Wednesday Bolts – 5.18.11
Gregg Doyel of CBSSports.com: “At the time, I was kidding. Or exaggerating. At the time, it was the first quarter and Kevin Durant and Dirk Nowitzki were already in double figures and I was tweeting that one of them might just score 50 before this series was done. And then it almost happened. For both of them. In Game 1. When it was over, Nowitzki had 48 points and Durant had 40 and the Dallas Mavericks had a 121-112 victory Tuesday night over the Thunder in the first game of the Western Conference finals, and I was thinking the same thing lots of you were thinking: When’s Game 2?”
Marc Stein of ESPN.com: “It’s all true because Nowitzki, unguardable as he seems, knows better than anyone that he isn’t going to win anything without sustained help, which he needs in this particular series to keep making OKC reluctant to double-team him. He has always been able to tune out the naysayers who’ve questioned his ability to carry a team to a championship because he knows the truth: NBA law may dictate that Nowitzki bears the brunt of the blame for the Mavs’ postseason failures because he is the face of the franchise … but the reality is that no contender has a bigger drop-off from its best player to the rest than this one.”
Dwayne Davis of Urban Tulsa on the criticisms of Russell Westbrook: “You are a ball hog: This is my favorite. You ended the regular season in the top-10 league wide in assists. You have elevated to the top-six in the playoffs. Either you are the sneakiest ball hog ever or someone is doctoring your assists numbers in the books. Anyone who watched the majority of your games the past two years could reveal the truth. Just ask Coach Brooks. He gets it I bet.”
Darnell Mayberry: “Serge Ibaka has to man up. That’s what needs to happen if the Thunder wants to go to the NBA Finals. Getting past these Dallas Mavericks is far more complex than that. But, believe me, it starts there. Ibaka’s defense on Dirk Nowitzki from the opening tip sets the tone for the entire game. It’s a tremendous amount of responsibility, and one that Ibaka’s teammates and coaches will never publicly put on his 21-year-old shoulders. But if Ibaka lets Nowitzki get going early each night like he did in this first game the Thunder will never be able to contain him.”
Jeff Caplan of ESPN Dallas: “The Thunder simply don’t possess a defender to stick on Nowitzki. They used single coverage on Memphis forward Zach Randolph in the previous series, taking their lumps at times but managing to contain him other times. But Randolph didn’t have the shooters to pass out to like Nowitzki, who had four assists, including a late one to Terry for a game-sealing 3-pointer. No one took Tuesday’s beating as badly as 6-foot-10 shot-blocker Ibaka, who was even crushed in his power zone by Nowitzki, four blocks to none. It’s tough to block a 7-footer who shoots a one-legged step-back, Durant noted. Nowitzki’s schooling of Ibaka started 50 seconds in when he drained a 17-footer over him. It was the start of 22 points on 7-of-9 shooting against Ibaka, plus five fouls.”
Zach Lowe of SI: “You could tell the difference in quickness between the Thunder and Lakers, couldn’t you? The close-outs were better, and there were many more instances of a Dallas spot-up guy starting his shooting motion only to close it down at the last second as his defender recovered. Some of the threes Dallas made were tough looks, at least compared to the gimmies it got against Los Angeles.”
Pretty cool comparison of the Thunder to the Magic of the 90s: “Those seeking an example for the potential of a perfect symbiotic relationship between Westbrook and Durant should look no further than Game 7 of the 2011 Western Conference Semifinals against the Memphis Grizzlies. Westbrook was the playmaker. Durant was the scorer. Teams around the NBA would kill to be in the Thunder’s position of possessing two young stars with nearly limitless potential. The Orlando Magic, more than most franchises, can relate to such being in such an envious position. Once upon a time, the Magic were the darlings of the league in the mid-’90s with two young stars en tow — Shaquille O’Neal and Penny Hardaway.”
Chris Mannix of SI: “This won’t be an easy series for the Mavs, and they know it. For all of Dirk’s magic, for the 53.4 percent shooting from the floor, the 39.1 percent shooting from the three-point line and the 94.4 percent from the free throw line, Oklahoma City was down just five late in the fourth quarter. There’s no quit in the Thunder, no “just happy to be here” attitude that can affect a young team.”
ESPN Stats and Info: “The Mavericks faced twice as many pick-and-rolls in Game 1 than their previous postseason average. The increase didn’t prevent the Mavs from slowing the Thunder, holding Russell Westbrook to 1-of-12 shooting (8.3 percent) as the pick-and-roll ball handler.”
Tim McMahon of ESPN Dallas: “The Mavericks are 17-0 this season when Nowitzki attempts at least 10 free throws, including 5-0 in the playoffs. He was 24-of-24 from the line in Game 1. He was 13-of-13 in the third quarter, which matched Michael Jordan’s playoff record for free throws made in a quarter. It’s the second time this postseason Nowitzki matched that record, as he went 13-of-13 from the line in the fourth quarter of the series opener against Portland.”
Clark Matthews of The Lost Ogle on Tyson Chandler: “Would the team have been able to make the leap with a battered center taking up the largest chunk of their salary cap, Kevin Durant still playing shooting guard (remember he took off after Scott Brooks shifted him to small forward), no true point guard on the roster, no impact rookie like Harden, and very likely no Serge Ibaka (who would still be playing in Spain since the Thunder had committed to a front court rotation of Chandler-Krstic-Collison)? I doubt it. They might still be good, but they would not be Western Conference finalist good.”
