Monday Bolts – 6.24.13
Berry Tramel: “Call it one more curse of Patrick Beverley. Houston’s Roger Ramjet famously collided with Russell Westbrook in Game 2 of the Thunder-Rocket playoff series and did more than torpedo the Thunder’s championships hopes. The loss of Westbrook to knee surgery cost the Thunder precious playoff perspective. The Thunder played a full season without James Harden and went into the playoffs knowing how it stood without the Beard. Pretty darn stout. Sixty wins, the No. 1 seed in the West, a point differential of historic impressiveness. Everything looked peachy. But the playoffs always are a different-colored mustang, if not a total new animal. The whispers all season were, check out the Thunder in the postseason when they needed someone besides Westbrook and Kevin Durant to create offense. That was Harden’s calling card in the drive to the 2012 NBA Finals. So the subplot of the Thunder playoff drive was going to be, when the intensity goes up and the defense stiffens, how much will they miss the hairy southpaw who delivered landmark performances on the road in both Dallas and San Antonio. Home, James, we wrote.”
Michael Wallace of ESPN.com on breaking up the Heat: “One of Riley’s biggest career regrets was bringing back that 2006 Heat title team for what turned out to be a disastrous season. Shaquille O’Neal and Antoine Walker stayed out of shape. Gary Payton and Jason Williams were no longer motivated. That group around Wade was a one-hit wonder at the end of its road. This current Heat, with James leading the way, is in the midst of a championship stride. Riley was loyal to a fault then. He’s committed until the end now. These champagne baths the Heat have taken in back-to-back seasons have been brewing for years. They might not be drying off any June soon.”
Darnell Mayberry: “Given the current talent and those attractive assets, there isn’t another team that can match the Thunder’s present and promising future. That’s the beauty of this year’s draft for the Thunder. It’s a luxury to have a lottery pick. Oklahoma City, for example, won 26 more games than Philadelphia but is selecting only one spot behind the Sixers. Rarely does that happen. Even in a draft that is short on star players, the Thunder will walk into Thursday night in great position to add to its stable of talent.”
Windhorst’s oral history of the 2003 draft is tremendous.
Not a lot of top tier talent in this draft.
Tramel on how the Heat showed the way3: “Sure, the Thunder has to find more offense, particularly if Kevin Martin is gone as it seems. But come playoff time, when the game slows and points are at a premium, the Thunder needs to be able to throw a two-minute shutout here, a three-minute shutout there. OKC’s defense already is tough. The NBA’s fourth-best this regular season in points per possession, the most reliable stat. But it must be even better. That’s what Spoelstra’s message was to his own team going into the final two fourth quarters of the season. And the Heat heard him.”
Gasp. Russell Westbrook didn’t watch Game 7.
Fran Fraschilla on Reggie Bullock: “Outside shooting in the NBA stretches a defense, and that threat allows penetration by guards and room inside for a big man to operate in space. Bullock has a number of attributes that make him an ideal NBA role player, but the most important is his ability to knock down shots with his feet set to open up the floor for his teammates. Bullock made over 43 percent of his 3-point shots on almost six attempts a game this past season for the Tar Heels. That ability makes him a commodity even if he ends up in the second round. And, as an offensive bonus, he is a very good ball mover with good passing instincts, and he plays unselfishly. Overall, he was the 11th most efficient offensive player in the country, according to kenpom.com.”
