Friday Bolts – 3.3.17
Oscar Robertson: “I wouldn’t care. I hope he gets [a triple-double average this season].
Why should I care, man? I hope he does. I think it’s great to talk about it.”
Brett Dawson: “But he got little scoring support from the rest of the Thunder’s starting five – it combined for 12 points, no more than six by any player – and Oklahoma City broke down in key moments defensively. That never was more apparent than during that 16-0 run, during which the Blazers made all five of their field goals and tipped in a missed free throw.”
Brett Dawson on Domas and his dad: “Billy Donovan, the Thunder coach, said he had a talk with Sabonis on Wednesday about staying positive, about understanding that with a deep frontcourt bolstered by the addition of Taj Gibson in a trade, there should be less pressure to thrive. Sabonis is patient. He’s a professional. He learned those things from his father. But not a post move. Sabonis never got to mix it up in the paint with his dad, and if you ask him, he says at first he’s not sure he wants it. Arvydas still is bigger, he noted, still strong and tough.”
Berry Tramel: “How severe is Durant’s injury? Who knows? I don’t know enough about Golden State’s way of doing things to gauge the prognosis. Curry suffered a Grade 1 MCL sprain in the first round of the 2016 playoffs and returned relatively quickly, though he was somewhat hampered. So I don’t think the Warriors try to bluff opponents. Durant has proven to be a slow healer, though. A foot injury and a knee injury are two different things, but it’s never a great position to look upon a knee injury as good news. So Durant won’t be back to play in OKC on March 20. Will he be back for a potential playoff series? The Warriors have to hope so.”
Zach Lowe of ESPN.com: “Perception is worse than reality, but this sure feels like a rigged game, doesn’t it? The Raptors trade real stuff for Serge Ibaka, while LeBron and the Warriors wait around to nab their pick of the buyout crew for free. The process agitates the other 28 teams. (So does The Process, but that’s a different conversation. Get well, Joel!) Team executives have pitched a bunch of solutions to this maybe-not-a-problem. The league could move up the drop-dead date for playoff eligibility — now March 1 — so that it comes before the trade deadline. It could limit buyout signings to one per team. One exec even suggested a “buyout wire” that would operate like the waiver wire.”
ESPN Stats and Info: “Russell Westbrook didn’t record a triple-double on Thursday, but he did score 45 points in a 114-109 loss to the Blazers. He’s the fourth different player since the merger with multiple three-game streaks of at least 40 points in a season.”
