Friday Bolts – 9.19.14
SI.com’s top 100 players ranks Serge Ibaka No. 19: “Ibaka is effective in all the ways you’d expect of a 6-10 athletic specimen: He rolls well, he finishes strong around the rim and he’s great at converting second-chance opportunities. Beyond that, Ibaka boasts a confident mid-range game that builds with every season. From the base skill of making 18-footers off a teammate’s drive-and-kick, Ibaka has begun to branch out in two interesting ways: He has dabbled in spacing all the way out for corner threes and has experimented with taking a dribble or two on the catch to get a better look. Both make Ibaka (and the Thunder) that much more difficult to defend. Elite defensive players with enough offense to get by are premium commodities, as are floor spacers with any defensive ability. Ibaka satisfies those minimum criteria with enough surplus skill to rank as one of the best players of his kind.”
The Thunder are No. 3 in the NBA in ESPN the Mag’s Ultimate Standings, and No. 7 overall. Ahead of the Thunder are the Spurs, the Ducks, the Seahawks, the Grizzlies, the Kings, and the Lightning.
J.J. Barea could be available. Interested?
This investigative reporting on LeBron’s hairline is blockbuster stuff.
Dwyane Wade on the dress code: “It was like, `OK, now we got to really dress up and we can’t just throw on a sweat suit,”‘ he said. “Then it became a competition amongst guys and now you really got into it more and you started to really understand the clothes you put on your body, the materials you’re starting to wear, so then you become even more of a fan of it…. Obviously sometimes we push the envelope, and I think it’s because we’re athletes,” he said in an interview Tuesday. “We’re not looked at as guys who should wear certain things. Being flamboyant is being OK.”
Zach Lowe and Joe Mande talk team names.
And just so it’s clear, KD was wearing a 5, not an upside-down 2.
Steve Aschburner of NBA.com on ringless players: “He’s young, so the ticking of the clock still is muted. But Durant has accomplished almost everything else he can – scoring titles, an MVP – which makes the open space on his trophy shelf more conspicuous. He doesn’t want to become Garnett, the constant around whom insufficient parts get haphazardly placed. Russell Westbrook fits in here, too, by association, though he still has individual awards to conquer.”
