Monday Bolts – 2.10.14
ach Harper of CBSSports.com: “Especially with the season Durant has put together, it would take a very incredulous Anthony supporter to still argue that his guy is a better scorer than Durant. Durant has a higher scoring average, a much higher true shooting percentage, a much higher effective field goal percentage, and a higher free throw rate. It’s more about seeing the progression of Durant and how he’s improved his game as Anthony is settling into his prime (which is a very good prime). Anthony just isn’t the pure scorer that Durant and maybe hasn’t been for sometime. The Knicks’ star is still incredible in many ways, but Durant is borderline historic at this point. He may even get us talking about him as the best pure scorer of all-time as he continues to approach his basketball prime.”
Berry Tramel on the Knicks: “Spend, but spend wisely. Don’t sign players because you know their names. Sign players because they fit your plan. Heck, have a plan. The Spurs have had a plan for 15 years. The Thunder has a plan. The Pacers have a plan. The Heat had a plan that went far beyond the free agent signings of the summer of LeBron. The Knicks have no plan. They’ve got a meddling chairman in James Dolan. Since Carmelo’s arrival, the Knicks have had three presidents and two coaches, provided Mike Woodson is still coaching the Knicks by noon Sunday.”
Darnell Mayberry: “Thabo Sefolosha was fan-freaking-tastic yet again defensively. He took J.R. Smith out of the game, helping to hold him to seven points on 3-for-10 shooting. On consecutive possessions in the opening period, Sefolosha stripped Smith and got a one-man fast break dunk at the other end before hounding Smith again and knocking the ball out of bounds off his foot. Much later in the game, Sefolosha got switched onto Melo and did a terrific job of making his shot difficult. Just more of Thabo doing what Thabo does.”
Daily Dime on how yesterday was another illustration of how different Melo and KD are.
Matt Dollinger of SI.com: “There’s a reason Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony are often discussed as peers. Both are phenomenal scorers, prolific No. 1 options, and two of the elite shot-makers in the league. Both are past scoring champions and are once again 1-2 in this year’s race (Some foreshadowing: Durant is No. 1). They’re both about 6-foot-9, annual fixtures of the All-Star Game and two of the most popular players in the league. But there’s also a reason why Kevin Durant’s team won Sunday’s matchup with relative ease and why they’re atop the Western Conference, while Carmelo Anthony’s team isn’t even a playoff squad in the desolate East.”
John Schuhmann of NBA.com has OKC No. 1: “The Thunder’s defensive numbers have slipped a bit over the last few weeks and Kevin Durant really fell asleep on the Magic’s game-winning fast break on Friday. But OKC out-grinded the surging Grizzlies in an ugly game on Monday and Durant played a huge role in shutting down Carmelo Anthony on Sunday. It was only Durant’s second win in 13 head-to-head meetings with Anthony, which is weird.”
Same for Matt Moore of CBSSports.com: “When they get up for a game, there’s no way to prepare for them. Just go to the shelter and pray.”
