Tuesday Bolts – 8.2.16
CBSSports.com has OKC’s starting five the 18th best: “This is still a lineup that features
Westbrook, Roberson and Adams, but much of this roster was built around Kevin Durant. We’ve seen how teams load up on Westbrook without Durant (when KD was injured and the small amount of time he spent on the bench), and with Ilyasova’s penchant for drifting in the offense, Roberson’s offensive non-factor, and Oladipo’s shooting struggles, there’s a lot to be worried about here without the safety net of Durant. There’s talent, for sure, but outside of Westbrook, it’s talent that was built to help Kevin Durant, not carry the load without him.”
Lee Jenkins on LeBron: “The draft was four days later, and a week after that, owners started handing $60 million to scrubs. Then on the morning of July 4, while James hosted a small barbecue at his house in Brentwood, Durant joined the Warriors. The Cavaliers were overshadowed once again by the prospect of Golden State scoring a gazillion points. If they were weary of Warriors highlights before, just wait. One NBA front office ran simulations, based on player values, for the upcoming season. Cleveland came out with 64 wins, second best in the league. Golden State came out with 83, better than undefeated. They broke the system.”
Matt Moore of CBSSports.com on playoff picture: “So an easy answer to “What will the balance of power be like next year?” is that the West will be better, and the East will remain the same. But those wins and losses have to go somewhere. And either a bottom tier that is dreadful, like in 2014, will bubble up for teams to beat up on, or the top teams will come back to Earth a bit. Some of that is likely in the West as the Spurs don’t seem as strong as they were last season on paper, the Thunder will tumble without Kevin Durant and questions about the Clippers’ future linger. In the East, Cleveland should remain air-tight, but also won’t value the regular season as much after proving it can win the title, and both the Celtics and Raptors had good seasons but are by no means invincible.”
Alex Abrines is on Spain’s final roster.
Kevin Pelton of ESPN Insider on biggest offseason winners: “The Warriors, who came within a tight Game 7 at home of winning their second consecutive championship, scored the biggest coup of the offseason by signing former MVP Kevin Durant from the Oklahoma City Thunder. They subsequently got smaller wins by signing Zaza Pachulia ($2.9 million) and David West (veteran’s minimum) for far below market value, helping soften the blow of losing two starters and most of their bench to clear the cap room necessary to sign Durant. While this doesn’t mean Golden State will win more than 73 games this season, on paper the Warriors’ roster is now even better than last year’s record-setting team. It’s hard to win the offseason much bigger than that.”
Kevin Durant says no one appreciates James Harden.
Josh Lloyd of Hardwood Paroxysm: “Nevertheless, that was last season. This is now. Kevin Durant is gone. Serge Ibaka is gone. Foye is gone. Westbrook may be gone. The Thunder needs offense and they are going to have to look to the 21-year-old from Tennessee to help them get it. Payne plays like a bit of a jitterbug, but the reputation he had coming out of college was that of a scorer, someone who could get buckets despite his slender frame. He finished at just 47 percent at the rim in his rookie campaign and knocked down only 32 percent of his 3-point attempts — numbers which should only improve as he eases into the NBA and develops more strength. He also displays nice length and it showed with a -0.9 DBPM (Defensive Box Plus-Minus) that ranked higher than more esteemed rookie guards, Emmanuel Mudiay, D’Angelo Russell and Devin Booker.”
