Monday Bolts – 2.15.16

James Herbert of CBSSports.com: “Westbrook did indeed show more levity than usual, though

that wasn’t the case when he had the ball in his hands. He started the game off with a driving dunk, the first of five on the night, and he celebrated after each of his seven 3-pointers. There were the usual screams when he finished with power, and there was the normal lack of hesitation when he saw an opportunity to score. He even tried to steal an inbounds pass and take a rebound from a teammate.”

Anthony Slater: “At halftime, Westbrook had only taken two and made zero. But in his 11 second half minutes, Westbrook took 15 of them, making seven, two more than he’s ever made in a game in his entire career. It accounted for 21 of his 23 second half points. He started it with a steal, one of his game-high five, snared off an East inbound following a Durant 3. Westbrook intercepted the pass and then fired in a 25-footer from the left wing. He’d hit three more 3s in the next three minutes, punctuating each with an increasingly more boisterous dance and strut.”

The ESPN Insider crew with trades they want to see.

Westbrook was asked at All-Star Weekend about playing for the Lakers: “Nah, I like where I am now.”

Sean Deveney of Sporting News: “Some of that discussion has been woven together out of thin air. There was jabber about the Thunder’s upcoming free agent Kevin Durant, who was asked whether the Thunder should just spare themselves the misery of watching him head elsewhere and trade Durant before he leaves in free agency. That one caught Durant off guard. “I never thought about that at all,” he said. As for the connection made by league chatterboxes that Durant would head to the Lakers this offseason and be joined, eventually, by Westbrook (and heck, perhaps even Harden, also an L.A. native like Westbrook), Westbrook adjusted his usual sour smile and said, “No,” he said. “I like where I am now. Oklahoma City is a great place for me.”

Picks at the deadline pay off better than players.

Erik Horne on the deadline: “Future first-round picks? Nope. Philadelphia will get the Thunder’s first-round pick in 2016. It’s protected Nos. 1-15, so if the Thunder finished in the bottom 15 (not likely), they’d keep the pick. Otherwise, it belongs to the Sixers. The Thunder’s 2017 first-rounder would revert to Philadelphia should the Thunder somehow finish in the bottom 15 this season. If it happens again in 2017, OKC has to convey its 2018 and 2019 second-rounders to the Sixers. If Philly gets OKC’s first-rounder this year, the Thunder would have a 2017 first-round pick, but it could not be traded due to a rule which prohibits teams from trading future first-round picks in consecutive years.”

The Thunder play teams with the highest cumulative winning percentage on the way out.

Bill Haisten of the Tulsa World: “With Billy Donovan as the new head coach, the Thunder arrived at the All-Star break with a 54-game record of 40-14. You can view it as having been impressive, and it is. In its past 35 games, Oklahoma City is 29-6. Or because of the presence of a healthy Kevin Durant and a healthy Russell Westbrook, you can view a 40-14 record as having been typical for the Thunder, and it is. For the fourth time in five seasons, Oklahoma City has a 54-game record of at least 40 victories. At the 54-game mark of the 2011-12 season, the Scott Brooks-coached Thunder was 40-14. That OKC squad surged to the NBA Finals. If the 2015-16 Thunder drives to the NBA Finals, it will have achieved a stunning run through the Western Conference postseason. More than likely, Oklahoma City would be matched against San Antonio in the conference semifinals and against Golden State in the conference finals. At the All-Star break, the Warriors have a record of 48-4 — the best 52-game mark in NBA history.”