Monday Bolts – 11.10.14
Berry Tramel: “Such is the new-look Thunder. Or at least the Thunder we’re going to have to live with until reinforcements Andre Roberson, Perry Jones and Anthony Morrow, much less Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, get well. It’s sort of fun. Not that Durant and Westbrook ever get old. But variety is the spice of NBA life. Something new makes the season less of a grind, and the Thunder seems to offer something new every game. But what’s really fun is winning. The suddenly-solid Kings entered 5-1, the reverse record of the Thunder. OKC and its patchwork roster took command early, weathered a Sacramento rally and won down the stretch with Reggie Jackson quarterbacking and the fife and bugle crew contributing in a variety of ways.”
James Herbert of CBSSports.com on Reggie Jackson: “The philosophy is simple: Set your expectations so high that they trump any fear. That’s what his brother always told him, and it’s why he talks about wanting to be elite and win titles. It’s also why Jackson has referred to teammates Steven Adams, Jeremy Lamb and Jones as potential Hall of Famers. You don’t get to this level without confidence that borders on delusion. Telling the Oklahoman last summer that he wanted to be a starter caused a bit of a stir, even though he’d said the same thing before. As he heads into restricted free agency, his future in Oklahoma City is indeed uncertain, but his honesty about his aspirations shouldn’t be mistaken for arrogance or selfishness.”
I wrote about Jackson last night.
Marc Stein has OKC 20th: “It’s the smallest of consolations for OKC as it scrounges for wins without both KD and Russ, but we can’t help but wonder: Might we see those two, down the road, in tall-ball lineups with Ibaka, Collison and Steven Adams? Desperation breeds innovation and the latter trio are expanding their games.”
Andrew Gilman of Fox Sports Southwest: “Smith joined the team Friday and played Friday. Lance Thomas was a training camp invitee. Now he’s a starter. Collison made four 3-pointers all of last season. He’s got five this year. Perkins had seemingly worn down over the course of last season and was thought to be a downward trend as far as skill and as far as minutes played. Hard to say this team is lucky, considering all the crushing injuries and the 2-5 start to the season, but there’s got to be a horseshoe or something around the lockerroom, because while Brooks hasn’t turned every negative into a positive, he has turned, what at most times looks like an overmatched team into a competitive group. That’s a surprising and unpredictable accomplishment.”
Darnell Mayberry: “The difference in Lamb’s defensive effort was noticed less than a minute into Sunday’s game. Sacramento swung the ball around the perimeter looking for a quality shot on its first possession. The shot clock was getting low by the time it landed in the hands of Ben McLemore. He didn’t get the shot off. The horn sounded, signaling a shot clock violation, and when McLemore tossed it up just after the buzzer Lamb stuffed it back down.”