Monday Bolts – 6.9.14
Aaron McGuire of Gothic Ginobili: “And then, there’s the slanderous converse of the narrative, even worse to these eyes. Prime example: The Thunder don’t have an iso-heavy offense because they lack for virtue, emblematized by Russell Westbrook’s evil shot-taking. Rather, it’s their personnel. They can get away with several defensive non-scorers on the floor while still putting up a top-5 offense year after year, in part because the very same “selfish” Westbrook is able to selflessly carry that kind of burden. When the Thunder have sought out offensive lineups, why, it’s remarkable the gain in virtue and unselfish, Secret-Santa-esque passing lanes! Reggie Jackson must be a saint, I tell you. Seriously, most teams do precisely what they have to do to win, including the Heat and Spurs. And scores of great players on both kinds of teams, whether the versatile two-way anchor of some of the best offenses and defenses of recent memory or the born scoring prodigy from an adjacent state, seem to me personally selfless enough for anyone’s tastes. Durant and Duncan give the lie totally to that dichotomy. The two offenses on display in these Finals are beautiful and a testament to the sport of Naismith. Let’s not tarnish these offenses by reducing their brilliant geneses to ordinary virtue.”
Berry Tramel on Jeremy Lamb: “Into February, Lamb was averaging 10 points a game. His production curtailed, and then his playing time disappeared when the Thunder added Caron Butler. But Lamb showed a lot of promise through much of the season. And he’s only 21. That’s the best thing. He’s got a lot of room for growth. Lamb’s defense needs a lot of work, but he’s got the tools to get better.”
Steven Adams is back in New Zealand.
Darnell Mayberry on Derek Fisher: “Fisher’s regular-season hot hand eventually proved to be unsustainable. He tailed off considerably in the postseason, where his 3-point percentage dipped to 29.3 percent. He went 4-for-24 from 3-point range in the first two rounds, and even after an encouraging 4-for-6 shooting display from beyond the arc in Game 1 of the West Finals he went 4-for-11 from downtown the rest of the series. Defensively, Fisher had his moments, but they were few and far between and certainly not nearly as game-changing as what we saw when he locked up James Harden in last year’s postseason. Whether the reason was fatigue or a funk at the wrong time, Fisher’s finish was not what we expected.”
Could the Knicks and Thunder kickstart those Iman Shumpert talks again?
Adam Silver at the Finals on Sunday: “Our goal was not to break up teams. We had a transition in which the more harsher luxury tax would be implemented. But ultimately, any type of cap system in essence is a form of player sharing. So, yes, to the extent that James Harden leaves Oklahoma City and the Houston Rockets then become a competitive team, that’s a positive thing for the league. And part of the purpose of a cap system is so you don’t see too much talent aggregated in one market.”
J.A. Adande of ESPN.com on “built versus bought”: “The system is the way it is because the owners keep winning in collective bargaining. The irony is that the latest agreement could make it difficult for the Heat to achieve the same longevity and continuity that make the Spurs so admirable. It’s even possible that this could be the last NBA Finals with the Heat as we know them, since their big three can all become free agents this summer and force the Heat to make some difficult choices in the face of huge luxury tax penalties. Would a Heat breakup really be a successful CBA?”
