Monday Bolts – 2.24.14
Berry Tramel: “The Clippers made 13 of 14 shots taken within the six seconds that define fastbreaks. In non-fastbreak shots, the Clippers made 29 of 67 shots. Total meltdown for the Thunder, which likes to brag about its defensive mentality, usually for good reason. Scotty Brooks was so frustrated, he thrice called for intentional fouls on Jordan, a notoriously bad foul shooter. It was good strategy. On those three trips to the line, Jordan made two of six. On the Clippers’ other 26 second-quarter possessions, they scored 42 points.”
Michael Shagrin of Clipperblog: “Even when accounting for his limited minutes since returning from a knee injury, Westbrook still seems to have a poor gauge of his own ability to contribute in his current state. He’s shooting 28 percent from the field on 24 total shots in those two games. The efficiency is down. Paul, meanwhile, has shot about in line with his percentages on the season. While a player’s first first few games after injury shouldn’t impact his larger body of work, this particular instance allows for some insight into the expectations of the varying point guard breed.”
Read Kevin Arnovitz on Jason Collins.
Darnell Mayberry: “On a serious note, some of Fisher’s 3-point makes are what makes me even more concerned about this team’s 3-point shooting. I think anybody expecting him to continue to hit shots at the rate he’s hitting them, especially the way he’s hitting them, is in for a rude awakening at some point. No way is what he’s doing, and again, the way he’s doing it, sustainable. I may be wrong. But I doubt it.”
LeBron jumped KD in NBA.com’s MVP rankings: “Not even a Serge Ibaka forearm to the nose could dampen what LeBron did to the Thunder Thursday night on TNT. A smooth 33 points in 33 minutes, complete with seven rebounds, four steals and three assists … not to mention some quality defensive work (along with Shane Battier) on Kevin Durant. Altogether, it serves as LeBron and the Heat’s final statement to the Thunder until they (potentially) meet again in The Finals. LeBron has been on a mission for weeks now — it showed throughout All-Star weekend and it followed him from New Orleans. The season-high 42 points (and nine rebounds, six assists and two steals) in a win over Dallas Tuesday was just a warm up for last night vs. OKC. Folks, we have a legitimate alpha dog fight for the MVP the rest of the way.”
