Monday Bolts – 10.5.15
Anthony Slater on yesterday’s scrimmage: “Durant, Russell Westbrook, Serge Ibaka and Andre
Roberson all started for the White team. Nick Collison joined them, but that was only because Steven Adams sat out with back soreness. The Blue team included Dion Waiters, Anthony Morrow and Enes Kanter, along with D.J. Augustin and some other expected bench players. Morrow even referred to the group as the “second-unit” in his post-scrimmage comments. Donovan said the teams weren’t split by accident. That’s how they’ve been divided in practice. So at this point, it seems Roberson is this team’s starting shooting guard and Adams is the team’s starting center.”
Erik Horne on Russell Westbrook: “Asked about what he learned about himself as a person and a player last season, Westbrook said ‘that I could be a better leader when I put my mind to it and be able to go out and find ways to be able to make my teammates better throughout the season regardless of however my game was going.’ Of course, his own game went very well. Westbrook finished with the second-best player efficiency rating in the league last season (29.12, second only to Anthony Davis’ 30.89). With Thunder players touting Donovan’s offensive system for its emphasis on movement and spacing, Westbrook could stay in that stratosphere.”
If you missed it, KD responded to Stephen A.
Slater on position battles: “But is he the best option to start? You could make an argument for Dion Waiters, who provides a better offense-defense balance than Roberson. But that would put Waiters, a player most effective when the ball is in his hands, on the court with the Thunder’s other two high-usage scorers. So a case could be made for Anthony Morrow, a perimeter sniper who would space the floor for Kevin Durant and Westbrook without needing a single play designed for him. But Morrow has his defensive limitations. Which brings us back to Roberson, who, at this point, seems to be the clear favorite to keep his job.”
Matt Moore of CBSSports.com: “So yeah, sometimes the early stuff doesn’t work out. The Cavs wound up scrapping most of what Blatt installed last preseason and when they did, they became one of the best offensive teams in the league. Ironically, those changes lead to a heavier reliance on isolation and basic pick and roll sets. Or, you know, how the Thunder have played over the past few years under Scott Brooks. We’ll see if Billy Donovan’s ready for the challenge and if he can sustain changes to make the offense more imaginative, and if that can come with actual efficiency.”
