Wednesday Bolts – 12.9.15

Dan Devine of BDL: “Kevin Durant incinerated the Grizzlies’ perimeter defense, making 11 of his

14 shots, four of his five 3-point tries and all six of his free throws en route to 32 points in just under 31 minutes of floor time. The 2013-14 NBA Most Valuable Player added 10 rebounds, six assists and three steals, offering another stellar performance in a comeback season aimed at proving he’s still the best player in the world. And while it kind of feels like everybody’s playing for second with the way Stephen Curry’s rolling right now, Durant — who entered Tuesday fourth in the league in scoring, and third in True Shooting percentage and Player Efficiency Rating — has done a pretty fine job of making his case … even if, as he himself has said, he might not always be the best player on his team.”

Anthony Slater: “Just like it would’ve been silly to overreact to a string of recent poor performances, you can’t oversell the Thunder’s 37-point blowout of the Grizzlies in Memphis on Tuesday night. The losses have been worrying. The Tuesday night shredding was encouraging — it showed what kind of potency remains in OKC’s tank. But consistency stands as the difficult-to-attain key.”

Russ dunks on people between takes.

Erik Horne: “With a little under seven minutes left in the second quarter, the Thunder made a move that birthed its best display of basketball under Billy Donovan. The traditionally rugged matchup of Thunder vs. Grizzlies was playing out as advertised in the FedEx Forum. Memphis reserve guard Mario Chalmers looked like he was ready to power up, trading baskets with the Thunder’s reserves as Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant looked on from the sideline. At the 6:50 mark of the second, however, the Thunder began its most breathtakingly efficient offensive stretch this season, as a small-ball lineup ran the Grizzlies ragged en route to a 125-88 win.”

Billy Donovan is open to staggering.

Woj on Kobe: “He spent the summer imploring Westbrook that he couldn’t let Durant win another NBA scoring title, trying to send him back to Oklahoma City with gunning on his mind.”

Zach Lowe of ESPN.com: “A great shooter brings no value from the bench. Ask Steve Novak. McDermott doesn’t need to be a stopper on defense to help Chicago. He just needs to be playable, and he appears to have put in the work to get there. Watch McBuckets’ footwork the next time you catch Chicago: the way he sinks into the paint to help, closes back out on a shooter, and holds his ground when that guy tries to blow by him. He has made massive progress.”

CBSSports.com on OKC a quarter done: “Little hiccup the last two games against Atlanta and Miami have put the Thunder a little lower in the standings. However, they’ve mostly survived the six games they had without Kevin Durant (3-3) and are trying to work through the lack of continuity that comes with a new coach taking over. Durant and Russell Westbrook have been absurd, but they need to find the balance of using Dion Waiters and Enes Kanter in these second units. It’s a good start for the Thunder, especially considering Durant’s hamstring issue, but this team can and should be better.”