Thursday Bolts – 10.22.15
Zach Lowe of Grantland: “The Thunder are the biggest story in the league, and they might be no. 1
here if not for a D-League-level League Pass experience — the nonsense logo, blah court, sneering homer announcing, and ugly uniforms. Billy Donovan is revamping the offense and it will be interesting to see how Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant, two killer one-on-one scorers, take to a system heavier on ball movement. Things may not end up looking much different than when Scott Brooks cycled through the same three plays. Still, any stylistic improvement will be welcome.”
Tom Ziller of SB Nation: “Oklahoma City has been a popular title pick in recent years for a reason: the Thunder are damn good, on par with recent champions from a talent and performance standpoint. OKC is not as popular a pick this season for various reasons. That could very well be an overcorrection if Durant is indeed healthy and new coach Billy Donovan assimilates to the pro game quickly. In Oklahoma City’s last campaign before Durant hits free agency, there’s still a strong chance KD could win a title with the Thunder. And if he does, that changes the July calculus immensely.”
SLAM has KD No. 3: “Maybe all the emotional and physical stress gets to him and he slowly whittles away under all that weight. Or maybe his size-17 feet fail again. But the bet here is that this season we see something else. Failing, like KD and Thunder have in recent years, can create a sense of urgency, which sometimes is all a great player needs in order to reach his peak. I’m not saying the 2015-16 season will end with a Thunder championship, and another Durant MVP. What I am saying, though, is that I wouldn’t bet against it.”
Jack Winter of Uproxx: “By shaking things up on the bench and finally digging deeper into its pockets, though, Oklahoma City has shown Durant it will do what’s necessary to help him win a championship. Combined with added financial incentive and the basic human sense of discomfort gleaned from any change, will that aggression be enough to keep him in the bible belt? There’s no way to know for now. What’s absolutely obvious, though, is that Durant’s impending decision will shape the Thunder one way or another just as much as his mere presence has since the team’s inception.”
Anthony Slater on preseason: “The same can be said of Enes Kanter. Donovan seems committed to bringing him off the bench this season. It allows the Thunder to feature him in spurts offensively and lessens the talent he must corral on the other end. Here are his point-rebound statlines from his four preseason games — 16 and 6, 11 and 7, 18 and 11, 17 and 11. He made 24 of his 34 shots. These are two talented but flawed players, who fit well as change-of-pace scorers on a winning team, not feature guys. Will they accept that for a full season? We’ll see. But if they do, the numbers should be there.”
