Monday Bolts – 3.30.15
Tom Ziller of SB Nation looking ahead to 2016: “So how can the Thunder prevent heartbreak in 2016? There’s no cap space to go out and land a major free agent like Kevin Love. OKC doesn’t seem to have the chips to cash in on a major trade without losing Ibaka or, god forbid, Westbrook. You don’t trade a once-in-a-lifetime star like Durant early just to make sure you get something for him. (That works for All-Star level talent like Love, not potential G.O.A.T.s.) All Presti can really do is all he’s done since trading Harden: Try to make nifty moves around the margins, cover the weaknesses of a KD-Westbrook team as best as possible and hope for the best. Maybe those prayers will finally be answered. Perhaps the Basketball Gods will smile down on the Thunder in 2016 as they once did in 2007, 2008 and 2009. Otherwise, Oklahoma City might find itself back at square one, trying to figure out how to win without Durant permanently.”
Anthony Slater: “Even with Kevin Durant and Serge Ibaka out, Scott Brooks has to rest Russell Westbrook at some point. His frantic, break-neck pace isn’t suited for 48 full-throttle minutes. And when Westbrook is on the bench, meaning all three of OKC’s cornerstone players are off the court, it typically signals danger time. Often, it’s a win for the Thunder if they can just play the opposition to a draw in that stretch. On Sunday, they did one (or 15) better. Westbrook exited the game at the start of the fourth quarter, his standard rest period that lasts about three or four game minutes. The Thunder was down 79-76. By the time Westbrook reentered, with 6:05 remaining in the game, OKC was up 95-83. The Thunder started the fourth quarter on a game-changing 19-4 run, easily the most crucial stretch of a crucial win. D.J. Augustin and Anthony Morrow both hit a pair of 3s.”
My ESPN.com story on last night’s big win.
J.A. Adande of ESPN.com on Durant shutting down: “So let Durant profit from Jordan and learn from Hill. This isn’t about branding. It’s about keeping his primary job for years to come. The Thunder are thinking long term as well, realizing there’s no point in rushing Durant back to try to win a championship this season and make a bullet point in their retention pitch if the choices it leaves them are either damaged goods or a bitter player who feels used. It’s another step away from the notion that players should always play regardless of the risks or toll. One thing I’ve noticed is that a lot of the players-turned-coach who complain about today’s athletes not suiting up for 82 games a season are the same guys getting their hips and knees replaced. Do you think their worn-down joints could have used a few more nights off? Just because it was different back in the day doesn’t mean it was better.”
KD with a message for Rick Barnes.
John Klein of the Tulsa World wrote a bunch of one-sentence paragraphs about Kevin Durant: “So, there is now some question about what kind of Durant will return for Oklahoma City. Also, when? There was some speculation on ESPN among experts that full recovery from this type of injury could take more than a year. Others believe six months will be plenty. Make no mistake. Every front office in the NBA will be watching closely. Durant has just one year left on his contract with the Thunder.”
Amin Elhassan of ESPN Insider with a great look at what’s helped Kanter in OKC: “Kanter’s offense from spot-up opportunities has declined significantly, dropping from 17 percent of his offensive situations to only about 7 percent. The deep reduction has also corresponded with a modest increase in efficiency, although that’s probably random and does not translate to an improvement in play (he has only been involved in 20 spot-up opportunities in OKC). This decrease has, of course, come with a shift in shot selection, as Kanter has gone from attempting 55 percent of his field goal attempts around the basket in Utah to 73 percent in OKC. In other words, Kanter is getting almost a quarter more shots in the part of the floor where he’s most efficient, even though his efficiency in that area has remained mostly stable.”
