Monday Bolts – 3.31.14
Darnell Mayberry’s piece on Nick Collison: “Collison is now a workhorse for the Oklahoma City Thunder. He used early lessons to forge his path to the NBA, where he’s become the quintessential role player, a glue guy with true grit. Teammates trust him. Coaches cherish him. General managers long to land someone just like him. It’s why Collison is one of only eight players who have spent the past 10 seasons with the same franchise. Six of the other seven are multi-time All-Stars, which makes Collison an even rarer breed, a prototypical role player with staying power. He’s survived relocation and rebuilding, five coaches and two general managers, injuries, aging, losing, winning and a lockout.”
David Thorpe of ESPN Insider says Steven Adams should study Nikola Pekovic: “Adams has to make a similar leap. He is like Pek in that what he gains in size and strength he gives up in athleticism and length. Taller guys still bother Pek, but the fact that he can hook a shot over someone, power through someone, or scoop a shot under or around the arms of longer defenders allows him to counter the different ways he gets shots contested. Adams is a hard man to keep off the glass, but the scouting report says to just tall up on him if he beats you to a rebound; he will struggle to finish. Pek is proof that Adams can greatly improve his paint finishes.”
Adams himself on who he’s learning from: “It’s been [Kendrick Perkins and Nick Collison]. I’m just watching the vets on my team. It’s good for me because they’re the ones who know what my role is on the team. They can help me fulfill my role as best as I can so I can make an impact on the team. I try to pick up little things that [my opponents] do to see if I can use them, but I always try to lean on my teammates. We’re trying to make sure we all have good chemistry and stay in sync with each other.”
Breaking down the West’s playoff race.
Mayberry on the Jazz game: “Westbrook went at Jazz rookie Trey Burke early and often. That’s quietly kind of become Westbrook’s thing, taking it to rookies. Challenging them and testing them. This was Westbrook’s first time playing the Jazz this season, so he hadn’t faced Burke. But the way Westbrook went at Burke was reminiscent of how he went at Ricky Rubio when the Wolves guard came in with a lot of hype. Burke didn’t back down, and Westbrook was out of control a lot early despite his best efforts. But Russ settled in and finished with 19 points, five rebounds and four assists.”
Jenni Carlson on Kevin Ollie: “And in that 2009-10 season, the Thunder was a young and impressionable bunch. I mean, it’s still a relative young squad, but then, it was extremely young. Durant and Jeff Green were in their third years, Westbrook was in his second, and Serge Ibaka and James Harden were in their first. NBA infants all. We’ve come to know that those guys are special players who are mature (mostly) beyond their years. But back then, all of them were still learning how to be pros. How to approach the grind. How to handle the highs and lows. How to be leaders. Ollie didn’t try to teach them those lessons. He showed them.”
