Tuesday Bolts – 10.6.15
Matt Moore of CBSSports.com projects Coach of the Year: “Same kind of effect is in play here with
Donovan. The Thunder are obscenely talented (many felt this was the only reason Scott Brooks won, but that’s lunacy considering how cohesive and good OKC’s defense was, something that is helped by, but not solely reliant on, talent.) Still, if Donovan comes in and makes an already really good team great, sometimes that’s considered more impressive than taking a bad team and making them decent.”
Tom Ziller of SB Nation: “Smith is now threatening to make life miserable for Durant and saying that he sees K.D. when he’s sleeping or something. The sad thing this is that a) Smith is doing this to boost his profile and his ratings on ESPN’s First Take and Smith’s radio show and b) many of us (guilty!) will play right into his hands because this is all somewhat entertaining from a train wreck type of perspective.”
KD renovated a court at an OKC elementary.
Samer Kalef of Deadspin: “Smith probably thought he sounded like a cool, intimidating villain in a Scorsese flick, when in reality his monologue mirrored one of a henchman who gets his ass kicked by Jason Statham 35 minutes into the movie. Seriously, what could Stephen A. Smith do to Kevin Durant? Make fun of him for not playing center? Drop nonstop critical tweets with no regard for human life, spelling, or punctuation? Fill his bed with Cheez Doodles?”
Jonathan Tjarks of Real GM: “The game will be simple for Jackson, a good thing for a guy with his physical gifts. At 6’3 210 with an absolutely monstrous 7’0 wingspan, he is bigger and faster than the vast majority of PGs in the NBA. If he can play in enough space, he should be able to get around his initial defender and create havoc. He’s not nearly as effective in a more conventional offense, where the other team can make him play in tighter spaces and force him to beat them as a precision shooter and shot-maker. The margin for error becomes a lot smaller and he makes a lot more errors.”
Former Thunder great Caron Butler for The Players’ Tribune: “During the two weeks that I was in solitary confinement, I reflected on the sacrifices my mother made and knew that I had to become a better man. I wanted to make her proud. I wanted her to be able to say, “That’s my son,” with a smile on her face rather than tears streaming down her cheeks. I spent many hours alone, writing her letters about my desire to make necessary changes in my life. Some people might argue that jail turns people into better criminals. You can learn schemes and tricks on how to beat the system from fellow inmates. However, my experience was different. Being away from my family and losing my freedom influenced me to be a better human being. Without that time of desperation, I never really could’ve made the change that would save my life. It led to me becoming closer with God.”
