Friday Bolts – 3.4.16

Rob Mahoney of SI.com: “Their deterrence worked if not to deprive the Thunder

superstars of shot attempts, then certainly to the effect of forcing mistakes. Durant spent extended stretches of this game trying to facilitate and wound up with nine turnovers for his trouble. The only way to beat the Warriors is to make the right play and do so perfectly. Throwing a well-intentioned pass a beat late or a bit off-mark will likely result in a turnover. Hesitating even a moment before making the next play in sequence allows enough time for a full defensive recovery. Meanwhile, every possession inches Golden State closer to puzzling out its opponent and fully understanding the advantages in play.”

Berry Tramel: “But Westbrook’s shooting and scoring has cratered in the fourth quarter. In those eight fourth quarters, Westbrook has averaged 4.4 points and shot 30 percent from the field (21.4 percent from 3-point range). The Thunder defense has been atrocious in those fourth quarters, but its offense has been almost as perplexing. The reason is Westbrook. This is a team built for Westbrook to score, and he’s become much more efficient in the last couple of seasons. But not in these recent fourth quarters, when the Thunder season has gone sideways.”

My ESPN.com piece from last night.

Anthony Slater: “Breaking news: These Warriors are hard to beat anywhere and basically impossible to overcome in Oakland. But for any chance, you can’t make mistakes like the Thunder did down the stretch on Thursday night. Which were the same mistakes OKC made in Los Angeles on Wednesday night. Which are the same mistakes that have morphed into a concerning fourth quarter trend during a critical point of the season.”

Marc Spears of Yahoo Sports: “Donovan says he makes an attempt daily to text Williams and plans to visit him upon his return to Oklahoma City following the Thunder’s current road trip, which ends March 6. He said they talk very little about basketball.”

The Thunder are not in great company.

Ethan Strauss of ESPN.com: “Then Thursday’s game started and Oklahoma City began validating that status as top challenger, with the Thunder successfully switching onto Stephen Curry, refusing to cede open 3-pointers. So, how did the Warriors, again, tilt the balance in their favor? How did they pull away from perhaps the league’s most athletic team? Apart from “Stephen Curry,” and apart from, “Marreese Speights hits 3-pointers now,” it’s Golden State’s versatility that has decided this matchup. The Thunder have many different kinds of players, but few outside their big three can capably play offense and defense. They’re replete with guys who serve singular functions — or, in the case of Dion Waiters, dubious functions.”

Nate Scott of FTW: “At the same time, what exactly is Donovan supposed to do with this lineup? Everything outside the starting 5 is an awkward fit. People have criticized him for not installing a complex offense, but how could he? He has to do what he can do, which usually means giving Westbrook and Durant the ball and letting them make magic.
It’s really a testimony to how otherworldly good Westbrook, Durant and Ibaka are that this team is in third place in the Western Conference. Take Westbrook and Durant off this team and these guys are the 76ers. The three of them have dragged this team, kicking and screaming, to a 3-seed.”