Wednesday Bolts – 11.11.09
Happy Veterans Day! Much thanks to all those out there serving in our armed forces. Go USA.
BDL, Behind the Box Score: “A competitive game, I’ll give it that. Not the easiest watch, because these teams are just so young. 71 free throws in the contest, divided almost sharply down the middle by both sides in terms of attempts, and so many mistakes. Not the most turnover-prone outing, mind you. It was a normally-paced game with 36 combined miscues, but just too much the usual “I don’t think that’s the shot the [team name] want at this point,” combined with physical play.”
Basketbawful: “After looking surprisingly decent recently, the Thunder lost a heartbreaker to the lowly Sacramento Kings, bricking a last second three for a 101-98 road loss. The Thunder only shot 39% from the field, led by Kevin Durant’s 9-for-23 effort in a 37 point night that included 18 foul shots, all of which he sank. This game was, as Chris put it, “not particularly memorable.” Mediocrity between two underperforming teams usually isn’t the most exciting thing to watch. The only moment that really stood out for Chris was “Durant giving up the rock immediately after regaining possession in the wake of the Kings blocking a Thunder shot.” Okay, I can see why that moment stood out.”
Darnell Mayberry: “Some of the shooting woes could be attributed to a lack of ball movement. And some of the lack of ball movement probably could be attributed to shooting woes. The Thunder tallied just 15 assists one game after recording a season-high 27. The 16 turnovers marked the second time this season the Thunder finished with more giveaways than assists. But again, despite it all, the Thunder had a last-second shot for a chance to play five extra minutes. Eliminate some inconsistency and we’re talking about the Thunder’s continued improvement right now.”
Marc Stein talking about All-Star ballot selections: “No one has formally cleared me or asked me to speak for the whole panel, which also includes Mike Breen (ABC/ESPN play-by-play man), Eddie Sefko (Dallas Morning News), Doug Smith (Toronto Star and president of the Professional Basketball Writers Association), Marc Spears (Yahoo! Sports) and Ian Thomsen (Sports Illustratred). But I feel compelled to try to share some insights on how we arrived at some of the decisions that have elicited the most passionate protests I’ve seen.”
Brown Recluse on FreeDarko: “Last week, Latavious Williams added a new wrinkle to the discussion by becoming the first high schooler to be drafted by the NBDL. Williams had already done several other things you do when you’re a high school basketball star with bad grades and low test scores: go to prep school for a year, commit to Memphis, and explore the option of playing overseas. It turns out no foreign team was interested in the raw combo forward whom Scout.com rated the 52nd best player in the class of 2008, so the DL and its $19,000/year contract was the only option left. Since it’s unlikely Williams will ever play in the NBA, he is more of a sad anomaly than a legit test case.”
Sactown Royalty: “This game in particular had loss written all over it, based on recent history. As in a few recent losses, the Kings failed to execute down the stretch, relying on defense (guh) and opportunistic plays to finish it off. And it worked! Other than the fouls, Sacramento played solid defense in the final few minutes (including the potentially game-tying inbounds play). And the opportunistic plays came — namely, the Omri Casspi transition dunk and a key team offensive rebound late.”
James Harden moves to 11 in David Thorpe’s rookie rankings: “As I’ve written before, Harden plays at a veteran’s pace. He can go at a pretty good speed, but he goes there only when he needs to. His slower, steadier pace allows him to read defenses better, and his ability to find a crease in the defense and execute the proper pass is of great value to the Thunder. As he evolves as a scorer, his assists will increase because help defenders will become more alert to his moves.”
