Thursday Bolts: 12.12.19

The Thunder went back to their early-season ways, blowing a lead and losing a close game to the Kings last night. Brandon Rahbar on the reality check in his DT recap.

ICYMI: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander settled the debate for DT, crowning Darius Bazley the “Fresh Prince of OKC”.

Josh Eberley (HOOPMag) included me in his weekly “Around the Rim” roundtable to opine on Russell Westbrook, Gregg Popovich, and more.

The Thunder’s rise to the seventh seed has put them back on the podcast map. There’s a good deal of Thunder trade talk between John Hollinger and Zach Lowe (ESPN) on the latest Lowe Post episode. Brian Windhorst & The Hoops Collective call the Thunder “uncomfortably good” in their latest. And for change of pace, the newest Cookies podcast discusses the “fun while it lasts” vibe for OKC fans.

Erik Horne (The Athletic) on Chris Paul’s trusty rip-through move: “One of Paul’s many gifts is his awareness. His understanding of time and situation shows when he checks in and the opposition is one foul away from putting the Thunder into the bonus. “CP, he’s been around a long time,” Indiana forward T.J. Warren said. The Pacers were the last team to keep Paul rip-less, on Dec. 4. “He knows his way around this league with little trick plays like that. Trying to get guys, to bait them, then you reach in. I know coach emphasizes keeping your hands straight up and don’t give a decision to the refs.” Easier said than done. In these situations, Paul enters the game with intent. He’s not just looking to get into an offensive set. He’s hunting, and he strikes fast.”

Bryan Kalbrosky (HoopsHype) is asking the most pressing question in all of basketball: How would Danilo Gallinari fit in Portland?

Paul George Ohm Youngmisuk (ESPN) pried hints of another he said/she said from Paul George’s trade demand history, this one reaching all the way back to his exit from Indiana: “While George wouldn’t elaborate on whom he was talking about, the Clippers’ All-Star said he wouldn’t say anything negative about Kevin Pritchard when told that the Pacers’ general manager thought George’s trade request was like a punch to the gut. “You’re getting close to trying to get this story out, aren’t you?” George asked. “… I’m not going to bad-mouth KP. That’s just Kevin’s side of the story.”

Andrew Bucholtz (Awful Announcing) notes that League Pass was down for an extended period yesterday. At the risk of being “This is why you’re going out of business!” guy, the poor quality of LP is why the NBA isn’t converting a signficant amount of cord cutters to its own streaming service.

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