Wednesday Bolts – 10.7.15
: “The first came after he burst by Westbrook on a drive, drawing
Serge Ibaka to rotate. Payne rose for a layup, forcing Ibaka to jump with him, then hung long enough to curl a pass around Ibaka to an awaiting Mitch McGary for an easy layup. Later, Payne ran a perfectly executed pick-and-roll with Enes Kanter. After feigning a drive and forcing the big to switch onto him, he retreated back toward the perimeter, creating an open lane for the cutting Kanter, then curled a lefty hook pass on the money for an uncontested layup.”
Jim Lohmar of The Cauldron: “What many took as little more than refreshing candor from the all-world forward, Smith instead attempts to frame as somehow deeply offensive — particularly in light of Durant’s latest retributive rebuttal. How is it, exactly, that Durant’s past remarks somehow impugns his credibility when he calls Stephen A. Smith a liar? In fact, Smith’s suggestion that Durant was speaking like someone “a bit inebriated” may have been the biggest character hit of them all. All this before Smith took to shoehorning in the non-correction that he never actually spoke with people in Durant’s circle. “
If you missed Jon Hamm yesterday, read it.
Steven Adams comes in at 116 in #NBARank.
Kelly Scaletta of Today’s Fast Break: “Somehow, Smith has made this a story about himself, which is something journalists are supposed to avoid. And he’s managed to make himself some sort of victim in the process, even while ostensibly threatening the person who dared question his credibility.”