Thursday Bolts – 4.28.16
Anthony Slater with a feature on Enes Kanter: “Kanter is a proud Muslim. He practices his faith
daily, which includes prayer. For it, he needs a private, quiet room. Clay Bennett has an office at the facility, but it’s not often used. So they called Bennett and asked if Kanter could utilize the space for prayer. Bennett’s answer: yep, no problem. Kanter used it then and still uses it today. And when timing dictates, he has a prayer room available at the arena, near the locker room — an auxiliary room cleared out by the Thunder before his first home game.”
Scott Brooks on his new job: “I’m excited about the team, guys,” Brooks said with a smile. “We have a great group of guys. I understand the question. But I’m excited about the group of guys we have here. When this season ended, when I was looking around, I knew that this is the place I wanted to be.”
Justin Anderson got a retroactive flagrant 2.
Jenni Carlson: “But the statistical evidence is there, too. In the regular season, the Thunder averaged 23.0 assists a game, the most since the franchise moved to Oklahoma City. That number dipped a bit to 21.4 in the first round against Dallas, but for reference, that’s just a skosh behind ball-movement-happy San Antonio (21.5). The Thunder is also generating better shots. The corner 3 is widely considered an indicator of good shot selection; it’s the shortest distance for a three, almost always assisted and taken in rhythm. Before this season, the Thunder had been in the top half of the league for the percentage of corner threes taken only once since the franchise moved to Oklahoma City. This season, 8.2 percent of its shots are corner threes, which ranks fifth in the NBA.”
Berry Tramel: “What we don’t know if whether Cuban started with the question or the answer. If you arrive at the answer first, that Westbrook isn’t a superstar, then you invent a question to support the answer. It was not a good question. If you ask the question first, the entire process is more legitimate. But again, it’s not a good question. Here’s the truth about what the statement that turned into a Cuban sandwich: Cuban’s theory had nothing to do with Russell Westbrook. It had everything to do with Dirk Nowitzki.”
