Wednesday Bolts – 2.26.14
Berry Tramel on Perk: “The truth is, the Thunder needs Kendrick Perkins. Or someone like him. Someone to plug the middle on defense. Someone to body up on big post men. Somebody to defend the pick’n roll. Doesn’t have to be Perkins. But it needs to be someone like him, because he’s very effective at what he does. Perkins is a polarizing figure because he’s so bumbly on offense. He has bad hands, very little touch and no hops. When Perkins gets an offensive rebound even under the basket, he’s rarely capable of getting the ball into the hoop. He’s not a good offensive player. In fact, I assume he’s the worst offensive player among all NBA starters. Can’t imagine a worse one. But that just shows how good he is on defense. The Thunder excels with Perkins in the lineup. And it is below .500 without him.”
Jeff Caplan of NBA.com: “OKC’s regular starting lineup of Westbrook, Thabo Sefolosha, Durant, Ibaka and Perkins has played 287 minutes together with an offensive rating of 96.7 and a defensive rating of 104.2. The likely new starting lineup with Adams replacing Perkins has played 82 minutes together with an offensive rating of 100.4 and a defensive rating that nose dives off the chart at 122.0. Numbers are meaningful, but can also be interpreted in different ways when comparing lineup combinations. All we can do now is watch the games and try to determine if the Thunder indeed miss Perkins’ nearly 20 minutes a game, or if he’s really been more of a hindrance all along.”
Thunder interested in Caron Butler if bought out?
Ian Thompson of SI.com on if the Thunder are worse with Westbrook: “Absolutely not, Mike. As hot as they were in recent weeks, their record with him this season (21-6) remains better than their record without him (22-8). In addition, they’ve been the best team in the West for the previous two seasons with him. However long it takes for him to recover his legs and to regain the rhythm of teamwork with his teammates will be an investment well spent. The Thunder’s role players have improved in Westbrook’s absence. That doesn’t mean their team is better without one of the league’s top 10 players.”
Zach Lowe of Grantland: “With Westbrook, people only remember the two misses. The other stuff vanishes from the narrative. We have years of data showing the Thunder are better when both Westbrook and Durant play. The data this season, especially the lineup data, is shakier, but Westbrook is coming off three knee surgeries in less than a year! He’s rusty! Can we give the guy some time, please? All that said, the Thunder ended up standing pat at the deadline, and the Westbrook-Durant thing has always had the potential to be one of those stories that engulfs a team beyond all rationality. I doubt that will happen, because this is not the sort of front office to behave irrationally. But if the Thunder bow out early in the playoffs, and a couple of close losses feature bad crunch-time Westbrook jumpers, it’s not insane to suggest the issue could balloon out of the team’s control. But for now, these guys remain the favorites in the Western Conference.”
