Monday Bolts – 4.6.15
Andrew Gilman of Fox Sports Southwest: “There’s not much enjoyment to go around right now. The Spurs come to town next and the standings watch continues. However, with the lack of execution, as Brooks calls it and the lack of bodies, due to injuries, is it worth it to enjoy and embrace this challenge of a season that’s dangerously close to being categorized as lost? Kevin Durant is out for the year, the return of Serge Ibaka is questionable. Nick Collison and Andre Roberson are still out with injuries. Kyle Singler played 30 minutes. Steven Adams fouled out in 14 minutes. There’s no shame in saying this wasn’t how it was supposed to go. And yes, there’s honor in the fight by the Thunder. But the mirror doesn’t lie. Take a good look. What do you see?”
Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com: “A 13-point fourth-quarter lead was gone and suddenly the Houston Rockets were in trouble. The Chesapeake Energy Arena was going crazy and the Oklahoma City Thunder, trying to steal a victory as they fight for their playoff life, had tied the game 100-100 with 3:12 remaining. The Rockets are already in the playoffs and the man most responsible for putting them there had to end some of this craziness. James Harden came out of a timeout and exploited the Thunder’s defense with a 3-pointer, then came back and nailed another followed by a 14-foot fadeaway. A tie game turned into a seven-point lead and, despite Harden fouling out with 33 seconds left in a four-point game, the Rockets pulled out a 115-112 victory.”
KD wants Bill Simmons to let it go.
Darnell Mayberry: “Russell Westbrook missed a reverse layup at one end, leading to a Rockets fast break. When the Thunder hustled back and forced Corey Brewer into missing a layup, no one from OKC bothered to close out the possession by corralling the rebound. James Harden happily scooped it up before running off 19 more precious seconds and burying a back-breaking fadeaway jumper over Westbrook. A deficit that had stood at 13 points only seven minutes before could have been trimmed to three. Instead, the Rockets bumped it back to seven with 85 seconds left to play. It was a microcosm of what, for the most part, has plagued the Thunder as it has dropped five of its past six, and in that moment two things became abundantly clear: the Thunder is letting opportunities slip away, and the margin for error has shriveled so much during this rash of injuries that OKC simply cannot afford to make such mental mistakes.”
Marc Stein of ESPN.com on the scoring race: “If Westbrook prevails, of course, it would mark just the second time in NBA history that a team had two different players lead the NBA in points per game in consecutive seasons. That hasn’t happened since the 1950s, when Paul Arizin and Neil Johnston won back-to-back scoring titles with the Philadelphia Warriors in 1952 and 1953.”
Berry Tramel: “1. The Thunder does not control its own destiny. If the Pelicans win out in their final six games, the Pelicans secure the eighth seed, no matter what the Thunder does. 2. The Rockets have a one-game lead on Memphis for the West’s No. 2 seed, which is no small thing, since that would mean a first-round series against Dallas instead of a matchup with a virtual equal. 3. This Harden fellow deserves all the MVP talk. His numbers Sunday were epic (41 points, 12 of 22 shooting) and though Westbrook was equally spectacular (yet another triple double), Harden made the plays down the stretch. Just like he has all season.”
