Wednesday Bolts: 02.12.20
Brandon is probably at fault for this loss, though:
Berry Trammel (The Oklahoman) argues that last night’s loss is indicative of a slump. “This ranks as perhaps the worst loss of the season. There was that horrid 97-85 loss to Washington way back on October 25. But that’s when we weren’t sure the Thunder wasn’t horrid itself. We now know the Thunder is a quality team, and this should have been one of the easier games of the year.”
No caption necessary:
One of the greatest NBA coaches gave some high praise for Billy Donovan’s work this season with Oklahoma City:
In the latest franchise value rankings, Forbes put the Thunder at no. 20, estimating the franchise’s worth at nearly $1.6 billion. Forbes also noted that OKC was the only team to lose money last season ($23 million loss), due to the massive, $61 million luxury tax bill.
Robby Kalland (Dime Magazine) writes that Dennis Schroder has become one of the NBA’s most efficient guards. “Schröder is averaging 19.3 points, 4.1 assists, and 3.9 rebounds per game in his 31 minutes each night, all of which are pretty close to his career best raw stats. Most importantly, he’s blowing his career best efficiency numbers out of the water, shooting 38.8 percent from three (previous best 34.1 percent last season), 52.5 percent from two (previous best 48.7 percent in 2016-17), and 58 percent true shooting (previous best 53.3 in 2016-17). To illustrate just how much better he’s been, Schröder is scoring 116.3 points per 100 shot attempts per Cleaning The Glass, which ranks in the 85th percentile of all combo guards. His prior career best was 107.9, which was the 46th percentile among point guards that year. Schröder has barely ever been an average guard in terms of scoring efficiency, but suddenly he’s among the best in the NBA.”
Jenni Carlson (The Oklahoman) says that Kevin Durant is the one fixated on OKC, not the other way around. “But guess what? If he would quit talking about Oklahoma City, people here would stop talking about him. I guarantee you, if Durant hadn’t said what he said on that podcast last week, I wouldn’t be writing a column about him today . . . But if Durant thinks we’re sitting around trashing him, I have a suggestion for KD — stop talking about OKC. You might be surprised to find out you aren’t on our minds as much as we seem to be on yours.”
Michael Kawaida (HotNewHipHop) asks whether Chris Paul is a top 5 point guard of all time. “In terms of ranking and public perception, Paul splits the aisle. Some despise him for his flopping and antics with referees. Others love his passion and determination. If you’re extrapolating only the statistics and individual play in a vacuum – Chris Paul no doubt belongs in the conversation with Isaiah Thomas, Magic Johnson, and John Stockton as the best to ever play the point guard position. But it’s not as simple as it sounds. The objective of any game is the win and to be considered Top 5 ever at your position, shouldn’t you have to at least reach an NBA final? This conundrum is why the 9-time all-star is literally one of the hardest players to judge in NBA history.”
Lu Dort, Thunder Cares, and Homeland did a good thing today, helping a local Oklahoma City family in need:
