Thursday Bolts – 12.17.15
Brad Doolittle of ESPN Insider on trade season: “The Thunder need a true 3-and-D shooting guard
and the Clippers need a small forward who can at least reach replacement level. It’s hard to see either of those teams threatening the San Antonio-Golden State hegemony in the West without upgrading those slots.”
Berry Tramel on Steven Adams: “That’s because the OKC scoring was distributed with the balance of the Wallendas. Adams, Durant and Serge Ibaka each had nine points. Dion Waiters had eight. Westbrook had seven. Kanter six. Durant took but four shots in the first half (with six foul shots) but shot 10 times in the third quarter alone and finished with 24 points. But that balance sustained the Thunder in the first half. Balance is possible when your starting center can score.”
Anthony Slater: “Think about the point guards Russell Westbrook’s likely to face in the playoffs. Chris Paul. Tony Parker. Steph Curry. Regular size for typical point guards. Undersized when compared to Westbrook. Often, opponents will shift a bigger 2-guard (Klay Thompson types) over to tussle with him. But when they don’t, and at the start of games they often don’t, the Thunder has the chance to let Westbrook operate on the low block. The physical mismatch can lead to points, double-teams and potential foul trouble for opposing stars.”
So, Kevin Martin appears to be available.
Jalen Rose: “Russell Westbrook and John Wall both did a great charitable thing,” he said. “Russell Westbrook, giving $1 million to UCLA, it’s noble, it’s recognizable, it’s something that’s going to create a legacy for his name for years to come. It’s philanthropic work. Now, the charity that John Wall did, that’s the charity that makes it to the hood, and it also is a donation to those who are working really hard to entertain adults that evening. And when a customer does come in and spends that type of cake, everyone leaves with full bags. And you know what? I support full bags!”
Interesting discussion: Will Kevin Durant cause the next lockout?
USA Today ranks Russ and KD as the NBA’s best duo: “What do you get when you combine two MVP caliber players with a discernible hunger for scoring? A dominant duo in Oklahoma City. These two superstars combine to form one of the most talented player combinations that the NBA has ever seen. Both are playing as well as ever this season, as they rank second and third in player efficiency rating among the rest of the league.”
Programming note: How about a little Thunder AMA today? Sometime between 10:30 and 11 CT.
