Thursday Bolts – 12.4.14
Sean Deveney of Sporting News: “Still, even if a couple teams drop off, the wall of strong West teams is daunting, and the Thunder will have a tough time cracking into the top four and getting first-round home court for themselves. The threshold for a home-court seed is likely to be in the 57-win range, and OKC has an acre of ground to make up. Pencil that in as impossible. Given the Thunder’s talent level, Durant and Westbrook are completely healthy it may very well be that simply getting to the postseason will be enough to set them on their way and give them a legitimate shot at contention.”
Dr. Mark Adickes for ESPN Insider: “Indeed, it appeared as if he had not missed time at all. I observed no hesitation or favoring of the surgically repaired right foot. But the bigger question for Durant, the Thunder and the NBA is whether the fracture will recur. After reviewing the literature and recent studies, the recurrence rate of fifth metatarsal fractures treated surgically in elite athletes is 5 to 10 percent. That said, fractures treated with a large screw and given time to allow for radiographic healing (you can see the fracture healing on an X-ray) reduce the chance of refracture to 3 to 5 percent. Durant recovered exactly as his medical team originally estimated and his return to form was remarkably immediate. I expect no recurrence of his fifth metatarsal fracture and an equally “textbook” remainder of the season from Durant.”
Steven Lebron of Sports On Earth: “If the Thunder do get into the playoffs as a bottom-four seed, though, will it matter? In the past five seasons in the West, seven teams have won without home court advantage in the first round. Expand that to teams that have won two rounds without home court? You only have the 2012-13 Memphis Grizzlies, who beat the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round as the fifth seed, and then upset the top-seeded Thunder. Even that instance requires an asterisk, as Oklahoma City was without Russell Westbrook for the entire series against Memphis. The numbers highlight how closely bunched teams are in the West, resulting in upsets in the first round depending on matchups, but navigating the playoffs in this Conference without home court advantage has very little history of success. For the Thunder, getting back to the playoffs won’t be enough, even if injury has put them in this situation. Durant and Westbrook have accomplished everything except winning a championship. They’ve enjoyed regular season success, made deep playoff runs, and even made it to the Finals once together. At this point, only a title would constitute a successful season.”
Perry Jones practiced on Wednesday and is available to play on Friday.
Anthony Slater on KD: “His conditioning was understandably a bit off, as he admitted postgame, and his defensive energy was lacking. And that seemed to be contagious. The Thunder tossed up one of its worst defensive efforts of the season. Opponents are scoring 94.1 points per game against OKC, fourth fewest in the NBA. But on Tuesday, the Pelicans tossed up 112. Some of that came off sloppy Thunder turnovers, some of it came after 16 New Orleans offensive rebounds and some can be blamed on lackadaisical effort – combining to signal an early lack of cohesion between the returning superstars and the remaining starters.”
