Friday Bolts – 11.27.15

Kevin Cottrell of NBA.com on Curry vs. Westbrook: “As for their individual games, Curry’s ability

to break ankles and step back to shoot from 30-plus feet makes him arguably the toughest player to defend in the league. Curry leads the NBA with 78 3-pointers, 33 more than the No. 2 player on the list, Portland’s Damian Lillard. Curry’s scoring ability opens up passing lanes, often leading to uncontested shots for his teammates. As for Westbrook, he plays with the intensity level of a NFL linebacker. He attacks the basket as if defenders are non-existent, embraces pressure-packed moments as he has become a walking triple-double. He has two triple-doubles this season and put up 11 of them (in a mere 67 games) last season.”

Berry Tramel: “Maybe Waiters feels a burden shifting onto his shoulders. Maybe he tries to do too much. Maybe the ball gets tossed to him with four seconds left on the shot clock, and what’s a guy to do? But it’s clear that Waiters is a more productive player with Durant than without him, and it goes far beyond the old Durant-makes-everyone-better.”

Apparently some are upset with a new KD colorway: “As you can imagine, we are very proud of the success of Prince George’s County native Kevin Durant, and the pride that he has in growing up in the county,” the office of County Executive Rushern L. Baker III (D) said in an e-mail sent to Nike. “We do want to make the Nike corporation aware that ‘P.G.’ is a term that many in Prince George’s County consider pejorative and/or an insult.”

This on Kevin Garnett is just awesome.

Billy Donovan explaining Morrow or Singler: “What’s ended up happening is you look at a couple of games … the Knicks game we’re down 16 points in the fourth quarter … you’re trying to manufacture some kind of energy, some kind of intensity. We threw him (Morrow) in there and he did a good job, and you want to give him a chance the next night. He’s played well, and Kyle’s had some moments where he’s played well too. It’s such a long season, and I don’t think your rotations are always gonna be set in stone. I think A-Mo’s done a real good job, he’s been professional, he’s worked hard and I felt like he deserved the opportunity based on what he’s done the previous games.”

Erik Horne: “Last week during a timeout against New Orleans, the Chesapeake Energy Arena big screen showed the face of one of the Thunder’s most beloved former players. When Kendrick Perkins’ unmistakable scowl appeared above high above the court, the crowd erupted into a chorus of cheers. When former Thunder players Jeff Green and James Harden made their first returns to Oklahoma City, their welcomes were similar — warm, raucous, appreciative. Will Thunder fans show the same love to Reggie Jackson? Now the Detroit Pistons point guard, he didn’t leave Oklahoma City on the same terms. Now he’s back to face his former team for the first time on Friday.”

Hey, Fan Essentials is running a Black Friday special and it’s good: Sign up before noon and you get the first month free. Just use code FREEFRIDAY when you check out.