Monday Bolts – 3.2.15

Anthony Slater: “The performance had plenty of Thunder fans clamoring for more Lamb. And at times, in certain matchups, that could be possible. Against teams without a perimeter scorer, he makes more sense than Andre Roberson. But one thing that must be remembered about Lamb’s breakout on Sunday — there was no one to expose him on the other end. Without the injured Kobe Bryant and Nick Young, the Lakers are void of much perimeter scoring talent. Against other teams in his career, Lamb has been consistently exposed as a defender. That’s the main reason Brooks rarely plays him. But Sunday had to feel good for Lamb. And even if his playing time remains sparse down the stretch, he remains the MVP of an increasingly entertaining Thunder bench squad. Lamb is always good for a wildly choreographed handshake or celebration.”

Berry Tramel: “Who knew that broken bones could be contagious? Remember when the Thunder’s biggest concern was brain sprain? Remember when you looked longingly toward spring, knowing the lads would be all healthy and rested? Well, not going to happen. Not this season. The Thunder will have to drag itself to success this postseason. The Grizzlies, who were afflicted by this curse a year ago, have rediscovered their health. They had 40 missed man games going into Sunday. The Thunder now has four times that many. The guys not wearing masks have donned cloths around their forehead. The Thunder hobbles through the layup line on a cane and a crutch. No. You’re right. It’s not funny. But if you don’t laugh, you’ll cry. The Thunder is better off laughing. Crying might sideline someone with eye inflammation.”

Bob Ryan of the Boston Globe on media and sports: “The leverage belongs to the athlete. I’m not talking about a major function such as the Super Bowl. I’m talking about the countless daily encounters between the media folk and the athletes on our many professional sports teams. If someone doesn’t want to talk, there is nothing anyone can do. Now, I will acknowledge that far too many of the postgame encounters are banal and pointless. Really good, juicy, informative quotes are always in short supply. But when writers are facing hideous nighttime deadlines, those boring, obvious, and repetitive quotes are needed in order to fill space and make that deadline. I call them the journalistic equivalent of Hamburger Helper. There are times a writer cannot live without them.”

Darnell Mayberry: “D.J. Augustin did everything he could Sunday to fill the massive shoes of Russell Westbrook. And he still came one rebound and five assists short. But that just speaks to how fabulous Westbrook was in February. By no means is it an indictment on Augustin, who was sensational in leading the shorthanded Thunder to a 108-101 road win over the Los Angeles Lakers. Augustin scored 18 points with nine rebounds and five assists while playing 41 minutes as the fill-in starter for the injured Westbrook, who missed Sunday’s game after undergoing surgery Saturday on a fractured right cheekbone.”

Tom Haberstroh of ESPN Insider on Westbrook’s February: “Translation: With Durant on the court, Westbrook is most valuable being aggressive, getting in the paint and drawing fouls. But without Durant, Westbrook is needed as a shooter as well as a driver. So Westbrook, even at his high-usage rate and partnered with Durant, is adding to the Thunder’s offensive efficiency. They need a lot of Westbrook and a lot of Durant to be successful; one doesn’t need to defer to the other. Bottom line: Westbrook is pretty much unstoppable with or without Durant. A force of nature on the court, he is aesthetically and statistically breathtaking. We’ll hold the MVP conversation for another day, but for now, let’s just let Westbrook be Westbrook. We haven’t seen anything like this and we may never see it again. Then again, at 26, Westbrook is just entering his prime. Are you not entertained?”

Chad Ford of ESPN Insider on Westbrook’s pre-draft: “Westbrook is the major outlier here. He was drafted fourth and was ranked just 21st by Kevin. But I think there’s an easy explanation to why the stats got him wrong: Those WARP projections heavily favor players based on their freshman season. Westbrook played sparingly and averaged just 3.4 points per game. He wasn’t exactly a dominant scorer as a sophomore either, averaging 12.7 PPG. Westbrook was a major gamble at No. 4 — a classic upside guy who was drafted more on his physical abilities than on his offensive performance at UCLA over his two seasons in Westwood. I’m not sure anyone, including me, thought he’d be this dominant offensively after his first two years in the NBA. The Thunder were right — he’s an MVP candidate now. But at the time of the draft, everyone knew they were rolling the dice.”