Thursday Bolts – 3.22.12

Clark Matthews of The Lost Ogle on Derek Fisher: “In this case, his veteran knowledge is flavored with five championship runs. Having him in the lockerroom–and make no mistake, Fisher is exactly the kind of character guy the team covets–is like having another coach and scout involved. He has experience playing against anyone the Thunder might face in the postseason from playing them when stakes were at the highest. Unlike rookie whose minutes he would supplant, everyone can be confident that Fisher will not shrink from whatever the moment may ask of him.”

Zach Lowe of SI.com on the Fisher signing: “Injuries to Maynor and Thabo Sefolosha, now back in the lineup, have thrust both Jackson and Royal Ivey into the rotation, and while Ivey’s defense has been a breath of fresh air for the Thunder, neither guy is an offensive threat. Fisher might not be, either, but his track record suggests he can stand around and perhaps hit somewhere between 35 to 40 percent of his three-pointers, pass the ball to the right places and set some screens. It’s worth a shot, even if the Thunder must waive Ryan Reid to clear a roster spot for Fisher. This team has a chance to win a ring now, two years before they face the possibility of losing Serge Ibaka (and perhaps Maynor) to free agency.”

KD holding a baby. As wonderful as it sounds.

Matt Moore of CBSSports.com on Serge Ibaka and him dealing with pump fakes: “But he does have trouble with players specifically like Millsap, guys wth size and range who can attack aggressively with both their jumper and on the drive. Millsap and Randolph aren’t much alike, but their ability to score with touch and get to the rim do provide a model for what Ibaka struggles with. Tim Duncan on a good day, DeJuan Blair, Randolph, Luis Scola, Lamar Odom with his head screwed on, and Al Harrington are all players of this model OKC could run into in the playoffs. He can match up with Blake Griffin and Pau Gasol well, and he’s going to be a force in any series he’s in. But there are still question marks about OKC’s defense that an be exploited, and this is one of them. It’s a simple cold vs. the malaria that is OKC’s backcourt defense, but it’s going to be something to watch over the next three months.”

ESPN.com has Ibaka fourth in its Defensive Player of the Year watch.

James Harden’s mom explains his beard and says she supports it.

Arash Markazi of ESPN LA says Fisher in an OKC uniform seems wrong: “This wasn’t supposed to be the final chapter of Fisher’s career. He wasn’t supposed to hop on the Oklahoma City bandwagon with 20 games left in the season and ride the bench of a team with the best record in the West. Sure, Fisher will be able to show off his five championship rings to his new teammates, but no one was saying the Thunder were a 37-year-old point guard with a penchant for taking charges away from winning it all. They would have been just fine without him.”

Video of some of Fisher’s pregame comments from last night. And video of Fisher’s first points as a Thunderer.

KD’s disgusting up-and-under from last night.

Trey Kerby of TBJ has more reasons why Derek Fisher picked No. 37.

Chris Paul took responsibility for Blake Griffin’s bad game: “I think that’s my job to get him some easier baskets,” said Paul, who had 13 points (3 for 12 shooting) and 10 assists. “They guarded him well on the block. I’ve just got to figure out how I can be better, get him the ball in easier spots.” Griffin shook his head at Paul’s reasoning. “No, it wasn’t that,” Griffin said. “I got open looks. I missed shots. Games like that happen. … They’ve got a lot of offense and they played well tonight.”

From Elias: “Blake Griffin scored only seven points and did not have a dunk in the Clippers’ loss to the Thunder Wednesday night. It was the fourth time this season that Griffin failed to record a dunk in a game, the Clippers are 2-2 in those games. Griffin had only five dunkless games all of last season. The Clippers were 2-3 in those five games.”

Darnell Mayberry: “One last thing from me on Westbrook’s defense. Where is that effort every game? He showed tonight that he could, without a doubt, be the league’s best defensive point guard. But he’s been disappointing on that end pretty much all season, allowing opposing guards to have their way with him and, as a result, make things extremely tough on the entire team’s defense.”