Monday Bolts – 12.8.14
Great story from Anthony Slater on KD being kind: “Knowing Durant was coming to town on Sunday, they called the Cupp family Wednesday and extended an invitation to the game. They wanted to make him the honorary ball-boy. And the Pistons also reached out to Durant and the Thunder to let them know what happened. Through some quick planning, OKC set up a pregame meeting between Cupp and Durant. The two shook hands and talked on the baseline about two hours before tip-off. Then Durant gave Cupp two pairs of his signature sneakers – one in Cupp’s size and the other in Durant’s, signed by the superstar – as well as a new KD branded jacket and backpack.”
John Schuhmann of NBA.com ranks OKC 19th: “Kevin Durant scored 27-plus points in two of his three games and Russell Westbrook did this, but it’s clearly going to take the Thunder some time to get rolling. No matter who’s been healthy, turnovers have been a problem that needs fixing soon. Sunday’s visit from the eighth-place Suns could be one of the most important games of the season.”
Marc Stein has OKC 15th: “Committee rules compel us to share that only 14 of the 157 teams to lose 12 or more of their first 17 games went on to reach the playoffs since the current 16-team format debuted in 1983-84. The history is daunting even if none of those previous 157 were able to welcome back Kevin Durant at 5-12.”
Steven Adams didn’t make David Thorpe’s sophomores to watch list.
Anthony Slater on Jeremy Lamb: “He’d put together four great games. Scott Brooks’ response basically was: Cool, make it five. And on Sunday, Lamb did just that. He finished 5-of-8 shooting and 2-of-4 from three for 12 points in 22 minutes. He’s now made 26 of his past 35 shots and 12 of his past 16 threes. Impressive stuff. And enough to earn more trust from Brooks. Lamb has received 52 minutes the past two games – second most on the bench behind Reggie Jackson – and was out there in crunch time during both wins. Andre Roberson, meanwhile, averaged only 17 minutes during the road trip despite starting all three games. He had a couple nice plays on Sunday – an important rebound putback and a crafty steal – but he just hasn’t impacted the game from all non-shooting areas like was expected. Lamb is playing better. So Lamb is playing more.”