Tuesday Bolts – 4.26.16
Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com: “For most of Dirk Nowitzki’s career, a first-round exit in the
playoffs qualified as a major disappointment for the Dallas Mavericks. This season is different. Nowitzki held his head high as he grabbed the microphone and leaned back in his chair for his final postgame media conference of the season. Given the circumstances, Nowitzki took comfort in the fact that this flawed, injury-ravaged Mavs team fought to the merciful end. The Mavs overachieved simply to make the playoffs. They pulled off a minor miracle by actually winning a game against the much deeper, much more talented Oklahoma City Thunder. Nowitzki can live with exiting in five games, with the Mavs having never led in any of their losses, all of which were by double figures.”
Berry Tramel: “Kevin Durant told the world that Mark Cuban is an idiot. It was wonderfully entertaining and wholly unnecessary, because about 40 minutes earlier, Russell Westbrook showed the world the same thing. Cuban, the maverick Mavericks owner, sat courtside pregame and opined that this Western Conference playoff series has two superstars. One per team. Durant and Dirk Nowitzki. Then Westbrook went out and had 36 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists to lead the Thunder to a 118-104 closeout victory over Dallas, which sends OKC into a West semifinal showdown series with the Spurs.”
My ESPN.com story from last night.
Zach Lowe of ESPN.com: “Is Brooks worth it without Durant? He became a bit of a punching bag for refusing to downsize against the small-ball Heat in the 2012 Finals, relying on creaky veterans like Derek Fisher over bouncier dudes, and overseeing a stagnant offense that leaned upon one-on-one talent as a crutch. Flash forward to 2016, and the Thunder are barely playing Durant at power forward; giving precious minutes to Nick Collison and Randy Foye while Cameron Payne languishes; and toggling between a few predictable, slow-motion sets amid uneven crunch-time play. They’re also winning a ton. Nothing has really changed.”
Anthony Slater: “Then there’s his sometimes fiery, sometimes serene leadership style. Through his shooting struggles, and with his free agency lingering, Durant has remained engaged in this series emotionally. He gathers huddles, barks out defensive signals and serves as the public voice of this team.”
Sean Deveney of Sporting News: “In the meantime, Durant still has a chance to do something stars like Howard, LeBron James, Anthony and Chris Paul have been unable to do — win a championship with the team that drafted him. He’s coming into the conference semis against the Spurs angry, with an uncertain future and as a heavy underdog. Maybe that’s just the right combination for a series like this. Afterward could be a hobbled Warriors bunch, or perhaps the Clippers or Blazers. Durant could get himself de-curmudgeoned in the next six or seven weeks, if things break well for the Thunder. If not, if Durant’s Thunder are quickly dispatched in the series against the Spurs, well then, the speculation begins, this time in earnest.”
Rob Mahoney of SI.com: “Players like Andre Roberson and Dion Waiters will be challenged to make plays as that pressure builds. This is by design. Every NBA defense is structured according to what threats with which its architect can live. Often that preferable option will come by the hand of a non-shooter or a questionable decision-maker, each of which has a place in Oklahoma City’s regular rotation. The Mavericks did what they could to put the ball in the hands of the Thunder support whenever possible, but then reacted to that outcome with slower, more desperate rotations than one would expect of the Spurs. For a fourth- or fifth-option scorer, the difference between a hard-working team doing its best and an alltime great defense executing in rhythm is profound. Whether Waiters, in particular, can make do with the smaller creative windows may tilt the series.”
