Thursday Bolts – Thanks Thunder Edition

Let me say first: The airport was pretty special last night. Hundreds upon hundreds showed up with flags waving, beating drums and one dude even on a vuvuzela. As the team finally said their goodbyes and started walking away, a loud chant of “Thank you Thunder!” broke out. It was pretty great. Indeed, thanks Thunder. (Here are some great pictures from it and a really nice video too.)

John Hollinger of ESPN.com: “When the dejection over the blown leads in Games 4 and 5 wears off, one realizes the big picture remains blindingly bright for Oklahoma City. Looking forward, this is the most talented team in the Western Conference. They lost to a savvier team that excelled in the exact areas where the Thunder struggled, but they’ve also improved by leaps and bounds in this department every season. There’s no guarantee they make it back here, obviously, but you have to like their chances. And when they do, experiences like this one — painful though it may be — might help push them over the hump.”

Chris Mannix of SI: “It won’t be long before the Thunder get back to work. They are basketball junkies in Oklahoma City, a team virtually incapable of taking extended breaks. Perkins says the team is “very close” to being a title contender, citing turnovers (“Red Auerbach once told me, ‘get the ball, don’t give up the ball,'” Perkins said.) and an ability to keep their composure as the only things the Thunder were lacking. These things will come. Some with time, some with work. The Thunder went back to Oklahoma City losers on Wednesday night. But it won’t be long before they return as winners.”

Awesome stuff from KD when asked if he was happy for Dirk.

Ben Golliver of CBSSports.com on KD’s answer: “Nowitzki was the better of the superstars, but he also had the better, more tested team. Durant seems to understand that fact intimately. Will some people misinterpret his comments as a sign of disrespect? It’s possible. But they shouldn’t. True competitors respect each other by respecting the game first, and that means focusing on the ultimate prize at all times, even in the midst of a disappointing defeat. After all these years — more than a decade — of heartbreak and frustration, Nowitzki surely knows where Durant is coming from.”

Series grades for the Thunder and Mavericks.

Darnell Mayberry: “Here’s something I find sort of contradictory. The Thunder takes a great deal of pride in having one of the new-age hybrid point guards in Russell Westbrook. But the team then tries to make him play a more traditional point guard’s game by bringing the ball up on most possessions and initiating a set. It makes no sense. If he’s a true hybrid point guard, let him be a hybrid. Don’t be afraid to take the ball out of his hands sometimes and allow someone else to put pressure on the D. I realize much of this year’s insistence was about having Westbrook learn and grow at the position. But the time has come to utilize the entire team’s strengths, not just Westbrook’s.”

On Westbrook not shaking hands after the game.

Gregg Doyel of CBSSports.com: “Then Westbrook did it again. Oklahoma City needed a bucket to get the lead, slow down the Mavericks and shut up a thunderously loud crowd, but Westbrook allowed the ball to end up in reserve guard Eric Maynor’s hands. Maynor averaged 4.2 points per game this season for a reason, that reason being he’s not a great shooter. But it was left to Maynor to chuck the Thunder’s biggest shot of the season — and just like the 3-pointer he was foolishly allowed to take with 2:55 left and the Thunder ahead by four, this time he missed an 11-footer with 56 seconds left and the Thunder trailing by one.”

Beckley Mason for TrueHoop: “The Thunder have yet to establish a consistent identity, which is as much a consequence of the roster shake-ups and the shifting nature of player identities as it is of pure youth or inexperience. But even with the bad decisions, the lack of playoff experience, and the magical Maverick finishes, it still took two fluky events to knock out the Thunder. My bet is that by this time next year, we’ll be able to immediately list the defining qualities of the Thunder. One of them may well be Western Conference champions.”