Tuesday Bolts – 3.29.16
Anthony Slater on Serge Ibaka: “But this season, which has included a statistical dip
across the board, the defensive impact has diminished. There are many theories as to why. Among them includes a lesser role in the Thunder offense. His 11.2 shot attempts per game are his fewest in three seasons. ‘I’m gonna tell you the truth, it’s hard sometimes when you play hard, you play you’re (butt off),’ Ibaka swore, before apologizing and rephrasing. ‘You play so hard on defense, then you come to offense and you’re going to be out there in the corner for 4, 5, 6, sometimes 8 minutes and you don’t touch the ball. We human, man. It’s hard.'”
Tom Haberstroh of ESPN Insider: “This is not to discredit Robertson and his unprecedented accomplishments. He shouldn’t have to apologize for the era in which he played, nor should he be excluded from consideration as one of the best ever. The Big O was a transcendent basketball player who broke barriers on and off the court and changed the league for the better. Also, let’s not pretend playing 44.3 minutes a night is a walk in the park — no matter how talent-starved the league was back then. But when we put Westbrook’s season and his triple doubles under the microscope, we realize how remarkable it is that he’s doing what he’s doing in a bigger league with a fraction of the possessions and playing time. If we give Russ the same stats boost that Oscar had, Westbrook’s season looks like this: 39.3 points, 17.3 assists and 12.8 rebounds per game.”
My ESPN.com thing from last night.
Dave Hyde of the Miami Sun-Sentinel: “Wade is 35 next year and will still help in the short term. Ditto for Joe Johnson, assuming he’s back. If Riley gets in a room with Durant, his sales pitch will center on the young players moving toward their prime — Whiteside, a rapidly emerging Josh Richardson (16 points Monday), Justise Winslow and Tyler Johnson. Throw Durant in that mix and is it a contender? When they’re already making Cleveland a little edgy this year? There’s the pipe dream. Reality could be another matter. If the Heat trade Josh McRoberts, they have $43 million to spend this summer — maybe $46 million if the cap rises more than initially expected, as is being reported. That’s not enough for Durant, Whiteside and Wade, much less Johnson. So do you scale back the plan? Wait a year to see if Bosh returns from medical questions or his contract is scraped from the salary cap?”
Russell Westbrook ties MJ for most triple-doubles in a month.
Berry Tramel: “OKC has a chance to finish the regular season on a hot streak. Its remaining schedule is filled with road games, but none as tough as Toronto — at Detroit, at Houston, at Denver, at Portland, at Sacramento and at San Antonio in a regular-season finale that figures to mean nothing. Mixed in are two home games, against the Los Angeles teams. The Thunder remains a big underdog in the Western Conference, particularly against the outrageous Golden State Warriors. But the Thunder-Spurs gap doesn’t seem as big anymore. The Thunder postseason is getting more interesting.”
Billy Donovan on Chris Mannix’s podcast.
May I what-if for a moment? Well, I’m going to anyway. Those game after All-Star, the Pacers, the Warriors, the Clippers, the Wolves, give OKC all of those and they’re 56-18, on pace for 62 wins.
