Tuesday Bolts – 6.9.15
Mike Miller on Billy Donovan: “He just puts the players first. Everything we did was players first. It’s the small things, the details and at the end of the day, he realizes he’s only as good as his players. So he does a great job of making sure everyone is taken care of and he puts the time on the court with them, growing them. Big on player development stuff.”
Darnell Mayberry on Jerian Grant: “Grant, who has great size for the position at 6-foot-4, could bring some stability and be a potential replacement to Augustin, who is entering the final year of his contract. When asked how he could help a team immediately, Grant voiced confidence in his ability to orchestrate the offense and make his teammates better by getting them easier shots.”
Fun story on NBA game balls by Baxter Holmes of ESPN.com: “Before home games, the Oklahoma City Thunder’s top security representative will personally deliver the game ball to star point guard Russell Westbrook in the locker room. Westbrook then takes it, inspects it, rubs it, dribbles it, holds it, smells it and, after approving it, passes it to each of his teammates, a sacred ceremony before the players circle up and sprint out of the tunnel.”
Nate Silver of 538 on 3-pointers: “What matters a lot more, of course, is how effective a team is at scoring overall. The Oklahoma City Thunder, as I mentioned, had the most inconsistent offense in the regular season. But their 10th percentile score, 88 points, was still better than two-thirds of the league because they had a high per game scoring average.”
Knicks like Cam Payne and might trade down for him. Could the Thunder move way up?
Chad Ford of ESPN.com on Devin Booker: “Booker was coming back from a Friday workout in Denver. He’s already hit Oklahoma City and Phoenix and has a Heat workout scheduled for Monday. Essentially, he’s working out for every team in the back half of the lottery, and the good news for him is that all seven need shooters. Denver, Detroit, Charlotte, Miami, Indiana, Utah, Phoenix and Oklahoma City are all good fits for Booker.”
