Semi-Bolts: Here Come the Lakers
The main storyline to open the Thunder/Lakers showdown is simply who will be available to play, when. The main storyline for the proposed anti-tanking changes to the lottery odds: it sounds good because it will keep teams like the Thunder from camping out at the top of the draft, but it sounds bad because it might help the actual Thunder.
Sam Presti aimed to rebuild with another basketful of top-tier talent, as he had when building the first Thunder contender around Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden. But only one of Presti's ballyhooed haul of picks actually conveyed in the top-5. OKC leveraged the tampering and cap circumvention from the the league's wealthiest, greediest teams to extract the foundation of the current roster through pre-agency and a prolonged series of trades that fetched second-draft players and more picks.
I think the proposal is, like all lottery adjustments, mostly foolish. The paranoia that OKC would benefit along with the bigger markets? Beautiful.
Bolts
The Latest from Daily Thunder:
- Thunder 131, Suns 122: The Day After Report (OKC wins series 4-0): "For the third straight year, the Thunder swept their first-round opponent and will get a long rest before the second round. While the date of OKC's next playoff game is still to be determined based upon the outcome of the first-round games, the Thunder should be off until at least May 2, and more likely later."
- Podcast: First Round Takeaways and Second Round Thoughts: "The Oklahoma City Thunder capped a sweep of the overmatched Phoenix Suns, and on this week's podcast, host John Napier and Daily Thunder beat writer Brandon Rahbar give their takeaways on the first round, offer an early preview of a potential second round matchup with the Los Angeles Lakers, and dig into Scott Van Pelt's comments on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
- Saturday Morning Cartoons: You Don’t Get to Win Because You’re the Lakers: SGA praise, a peaceful elbow, and a full glass of LA Haterade before the Thunder-Lakers semifinals.
Around the web:
- An early look at how the Lakers and Thunder match up entering their playoff series (Thuc Nhi Nguyen, L.A. Times - Lakers):
“I had no doubt in my mind that we could get the group back and build the belief and confidence and be able to execute and give ourselves an opportunity to win a playoff series,” Redick said. “And then go take on the world champions and be competitive in that.”
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