Wednesday Bolts – 4.17.13

Carl Bialik of the Wall Street Journal on the scoring title: “But to Durant, a 70% true-shooting percentage over five games is nothing extraordinary. He did it over five different five-game periods this season, including three non-overlapping ones. His TS% in April has been even better than Anthony’s: 68% to Anthony’s 62%, as Melo went a bit cold after his five-game run. Meanwhile, before that run began Anthony had no five-game period this season with a TS% above 65.1%. Throughout the season, Durant has been almost as good as that, wit a true-shooting percentage of 64.7%, second-best in the NBA. James’s 64% is third-best. Just four players in NBA history have averaged at least 25 points per game while playing in at least 60 games and shooting with a higher true-shooting percentage than Durant has this season — and only one more has done so while topping James’s mark.”

Tom Habertstroh of ESPN.com: “Want to know why OKC’s offense improved this season even without James Harden? That Kevin Martin guy can score the rock. According to SportVU, Martin scored 0.494 points per touch in the 55 games tracked by their cameras, which is the highest efficiency in their database. He may not get the ball all that often playing next to Durant and Russell Westbrook, but Martin is making the most of it, scoring 802 points on 1,623 touches. Contrast that efficiency with teammate Kendrick Perkins who has received 273 more touches this season than Martin, but scored 554 fewer points. Perhaps Martin should get the ball more.”

Nick Collison on TrueHoop TV again talking favorite restaurants and how he thinks an openly gay player would be received.

Marcus Smart decided to return for his sophomore season. This draft just took a big hit.

Darnell Mayberry: “Along the way, we’ve seen marked development, from Kevin Durant on down the line. All of it is expected to enable the Thunder to make another deep playoff run. Durant has become as efficient as ever and created more scoring chances for teammates. He’s also become a better and more vocal leader. Westbrook has picked up the slack left by Harden as a playmaker and blossomed into as much of a focal point for opponents as Durant with his fearlessness and fervent hustle. Thabo Sefolosha has solidified his 3-point shot, and his best season from behind the arc has been a huge boost to the team’s historically average perimeter shooting. Serge Ibaka has expanded his offensive repertoire, Reggie Jackson has grown confident as a ballhandler and finisher at the rim and Kendrick Perkins has supplied critical low-post defense all season. And you can’t ignore Kevin Martin. The team’s most unassuming player has been unsung all season but one of the Thunder’s biggest factors in the franchise moving forward. Martin, after averaging at least 20 points as a go-to guy for five of the past six seasons, willingly accepted a lesser role all year for the greater good. He averaged just 10.1 shots and 14 points, the lowest totals since his second season.”

The Thunder were ranked fifth by Forbes in most loyal fanbases.

George Gervin takes a picture of KD, while Jay Bilas photobombs.