Tuesday Bolts – 11.25.14

They practiced: “The Thunder’s star duo practiced with the team on Monday for the first time since both went down to injury. “They did participate and looked good,” coach Scott Brooks said. Durant, the reigning league MVP, is recovering from a stress fracture in his foot, while Westbrook is working his way back from a broken hand. “This week, I don’t know what day, they’ll get evaluated and we’ll go from there,” Brooks said. “They’ll continue to go through this process and when they’re ready — 100 percent ready — they’ll play.”

Scott Brook remains confident in Andre Roberson: After his latest miss, the worry again shifts to his confidence. With eight seconds left in the Thunder’s loss to the Warriors on Sunday, Roberson airballed a wide-open look with a chance to tie the game. And moments later, after the final horn, he dejectedly walked to the locker room, clearly bothered by the preceding sequence. “I’ve been around him for a year and a half,” coach Scott Brooks said. “I know the mental toughness he has. One shot is not going to make him crawl into the hole and make him not compete the next night.” And he’s not going to find himself out of the rotation, either, despite the continued shooting struggles.”

Marc Stein’s Power Rankings: “Only four teams over the past 20 seasons have started 3-12 and rallied to reach the postseason … three of them from the East. And if you believe that this season’s No. 8 seed has to match the 49 wins achieved by Dallas last season, OKC needs to go (gulp) 46-21 from here on out after a six-game skid.” Not last!

Kevin Pelton talking about zone defense: “According to Synergy Sports tracking, the Thunder didn’t play a single possession of zone against the Portland Trail Blazers in their season opener. After Westbrook went down with a fractured bone in his right hand, they played a handful of zone plays in their subsequent game against the L.A. Clippers. They wouldn’t go without zone entirely again for nine games. On some nights, Oklahoma City has played zone for extended stretches. In a game at the Toronto Raptors on Nov. 4, they played almost exclusively zone, using a man-to-man defense for just a few plays.”

Perk responds to Marreese Speights: “On Monday, Perkins responded to those comments. “I just don’t understand some guys, especially like a guy his caliber — five or six-year player in the league, you been on six different teams,” Perkins said. “You don’t really have no room to be talking about anyone. It’s his world, I’m just living in it,” Perkins joked. “That’s my response to Marreese Speights.”

NOTE: No DT Power Rankings today because Royce is still controlling the deer population of Oklahoma.