Friday Bolts – 9.12.14
The Deadspin 51, which ranks the most useless thinkers and doers in sports, has Scott Brooks 10th: “Vestigial chaperone for a team that could probably win 55 games and a playoff series with a googly-eyed garden rake holding the clipboard on the sideline. Actively makes team worse whenever he makes a decision.”
KD in promoting Strong and Kind: “I’ve been on the other side. I grew up in a neighborhood where kindness wasn’t the norm. I witnessed the opposite of kindness. Then, some role models came into my life and taught me how to respect myself and how to look out for others. They taught me why this was important. … My mom is definitely a kindness role model. I saw her sacrifice for me every day growing up. She is living proof that you can be strong and kind. My former coach Chucky is another. He’s one of the first people who taught me what it meant to respect others. I was lucky to have positive role models. But not everyone has someone. … It’s important to spread the Strong & Kind message to them because they might not hear it anywhere else.”
Tom Haberstroh’s part two on fixing the schedule: “Beyond that, Czeisler proposes another tweak that could yield a much better product on the court: Have teams in the same division play each other in consecutive games on the same court. Consider it a half-step toward the MLB model. Think about it. Instead of Oklahoma City having to fly across the country to Portland twice, why not just have them knock out a pair of games and be done with it? This almost makes too much sense. Such a move would drastically reduce needless travel, help keep players healthy, and strengthen the almost nonexistent divisional rivalries, so it’s not just another game on a schedule. One obstacle is that a turned ankle may ruin, say, Utah fans’ chance of seeing Kevin Durant live for an entire season if he needs to miss the Salt Lake swing. But is that potential downside worth the injury risk of grinding through 20 back-to-backs every year? Doubtful. While new starting pitchers will freshen up consecutive baseball games in ways the NBA can’t, it’s not as though the NBA has a problem with consecutive tilts against the same team.”
Masai Ujiri’s essay is pretty great.
Fran Blinebury of NBA.com predicts potential first time All-Stars: “Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant. It’s almost like they’re a single entity, because you rarely hear one name mentioned without the other. Meanwhile there’s that jumping jack just out of the spotlight who is deserving of All-Star billing, giving the Thunder the “Big Three” punch to be a top title contender year in and year out. Until the Thunder break through and win a championship, it’s not likely that fan voters or the coaches are going to give Ibaka much respect. They should. The Spurs did in Games 3 and 4 of the Western Conference finals. He’s led the league in blocks twice, is a three time All-Defensive First Team member, dunks like he’s mad at the rim and, oh, there’s also that jumper.”
