Thursday Bolts – 6.5.14
: “Speaking of Harden’s offensive season, it was good but hardly transcendent. He cleaned up against bad defenses, averaging a 114 offensive rating against bottom-20 defenses and a 105 offensive rating against the top 10. There’s nothing wrong with racking up stats against bad defenses (all stars do it to a certain degree), but speaking subjectively, I think it speaks to how Harden’s game lacks dimensions that other elite perimeter playmakers can claim, a reality that has been exposed in the past two playoff series in which Harden was the primary focus of the defensive game plan. He dribbles well and passes decently but suffers from a lack of facility with his right hand. He’s a good shooter — not a great one — and far from an elite athlete.”
Berry Tramel: “So LeBron and the San Antonio Patriots are no excuse for the Thunder. No one’s holding the door open for you. You’ve got to kick it in. And the Thunder didn’t kick in the door in 2014. In fact, the Thunder took a step back. The Boomers weren’t as good this season as last season. In 2012-13, the Thunder was fabulous. OKC ranked second in the league, behind only Miami, in offensive efficiency, and tied the Spurs for third in the league, behind only Indiana and Memphis, in defensive efficiency. The Thunder even had some eggheads (that’s a term of endearment) writing about the Thunder’s historic dominance.”
Zach Lavine is a crazy athlete.
Anthony Slater: “Despite his athletic limitations, Kendrick Perkins knows the identity and strength of his Thunder team – a mobile juggernaut that can overwhelm with quickness, length and explosion. But as a guy who has survived in this league because of brute strength and an underrated knowledge of the game, Perkins also knows its weakness.”
This thing about LeBron is pretty fascinating.
Caron Butler: “It’s tough, but at the same time, it’s part of life. You can easily go with the for sure thing with Miami in the Eastern Conference or you could go the hard way, where it’s going to be a little harder in the Western Conference,” Butler said. “That was my thing. I’ve never been a guy who took the easy route. So I knew it was going to be a great opportunity and you want to make a magic moment happen and be a part of history but we fell a little short.”