Wednesday Bolts – 9.14.16
Erik Horne: ”Payne said he’s been out of the walking boot about two weeks, around the same time
he was in Los Angeles at the Thunder players’ voluntary workouts. He didn’t participate then, but he’s been back in action in Oklahoma City since. In fact, Payne said he hasn’t strayed far from the city this summer. While Payne went to Orlando and lit up the summer league in early July, then hosted a series of events in his native Memphis at the end of August for his Cameron Payne Foundation, he spent most of his time in OKC. During that time, he wasn’t idle. When he was unable to walk, the slender 21-year-old was doing weight training. Payne said he was watching “a ton of film” with coaches.”
Scott Rafferty of HP: “During the 2014-15 season, ESPN calculated that Westbrook clocks out at a top speed of 21.6 miles per hour when driving to the basket. Not only does that make him almost half a second faster than the average NBA player from one baseline to another, Westbrook’s maximum acceleration of 27.16 feet per second squared isn’t far off of Usain Bolt’s at 31.0 feet per second. What’s even crazier is that Westbrook can make real basketball plays while operating at full speed when he doesn’t have the ball in his hands. Just watch him out-sprint Emmanuel Mudiay off of a dead ball, snatch Kevin Durant’s pass out of the air like he’s a wide receiver and explode to the basket for a strong finish. Keep in mind that he started the play behind Mudiay and only a few feet ahead of Danilo Gallinari and still managed to blow right past them.”
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Enes Kanter ranks 88th in SI.com’s top 100: “The off-season departures of Kevin Durant and Serge Ibaka will force Billy Donovan to make wholesale changes next season, which could be both good and bad for the 24-year-old Kanter. On the plus side, he should expect more minutes, more shots and more time playing with pick-and-roll partner Russell Westbrook. Unfortunately, though, his funnel-like defense will also be on full display now that Oklahoma City no longer has much protective length. Most likely, the debate over Kanter’s worth will remain unresolved by this time next season, although the volume of discourse could be significantly louder now that more will be asked of him.”
Zach Harper of CBSSports.com: “It’s a crowded frontcourt. Steven Adams and Enes Kanter are the main minutes grabbers. They also have Mitch McGary (sometimes), Ersan Ilyasova and Nick Collison. This doesn’t mean Domantas Sabonis can’t get time but he’s probably more of a project.
Prediction: I don’t expect a ton of playing time for him his rookie season unless he’s a good defender right away. Look for a lot of D-League development chances, though. 50 games, 12 minutes per game as a rookie.”
