Friday Bolts – 5.20.16
Berry Tramel: “What’s kooky is that Roberson’s offense hasn’t been awful in this series: in
36 minutes, Roberson has 12 points, on 5-of-8 shooting, 2-of-3 from 3-point range, one turnover. Not half bad. Going back to Spurs Game 6, when Roberson had 14 points, this is his best three-game stretch of the season. Roberson is not half bad on corner 3-pointers. So how is it that against a team that’s not guarding him, Roberson has launched just two corner threes in this series?”
Anthony Slater: “In the aftermath of Game 1, the story around the Bay Area wasn’t of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook’s dominance, but rather the Thunder’s clear interior advantage. Warriors fans were worried. Which isn’t new in these playoffs. Aside from that brief LaMarcus Aldridge eruption, the trio of Serge Ibaka, Steven Adams and Enes Kanter has completely outplayed its counterparts all postseason. They’ve taken this Thunder team to another level, vaulting OKC, alongside the stars, past the Mavericks and Spurs and into a 1-0 West Finals lead. Particularly Adams.”
Kevin Pelton of ESPN Insider on if the Cavs are new title favorites: “Cleveland started the season as favorites to win the championship by virtue of an easier path to the Finals than any of the several contenders in the West. That changed over the course of Golden State’s record-setting regular season. With the Warriors stumbling in Game 1, the Cavaliers got closer in the title odds than at any point since it became clear Golden State would have home-court advantage throughout the playoffs. Still, even before the Warriors evened the Western Conference finals they remained favored in Vegas over Cleveland. And that’s reasonable given some of the holes in the Cavaliers’ playoff dominance.”
Nick Collison in a Q&A with the NBPA: “I like to think I’ve been a pro and do things the right way. I do them that way because I think it helps me in my career. I think I’ve been a good example. And as I’ve shifted to become more of a veteran player, I’ve really tried to help younger guys, and that’s what I do more of now than anything else. And it’s been fun to do that. I think I want to always be like an authentic teammate—really try to do whatever I can to help guys out, help the team out. It’s just the way that I’ve been taught to be part of a basketball team. And I think it’s helped me in my career being helpful, being a good teammate. It’s allowed me to last this long.”
KD yelling (jokingly) at Dion was so funny.
ESPN Stats and Info: “After his recent success, it seemed unlikely that Golden State would be able to stifle the Westbrook express. But Westbrook did not attempt a single shot in transition in Game 2, the first time he’s been held without a transition attempt in any game in the playoffs. Looking ahead to Game 3, can the Warriors shut him down in the open floor again? After each of the two times Westbrook was held under five transition points against San Antonio, he came back to score 11 in transition. That was against a Spurs team that ranked first in transition defense during the regular season.”
Tim Kawakami of the East Bay Times: “All the Warriors did was tie up the series, and set up two large games in Oklahoma City coming up. But they got the MVP going–and Curry got them going–after he flew into the stands, came out OK, and then couldn’t be stopped.”
