Tuesday Bolts – 10.11.16
Kevin Durant just keeps saying things: “[My agent] Rich [Kleiman], who’s here, we were watching Game 7. Well, as it started to unfold, it was, ‘No question, no way could you go to this team.’ And I was just like a kid, like, ‘I’d really like playing with these guys. I’d get wide-open 3s, I could just run up and down the court, get wide-open layups.’ I was basically begging him. I was like, ‘Yo, this would be nice.’ As they lost, it became more and more real every day. You start to think about it even more. To see if I would fit. Then once I sat down with these guys, everything that I wanted to know about them, they kinda showed me. But we don’t have to talk about [what would have happened if the Warriors had won the title], because they didn’t get the job done, and they came after me. I guess you could say I’m glad that they lost.”
Rick Carlisle on OKC without KD: “What it means is the ball’s going to be in Westbrook’s hands more, and that’s no bargain either. … He’s another great player. Hey, losing a guy like Durant is going to change your team, but put the ball in Westbrook’s hands another 15 to 25 times per game and you’ve got another missile being launched at you every time down the floor.”
Jon Hamm of Bleacher Report: “That personnel seemingly includes a pair of hard-charging guards, several interior scoring options and a dearth of shooters who can reliably spread the floor. Spacing could become as cramped as the Devon Tower elevator at 5 p.m. on a workday unless the team can manufacture shooting. Durant, Ibaka and reserve Dion Waiters accounted for almost half of last season’s three-point attempts, and all three have new zip codes. New players will soak up many of those attempts, but with what accuracy?”
Mark Bryant beasted Steven Adams.
Erik Horne: “At the end of Thunder practice, you’ll often see Victor Oladipo and Alex Abrines working together. The two are newcomers to the Thunder, undergoing their first seasons in Oklahoma City. They’re also both shooting guards who have taken to practicing their post moves on each other. Before coming to the Thunder, Abrines said he’d never practices one-on-one in the post. Oladipo said Monday his post game is in its infant stages.”
Ananth Pandian of CBSSports.com: “The Thunder will likely still be a playoff team and perhaps even win the Northwest, but throughout it all, get ready to constantly hear about Durant signing with the Warriors whenever anything negative happens with Oklahoma City. This will especially be the case if Russell Westbrook ever makes a glaring mistake on the court or perhaps whenever the Thunder lose. How long this type of criticism goes on is up to Westbrook and the Thunder though. If the Thunder immediately show that they’re still an upper echelon team in the West, then the criticism will be muted. If not, then the constant reminder of Durant not being there may haunt the Thunder all season long.”
