Tuesday Bolts: 9.12.17

Russell Westbrook played NBA Jam on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon last night: “Things got a bit nostalgic on NBC Monday night when Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook made an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to promote his style book, Russell Westbrook: Style Drivers. During the segment, Fallon challenged Westbrook to a game of NBA Jam in which Westbrook played as himself and Jimmy went throwback with Hall of Famer Larry Bird.”

Steven Adams comes in #47 on Sports Illustrated’s Top 100 players list: “There will always be a cap on the box score contributions of players like Adams, in part because their games are tailored to complement. What he doesn’t do is the point; Adams knows what he does well and dedicates his game to aiding those who wind up filling the box score. It’s because of him and players like him that the high-scoring guard has become the standard bearer of modern basketball. When your center defends well, screens hard, aids in team rebounding, and finishes the opportunities presented him, the rest of the lineup can be maximized accordingly.”

Russ played pickup in NYC yesterday with Harden, CP3, Melo, Kanter, Oladipo, and others:

More highlights from the pickup game: “NBA trainer Chris Brickley posted a series of videos from Monday’s pickup session in New York. Westbrook joined the likes of Carmelo Anthony, James Harden and Chris Paul to play in ultra-talented pickup games against other NBA players. Westbrook nearly destroyed a rim in the process.”

Fred Katz on Patrick Patterson being ranked the 98th best player in the NBA by Sports Illustrated: “The list of players Sports Illustrated has already released means some Thunder notables likely will not make the cut this year. Stars like Russell Westbrook and Paul George will be coming up later. And starting center Steven Adams has a chance to sneak into the top 50. But things don’t bode well for Andre Roberson, who will likely start at shooting guard, and Enes Kanter, who has been a Sixth Man of the Year contender during each of the past two seasons.”

Numbers 75-51 in ESPN’s Top 100 player rankings: “We asked, “Which player will be better in 2017-18?” To decide, voters had to consider both the quality and the quantity of each player’s contributions to his team’s ability to win games. We’ll continue our countdown of the top 100 players over the next three days.”

Steph and KD are having somewhat of a sneaker war in Oakland: “Durant, a Nike spokesperson, told The Ringer on a podcast last month that “nobody wants to play in Under Armours.” No athlete has generated more revenue for Under Armour than Curry, who left Nike for Under Armour in 2013. “Where we were four years ago and where we are now — you can’t tell me nobody wants to wear our shoes,” Curry told the Observer. “I know for a fact they do.”

Full interview portion from Westbrook’s appearance on Fallon: