Monday Bolts – 1.4.16

Erik Horne on Thunder free throws: “What’s changed? Veteran forward Nick Collison said the

Thunder’s drop off at the line never even registered to him, and it’s easy to overlook considering OKC currently has its best offensive rating in franchise history. The Thunder is scoring 112.1 points per 100 possessions, second only to the Golden State Warriors (113.7). The Thunder’s offensive efficiency has risen even as its free throws attempts have diminished slightly. Kevin Durant is shooting 3.2 fewer per game than his MVP season. Westbrook’s 7.8 attempts per game are higher than his career average (6.8), but two fewer than his explosion from last season that came in Durant’s injury absence.”

Kevin Pelton of ESPN Insider on 2016 Thunder goals: “Three-fifths of Billy Donovan’s finishing lineup (Durant, Serge Ibaka and Russell Westbrook) are givens, with Steven Adams claiming a fourth spot against bigger opponents. But Oklahoma City must still find a reliable wing to play next to Durant, particularly if Donovan wants to go small against teams like the Warriors. That player might be Dion Waiters, but that player also might not currently be on the roster.”

I don’t know what happened with that Hornets fan, but he got a red card.

Horne on the Hornets win: “Serge Ibaka deals with gray areas arguably better than almost any defender in the NBA because of his ability to come from the weakside and block shots. As Adams’ man goes to throw down the dunk, Ibaka leaps from across the lane for the block. Zeller’s left hanging on the rim looking for the ball as Adams comes down with the rebound and quickly finds Westbrook, who has plenty of space to get out in transition for a pull-up jumper. 11-2.”

Tom Ziller of SB Nation with All-Star reform: “Institute mandatory minimums for games played for eligibility. A threshold of 60 percent of a team’s games by the end of the voting period (Jan. 18 this year) seems reasonable. The Cavaliers will play 39 games by Jan. 18. To hit the 60 percent threshold, Kyrie would need to play 24 games by then. That became mathematically impossible once he missed the first 16 games of the season. Under this mandatory minimum rule, at that point — Nov. 27 in this example — Kyrie becomes ineligible to start the All-Star Game. Votes for him become much like votes for Joe Kleine, LaSalle Thompson and Lawrence Funderburke.”

Mike D’Antoni back to Phoenix?

From ESPN Stats: “Russell Westbrook scored 36 points and handed out 12 assists in the Thunder’s win over the Suns. Westbrook finished calendar year 2015 with 2216 points, 604 rebounds and 748 assists. The only other player in NBA history who had at least 2200 points, 600 rebounds and 700 assists in one calendar year is Oscar Robertson, who did it in 1962, 1963, 1964 and 1965. Westbrook also added five steals to his 36 points and 12 assists becoming only the sixth player since 1973-74, the first season the NBA began recording steals for individual players, to have reached those levels in all three categories in one game, joining Nate Archibald, Slick Watts, Kevin Johnson, Baron Davis and Chris Paul.”