Friday Bolts – 1.9.15

Berry Tramel says Scott Brooks’ job should be on the line: “Sure, maybe all those games missed by Westbrook and Durant forced the Thunder into a slow start. The team had to mesh in December, when opponents began meshing in October. But you could also counter that the time off gave Durant and Westbrook fresher legs, and fresh legs is one of their strengths. All of which means Brooks’ status is in serious jeopardy. This is different from the masses’ frustration anytime the Thunder loses a close game or gets eliminated in a tough playoff series. This is a step back. The Thunder suddenly finds itself looking up at several Western foes, not just in record but in performance, when in years past it has stood above all but the Spurs and at least even with San Antone.”

Jeff Caplan of Fox Sports Southwest: “Four games can be a difficult margin to close. Back on Dec. 14 when Durant was back from his initial injury, the Thunder beat the Suns to close to within a half-game of eighth place. Durant’s second injury caused them to slip back. When OKC again beat the Suns on Dec. 31, it pulled back to within two games. Now the deficit has again doubled with 46 games left to play. To get to 49 wins — the number it took to get into the playoffs last season — the Thunder must go 32-14 the rest of the way. A potential key for both the Spurs and Thunder is a schedule that turns less West-heavy. San Antonio has played 25 of 36 games against the West and OKC has played 23 of 36. Many of the teams the Spurs and Thunder are chasing have piled up wins with the help of a more East-centric schedule.”

Jesus Gomez of SB Nation: “The Thunder have lost three of their last five games, with two of the losses coming against West playoff teams. Those they can live with. The loss against the Kings, on the other hand, was not only unexpected, but seriously harmful to Oklahoma City’s playoffs hopes. If they are going to make a serious push to unseat the Suns or the Spurs, they need to start gaining momentum now, when there are still enough games to make up ground. The Thunder are four games back of eighth place and there are fewer games left to make up the gap.”

Kevin Arnovitz on the Hawks is a must-read.

Berry Tramel wrote a different thing on NumberGate: “OK, now who’s not moving on from the past? What, is Harden’s number virtually retired? Will it have to be an absolute stiff, a third-team center or something, to bring 13 out of mothballs? That’s absurd. Does the Thunder think people are going to compare Dion Waiters to James Harden? Let me promise you, we’re not that big of rubes. Everyone knows all Harden can do and it will take no time before everyone in OKC knows what Waiters can’t do. And no one is going to connect the dots and suggest that the Thunder is trying to replace Harden with Waiters.”

Wait, are these the speeches Derek Fisher was giving to the Thunder last season?

David Thorpe has Steven Adams ranked the ninth-best sophomore: “His pure numbers are not impressive, but Adams plays a key role for OKC on defense, which is why he starts for the Thunder now. However, his minutes are trending down in part because of his lack of offensive punch. While no one expects him to be a post-up threat on this team, it is fair to expect him to both clean up on the offensive glass and finish putbacks far better than what he is doing. His struggles begin and end with his impatience after gathering a missed shot, rushing to put a shot back up (and missing point-blank shots half the time) rather than either kicking the ball out for a new possession or gathering, faking and exploding up to either finish or draw the foul.”

Hollinger Playoff Odds don’t look great for OKC, but what’s interesting is the team they’re chasing isn’t the Suns.