Wednesday Bolts – 12.16.15
Dan Devine of BDL on Russ: “It’d be a little too easy to suggest that Westbrook’s moment of
inspiration got the Thunder on track, but Oklahoma City did come out of halftime hot, ripping off a 25-7 run in the first 5 1/2 minutes of the frame behind Westbrook and a suddenly switched-on Durant, who combined for 20 points on perfect 6-for-6 shooting with two assists in the run.”
Erik Horne on Billy Donovan using timeouts: “All the timeouts aren’t totally different. You’ll still see Russell Westbrook come to the sideline after crossing halfcourt. Similar to previous coach Scott Brooks, Donovan uses timeouts to stop a run or get the Thunder out of a funk. Donovan has also shown his own way of halting rallies.”
Kyrie Irving is set to make his debut on Thursday against the Thunder.
Matt Moore of CBSSports.com on Irving returning: “The biggest question with Irving’s return is how he’ll affect the Cavaliers’ offense. He’s n elite shotmaker and a terrific isolation player, which are things you simply can’t teach, but he can also tend to be pretty ball-dominant, which could threaten the flow the team has developed in his absence. In particular, Kevin Love has become more involved offensively than he was all of last year. If the Cavaliers can keep Love involved and continue with the adjustments they’ve made to their scheme, and simply add Irving’s scoring and playmaking ability, they will look much closer to the super-team they were expected to be from the time Love and LeBron signed on.”
Russell Westbrook did a very cool thing.
Things are going great in Houston.
Anthony Slater on OKC’s backcutting: “It starts as most Thunder possessions do, with Westbrook dribbling toward the top of the key. Andre Roberson is flanked on the wing and Steven Adams flashes to the elbow. Westbrook then passes it to Adams and redirects toward the wing, which is vacated by a Roberson cut to the opposite corner. That’s when Durant enters the picture. He flashes to the ball from the opposite wing, takes a quick little handoff from Adams and, moments after receiving it, fires a backdoor bounce pass to a cutting Westbrook, whose defender is often fooled into overplaying Westbrook and shifting his attention toward the nearby Durant.”
