WTLC Daily Loud Links: Friday, November 29, 2013

Various and sundry from around the league.

By J.A. Sherman Nov 29, 2013, 8:52am CST

The NBA gives its teams the day off for Thanksgiving, so no games were played yesterday. Perhaps you need a break from the chaos of Black Friday. Here are some random links that help you deal with your Thanksgiving hangover.

Darnell Mayberry takes a look at Russell Westbrook's early struggles in shooting the ball. He notes that it has not been a jump-shooting problem:

Surprisingly, it hasn't been his patented pullup jump shot that's been a problem. He's maintained his rhythm and accuracy from that distance and even improved from midrange. He's made 18 of 29 pullup attempts, or 62 percent, according to nba.com/stats.

But where Westbrook has struggled most is in the paint and at the rim, a sign that, while his explosiveness has returned, his timing just isn't quite there.

Royce Young riffs on the Thunder's rebuilt bench. In the words of Gregg Popovich:

"Reggie Jackson kicked our ass," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said in the most Gregg Popovich way possible.

I think it just means something more when a word like that comes from a guy like Pop.

Anthony Slater breaks down Reggie Jackson's superb game against the Spurs. This post is a good compliment to Zeb's post about how Jackson got it going and got his team back in the game Wednesday night.

Kevin Arnovitz reflects on Jackson's impact on the Thunder's win over the Spurs, but this opening paragraph might be the best little detail:

Reggie Jackson strapped on his trademark Sprayground backpack, a Game Boy-inspired design shaped like an ancient handheld game console. Across the body of the pack is a green screen that reads, "GAME OVER."

Brooklyn Nets rookie coach Jason Kidd was fined for his intentional spillage of a cup of soda, which enabled his team to get an unofficial timeout during their game against the Lakers. If anything, the fine should be levied, not for the attempt at gamesmanship, but for either Kidd's lame acting attempt after clearly instructing his player what to do, or his pathetic attempt to explain it afterward.

Watch Glen Davis ~~carve~~ mangle a turkey. There is nothing like watching Big Baby eating.

Good news for the Suns' Channing Frye, who has had to deal with a litany of health issues, both for himself and his family.

This is a strong piece on how the professional athlete can extend his influence off the court. Chris Paul is the centerpiece and Magic Johnson is the inspiration, but there are a lot of good guidelines for how athletes can proceed. And if I may be so bold, you don't need to be a professional athlete to do a lot of this. Anyone can do it.

Ben Golliver offers up his All-Thankful Team. On the list is former Thunder Kevin Martin, who is thriving in Minnesota:

We’re still firmly in the small sample size honeymoon period, but the fit between player, coach and team has played out even better than expected. Martin is averaged 22.5 points and shooting a scorching 45.8 percent from deep, slotting in perfectly as a starting two guard and the outside scoring complement to alpha dog Kevin Love.

This has to do with basketball only in the most ancillary of senses. Lenny Kravitz went on Jimmy Fallon recently and the pair swapped some stories about the legendary artist Prince. The interview is further confirmation that this Dave Chappelle skit is 100% true.