Tuesday Bolts – 12.2.14
Darnell Mayberry on Reggie Jackson: “Many might roll their eyes at that statement because it doesn’t mesh with the greatly exaggerated narrative that has been manufactured about Jackson, who some would have you believe is a selfish player in search for more riches, a more prominent role and, as a result, the first thing smoking out of Oklahoma City. But even with bigger goals still in mind, Jackson remains committed to helping the Thunder the best way he can. For now, that’s once again coming off the bench, as the team’s super sixth man. It’s a role that he has perhaps outgrown but one that Jackson also will continue to embrace for as long as it remains his job description.”
Kevin Pelton of ESPN Insider: “The month the Oklahoma City Thunder spent playing without stars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook presented an interesting case study in the value of shot creation. As expected, the remaining Thunder players who were forced to increase their usage rates suffered a corresponding hit to their scoring efficiency. That was certainly the case for Ibaka, who has used plays at an above-average rate (23.4 percent) for the first time in his career but barely improved his scoring average per 36 minutes from 16.6 points last season to 17.2 this season. Without Durant and Westbrook to draw attention and set up Ibaka, only 16.2 percent of his shots are coming from within 3 feet of the basket (vs. 32.7 percent in 2013-14), according to Basketball-Reference.com. And without those easy buckets, his 2-point percentage has dropped from 54.6 percent to a career-low 48.3 percent. So nobody was happier than Ibaka to see Westbrook return to the lineup on Friday.”
Ben Rohrbach of BDL: “It won’t be easy. In order to get to 49 wins, which barely got the Dallas Mavericks an eighth seed in the playoffs last season, the Thunder must play .682 basketball (45-21) for four and a half months. Considering they finished last season 46-20, it’s certainly achievable. With a win over the Knicks in hand and games against the Philadelphia 76ers, Detroit Pistons and Milwaukee Bucks after Durant’s potential return against the Pelicans, OKC could find itself in playoff contention before a nationally broadcast Dec. 11 showdown opposite fellow former MVP LeBron James’ suddenly surging Cleveland Cavaliers. But this is a Thunder group that’s been to the conference finals in three of the past four years, so they’re not exactly used to heading out on the road as an eighth seed come April. In order to consider hosting a playoff series in the spring, they’ll need to play closer to .773 basketball (51-15) down the stretch.”
Marc Stein has OKC 15th: “Apparently there is little correlation between the like-sounding words Russ and Rust. FWIW, we do think A) Kevin Durant will make his comeback Tuesday, and B) OKC does have enough time to rally and make the playoffs as long as Russ and KD can stay healthy for the rest of the way.”
Lil B in an interview with SLAM: “Like I said in my lecture last night, I as Lil B am totally cool with Durant. I’ve been forgave him. I love Durant and I love the NBA. The Based God is different, that is its own thing. As we can see with the injury and what is going on with the team…yo, shouts to Westbrook. I got no problem with Russell Westbrook. I’m a big fan of Westbook. You just got to be around that positive energy and Kevin Durant has to make sure he is around that positive energy. You know?”
Zach Lowe of Grantland with an important point: “It’s a catchy AC/DC song, but now that an NBA team called the “Thunder” has co-opted the tune, it feels a little hokey when you hear it in other arenas. I’m still undecided about playing the “Gonna Fly Now” theme from Rocky outside of Philly.”
