Thursday Bolts – 10.1.15

Nate Duncan for SI.com

: “Durant looked as good as ever during his healthy cameos last season. While the potential for a recurrence exists, there’s little reason to think the Jones fracture should hinder him on a day-to-day basis. Nevertheless, the missed development time could have subtle effects on his game. Ironically, Durant’s return to form could be a major determinant in whether he stays in Oklahoma City after 2016. The better he plays, the further the Thunder go, and how the team finishes could be a huge factor in his decision as a free agent.”

Mike Gallagher of Rotoworld (h/t Blake): “Those transition possessions were just 26.6 percent of his plays last year, so where else was he a factor and can he improve? His biggest play by far was pick-and-roll, and he was actually very good at it as a scorer. He ran PNR for 33.8 percent of his possessions and came in at 61.7 percentile. That’s not spectacular or anything and there could even be some improvement this year with Enes Kanter, Serge Ibaka becoming a better offensive guy, or maybe Donovan used KD more as a roll man, which would be amazing. In fact, KD came in at 100 percentile as a roll-man scorer on PNR, but he was only used about once per game — 4.1 percent of his possessions. Interestingly, Serge Ibaka was not a great roll man at just 34.8 percentile and maybe the coaching change helps him — I’d venture a guess that the coaching change helps him more than anyone. By the way, Enes Kanter was very good as a roll man with OKC at 75.6 percentile, which is up from 19.9 with Utah. Suck on that, Westy-is-not-a-point-guard haters.”

The Bill Simmons Podcast debuted.

Ben Golliver of SI.com: “The story of the Thunder’s season will be the story of Durant’s season, because team and player are one and the same, at least until July 1. Over the summer, the four-time scoring champ appeared rested and rejuvenated at USA Basketball camp, and he’s returning to a deep roster that now features an improved Russell Westbrook, a low-post scorer in Enes Kanter, an extra shooter in Kyle Singler, and a solid frontcourt rotation that includes Serge Ibaka, Steven Adams, and Nick Collison. There’s a lot to like here, including Oklahoma City’s flexibility to shift between big lineups aimed at controlling the paint and smaller looks aimed at creating space around Durant. It’s a safe bet that the fiery Durant is taking note of all the preseason attention paid to Golden State and San Antonio, too.”

Enes Kanter comes in 152 in #NBARank. Right ahead of Al-Farouq Aminu, Gorgui Dieng, Julius Randle and Kevin Martin.

Erik Horne of NewsOK: “A myriad of factors played into Kanter and the Thunder’s struggles on the defensive end last year. He was traded by the Utah Jazz to a Thunder team 54 games into what ended up as an injury-riddled season for Oklahoma City. The Thunder’s defensive rating (opponents’ points per 100 possessions) was nearly seven points worse with Kanter in the lineup (110.4) than without (103.6). Meanwhile, Utah’s defense improved, allowing the fewest points per 100 possessions (95.3) in the NBA in its final 28 games following Rudy Gobert’s insertion into the starting lineup. Those numbers don’t tell the entire story, but they oppose the beauty of Kanter’s offensive production. On Wednesday, Kanter said his variety of moves on offense is mostly natural, cultivated from playing soccer growing up. Like a few well-known NBA players from overseas — Hakeem Olajuwon and Dikembe Mutombo, among others — Kanter is an import whose footwork was forged kicking a ball instead of bouncing it.”

Kevin Pelton of ESPN Insider with his player profiles: “As obviously problematic as Durant’s loss was on offense, the Thunder also might have missed him on defense. Durant has developed into an above-average defender, part of his transformation from a one-dimensional scorer early in his career into a versatile MVP. Oklahoma City surely missed Durant’s contributions on the glass. Though a complete non-factor on the offensive boards, Durant is a terrific defensive rebounder, which helps allow the Thunder to play small with him at power forward.”