Wednesday Bolts – 6.8.16
Anthony Slater: “If the Boston Celtics get Kevin Durant in a room, they can highlight their
treasure trove of assets and promote life outside the wicked West. If the Warriors or Spurs secure a Durant visit, they can hypothesize how to best fit him around a ready-made roster. Pat Riley may just toss his championship rings on a table. He’s done it before. Imagination can be alluring. Change can be appealing. But when the KD free agency sweepstakes hit in early July, the Thunder is banking on familiarity over temptation. The known over the unknown.”
Tom Haberstroh and Baxter Holmes of ESPN.com on injuries: “The league says it is dedicating itself to science more than ever before. That much is clear. But what isn’t clear is how the powers that be will react if — or when — the science comes back and says the best players in the world are playing too many games, a shared belief of sports scientists not on the NBA payroll. There’s no question that everyone wants to see Stephen Curry represent his country. There’s no question that no one wants to see another Finals matchup in which the best players are in street clothes or one in which stars are carried off the floor, like LeBron James was when his body shut down in Game 1 of the 2014 Finals. The question is whether the powers that be will adjust accordingly, even if it hurts the bottom line.”
Aubrey McClendon’s death has been ruled an accident.
Slater on KD’s season: “But the Thunder wasn’t able to finish off the Warriors, in part, because of Durant’s uncharacteristic offensive inefficiency. KD shot only 43 percent in the playoffs and made only 31 of his 110 threes, a team-worst 28.2 percent clip. In that heartbreaking Game 6 defeat to the Warriors at home, Durant went 6-of-19 shooting in the first half and 10-of-31 overall before turning it over three crucial times down the stretch. It’s a loss that will sting this franchise and its franchise player — maybe forever. But widen the scope and it’s easy to see why this season will hold a special place in Durant’s heart.”
Dar-Wei Chen of Hardwood Paroxysm: “But by now, we should know better than to assume Finals appearances by the Thunder within the next few years if Durant returns. Both Durant and Westbrook are in their primes, but we don’t know how many more years of apex Westbrook we have left. Maybe injury luck will gift windows of opportunity to the Thunder, but it could just as easily close those windows. We also know that some key Thunder players are going to start becoming expensive soon, and those Warriors are probably going to be around for a while.”
Dirk on KD’s future: “He wants to play to win. He’s got a great group of guys there in OKC. They’ve got everything going. They’ve got youth, they’ve got talent, they’ve got athleticism. He’s got a superstar player next to him. They’re loaded where he’s at.”