Friday Bolts – 10.17.14
Jeff Caplan of NBA.com with questions: “Is there a wild card on the Thunder roster? His name is Anthony Morrow. As Brooks mentioned at the start of training camp, the team actually has a player with a higher 3-point percentage than Durant. The Thunder could have used him last season, but better late than never. Morrow has never been able to stick with any one team during his career, but the Thunder offers a unique situation where he really can solely focus on shooting 3s (and mix in a little defense). With Durant out, defenses will focus on Westbrook and power forward Serge Ibaka, who has become one of the best mid-range, pick-and-pop shooters in the league, and if Morrow can knock down 3s at his career rate of 42.8 percent, he could certainly see more minutes than his career average of 23.7, at least until Durant returns. Through three preseason games, Morrow is averaging 16.7 points and is 8-for-14 from beyond the arc. He’s also managed to get to the free-throw line, making all 14 of his attempts. Morrow’s accuracy could be the single most effective weapon in replacing Durant’s scoring.”
Jason Gallagher and the Ballerball crew break down how Perk will step up with Durant out: “Notice how Perkins took 8 shots in the 30 minutes he played without Durant this year, which is a much higher percentage than the amount of shots taken with Durant on the floor (185 shots in 1176 minutes). Also, is it a coincidence that Perkins’ free throw percentage went up when Durant was on the bench? Probably… not.”
Dirk on KD: “I’m a competitor, but I hate seeing people get hurt,” Nowitzki said. “I love the game too much. I love watching KD play. It’s sad, but unfortunately injuries are part of the game. He’s obviously going to be out for awhile. It’s tough for them, but they’ve got a good team and they’re going to make it work.”
KD tweets: “Successful surgery, thanks for all the prayers and concerns! Headed back to okc. Move em.”
KD Instagram’d him laid up in a cast.
Berry Tramel says preseason is too long: “You can’t blame the Thunder for trying to make a buck, and the Thunder fan base is ripe for ripoff, being so dedicated. But in an age when the NBA is trying to shorten the toll on the players — shorter games, talk about shortening the season — one easy fix is go easy on the players in the exhibition season. Which should mean fewer exhibitions. Probably won’t happen. Part of every preseason is international trips — the Thunder played in Turkey and England last October. Always have to market. But when NBA exhibitions turn into the equivalent of the final NFL exhibition game, in which the appearance of any player of substance is cameo at best, the preseason is absolutely too long.”
