Thursday Bolts – 2.9.12
LeBron responding to Perk: “I can see why he may have felt embarrassed. I don’t think I was the only one that reacted to that unbelievable play by Blake, and that’s what it was all about, me acknowledging how great of a play it was. If Kendrick Perkins had dunked on somebody else on the other end, I would have done the same thing … From day one, that’s why I got to Twitter, to connect to my fans.I would never apologize for anything like that when I’m connecting with my fans.”
Sam Amick of SI.com on James Harden’s All-Star bid: “But with Kevin Durant already voted in as a starter and Westbrook seeming to be a lock as a reserve, Harden’s All-Star inclusion would be a declaration of the Thunder’s dominance more than anything. Only the most elite of teams are typically granted three or more All-Star spots: The Celtics have been among that group each of the last three years, while the Heat (2011), Pistons (2008) and Suns (2007) are the only others in the last five years. The Thunder had two for the first time last season in Durant and Westbrook.”
Henry Abbott’s first batch of ideas to better crunchtime: “Another idea: I’m also suddenly livid every time I see a team call a timeout to earn the right to inbound the ball from midcourt. That’s a rule that rewards a coach for stopping play, even if he doesn’t want to stop play. Why not let teams inbound from midcourt in the final two minutes whether they call a timeout or not? Bolder yet, why not let them move the ball only if they don’t call a timeout?”
Jack Dickey of Deadspin on Perk’s LeBron slam: “It’s unsurprising that Perkins has a grandfatherly demeanor, grousing about all of these look-at-me young’ns on Twitter, but he probably shouldn’t be taking on LeBron, especially this long after the fact. He seems like one who trips and falls and then blames a bystander who couldn’t suppress a chuckle.”
KD is No. 2 in ESPN.com’s MVP Watch.
The evolution of Daequan Cook.
Ziller on All-Star reserves: “That’s a fascinating concept, and that we’re more likely to apply to, say, international basketball. (Well, Team USA and Spain at least.) That would explain why Rajon Rondo didn’t fit in with the 2010 FIBA Worlds team: in our model, he’d be the CP3 of the ideal team and the “blurry” Derrick Rose would have been with Kevin Durant, Westbrook, Andre Iguodala and Danny Granger as indistinguishable “All-Star role players.” In other words, Coach K might actually test our theory were he an NBA All-Star Game coach.”