For 1 1/2 seasons, Scott Brooks was a key assistant for George Karl in Denver. And now, if you watch Brooks’ Oklahoma City Thunder team, you can see some Karl philosophy out there on the court.
Brooks, like Karl, gives his team freedom early in an offensive possession, something a lot of young NBA coaches don’t. This gives Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant chances to take chances, puncturing the defense and improvising, before getting into set plays.
Defensively, as seen in the first quarter in Monday’s game, when Denver shot 33.3 percent, Oklahoma City has improved significantly, seldom allowing easy shots and playing better in transition. Durant was once so poor defensively that Brooks joked “he couldn’t guard me.” Now, Durant is effective on both offense and defense.
“They don’t give you the easy basket,” Karl said.
The player who has epitomized this defensive mind-set is Thabo Sefolosha. You might not have heard of him, but he’s one of the Thunder’s more valuable players because of his defense. Karl compared him to Houston’s Shane Battier, who might not score much but will have huge nights on defense. Denver had some interest a couple of years ago before Sefolosha joined Oklahoma City.
“He’s kind of their guy who they stick on the best perimeter guy,” Karl said. “He’s pretty good — long, clever, and fundamentally does a good job of keeping his body in front of people. We’ve always had a little bit of a love for Sefolosha. He’s playing in this league because of his defense and passion to play it.”
Playing in pain.
Nuggets forward Kenyon Martin played his second consecutive game with a dislocated left pinkie finger. He had missed the previous two games to rest it (both losses).
“I think it’s something that’s probably going to be sore (for a while),” Karl said. “If he had no basketball, it probably would take two weeks to get over. With basketball, probably two months because it’s going to get hit.”
Benjamin Hochman, The Denver Post
