Monday Bolts – 3.21.16
Chris Reina of RealGM: “The Thunder gave up real assets for me-first players Dion
Waiters and Enes Kanter that their previous teams considered to be additions by subtractions. Waiters even came in the same trade that sent out Lance Thomas, and saw Iman Shumpert routed to the Cavaliers; both players would be better options for the Thunder than Waiters. These were the dutiful moves to show the Thunder were using every resource available to them in the short-term to win a title instead of that long, measured, sustainable plan that revealed itself in 2012. This year’s half measure is Randy Foye and he will make the smallest of differences. It’s a jog against a breakaway dunk to show you at least tried a little bit. Even the Hornets had the urgency to trade for Courtney Lee, who would perfectly and substantially improve the Thunder.”
James Herbert of CBSSports.com has OKC sixth in power rankings: “This four-game winning streak is cool, but they were all games Oklahoma City should have won. Their next four — against the Rockets, Jazz, Spurs and Raptors — will be more meaningful.”
Barry Petchesky of Deadspin reports that Kevin Durant likes places: “How can a man enjoy being in two cities? Start printing up that weird half-Sixers-half-Celtics jersey, as the NBA and NBPA alter their rules to allow Durant to play for both teams next year. But only home games, because he doesn’t equally enjoy the cities that those teams travel to.”
A couple fun facts about OKC’s division title: The Thunder are the 7th team in NBA history to win a division title in 5 of 6 seasons. In the last 25 years, the Thunder are one of 5 teams to win 5 division titles in 6 years. The Thunder are the third team in NBA history to win 5 out of 7 division titles immediately following a season with 23 or fewer wins. The first two were the St. Louis Hawks from 1953-54 to 1960-61, and the Baltimore/Capital Bullets from 1966-67 to 1973-74.”
Division title? Who cares, right? Yeah, it doesn’t matter. But think about this at least: You know how many division titles the Mavs have in the last 30 years? Three. So it’s more a representation of how consistently good the Thunder have been the past six years and less about the hardware.
Anthony Slater: “During a loss in San Antonio two Saturdays ago, the Thunder bench went a combined 1-of-11 on 3s. One night before, at home against Minnesota, OKC’s reserves went a combined 1-of-14. That’s 25 attempts and only two makes in two nights. Many of them were wide open. Hit a couple more in either game, avoid an embarrassing loss to the Timberwolves or snag a statement win over the Spurs. Instead, that two-game losing streak served as one of the lowest points of a rocky season. Fast-forward a week later, and the Thunder has turned things around. OKC is on an impressive four-game win streak, three of those on the road, three against playoff-bound teams and three of the blowout variety. There are many reasons for it. Improved bench play juts out as one of the most influential.”
NBA.com has OKC sixth: “Russell Westbrook messed around and got three triple-doubles last week, while Kevin Durant averaged 26.8 points, 9.5 rebounds and 7.5 assists. The Thunder won all four games, won a couple of fourth quarters against playoff teams, and have held five of their last eight opponents under a point per possession. They might not get full-strength Spurs on Saturday, with San Antonio on the second night of a back-to-back.”