Friday Bolts – 1.17.14
Tom Ziller of SB Nation looks at why scoring is up: “Are NBA teams doing better on offense this year compared to last? There were no major rule changes or points of emphasis pertaining to how players or teams can defend in the offseason. In fact, per-possession scoring (1.054) is down slightly compared to last season (1.059). But this season, not even at the official midway point, has already seen a team break 120 in a regulation game 46 times. In all of last season, that happened 67 times. The explanation for the scoring outbursts of late isn’t effectiveness of offense. It’s in the volume of offense. NBA teams are, on average, playing at a faster rate than at any point since the 1993-94 season.”
Darnell Mayberry: “The starting lineup, which has struggled big time, was sensational tonight. Got to give it up to them for setting the tone and seeing it through. My calculations had the first five at a plus-14 tonight. (Don’t quote me on that. I could be off.) After the Rockets went off in the second quarter, I actually had someone on Twitter ask me why Brooks waited so long to put the starters back in. Can’t say I’ve heard that before, not with this current starting five.”
Chandler Parsons is stunned upon finding out the Rockets scored only 19 points in the second half.
Andrew Gilman of Fox Southwest on Royal Ivey: “At this point, why not? Anything to alleviate running Jackson and Derek Fisher into the ground. For that matter, anything to take some of the strain off of Durant. Will Ivey come in and play 20 minutes per game? Hopefully not. He’s not that kind of player. But he could come in for 5-7 minutes, which would mean less pressure on Durant, who has been running the point guard spot in tough spots, including some in the final moments Tuesday against Memphis. The Thunder signed Ivey to a 10-day contract this week. We know he’s not going to come in and take a bunch of bad shots. We know coach Scott Brooks trusts him. We know, because Ivey played two seasons in OKC. He knows the system and knows what’s expected. No real reason to think he’s going to help the Thunder, but it can’t hurt, at this point. Right? Right?”
Durant on LeBron’s comments: “How can I not see it? It’s been on CNN. It’s been on ABC, FOX Sports. Man, it’s been everywhere. Ya’ll blowing that out of proportion, man. I mean, I’m pretty sure, matter of fact, I’m 100 percent sure LeBron can do whatever he wants.”
Berry Tramel sorting through Thursday’s game: “Rocket superstar James Harden went scoreless in the second half, on 0-of-6 shooting. Thabo Sefolosha did a good job on Harden in the first half, even though Harden was 5-of-8 shooting with Thabo on the floor. Sefolosha played mostly without fouling — Harden had just three foul shots the entire game. That’s always a key. In the third quarter, Harden ended up not challenging Sefolosha, instead waiting for a more favorable matchup.”
