Friday Bolts: 10.20.17

Erik Horne on the Thunder’s season opening win against New York: “In the Thunder’s 105-84 win against the New York Knicks to open the season, there were plenty of those reminders Westbrook, Carmelo Anthony, Paul George and Co. were adamant about in preseason: The development of chemistry is going to take time. Westbrook, however, is already a fully-formed, opponent-crushing element, even if the Thunder isn’t after one of 82 games. Westbrook finished with 21 points, 16 assists and 10 rebounds.”

Royce Young on Carmelo Anthony focusing forward after defeating the Knicks: “For Anthony, playing the Knicks was an ideal way for him to move on and find some closure from his messy, chaotic departure from New York. ‘Yeah, that chapter’s closed. That chapter’s closed. No more Knicks talk,’ Anthony said. ‘We can just focus on the Thunder and moving forward and what we have to do as a team and organization. I can say that chapter’s closed.’”

Brett Dawson on Enes Kanter’s return to Oklahoma City: “The welcome from the crowd was as good as Enes Kanter could have hoped. The one from Steven Adams was a little better than he expected… Kanter got a long, loud ovation when he was announced among the Knicks starters. And he didn’t get the hard elbow he’d been promised from Adams, his former teammate and Stache Bro.”

Rohan Nadkarni (SI) on the debut of the OK3: “Russell Westbrook was the Thunder’s third leading scorer Thursday night. Oklahoma City won by 21 points anyway—a thought that would have been incomprehensible a few months ago. This is what everyone imagined, however, when OKC doubled-down this summer, acquiring Carmelo Anthony after trading for Paul George earlier in the offseason. The result was a three-headed attack that allowed Westbrook to be efficient in ways his kamikaze ball couldn’t allow for last season. Russ scored 21 on over 50% shooting, while Melo and PG feasted on open looks, overcoming early struggles to pour in 22 and 28 points, respectively.”

Ben Rohrbach (Yahoo) on Westbrook’s triple-double to start his MVP defense: “Following an MVP campaign in which he set the record for triple-doubles and became the second player to average one for a full season, Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook began 2017-18 with another one, collecting 21 points, 16 assists and 10 rebounds in a 105-84 victory against the Knicks. In the process, Westbrook temporarily silenced concerns that he could not alter his game from the singular supernova style he played with throughout last season, deferring to new All-Star teammates Carmelo Anthony and Paul George. ”

New Zealand’s Stuff with a Steven Adams-oriented Thunder/Knicks recap: “Steven Adams has had a solid outing for the Oklahoma City Thunder in their NBA season opener. The Kiwi centre had 12 points, five rebounds, five steals and three blocks as the Thunder beat the New York Knicks 105-84 on Friday (NZ time), to get their 2017-18 campaign going with a win.”

Brandon Richard (Sole Collector) on Paul George debuting in a beautiful pair of sunset Nike PG1’s: “In his home debut, George recorded 28 points and 6 rebounds, contributing to a 105-84 victory over the New York Knicks. With a combined 71 points, it was a strong (and well-balanced) first outing for the Thunder’s new Big Three. George played his first game as a member of the Thunder in an ultra-bright orange PE colorway of the Nike PG1. Details include white Swooshes, as well as a gradient fade and speckle pattern along the midsole. This colorway is not expected to hit retail.”

Jordan Brand is collecting off the “Hoodie Melo” phenomenon: “To celebrate Carmelo Anthony’s first regular season game with the Thunder in Oklahoma City, Jordan Brand made some awesome hoodies that say “Hoodie SZN” across the front as a nod to Hoodie Melo (aka how Anthony wore a hoodie all summer long, even during a Thunder photoshoot).”

OK3 highlights from last night:

Around the League: The Lonzo Ball era didn’t get off to a great start…. Lavar Ball didn’t like the way Patrick Beverley treated his son…. Jeremy Lin is done for the season…. LeBron wants to get in better shape…. The Undefeated updates the 50 greatest players of all time.