Monday Bolts – 2.22.16

Berry Tramel: “But the Thunder has to have Waiters contributing offensively. His defense is solid.

And who else off the bench is doing anything? Anthony Morrow can’t defend, and he’s made just 5-of-20 on February 3-pointers. Kyle Singler? Newcomer Randy Foye is available, but he’s 32 and on the downslope. Waiters has to play and play well for the Thunder to prosper. The Cavs proved that.”

Anthony Slater: “LeBron James was in Oklahoma City on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, so the arena had extra juice. The Thunder had an entire week off recently, so the players had rest. A surprising home loss took place two days earlier, so there was motivation. Kyrie Irving left in the first quarter with the flu, so OKC had an advantage. The table was set for the Thunder to make a statement on a national stage. And it sure did come. But in the worst possible form.”

Here’s my ESPN.com postgame story on the Thunder getting humbled yesterday.

From a 5-on-5 yesterday, Brian Windhorst of ESPN.co on if OKC should’ve made a splashier move:  “They tried. They were one of the teams that looked into Ryan Anderson. At the same time, they were 40-14. They felt OK about their latest meeting with the Warriors. They know they’re underdogs, but they were in no way desperate.”

The lady that heckled LeBron yesterday? That’s Judy Love of Love’s Country Stores.

Zach Harper of CBSSports.com on 2015 deadline hindsight: “For the Thunder, Kanter was a double-double machine down the stretch for them as they scrambled to fight for a playoff spot sans Kevin Durant. The move added a bunch of depth for a rotation that was looking fairly thin, and they still roll with a deep rotation capable of lots of versatility but not much defense in the second unit. The controversial thing about this was the contract OKC ended up giving Kanter in the offseason. Portland forced their hand by signing him to a four-year max offer sheet, and the Thunder matched it. He’s a backup big man making $17 million per season, and he’s a bad defender. They just want him to score and grab rebounds, so it may work out yet.”

Neil Paine of 538 on Westbrook: “That leaves only three other MVPs in NBA history (not including Durant) who were overtaken by an existing teammate as their team’s best player: Tim Duncan, whose 2002-03 MVP campaign eventually gave way to the emergence of Manu Ginobili; 1979-80 MVP Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who would hand LA’s reins to Magic Johnson in 1981-82; and Kobe Bryant, who was (ducking as I type this …) outplayed by Pau Gasol on the 2008-09 and 2009-10 Lakers. If the Thunder’s new hierarchy holds up until season’s end, Westbrook eclipsing Durant would make for only the fourth such instance in the last 61 years.4 And it would be unique even among those cases: Kareem was still productive but beginning to decline by 1982; Ginobili was a sixth man — better than Duncan on a per-minute basis but not a genuine threat to wrest the team away from him; and Gasol was acquired midway through the 2007-08 season.”

Kevin Pelton of ESPN Insider grading NBA juniors: “The 2013 draft produced a bunch of useful centers, many of them older players with lower ceilings but more immediate value. Plumlee has been a revelation as a playmaker in Portland, Adams has established himself as part of Oklahoma City’s core at age 22 and Dieng has proven an effective complement for Karl-Anthony Towns in a positionless frontcourt. Add Festus Ezeli to that group; he was on my list before his knee surgery scared me off.”

Slater on Westbrook: “His knee troubles began on the ground, in a rare stand-still, as he tried to slow action with a timeout — like a power pitcher hurting his arm on the walk back to the dugout. Patrick Beverley submarined on a steal attempt, tore Westbrook’s meniscus and sent him into a 10-month spiral, which included three right knee surgeries and some serious doubt whether he’d ever be the same. Less than three years later, Westbrook isn’t the same. He came back stronger. LeBron James comes to Oklahoma City on Sunday. But the man once properly lauded as the NBA’s preeminent athlete won’t even be the most impressive specimen in the gym. Russell Westbrook has captured that title.”