Wednesday Bolts 11.25.15
There wasn’t a game last night and I have no idea where Royce finds Thunder related things to put here so who knows what you’ll find in today’s Bolts. But he’s coming home today so yay. As far as me recapping games in the future, we’ll have to see if he can afford me. Thanks for all the kind words though. :)
Here are Marc Stein’s Power Rankings that I missed the other day: “When you start 15-0, especially after winning a championship, comparisons to the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls and talk of 70-plus wins are the inevitable burdens you have to live with. Yet something tells me that the ever-sunny Golden State Warriors don’t see any downside to the way they’ve opened their NBA title defense. How can they? The numbers tell us that they’ve been even more dominant, through 15 games, than the 72-10 Bulls of ’95-96 were, as this beautiful SportsCenter placard illustrates. Pinpointing who belongs in the top 10 after the Warriors/Spurs/Cavs triumvirate remains a tough task for your trusty Power Rankings Committee of One, but we’ll get into those struggles more via Stein Line Live. Better to focus here on the Warriors’ ridiculous dominance, which is reflected in their tidy average point margin of plus-14.4. The only other team in the modern era to start 15-0 — the 1993-94 Houston Rockets — sported a point differential of just plus-9.3, by comparison, during their historic start.”
The Warriors man, they’re doing okay: “On Tuesday night against the struggling Los Angeles Lakers, the Golden State Warriors finally closed the gap between speculation and history by crushing the visiting Lakers 111-77. Now, with 16 straight wins to open the season, the Warriors own the NBA’s best ever start. For some big-picture perspective, Golden State is the third team in major American pro sports to win this many games from the jump. As if a 67-win season and championship wasn’t enough, the Warriors keep reaching new heights. “It feels great, especially the way we did it,” interim coach Luke Walton said after the win. Tuesday night showcased the Warriors as they aspire to be: sharing the ball and racking up 25 assists before fourth-quarter garbage time. On one illustrative play, Andre Iguodala caused a Kobe Bryant turnover, leading to an open fast-break layup for Stephen Curry — with nobody around him. Rather than collect his free two points, the NBA’s leading scorer slowed down to find Iguodala for a dunk.”
Well well well, look who’s in at number 3: “The steady and successful play of Oklahoma and Iowa was rewarded Tuesday, as both teams moved into the top four in this week’s College Football Playoff rankings. The reigning champs stood at No. 3 in each of the previous CFP rankings this season, but a heartbreaking loss to Michigan State (which rose to No. 5 this week) sent the Buckeyes spiraling down to No. 8. A three-point win over a three-win Boston College team wasn’t good enough in the committee’s eyes for the Fighting Irish to stay in the top four, and they settled in at No. 6.” #BoomSoon
Berry Tramel says KD makes Dion better: “Dion Waiters is one interesting ballplayer. But so far, he’s been a much better ballplayer with Kevin Durant in the lineup. That stands to reason with anyone, of course. But in the nine games that Durant has played this season, Waiters has been a productive and efficient player: 10.8 points, 49 percent shooter, all kinds of things to be encouraged about. In the six games Durant missed, Waiters was not efficient. In the six games Durant missed, Waiters looked like the kind of player that LeBron James would want to get rid of, which is apparently how LeBron felt. In those six games, Waiters averaged 11.5 points and shot 34.7 percent from the field.”
Will Rondae Hollis-Jefferson get to dunk on Serge Ibaka? “A matchup months in the making will happen Wednesday night at Chesapeake Energy Arena: Rookie forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson will get his shot at Serge Ibaka. Before being drafted in the first round this summer, Hollis-Jefferson was asked at the NBA Draft Combine who’s the one guy he’d like to dunk on when he gets to the pros. Hollis-Jefferson picked the Thunder shot swatter. “I don’t know if I should say this, because he might be, like, looking for me if I come down the paint,” Hollis-Jefferson said during a television interview. “But I know Serge Ibaka is a big blocked-shot dude. So if I can get him, I’m good.”
Star Wars on Jimmy Kimmel: “Jimmy Kimmel hosted the cast of “The Force Awakens” — or as Kimmel called it, “the most anticipated sequel I think since the New Testament” — in a special “Star Wars” edition of the show that included interviews with cast members Carrie Fisher, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver and John Boyega, and director J.J. Abrams.” DO YOU HAVE YOUR TICKETS YET?
