Thursday Bolts – 11.4.10
A good friend of mine pointed this out to me: “After feeling as if the Thunder rarely passed the ball, I started counting their passes last night. In 20 straight possessions, the Thunder only made more than 1 pass once. Every other possession was zero or 1 pass. Over the 20, they made 17 passes total. It seemed to continue as I dozed off watching them play some of the most selfish ball I’ve ever seen.” That’s good stuff. Well bad stuff, but good information.
An article by Andrew Gillman for the Oklahoma Gazette on Serge Ibaka: “You might not know it, but now you can say you’ve heard it: Serge Ibaka is the present-day future form of the NBA, with a look that girls fantasize about and guys only can imagine when they stand in front of their mirror. Alone. Admit it: If you’re a girl, don’t lie. If you’re a guy, you’ve done it. The Thunder’s Serge Ibaka right, dubbed “Chewblocka” by fans, works the boards. This is the body Ibaka: A 6-foot-10 frame with a there’s-no-way-you-can-be-serious physique that graces magazine covers, causes man crushes with fans and generates more Internet gossip than an eighth-grade lunchroom.”
Oregon Live on KD: “When he negotiates long-term contracts for his clients, agent Aaron Goodwin typically tries to make the final year or two player options, giving the player the flexibility to opt out of the deal early. But when Goodwin raised the possibility of such a clause as he started working on the extension to Kevin Durant’s rookie contract with Oklahoma City, Durant told the agent not to bother. Durant just wanted to sign with the Thunder for as long as possible and did not want option years.”
Courtesy of Matt Moore, check KD’s list of worst shooting games with the 3-pointer.
Here’s something new: Would you rather start a franchise with Kevin Durant or… Brandon Roy?
PBT on last night’s game: “Eric Gordon and Eric Bledsoe are the future of the backcourt for the Clippers, who look so much quicker with Baron Davis out. The Clippers found the holes in the Thunder defense — there are a lot of them right now — and went at them. For the Thunder, well, mama said there’d be days like this. Just not their night.”
Darnell Mayberry: “Once again, the Thunder’s offense did little to prop up its struggling defense. What was most surprising about the first half, though, was how the Clippers came out sharing the ball while the Thunder was the team that played selfishly. While the Clippers moved the ball and let their passing lead to open shots, much of the Thunder’s 19-point first half deficit can be explained by too much one-on-one play. There were at least four possessions in the first quarter alone that the Thunder took a shot without making one pass. With 2:59 left in the first quarter, the Clippers had six assists by five different players and the Thunder had three assists, all by Russell Westbrook.”
Kelly Dwyer: “Kevin Durant missed 18 of 24 shots, and all 10 (!) of his attempts from long range. I’m with him in assuming every one of those bombs is money as he rises up, but yes, he should have tried to get to the line more often in the loss.”
Kevin Durant: “We just didn’t show up — I didn’t show up,” Durant said. “I’m the leader of this team. Everybody follows me. I didn’t show up. The team didn’t show up. That’s why we lost.”
This will brighten your day some. Kevin Love really wants a low-five.
Happy birthday to my little brother. Have a good one.
Also, apologies for the super late Bolts. Weird morning with a number of distractions. Forgive me.