Thursday Bolts – 2.19.15
Lee Jenkins of SI.com with a feature on James Harden: “I’m talented, but what if I’m not talented enough? Harden asked himself. I’m smart, but what if I’m not smart enough? Then he eviscerated the Pistons, and two nights later put 45 on the Hawks, and some of his uncertainty evaporated. He made his first All-Star team that season, recorded his first triple double, had career highs in almost every category. But Houston finished eighth in the Western Conference, OKC first, and the Thunder took their first-round matchup 4–2. ‘I still had Oklahoma City in my head,’ Harden says. ‘Did I make the right decision? Was it my fault? They were still winning. It felt like they didn’t need me anymore.’ Scoring and playmaking came naturally to Harden, but a star’s other duties did not.”
Billy Haisley of Deadspin with a weird thing about KD and Drake: “Still, it’s a hard to shake the feeling that this is more a brand deciding to change gears than a human finally expressing his real feelings. Remember, he did have that “KD is not nice” slogan in 2013, so he and his handlers have already expressly tried to capitalize on the idea of Kevin Durant: The Badass. It’s right when a brand tries to convince you it’s not a brand when you should be most suspicious.”
Darnell Mayberry on Reggie Jackson: “When the Thunder acquired Dion Waiters in January, it turned an already bad situation toxic. Waiters immediately bumped the more proven Jackson in the rotation and quickly began playing more consistent minutes. Jackson’s minutes per game by month has steadily declined, from 38.2 in November, when he played 13 of 14 games as the starter f or an injured Westbrook, to 28.4 in December, to 21.1 in January to 19.1 this month.”
A month ago it was obvious Reggie Jackson wanted a trade. Here’s what I wrote then, which I think still applies.
Sam Amick of USA Today: “While having immense confidence in one’s abilities isn’t a bad thing in a vacuum, Jackson’s perception of his game sends a clear signal to teams that he won’t be easily satisfied when it comes to his next contract. That much was clear last October, when Jackson and the Thunder couldn’t reach an agreement on an extension before the Oct. 31 deadline and, as USA TODAY Sports reported last month, he turned down an offer that was in the neighborhood of the deal given to the Charlotte Hornets’ Kemba Walker (four years, $48 million). Anyone assuming that Jackson’s views of his own value have changed just because of this season’s tumult would be missing the mark, as it’s clear he considers the context the culprit in terms of his declining production. He wants the deal he believes he’ll ultimately earn, and he wants to play for a team that is either a playoff contender or has a believable plan to get there sometime soon. Without those two things, the risk of his next team losing him in the summer of 2016 is real.”
Tom Haberstroh of ESPN Insider says OKC is primed for a run: “In their Finals run in 2012, Durant-Westbrook-Ibaka played more than half the team’s minutes in both the regular season and the postseason. This season, that percentage has been sliced in half. And then some. If those three are healthy down the stretch, look out. This season, the Thunder have outscored opponents by 10.6 points every 100 possessions with that trio on the floor. In 2012, when adding James Harden to the mix, they outscored opponents by 11.7 points every 100 possessions. Almost no difference. That’s the type of dominance we’re seeing from the Thunder when they have their stars in uniform. On top of that, OKC has the softest remaining schedule of any Western Conference team in the playoff picture, according to ESPN’s sophisticated BPI model that factors in strength of opponent, location, distance traveled and rest. Don’t be surprised if OKC goes on an absolute tear.”
