Tuesday Bolts – 2.9.16
Anthony Slater on last night: “Fighting off a Warriors hangover, the Thunder bolted out with good
energy, outscoring the Suns 28-19 in the first quarter. It was a start punctuated by power dunks from Russell Westbrook and Dion Waiters. But as the second quarter started, the energy plummeted. Phoenix scored on the first possession of the second quarter. And its second. And its third. And the streak wouldn’t end. In all, the Suns scored on an incredible 15 consecutive possessions to start the quarter. “That’s sick,” Durant shook his head. The Thunder didn’t get its first stop until 2:41 remained in the half. But it wasn’t a bunch of Suns getting hot from the perimeter. Almost everything was at the rim or the foul line. Phoenix didn’t even hit a 3 in the second quarter and only took one.”
Austin Peters of Hardwood Paroxysm on Enes Kanter: “That being said, he was also a huge reason why Oklahoma City got down by 20 points in the first half. The 14 points and 15 rebounds were nice, but the defense was still an issue. The Warriors feast on the weaknesses of their opponents, and Kanter’s defense was their latest victim. They mercilessly ran multiple pick-and-rolls right at Kanter for multiple possessions in a row, knowing that they would be able to get the result they want out of it. In this possession, they run two pin-downs with his man and then go straight into a ball screen and Steph gets to the bucket with relative ease.”
Stein has OKC fourth: “On one hand, OKC’s second-half comeback in Oakland might not have been as encouraging as it seemed, since Steph Curry and Klay Thompson shot a combined 2-for-14 on 3s, which basically never happens. On the other hand, OKC did show you just how dangerous this team can be, for all its flaws, now that KD and Russ happen to be playing the best ball of their lives at the same time.”
Matt Moore of CBSSports.com has OKC second: “They stay here based on hanging with Golden State, something neither Cleveland nor San Antonio managed to do. It’s crazy that “going down 20, coming back to tie and then still not covering the spread” counts as “hanging with” Golden State. But here we are.”
NBA.com has OKC third: “Wednesday’s closing sequence against the Magic — a Russell Westbrook drive, a Serge Ibaka block, and a Kevin Durant pull-up for the win — was pure Thunder. And Saturday’s game in Oakland could certainly have gone worse, especially given how poorly OKC had been defending (over the previous seven games and through the first half against the champs). They got some things done offensively against a top-three defense. ”
Scott Brooks’ interview on The Vertical is pretty interesting.
Marc Berman of the NY Post: “If Knicks president Phil Jackson had visions of using Derek Fisher to lure Kevin Durant this summer, that’s off the table. Fisher was close with Durant when they were teammates in Oklahoma City. Durant raved about Fisher last month when he was in town. However, the Knicks still have three former Oklahoma City assistants on the staff — Brian Keefe, who is regarded as closest to Durant, Josh Longstaff and David Bliss, OKC’s former video coordinator hired as an assistant in the offseason. However, they all will likely be dispatched with the hiring of a new coach in the offseason.”