Tuesday Bolts – 10.28.14
Berry Tramel: “But Durant and Westbrook are basketball players. Which means they’ve reached their prime. The apex of their marvelous physical gifts. Durant, perhaps the most coordinated 6-foot-10 man God ever made. And Westbrook, faster than a speeding bullet, as strong as an NFL safety. No longer is the Thunder the NBA’s young guns. No longer is the Thunder the team of the future. Along with 25-year-old Serge Ibaka, the Thunder no longer qualifies as the Whiz Kids. Time to go from precocious to ferocious.”
Jason Conception of Grantland on reverse fantasy basketball: “The LeBron James of Reverse Fantasy centers. Kendrick Perkins’s 28.8 percent turnover rate is my favorite stat of the 2013-14 season. In fairness, he has value that escapes the tyranny of stats, like a sparrow flitting through prison bars. This was especially evident during the playoff series against the Grizzlies, when Perk wrassled Z-Bo into a six-game headlock. That series played to his strengths, though, which involve not moving around or touching the basketball. Perk has the mobility of a broken Transformer action figure, and his hands are actually a bunch of old phone books tied together with twine. To be fair, lineup stats show Perk as being part of some of the league’s best five-man groups, meaning that Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are on some level-30 Mage shit.”
Free Darko’s every game preview is back: “Brook Lopez and Kendrick Perkins get tangled up and accidentally kiss.”
James Herbert of CBSSports.com on Kendrick Perkins: “Adams’ play means it would be a genuine surprise if Thunder head coach Scott Brooks elected to reinsert Perkins into the starting lineup. Brooks has been a huge Perkins supporter over the years, but I can’t imagine how he’d justify it now. If the veteran does indeed have to make the move to the bench, it’s obviously going to be an adjustment. Judging by his quotes, though, he at least seems ready to accept it.”
Amin Elhassan of NBA Insider on best point guard: “I’m going with Paul as well. We live in an era where you can’t go wrong. No one’s going to kill you for taking Parker, Paul or Russell Westbrook. But I think when you sit down and describe ‘what is a point guard? What do I want out of my point guard, without taking out the context of what my team looks like or who I’m playing with, you would end up describing Paul — someone whose basketball IQ is off the charts, shooting and finishing from anyplace on the court. And I think a pretty good balance between being a scoring guard and being a set-up guy. A lot of guys in the league right now are either trending one way or the other. Most of them, obviously, being more aggressive scorers. I think Paul does as good of a job of toeing that line as anyone I’ve seen since Steve Nash in his time and guys before that.”
Dan Feldman of PBT: “Durant is well on his way to becoming an all-time great, they type of player you tell your kids about watching. Once he established himself as the NBA’s best scorer – a deadly combination of volume and efficiency – Durant developed his all-around game to an elite level. His defense, rebounding and passing have really improved in the last couple years. In 2011, LeBron James lost his hold on MVP because voters were mad at him for leaving Cleveland. Last season, with LeBron still in his prime, Durant legitimately took the award from LeBron. That says it all about Durant’s level.”
