Wednesday Bolts – 12.18.13
Anthony Slater: “The analytic hoops world has been taken over by efficiency numbers and the advanced metrics craze. It’s understandable. And so useful. But it often can’t tell the whole story. Take a look at Russell Westbrook’s past six games. He’s shooting under 44 percent from the field and 20 percent (6-of-30) from three. Bad, right? Except that Westbrook may be in the midst of one of his best career stretches. Forget the percentages. Just look at his ridiculous per game averages in the past six: 21.1 points, 9.8 assists, 9.1 rebounds. Those are eye-popping, crazy, Oscar Robertson-type numbers. And only in a minor way do they tangibly explain his current impact on the court. He’s just been controlling games with his end-to-end energy and non-stop motor. Now if he would just stop jacking those long, early-in-the-shot-clock threes…”
David Thorpe has Jeremy Lamb ranked as the 16th best sophomore: “Lamb has proved to be up to the task of stepping into the Harden/Martin role that helped OKC win so many games in the past few years. He is a pure shooter on spot-ups and has been adept at hitting shots off the dribble as well. Lamb likes to rise up off ball screens for that silky jumper, rather than attack to gain paint position, which is why he has taken fewer than 20 free throws this season. But with a shot that sweet, it all works.”
Why are we all acting like LaMarcus Aldridge is doing something so special right now?
Tom Ziller of SB Nation on tanking: “But again, the Thunder are not the Thunder by sole virtue of Presti stripping the team. The Durant pick was a no-brainer. The Westbrook was nothing of the sort: it was a master stroke. The Ibaka pick was just as good. The decision to pick James Harden despite having elite scorers in KD and Westbrook on the roster paid dividends (though perhaps not enough) once Presti ended up trading him.”
Just two weeks left to donate to that book written about KD.
Ty Lawson: “Scott Brooks has plays hidden up his sleeve that he pulled out today…We didn’t prepare for them and they were good plays.”
