of-18 against everyone else. When the Grizzlies stuck their necks out to give Allen a four-year, $20 million deal last offseason, it was for this kind of moment. It did look like that Allen steal/block had won the game for the Grizzlies, who calmly showed their playoff experience throughout the night by making some strategic adjustments and improving their focus and execution after a Game 1 loss.”

Berry Tramel: “But the Thunder won’t win this series with miracle shots. They’ve got to make the Grizzlies struggle on offense, since the Grizzlies absolutely will make the Thunder do exactly that. The Thunder knows the Grizzlies well. Knows exactly how tough is Memphis. Knows how tough it is to play in Memphis. In five playoff games at FedEx Forum, the Thunder has won just once and needed triple overtime to get that victory, back in 2011. These Grizzlies are made for the playoffs. They slow it down, they play tough, they defend like crazy. Memphis makes it hard to score. If you don’t do the same, you go home.”

Is CP3 on the level of LeBron and Durant?

Darnell Mayberry: “Reggie Jackson followed his great Game 1 with a two-point, 0-for-5 shooting performance in Game 2. His first and only points came with 9:52 left in the fourth quarter. They came on free throws. That can’t happen. He’s got to be the guy to make up for off nights by Durant and Westbrook. If he doesn’t, it’s a struggle.”

Nice breakdown of Westbrook’s impact on and off the floor.

Gregg Popovich wins Coach of the Year.

Bill Simmons on The Herd: “If you and I were Steve Kerr, we would wait until this Round 1 ended,” Simmons said. “If the Rockets lose Round 1, (Kevin) McHale’s not coming back. Golden State loses Round 1 to the Clippers, I don’t think Mark Jackson is coming back. If Oklahoma City doesn’t make it out of Round 1 against Memphis for some reason, I don’t think Scott Brooks comes back.”

Bill Barnwell of Grantland: “Keep the first round of the playoffs as a best-of-seven series unless one team wins the first three games of the series. If a team goes up 3-0, the series is treated as a best-of-five and ends.”

Jeff Caplan of NBA.com: “Allen and the Grizzlies’ punishing defense pushed Durant out of his comfort zone and into taking 12 3-point attempts — two more than the entire Memphis team — including the miracle corner 3 in the final 15 seconds of regulation that helped the Thunder simply get to overtime. Allen left Thunder coach Scott Brooks lamenting how the Grizzlies put their hands all over Durant and Westbrook to slow them down. He left Durant in a somber mood in the postgame interview room. He spoke softly and often reluctantly, projecting a tone that he wasn’t much interested in discussing what just went down.”