Friday Bolts – 5.13.16
Matt Moore of CBSSports.com: “Maybe not, but for a Thunder organization that —
whether they like it or admit it or not — still needs to convince Durant of how great he has it in this little town, winning this series is no small feat. You don’t go into the postseason with the kind of talent the Thunder have with small hopes, but given how great the Spurs have been, reaching this point is a milestone. No matter what, they beat the Spurs. They made their fourth Western Conference Finals in six years.”
Anthony Slater on Steven Adams’ migraine game: “Usually his right eye. Which is where he felt it pregame on Thursday, less than an hour before serving a key role in the Thunder’s 113-99 closeout Game 6 win over the Spurs. The Thunder’s 22-year-old center burst onto the national scene in this series. He had the frantic, game-saving defensive sequence in Game 2. Then he had the massive 16-point, 11-rebound double-double in Game 4, when the Thunder’s twin tower closing lineup, along with Enes Kanter, tilted the series. Adams and Kanter gave the Spurs such problems that Gregg Popovich was forced to adjust in Game 6. He went to the massive but seldom-used 7-foot-3 Boban Marjanovic in the first half.”
ESPN Stats and Info had a great note on Westbrook’s passing yesterday: “To look at how Westbrook’s approach affects the Thunder’s offense as a whole, the crux of the analysis is a game-by-game look at how Westbrook’s passing and shooting rates relate to the team’s offense with him on the floor. First, some basics: The Thunder score about 117 points per 100 possessions with Westbrook on the court, one of the best marks in the league among players who play so many minutes. Westbrook averages 26 shots and 86 passes per 100 possessions while he’s on the court.”
Tim Bontemps of the WaPo: “On the final possession of the first half of Game 6 of this Western Conference semifinal between the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder, Kevin Durant found himself with the ball at the top of the key and Kawhi Leonard, the two-time reigning NBA defensive player of the year, staring back at him. Durant dribbled once with his left hand, hesitated, then launched a long, high-arcing three-pointer, holding his follow through as Leonard leapt to contest the shot. As Durant watched the ball, he bent backward, trying to guide the ball into the basket.”
Berry Tramel: “Defense? The half-court shutdown the Thunder displayed in this series was magnified in Game 6. The Spurs scored 12 points in the final 16 minutes of the first half. OKC protected the ball, so San Antonio’s running game evaporated. The Spurs missed 24 of their final 30 shots of the first half. Iso ball? That’s been the knock on the Thunder for years. But after the Game 1 blowout, the Thunder out-assisted the Spurs 92-88, including 12-5 in the first half Thursday.”
Sam Amick of USA Today: “Only the mercurial Oklahoma City Thunder point guard knows what was running through his mind. His plans for the latest postgame outfit perhaps, or maybe that time in the 2013 playoffs when a torn meniscus took him out of the kind of title-chasing action that was about to commence, or the 2012 NBA Finals when this rising young Westbrook-Kevin Durant squad came so close to winning it all. There had been so many memories between these big-city bred stars and their adopted town, success and heartache and so much in between that led to these tension-filled days in which the whole basketball world – because of Durant’s looming free agency – wondered how long it might last. Some three hours later, after the final whistle sounded on a 113-99 Thunder win that sends them to the conference finals for the fourth time in six seasons for a matchup against the defending champion Golden State Warriors, they had another one for the scrapbook.”
Jenni Carlson: “As meaningless free throws went up on the other end of the court, Russell Westbrook walked toward Kevin Durant, his arm extended and his palm out. Durant slapped him five, and Westbrook, in turn, slapped Durant’s heart. It was fitting. This team showed some serious heart. Facing an opponent that had the seventh-best regular-season record in NBA history, the Thunder dispatched the mighty Spurs in just six games with a resounding closeout victory Thursday night at The Peake.”
