Tuesday Bolts – 4.26.11
John Hollinger of ESPN.com: “Despite all those shortcomings, Oklahoma City still would have completed an impressive four-game sweep tonight were it not for the most glaring weakness of all: Poor offensive decision-making, particularly from point guard Russell Westbrook. Don’t get me wrong, Westbrook is a fantastic player, and at 22 he’s going to be one for a long time. But he’s a fantastic player with a Colorado-sized chip on his shoulder, and his quest to leave his imprint on every possession of every game often takes him racing past the nuances that could make him a better point guard and a better basketball player.”
ESPN Stats and Info: “Russell Westbrook took 30 shots in Game 4 and half of his shots came 15+ feet away from the basket. Westbrook made just 35.4 percent of his shots from 15+ feet in the regular season and this is not an area of strength for him. Westbrook’s jumper really struggled in the fourth quarter, as he went 0-5 from 15+ feet in the final frame.”
Berry Tramel on Westbrook: “Here is Westbrook usage by quarters: 36.3 percent, 26.3, 40 and 45.8. That’s right. After Westbrook entered the game with 10:16 left, almost half the Thunder possessions ended with a Westbrook shot or turnover. Here is Durant usage by quarters: 32 percent, 21.1, 23.1, 33.3. A couple of interesting thoughts. The quarter in which Durant and Westbrook did the least, was the Thunder’s best. And that goes right along with what we’ve seen in this series. The one rout in the series was Game 2, when Harden was the star and the Thunder role players asserted themselves.”
Darnell Mayberry: “As Thunder fans, you can only hope that Russell Westbrook learns from what he did wrong tonight. I want to believe he will. I want to believe his fourth-quarter performance became rock bottom on his occasional boneheaded displays of basketball. I want to believe he’ll be better for botching the game on such a big stage with the basketball world watching. I want to believe that the Thunder player with the biggest chip on his shoulder won’t try to silence his critics the next time around by attempting to prove he can make the same shots he missed in crunch time but by proving he can settle down and be satisfied delivering the smart play.”
I wrote just about Russell Westbrook for CBSSports.com.
KD was named the fifth most influential athlete on Twitter.
I really don’t normally like to rip on other writers, but this is just too much from Jenni Carlson of the Oklahoman: “The excuses that have been coming from the boys in baby blue have been as plentiful as crisp spring days in the Mile High City. They started in the opening game of the series, and they haven’t stopped since. The Nuggets’ excuses are like Fran Drescher’s voice in “The Nanny.” Annoying.” It’s like she said, “Oh yeah Mark Kiszla? I see your stupid column and raise you one.”
Bill Simmons with a good column on small market teams.
Jeffrey Morton of Denver Stiffs: “Westbrook also got into it with KD during a timeout, and also screamed at Serge Ibaka after running into Kenyon Martin. He complained on every offensive possession, every drive, every jumper, every defensive possession. Hell, Westbrook even complained walking from the huddle (seriously). I’m not going to draw some hackneyed equivalence to the Nuggets in order to make it seem like all things are equal. We all know they aren’t. Westbrook has been deemed a star and we know that if Nene or J.R. did that, and to that extent, they would have been given two quick technicals. Oh well.”
Charlie of Roundball Mining Company: “Let’s be honest, the Nuggets are not likely making NBA history by winning this series against all odds but they are playing for something. At best they are a balanced, physical team that can hang with OKC and challenge them at their own game. At worst they are a worthy opponent that will lose out to superior talent and execution. The best thing to take away from this game is the fact that Denver earns one more chance to lay it all on the line and compete in another game. One more game means this season won’t be remembered for a disappointing and uncompetitive ending. That is plenty to play for.”
