Tuesday Bolts – 8.9.16

Erik Horne on Sabonis’ debut: “But that doesn’t make him useless on the perimeter. He has

good feet and even better hands. In one sequence, Sabonis switched off his defender and was able to get a deflection to force a turnover. After he was swatted by Felicio, Sabonis came up with a strip and steal on the next possession. The possession after Barbosa’s first blowby, Sabonis was able to stay in front of a driving power forward and force an errant jumper.”

Enes Kanter’s family has disowned him for his ties to a progressive Turkish political movement: “I warned Enes before but he didn’t stop writing tweets against our president and the Turkish nation. As Kanter family, we didn’t support his disrespectful sayings. Me and the Kanter family are disowning Enes. We want him to change his surname immediately. We want to say sorry to our president and to the Turkish nation for having a son like that.”

Kanter responded in a statement (translated here): “Today I lost my mother, father, brothers and sisters, my family and all my relatives. My own father asked me to change my surname. My mother, who has given me life disowned me. My brothers and sisters with which we have grown together ignore me. My relatives don’t want to see me again. For Gulen’s work, which has been grown by the tears of loyal and devoted people, not one but thousands of Enes could be sacrificed. I would sacrifice my mother, father and whole family for Gulen’s sake.”

Thunder-Warriors, Nov. 3. Durant’s first trip to OKC will be Feb. 11. And his second will be March 20.

Jenni Carlson: “Remember when there were wins that were cause for concern? Not enough ball movement on offense. Too many easy shots for the other team. Wins could be nitpicked, and losses could be reason to burn the whole thing down. Those days are gone. So are blowouts. Or at least they’re likely to be when the Thunder’s on the high side. A win will be a good thing, no matter what. The lens through which we watch this team has changed completely. But that doesn’t mean there can’t be excitement and entertainment. The fun isn’t gone.”