Thursday Bolts – 5.24.12
KD took some exception to a few questions: “I’m just going to play my game,” Durant started. “I can’t really think about how those guys are going to defend me. They’re a tough defensive group. But every question is about how the Spurs are going to come and how the Spurs are going to play. But you got to ask me how we’re going to come at them. We’re a tough team as well. We come out and play hard. We have a lot of weapons as well. I know they’re the No. 1 seed, they’re a tough group and they haven’t lost in a couple of months but I think that we bring another dimension to the table as well. And we can come out and compete.”
Kevin Pelton of Basketball Prospectus looking back at the 2007 lottery: “Durant benefited from the low-pressure management of the team’s front office. While Oden was feted in downtown Portland after the draft and his picture appeared on a grain silo near the Rose Garden, Thunder GM Sam Presti–hired two weeks after the lottery–would not allow Durant to be singled out the same way. From the outside, the expectations of Durant were beyond control. Internally, he was to be treated as just another starter.”
Nick Collison for GQ exchanging emails with Lang Whitaker: “My favorite moment of Game Five was probably when you caught that follow dunk and hung on the rim for like a split-second longer than necessary. NC: When you don’t really jump that high on dunks sometimes you pull yourself up on the rim a little to try to make it look better. It doesn’t really work.”
Shaq is going to interview for the Magic GM position.
Metta World Peace says the Lakers were better than the Thunder: “(We) definitely underachieved,” World Peace said. “We were the best team in the NBA and lost in five (games). The best team in the NBA should be up 3-2 and playing tomorrow, but the (Oklahoma City Thunder was the) better team that took advantage of the moment, that took advantage of their time, they seized, they grabbed it and they held on to it.”
Jim Rome talking Thunder-Spurs.
This column from Jim Souhan of the Star-Tribune made the rounds yesterday, but here’s a taste if you missed it: “2. If you can’t get a ticket, don’t gather like zombies: Thunder fans gathered outdoors to watch the game on TV. This doesn’t demonstrate unity. This demonstrates that there is nothing else to do in your town.”
Spencer of The Lost Ogle with a response: ‘Sure, we’ve been there before, but does that mean we shouldn’t be excited and proud of our team for getting one step closer to an NBA championship? And last time I checked, senior proms happen every year, making the playoffs doesn’t… as you well know.”
Michael Lee of the Washington Post on Westbrook: “Westbrook was arguably the most scrutinized player not named LeBron James last postseason. His spastic temperament was considered a liability to the Thunder’s championship hopes, and his every shot was second-guessed and viewed as a rebellious refusal to defer to media darling Kevin Durant. The criticism made Westbrook a little more guarded and withdrawn, but losing to eventual champion Dallas in the Western Conference Finals is what made him determined to make amends.”
Jim Cavan of the NYT on Westbrook: “At the center of it all – a shared center, if the M.V.P. runner-up Durant has anything to say about it – has been Westbrook, whose near 10-point jump in overall offensive rating (105.7 in last year’s playoffs to 115 this year) has propelled the Thunder back into the conference finals and a date with the lately invincible San Antonio Spurs. The Thunder might have dropped the last two to the Spurs, but it certainly was not because of Westbrook, whose numbers (22.3 points, 5.7 assists, and a stellar 7.8 turnover rate) in three games against San Antonio must be the standard if the Thunder have any chance of exorcising their conference finals demons.”
Fran Blinebury of NBA.com: “The hits just keep on coming for Tony Parker. No sooner does he get past the Clippers and All-Star point guard Chris Paul than up pops the Thunder’s Russell Westbrook blocking his path. Never mind three-time NBA leading scorer Kevin Durant. After the Spurs finished a long practice Wednesday ahead of Game 1 of the Western Conference finals, Parker said the key to keep moving ahead is slowing down Westbrook.”