Tuesday Bolts – 1.17.17
Brett Dawson: “A miscommunication had left DeAndre Jordan a clear lane to barrel down, and as the Clippers center attacked the
rack, Russell Westbrook reached in to prevent an easy dunk. Then Westbrook turned to teammate Joffrey Lauvergne, explained the breakdown and shouted. As he clapped his hands in frustration, Westbrook yelled, “We just talked about it!” The Thunder missed Steven Adams on Monday night at the Staples Center. His absence was apparent in a 120-98 loss to the Clippers – in the way the lane opened for L.A. to drive it; in the way the Thunder missed defensive assignments. But it was far from the only source of frustration.”
Ben Alamar of ESPN looks at OKC’s shot selection: “A study of where the Oklahoma City Thunder are getting their shots, however, provides a clear example of how shot selection can impact an offense. The Thunder get 35 percent of their shots within 3 feet of the basket — far more than the league average of 29 percent. Out of 100 shots, the Thunder get six more within 3 feet of the basket than an average team. If they made those shots at the league average of 62 percent, the Thunder would score about eight points more than an average team from that distance.”
Royce’s article from last night.
Brett Dawson (again) 0n last night’s loss not living up to the Thunder’s standards: “But after the Thunder’s 120-98 loss to the Clippers on Monday at Staples Center, Donovan – while admitting the difficulty of the task – lamented the way his team attacked it. “Regardless of who’s out or who’s playing, you have a standard that you want to play to, and I just didn’t feel like we played to that standard tonight,” Donovan said.”
Fred Katz: “They say you can’t see something that isn’t there. But the Thunder intently stared at a void for 48 straight minutes Monday night. The L.A. Clippers ran all over Oklahoma City during a 120-98 win. It was a game they led by as many as 27 with OKC center Steven Adams sitting because of a concussion he suffered the previous night in Sacramento. And the Thunder couldn’t recover without their most important defensive player. “We had made some significant strides over the last five to seven games, but I didn’t think it was one of our better defensive games,” coach Billy Donovan said. “Regardless of who’s out or who’s playing, you have a standard that you want to play to, and I just didn’t feel like we played to that standard tonight.”
Erik Horne on how the Thunder decide who is inactive for games and who isn’t: “Semaj Christon sat at the end of the Thunder bench Wednesday. For the first time aside from injury, Christon, a key reserve during Thunder’s first 40 games, was in street clothes. It was inevitable after Cameron Payne’s return to the lineup that Christon’s minutes would drop, but to fall completely off the active roster? Christon was assigned to the Oklahoma City Blue on Thursday. “Just because somebody’s inactive doesn’t mean they’re going to be inactive for the whole year or an extended length of time,” Thunder coach Billy Donovan said. There’s an art to determining inactives. With every game comes a player or two who won’t suit up, and the decisions of NBA coaches often come down to more than just who’s available.”
