Monday Bolts – 12.14.15

Kurt Helin of PBT: “Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are magnificent, that is all Thunder fans

need know. We’ve covered this before, but the OKC dynamic duo were at it again Sunday. In a game where the Thunder had to go to overtime to beat the Jazz 104-98, Oklahoma City was +17 when Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook shared the floor. The duo combined for 56 points, which is 53.9 percent of all the points OKC scored. Just a reminder that having two guys playing well enough both should get in the MVP discussion can erase a lot of mistakes.”

Erik Horne on the halfcourt shot maker: “When it hit off the back iron and dropped in, Russell Westbrook held a finger up to the sky as he walked back to the scorer’s table out of the third-quarter timeout. McKinzie’s shot ended a two-year drought for fans in the halfcourt shot contest. Before McKinzie’s make, Brad Brucker of Piedmont was the last fan to make a halfcourt shot on Nov. 21, 2013. McKinzie, who graduated from Oklahoma State on Saturday with a degree in sociology, called the shot a perfect graduation gift, and he already knows where the money’s going.”

Here’s what I wrote for ESPN.com on last night’s game.

Berry Tramel: “Anyone who is surprised shouldn’t be. Adams is turning into a really good player. This number is likely to go only up. But it actually is down a little from last season, when Adams averaged 25.3 minutes per game. Here’s what most interesting. Adams averaged 27.7 minutes per game last season after the Enes Kanter trade. So Adams played less when his sidekick was Kendrick Perkins.”

Here’s how Russell Westbrook’s butt pass came to happen.

Dan Devine of BDL’s power rankings: “For all the clucking about his selfishness, nobody throws more passes that lead to assists, hockey assists or free-throw attempts than Westbrook, according to SportVU. Morrow’s one of the most accurate 3-point shooters ever; Waiters has enough off-the-bounce juice to drive past hard-charging closeouts and get to the rim; both grade out well as supplementary spot-up and catch-and-shoot options. When the Thunder run spread pick-and-roll with this lineup, the result’s very often going to be a dump-off pass for a dunk or layup, or a kickout to an open and very capable marksman. They’ll give some buckets back, but Ibaka’s rim protection, Durant’s length, and the size and physicality of Waiters and Westbrook means Donovan can experiment with hiding Morrow, a weaker defender, on less-threatening wings while continuing to reap the benefits of his hiccup-quick release.”

Adam Silver says Kobe should be in the All-Star Game.

Anthony Slater: “Utah scored on the next possession. Then the Thunder missed a pair of game-tying shots. But Westbrook made a pair of the game’s most underrated plays, grabbing offensive rebounds on both misses. OKC kept possession, and Durant capitalized on a drive and dunk — the most important two of his game-high 31 points, 29 after halftime. Then Westbrook spurted the Thunder to that overtime lead and OKC’s defense clinched it, led by the heroics of Ibaka. In overtime, Utah had two points. Ibaka had two blocks, sending away the Jazz’s two cleanest looks. The first of those was a chase down, out-of-nowhere send-away rejection of a Gordon Hayward dunk.”

Fan Essentials got a new rally towel in and there’s a week left to get it.