Friday Bolts – 4.19.13

Dan Devine of BDL: “The Rockets played at the NBA’s fastest pace this year; the Thunder played at the NBA’s 10th-fastest. When they played during the regular season, they played fast enough to leave Houston’s league-leading speed in the dust. This regular-season series produced two mammoth 20-plus-point OKC wins and an instant classic Houston win in which James Harden dropped 46 on 19 shots, Jeremy Lin had 29 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds, Kevin Durant had a 16-12-11 triple-double, Russell Westbrook put up 28-10-8 and Thabo Sefolosha — Thabo Sefolosha — popped for 28 on 6-for-10 shooting from 3. This series will have points and more points and then more points on top of that, and it will be fun as all get out. I just can’t shake the feeling that it’ll be too short to be any higher than this.”

Kevin Pelton of ESPN Insider: “Oklahoma City can’t be excited about drawing Houston, one of the strongest 8-seeds in recent memory. The Rockets had a better point differential than Golden State, the L.A. Lakers and five of the eight playoff teams in the East. Consistency was Houston’s problem throughout the regular season, which is to be expected from a team that relies so heavily on the long ball. That’s a bad thing when it means losing to Phoenix in a game that would have made the Rockets the seventh seed but a good thing in a series like this where Houston can win a game or two by getting hot.”

J.A. Adande of ESPN.com: “How the series will be decided: Easy: The Thunder play defense, the Rockets don’t. Maybe that’s a little extreme. But while there’s a scant 0.3 points separating the offensive averages of the second-ranked Rockets and third-ranked Thunder, the Thunder allow six points per game fewer than the Rockets. The Rockets lack the rim protectors of the Thunder, who are led in that category by Serge Ibaka. Oklahoma City averages a league-leading 7.6 blocked shots per game. The Rockets are 24th, with 4.4 per game. Harden averaged 29 points against the Thunder during the regular season. But in a reminder of why the roster and especially the luxury tax system made him expendable to the Thunder, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook averaged close to 50 points combined against the Rockets.”

Ben Golliver of SI.com with X-Factors say Kevin Martin is OKC’s: “This one is right up there with Green in the “Duh!” category. Martin has appeared in only six playoff games in eight years and is replacing James Harden, who averaged 18.6 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.8 steals in the 2012 playoffs. Big shoes. Big shoes, indeed. There won’t be any easing into it, as Harden’s fun-and-gun Rockets will be the first-round opponent. Martin will need to bring his outside shot to the shootout.”

Jeff Caplan of NBA.com: “Does Thunder center Kendrick Perkins have a spot in this series? Perkins played in the two early matchups, both won by OKC, but missed the Rockets’ February win in Houston with a knee sprain. Perkins averaged 25.1 minutes a game during the regular season and he played 23 and 21 minutes against the Rockets, averaging 3.0 ppg and 5.5 rpg, below his season averages (4.2 ppg, 6.0 rpg). Coach Scott Brooks has at times been reluctant to go with a smaller lineup, particularly against Miami, but in this up-tempo series, he might be forced to play Serge Ibaka more at the 5 and put Perkins on the bench.”

Jenni Carlson: “Should the Thunder have traded Harden? Does OKC miss him? Does he miss OKC? Those questions will be asked ad nausea during this first-round series, making for the most uncomfortable of days in Oklahoma City. No one who works for the Thunder or cheers for the Thunder wanted this playoff matchup. Thunder-Lakers? Absolutely. Thunder-Jazz? Bring it on. But Thunder-Rockets means everyone with an opinion gets to pick apart fallout from the preseason trade that sent Harden to Houston. Some of the dissection is sure to be hard on the Thunder. But not all of it. It can’t be.”

The Thunder did well in TV ratings.

Darnell Mayberry: “When OKC posted a 107-93 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Dec. 17, Martin was asked during a post-game interview if the crazed atmosphere at Chesapeake Energy Arena reminded him of a postseason game. ‘How the heck would I know?’ the affable Martin said, breaking into a smile. ‘You’re asking the wrong guy.’ For the past six years, Martin had performed his own rather depressing ritual the morning after the regular-season finale. ‘I’d be heading to the airport around 4 a.m., (thinking) I can’t wait to get back to Ohio,’ said Martin, a native of Zanesville. ‘So a lot’s changed.’

Berry Tramel: “I know everybody loves Jeremy Lamb. Everybody thinks he’ll be an impact player. But I haven’t seen it. Lamb played 41 minutes and shot 6-of-21 from the field. I know, anyone can have an off night shooting, and I’m willing to keep an open mind. I’m just saying, I haven’t seen what everyone’s excited about. Maybe he’s a poor man’s Steph Curry, but he’s going to have to show me.”

Take a second to say a quick prayer or think about those affected by the bombing that happened 18 years ago today in OKC.