Wednesday Bolts – 11.4.15
Joshua Green for Bloomberg Business: “If you know one thing about Westbrook, it’s probably his
hyperaggressive, shoot-first, baseline-to-baseline style of play. For a few months this spring, en route to winning the NBA scoring title, he was so phenomenally good, racking up triple-doubles almost every night, that he took over the opening block of ESPN’s SportsCenter in the same way Donald Trump takes over a GOP presidential debate. You tuned in to witness the sheer majesty of the performance. If you know two things about Westbrook, the second is probably the glasses. During the 2012 NBA Finals, when the Thunder took on the Miami Heat, he showed up at a news conference in a colorful Prada shirt and lensless red specs—“nerd glasses,” the press dubbed them—that had a sudden, seismic effect on the sports world and brought together Westbrook’s two great passions: basketball and fashion.”
Brian T. Smith of the Houston Chronicle: “The Rockets won’t just have an open spot. They’ll have cash and flexibility. They’ll have a short-term vision (NBA championship) and long-term sights (more championships). And if it all works and multiple moves click at once – just like it did when Ty Lawson, Harden and Howard suddenly showed up in downtown Houston – they could re-sign D12 and ink OKC’s current No. 35 in a single crazy summer. Of course, there will be the small-market proud, annually dangerous Thunder, who have the ridiculously talented Russell Westbrook under contract through 2017 and a strong eight-season relationship with Durant to stand on. And K.D.’s hometown Wizards. And probably the Lakers, Mavericks and any other high-rolling team that can pay for a LeBron James to South Beach-type of instant contender infusion, as a soaring salary cap approaches $90 million and the league starts to rake in huge new TV money.”
Lil B says Russ looks like a sandwich.
Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN.com in a 5-on-5: “Now back in business: The Oklahoma City Thunder. While we were debating whether 18 minutes a night of Enes Kanter’s defense or Dion Waiters’ Dion Waiters-ness would doom OKC off the bench, we forgot that their core of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka might be the best collection of pure talent and incomparable length in the league, Monday’s loss notwithstanding.”
Wizards a legitimate threat? Alright.
Jeremy Lamb had a good game last night. Good for him. He also has a 32.16 PER currently, just sayin‘.
Joakim Noah on Billy Donovan: “I think Coach Donovan is somebody who cares about his players, but really cares about his guys. I know that if something ever happened to me, I know that he would be there for me, and that’s a great feeling. I always felt like it was more than basketball with Coach Donovan. He’s the best coach that I ever had. I got nothing but love for him. I have nothing bad to say about him. I think that he’s somebody who has great balance in his life … we’re very similar in a lot of ways in terms of competitiveness. But very different, as well. I love the guy.”
If you’re into inside baseball sportswriting stuff, this is a pretty interesting read.
