Thursday Bolts – 11.7.13

Tim McMahon of ESPN Dallas: “It’s a good thing the Dallas Mavericks got those Oklahoma City kids when they did. The northern neighbors have dominated the Red River rivalry since those savvy veteran Mavs made quick work of the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2011 Western Conference finals. Bricktown was just a speed bump on the route to a championship parade in downtown Dallas at the time. Those talented kids, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, have grown up a lot in the past couple of years. They’re no longer blossoming superstars; they’re simply among the league’s best players. The Mavs grew old and broke up the gang.”

Kevin Martin: “It’s a case of people making something out of nothing. KD is my guy and we’ve already talked, so he knows for sure that it wasn’t a shot at him. Way too much respect for him.”

John Schuhmann of NBA.com: “The timing of Westbrook’s return (to the lineup or to 100 percent) was never my concern with the Thunder. My concerns were their ability to make up for the departure of Kevin Martin and the ineffectiveness of Kendrick Perkins. Time will tell if their new bench can prove itself reliable, if Scott Brooks is willing to play small more, and if the Thunder can count themselves as one of the West contenders (along with the Spurs) without obvious flaws. The West is wide open and it could be a mid-season trade or two that helps sort things out.”

Darnell Mayberry: “Perk and Thabo Sefolosha both did not look happy on multiple occasions tonight when they were taken out of the game. Brooks definitely has some tough decisions this season. One of those guys is playing for a contract. The other is playing for pride. Take away minutes and suddenly there’s a problem.”

Andrew Gilman of Fox Southwest: “Well, this much we can say about Kendrick Perkins: We knew him well. The end is upon Kendrick Perkins and not necessarily expected. At least not this soon. That’s what happens when Steven Adams plays this way. The minutes are going to go to the new guy who has somehow played better in the NBA than he did last year against Syracuse and Seton Hall. Wednesday against Dallas, Adams played 20 minutes, had six points, seven rebounds, no turnovers and then took a shot in the chops from Vince Carter who was kicked out of the game.”

Anthony Slater on Steven Adams: “He was the talk of the preseason, but it was only the preseason. He was serviceable in the first three games, but he didn’t jump off the screen. He officially won the backup center job, but Scott Brooks has been nullifying that at times with his small lineups. Nine guys played for the Thunder in the first quarter of Wednesday night’s 107-93 win over the Mavericks. None were named Steven Adams. But over the next 36 minutes, Adams was given an extended opportunity. And in his first substantial chance — in front of a national television audience — the Thunder’s rookie center arrived on the NBA scene.”