Tuesday Bolts – 4.17.12

Tom Haberstroh of ESPN.com on clutch time: “Harden’s disappearance in crunch time is stunning. Harden, Durant and Russell Westbrook have shared the court for 134 minutes together in crunch time, but Harden, who is normally one of the Thunder’s go-to scorers, has barely gotten a shot off down the stretch. Remarkably, Harden has only taken 11 field goal attempts in clutch time this season compared to Durant’s 106 shots and Westbrook’s 78 shots. By only using 6.5 percent of the team’s possessions in crunch time, Harden essentially goes from being a third wheel to a spare tire.”

Matt Moore of CBSSports.com on Russell Westbrook: “The question of whether Westbrook is a benefit or hindrance to Kevin Durant and the Thunder will continue to pester throughout the playoffs, and it shouldn’t. He’s an elite player in this league and his production helps the Thunder win. In the past week, Durant shot 46.8 percent from the field. Westbrook shot 46.2. That’s how close it is. Westbrook is no liability, he’s a legit star.”

Marc Stein of ESPN.com’s power rankings: “Since beating the Lakers on April Fools’ Day to reach 40-12 and prompt know-it-alls like me to proclaim that this is indeed the team to beat out West, OKC has been a mortal 4-4 and has to play both L.A. teams on the road this week. Another reminder that you always have to be wary of statements made on April 1.”

How have NBA Finals teams fared in April? Berry Tramel looks: “Let’s check it out. How have recent NBA champions and NBA finalists fared down the stretch of the regular season? I looked at the last 12 NBA seasons, going back to 2000. Five of the 12 champs played at a winning percentage above .700 in April, two had losing records and five had winning percentages between .500 and .700. Four of the 12 Finals losers played above .700 in April, three had losing records and five had winning percentages between .500 and .700.”

There’s a book about OKC’s rise to a big league city.

Former MVPs are leaning KD’s way: “I think that this year’s MVP award will end up in the hands of Kevin Durant,’’ Abdul-Jabbar said of the Oklahoma City forward. “Durant is my choice as front-runner due to the success of his team. Yes, he is on a young and talented team, but his presence has been the catalyst for their recent dominance.’’

Kurt Helin of PBT on the MVP: “I don’t think Durant is a bad choice, I just think LeBron has had the better season and done more for his team at both ends of the floor. But when you ask people who write stories for a living to vote, the guy with the better narrative wins whether or not he is the better statistical choice. Ask Derrick Rose.”

KD says he won’t chase the scoring title: “I’ve noticed playing in this league for five years that if you force anything, that’s when bad results come,” the Thunder All-Star forward said before Monday night’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center. “I never want to force nothing.”

OKC’s a top 10 clutch time team.

Kevin Arnovitz of TrueHoop: “In their heyday, the Celtics got away with a lot of turnovers, largely because they were impossible to score against for long stretches of basketball. The Thunder have a reasonably efficient defense, but they can’t continue to cough up the ball on nearly a sixth of their possessions, because a team like San Antonio or the Lakers — or even the Clippers, who protect the ball well — will punish them for it. Russell Westbrook, who scored the Thunder’s first seven points, couldn’t find his cutters in the first half, errors that resulted in a slew of turnovers. In the third quarter, Serge Ibaka couldn’t make a simple entry pass into the high post, and Westbrook found a wide-open Vinny Del Negro for a kickout. All of it made for very bad news, as the Thunder couldn’t get out of their own way.”

D.J. Foster of Clipperblog: “Like plenty of other Western Conference teams, Oklahoma City probably wants no part of the Clippers come playoff time — especially when the Clippers defend the way they did Monday night. Although they’re certainly a great team, the Thunder ultimately could be undone in the playoffs by their inability to take care of the ball. In a playoff setting, 19 turnovers just isn’t going to get it done.”