Wednesday Bolts – 6.10.15
Zach Lowe of Grantland: “Gathering as many two-way players as possible seems like an obvious goal, but it has become even more urgent for front offices to do this as teams trend toward fast-paced, drive-and-kick offenses heavy on passing and 3s. It’s harder to be one-dimensional, on either end, when everyone is moving. Doing everything at a “B” level is the new NBA skill.”
Anthony Slater on Mo Cheeks: “About three hours before every game, long before most other players have arrived at the arena, Westbrook goes through a meticulous individual workout on the court. He’s been doing it for years. Cheeks used to run the workout, showing up early and navigating Westbrook through the different drills and shooting routines. It helped them form a bond. When Cheeks left for the Detroit Pistons head coaching job a couple years ago, that job of warming up Westbrook was passed to Robert Pack. But Pack is gone. He recently took an assistant job in New Orleans.”
Westbrook has partnered with the NBA on his glasses thing.
Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com with a great bit on how so much of draft night is total luck: “Within a minute of the Memphis Grizzlies taking Janis Timma with the 60th and final pick, assistant general manager Trent Redden was on the phone going after a guy the Cavs were calling their “Mr. 61,” as in 61st pick. He was an undersized Australian from St. Mary’s who had slipped through the back end of the draft. To say Matthew Dellavedova was unwanted isn’t true. Undrafted, yes, but he had several contract offers rolling in that night. One was from the New York Knicks. A little bidding war unfolded and the Cavs kept upping their offer. Finally, Grant reached the number agent Bill Duffy was looking for: $100,000 guaranteed on a two-year contract that was otherwise non-guaranteed.”
Lee Jenkins on Steve Kerr is good.
Ethan Strauss of ESPN.com on the Warriors: “Right now, one-man brutal ball is besting vibrant ball. The team that’s fun, the one where everyone seemingly gets along, is losing to a squad with a fissure between its coach and some of its players. (It’s noticeable when Dellavedova is the only Cavs player to return coach David Blatt’s postgame hug attempts.) For the Warriors to reverse this offensive implosion, they must somehow rediscover their freewheeling selves. That’s easier said than done on this big a stage. The Warriors are saying it will happen. Curry is saying it will happen.”
Yesterday’s Down To Dunk podcast if you missed it.
J.A. Adande of ESPN.com: “The Warriors Way can’t be applied to this series. Not with Curry in a prolonged shooting slump that spanned three games and three quarters until he made 6 of 9 shots in the fourth quarter Tuesday night. His final stat line of 27 points on 10-for-20 shooting and 7-for-13 on 3s masks how debilitating his 1-for-6 start was for Golden State. This was the 10th time in the 2014-15 regular season and playoffs he has made at least seven 3-pointers; it’s the first one of those games the Warriors have lost.”
