Listen: Scott Brooks and Frank Vogel talk pre-game before Thunder vs Pacers

Tim Donahue of the outstanding Pacers site, Eight Points, Nine Seconds has been an invaluable ally as we've charted the Thunder and the NBA over the years. He also gets great presser access before games, and since he's such an upstanding guy, he was willing to relay my questions to Scott Brooks during the pre-game interviews.

Tim shows up about 5 minutes in, and here is my first question that Tim asks for us:

"With a guy like Kevin Durant who is so versatile offensively, how do you determine how to deploy him, whether you have him initiate the offense or play out of the post?"

The second question I asked Tim to relay involved the Thunder's success from the 3-point line against the Spurs:

"Last night you hit 12-24 3-pointers and it looked like you were focusing on getting the ball there. Why were you that successful and how can you do it again?"

Scott Brooks talks about how to use Durant in key match-ups, 3-point shots

Here is Tim's comment to me regarding Brooks' answers:

Got the impression that Brooks' might have the attitude that Durant is so good, he (Brooks) might be better off just staying out of his way. Could be wrong. If true, may not be perfect, but kind of an enlightened approach in a control freak profession.

Tim also gave us some interview time with Pacers coach Frank Vogel, who is much like Brooks in that he's willing to open up about his team. In this case, Vogel talks about the Pacers' view of tempo vs pace.

Frank Vogel talks Pacers tempo and pace

Many thanks to Tim for working on our behalf to get some great insight from both Brooks and Vogel. Be sure to check out Eight Points, Nine Seconds for some outstanding Pacers analysis.