Tuesday Bolts: 12.17.19
Brandon Rahbar has your Daily Thunder recap of last night’s Chris Paulathon.
Some Thunder thoughts are included in the latest Hollinger & Duncan NBA Show mailbag (@55:50):
And The Lost Ogle podcast hosted Russell Westbrook’s BFF and “Why Not?” comedy show runner Demetrius “Juice” Deason:
Connor Ayubi (The Franchise) on Steven Adams’ improvement as this season has gone on: “The biggest improvement from last year we’ve seen from the Khal Drogo of the Oklahoma Prairie has been his facilitating. He’s posting a career high of 3.0 assists per game (almost doubling his previous best of 1.6). Perhaps even more impressive, his already low turnover rate (1.5 TOPG) has actually gone down from the last few years. He’s been operating out of the high post more and more often, where his strength and patience with the ball are well utilized in finding and delivering to open teammates. His shot locations back up this observation, as we’ve seen a decrease in his at-the-rim attempts and dunks per game from previous seasons, while his short to mid range shots and hook attempts have gone way up.”
Erik Horne (The Athletic) on the Thunder’s potentially volatile roster at the outset of trade season: “Adams’ contract isn’t ideal. He’s owed close to $54 million over two seasons. As with Paul, if he’s traded to a playoff contender, that team’s roster depth may be crippled in an attempt to match his $25.8 million salary to send back to the Thunder. Adams is a wildly popular player in Oklahoma City, but that wouldn’t stop the Thunder if the right deal came along. No player, not even Adams, will override the Thunder’s long-term plan.”
Chris Paul’s trade value is one of John Hollinger’s (The Athletic) biggest questions for this trade season: “Push come to shove, I think it’s more likely a contending team makes a bid for Paul than for Love. He’s older and his contract is more onerous, but he’s also proven to be the more impactful winner. He plays a more coveted position, and his game is easier to meld with that of other stars.”
Some belated Chris Paul The Snitch talk on The Ringer’s recent NBA Desktop episode:
Kevin Pelton (ESPN) explains the function of those recently updated RPM ranks: “It’s worth highlighting that RPM ratings are estimates of a player’s value that are subject to fluctuation. In particular, players can be helped or hurt by how well opponents shoot 3s and free throws with them on the court or on the bench — factors apparently largely outside of their control. So it’s not reasonable to look at a player who ranks 10th in RPM and say he’s decidedly better than a player who ranks 11th, or even 15th. These small distinctions are trivial. Instead, it makes more sense to focus on players whose ratings dramatically diverge, or those whose ratings are far different from conventional wisdom.”
The Heat are looking to part ways with Dion Waiters. HMMMMM.
