Tuesday Bolts – 5.27.14

J.A. Adande of ESPN.com on Pop’s joking

: “He said the dramatic reversal in Ibaka’s status — in which he went from “done” to “day-to-day” in just a week, was “a matter of facts.” “The swelling in Serge’s calf demonstrated an incredibly rapid reduction,” Presti said. “Upon that swelling being reduced, it became clear that he wasn’t suffering from the kind of functional limitations that would initially be feared. Once we started to develop a sense that this injury was progressing better than anyone could have anticipated, we made a decision to change his status.” So no misdirection to play mind games with the Spurs? “To be quite honest with you, we never put that much thought into it,” Presti said.”

Ryan McNeill of Bleacher Report: “Despite the amount of success Brooks has enjoyed coaching Oklahoma City, leading them to the NBA Finals and being named Coach of the Year, people claim his success is only because he has had the benefit of coaching teams that have had Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden and Serge Ibaka. Ibaka played great last night, but Brooks deserves credit for making a change in the starting five by adding Jackson.”

Ibaka said yesterday he’s not feeling any worse and expects to play tonight.

Bill Haisley of Deadspin: “Maybe it’s all too late for OKC. Maybe they needed to split the first pair in San Antonio. Maybe Ibaka can’t sustain this performance every other night while dealing with his leg and we’ll go back to the blowouts of Games 1 and 2. But maybe there are more similarities between this Western Conference Finals and that of 2012 than just the matchup. If the Thunder manage to rattle off four straight wins as they did back then, we will definitely point to Ibaka’s reemergence as the hinge.”

These art GIFs of Adams and Perk are great.

Berry Tramel: “But the Thunder playoff run of 2014 turned serious weeks ago. Scotty Brooks started Caron Butler in place of Thabo Sefolosha for must-win Games 6 and 7 of the Memphis series, then Foreman Scotty started Reggie Jackson for Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals. Both moves worked out famously. The Thunder swept those final two games from the Grizzlies and popped the Spurs on Sunday night. Not pleasant moves to make. But moves that had to be made.”

Robert Swift is already getting “Where Are They Now?” treatment.

Darnell Mayberry: “By coming out focused defensively, Westbrook alleviated any potential defensive drop off that might have come when Jackson started in place of Sefolosha. Gone were Parker’s open looks off of ball screens, his unabated drives to the basket and his trouble-free passes to teammates.”