Tuesday Bolts – 3.17.15
Matt Moore of CBSSports.com on losing Ibaka: “This is still very doable … if Durant gets back. But Durant’s injury has lingered, and is a continuation of an early season procedure. In short, OKC needs to get healthy in a real hurry. Of course, on the flip side, the good news for OKC is that somehow the Pelicans have had worse luck. It’s becoming more and more apparent that they’re not getting Jrue Holiday back this season, and Ryan Anderson is still weeks away. Tyreke Evans and Anthony Davis have had to battle through injuries, and their bench is depleted. Their healthiest key player right now is probably Eric Gordon. Think about that.”
Dan Devine of Ball Don’t Lie: “He’s making a difference even when he doesn’t directly defend the shot, too; Thunder opponents have shot 53.8 percent inside the restricted area with Serge on the court, compared to 61.5 percent when he sits, according to NBA.com’s stat tool. Plus, Ibaka’s been head coach Scott Brooks’ guard-dog of choice when it comes to deploying trade-deadline acquisition Enes Kanter.”
From last night: Russell Westbrook briefly lost his composure in a bad spot.
Anthony Slater: “Frustrated with a questionable charge call moments earlier, Russell Westbrook stood in the Mavericks frontcourt, continually asking the referee “Are you serious?” Unsatisfied with the answer, Westbrook briefly turned to bolt back on defense. But as he did, Westbrook noticed Chandler Parsons preparing to receive the inbounds just a few feet away. In a flash, the gears in his head turned and his feet soon followed, pivoting toward Parsons in an attempt to make up for his turnover by forcing one on Dallas. But instead, the first mistake compounded into a second. His fifth foul led to his sixth, as Westbrook crashed into Parsons and was disqualified from the game.”
Russ didn’t want to talk MVP last night.
Eric Freeman of BDL: “Jokes aside, it’s possible to understand Westbrook’s point of view here without ascribing it to his well-known tendency to treat various media questions with disdain. Although Westbrook has recently shown a keen interest in pursuing individual achievements even when it makes him look a little ridiculous, he is known as one of the sport’s fiercest competitors and always focuses primarily on winning games. The Thunder need every one of them right now, too, so it would likely be seen as poor form to talk about how great it would be to win MVP when the franchise is so close to falling into the draft lottery. Westbrook is no friend of the media, but that doesn’t mean he’s ignorant of how he comes across when he speaks with them. Professing zero excitement over his candidacy is basically the less kind version of shifting focus to team-wide concerns.”
