Wednesday Bolts – 5.7.14
: “The NBA awards season comes at a strange time. Right in the middle of the playoffs. The Thunder hosts a huge game against the Clippers on Wednesday night. For an honor like MVP, a day between games becomes a huge time commitment, with pomp and circumstance. The very definition of distraction. Except Durant turned a trophy presentation into a bonding experience. He brought a close team even closer. He offered a glimpse into the kind of leadership he provides the Thunder. I don’t know if peeling back that veil will help the Thunder in Game 2 Wednesday night. But I know this. If the Clippers are able to construct a wall, Kevin Durant won’t be trying to run through it alone.”
Sam Amick of USA Today: “But by the time the Oklahoma City Thunder star was done with his 25-minute speech, done with the interview session afterward and done with the gala-like event that included hundreds of fans and Oklahoma City’s mayor celebrating inside the team’s old practice facility outside of town, the totality of his genuine performance will be tough to top by any measure. He thanked teammates by name, telling personal tales about each of their relationships and why they mattered to him. He thanked his coaches, talking at length about the close bond he has had with coach Scott Brooks since they came together during the Seattle SuperSonics days in 2007.”
I wrote a thing for ESPN.com on KD’s MVP.
David Thorpe says the Thunder may be in serious trouble.
Jeff Caplan of NBA.com: “Those comments, of course, will be clipped-and-saved for two summers from now when Durant’s contract is up and he becomes an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career. The MVP award is sweet, but it can also be cruel. Durant and the Thunder barely escaped a burly first-round series with the Grizzlies. If they don’t get by the Clippers, a 57-win team built on All-Stars Chris Paul and Blake Griffin and an excellent cast around them, Durant’s season will be considered a bust. He will be criticized for failing to lead the team back to the Finals. He and co-star Russell Westbrook‘s relationship will again be micro-analyzed and coach Scott Brooks will be fired multiple times by the media. But in this very moment, all we can do is judge Durant by his actions and his words, which only the most cynical can argue are not authentic or sincere.”
Jenni Carlson: “A little while later, after the speeches were done, the questions were answered and most of the people had gone home, she found a seat toward the back of the room. Her son sat on the stage next to his new piece of hardware, a microphone in hand, another interview under way. She shook her head ever so slightly, a can-you-believe-this look in her eyes. The tears began again. This mother’s day came a little early.”
Let Westbrook be Westbrook… somewhere else?
Darnell Mayberry: “Then came the tears. They flowed and flowed. When he heard his name announced as the league’s Most Valuable Player for the first time publicly by Thunder play-by-play man Brian Davis. When he thought back to the tough times his family endured. When he reflected on the never-ending support of teammates who told him he could be here. And when he saved Russell Westbrook for last among his teammates when telling each of them exactly what they mean to him.”
Russell Westbrook brushed off leaving the huddle.
Andrew Gilman of Fox Sports Southwest: “But on stage — while the NBA and the Oklahoma City community honored Durant with a video that made Durant’s mother cry — Durant himself was crying and smiling all at the same time. The five-time All Star, Olympic gold medalist, four-time scoring champ and biggest thing to happen in Oklahoma City in at least two decades was honored Tuesday afternoon as the league’s MVP. Hard to imagine another market making this kind of production, but then again no market has a player who is so intrinsically tied to the community.”