2013-2014 NBA Thread - IND @ WAS and OKC @ LAC on ESPN

[Peep Game]

Been saying this for 3 years now. They need a sniper on the team. There has to be somebody on the team that is a threat to light it up when the defense collapses on KD.

Miami has a few and its won him 2 rings. When they were looking down and out in game 6 last year...they put 4 shooters around him and told him to attack.

James Jones, Lewis, Miller, Allen

Sniper

 

[dathbgboy]

We just gon ignore the fact that Kendrick Perkins is waste of space? Been saying OKC needs a formidable big man in the post. Every team knows OKC has no post game, so why not force KD and jaundice to take bad shots. On top of that, jaundice should not be the point, put him at the two and bring in a better floor general.

Imagine OKC with a Z-Bo or Joakim in the post.

Furthermore, let's not act like Memphis is a pushover team. Give Connely (so?) Is playing better than in recent years, Marc and Z-Bo are putting work down low and Tony Allen is playing that hustle scrappy game he's known for. The west is like March Madness, on any given day...

 

[Vincent Van Goat]

 
and we know this by them sitting on the bench?

i mean it's not like the guys who are playing now are setting the world on fire

Outside of Lamb, who has had opportunities during the regular season, those guys are all fodder. Lamb showed decent things but nothing to lead anyone to believe he deserves many minutes. I think in the future he can still be a decent role player.

 

[dman14]

do refs get pts against or something where they keep track of their calls
i swear, some of them shouldnt even be reffing in the league, let alone the playoffs

 

[jinkazama]

I wasn't a believer since I don't see many of OKC's games but I am beginning to believe what you all say about Brooks...

KD, Russ, or Ibaka needs a post game. I think Dallas is the last "jump shooting team" to win a title. You gotta be able to get easy buckets by getting to the rim (Miami) or postin' up to get points from the block to open up easy jumpers. Russ can get to the rim but dude is so wild and out of controls sometimes you're like...WTF? KD can to, but mostly he settles for 3's

The Harden trade hurt but you guys are acting like he tore it up come playoff time, he disappeared against Miami and is reprising that role this post season with the Rockets.

 

[Cashflow]

NBA TV edited out the Inside the Stuff banter

"....what you want me to say, you kissed RICHARD in the mouth"

 

[blastercombo]

I wasn't a believer since I don't see many of OKC's games but I am beginning to believe what you all say about Brooks...

KD, Russ, or Ibaka needs a post game. I think Dallas is the last "jump shooting team" to win a title. You gotta be able to get easy buckets by getting to the rim (Miami) or postin' up to get points from the block or open up easy jumpers. Russ can get to the rim but dude is so wild and out of controls sometimes you're like...WTF? KD can to, but mostly he settles for 3's

The Harden trade hurt but you guys are acting like he tore it up come playoff time, he disappeared against Miami and is reprising that role this post season with the Rockets.

IMO if harden stayed with ibaka, they would of been Miami status "come here for cheap and we'll get you a ring" with a big man. Of course none of that matters now. That OKC team in 2012 went though a hard road to get to that finals too

 

[IATT]

this is nothing new for scott brooks.. even when james harden was with the thunder, he was playing less than 30 mins per (hell, it really took maynor going down to force brooks to give harden the freedom he had with the 2nd unit)

ibaka, after playing great against the lakers in that first round matchup when they were the 1st seed.. still had to come off the bench, while jeff green had to struggle to guard PFs most nights.. wasnt until he got moved that ibaka then got to start (but imagine if jeff green was coming off the bench and backing up both forward spots.. and you could insert him into the game depending on how the opponent was playing)

 

[datznasty]

That

 


and we know this by them sitting on the bench?

i mean it's not like the guys who are playing now are setting the world on fire

Outside of Lamb, who has had opportunities during the regular season, those guys are all fodder. Lamb showed decent things but nothing to lead anyone to believe he deserves many minutes. I think in the future he can still be a decent role player.

Look at Butler, Jackson, FIsher, and Collison's contributions this series. Literally can't get any worst, and at the least he is athletic and can get out in transition. Maybe he makes a 3, players on the Thunder not named Westbrook were 1 for 15 from 3 (including KD's 0 for .

Perkins defense this series has been amazing on Randolph, him and Gasol are as close to non factors as 2 all star bigs can be. He still plays too many minutes though

 

[IATT]

 

and we know this by them sitting on the bench?

i mean it's not like the guys who are playing now are setting the world on fire

Outside of Lamb, who has had opportunities during the regular season, those guys are all fodder. Lamb showed decent things but nothing to lead anyone to believe he deserves many minutes. I think in the future he can still be a decent role player.

adams had 3 blocks in game 1 in the couple mins he got.. and definitely didnt look like he was afraid of anyone

 

[blastercombo]

I remember y'all saying "o you think brooks is bad? You wanna coach?" Now everyone is in agreement. Lol

 

[100027]

Yeah if they lose this series Brooks should be fired.

 

[blastercombo]

Steven Adams has a future. Moves well without the ball, can pass, wants to play D, all in his rookie year......... DNP last night lol

 

[IATT]

I remember y'all saying "o you think brooks is bad? You wanna coach?" Now everyone is in agreement. Lol

i'm assuming you're not referring to any of the OKC fans on here 

 

[ny mavurs]

Harden ain't been the same since Trina touched it.

Trina is the reason he lookes dazed in the NBA finals
against Miami

OKC should have went all out to acquire even a JJ Redick over the summer

 

[jumpmantwenty3]

Dropped some dough on Game 2 tickets in OKC. I'm not sure which was worse to watch, that game or last night

 

[dman14]

Yeah if they lose this series Brooks should be fired.

okc and mgmt arent gonna fire him. you do know ownership is cheap, right? lol
dont know why clay is so cheap, considering it's his wife's money

 

[100027]

okc and mgmt arent gonna fire him. you do know ownership is cheap, right? lol
dont know why clay is so cheap, considering it's his wife's money

I know.

F clay.

 

[datznasty]

Hipsters.

I been complaining about Brooks and his predictable *** "offense" and lack of adjustments since 2011.

 

[IATT]

 

Harden ain't been the same since Trina touched it.

Trina is the reason he lookes dazed in the NBA finals
against Miami

OKC should have went all out to acquire even a JJ Redick over the summer

no.. they should have made an offer to orlando for affalo.. spare parts and 2 1st round picks

 

[pmatic]

Relevant:

Kevin Durant's long shadow, Russell Westbrook's identity and the Thunder's future

With 6 minutes and 36 seconds left in the fourth quarter on Thursday, Russell Westbrook picked up his first assist of the game: a feed to Serge Ibaka for a layup. The basket cut the Thunder's deficit to 10 and a full-bore run at the Grizzlies was on.

From that point on, including overtime, Thunderers not named Westbrook or Kevin Durant would get exactly two more shot attempts. One: a Kendrick Perkins putback. Two: a meaningless Thabo Sefolosha jumper with the game basically over. The other 19 attempts in that 11-minute span would come from Westbrook or Durant. And despite a couple of heroic baskets to close that gap and get the game into extra time, the pair shot 5-19 in the stretch with four turnovers. They'd score 20 points in 27 possessions, which is, to say the least, not good.

Now, they trail the Grizzlies, 2-1. Memphis can win the series without winning in Oklahoma City again if they just close at home.

The heavy doses of Westbrook and Durant aren't new or even surprising. Westbrook has in recent years been the league's No. 1 creator. To create a shot, you either take one yourself without the benefit of an assist from a teammate or you set up a teammate to shoot. The Thunder do a lot of work at the line, and that figures into creation estimates as well. Westbrook takes a helluva lot of shots (field goal and free throws) and racks up plenty of assists, particularly to Durant and Ibaka. Durant has won four of the past five scoring titles and recently has begun racking up more assists.

Of course, possessions used are a zero-sum game. Every shot taken by Westbrook is a possession that guys like Ibaka, Sefolosha, Reggie Jackson or one of the other guys doesn't get. Every possession used by Westbrook is, of course, one that Durant doesn't get, which is a famous concern in basketball analysis. What often gets overlooked in such discussions is that Durant gets plenty of possessions. Westbrook's outsized role doesn't so much impact Durant as it impacts the Thunder's Nos. 3, 4 and on down.

This season, on a per-game basis, Durant and Westbrook were responsible for 46 percent of OKC's field goal attempts, 64 percent of their free throws, 57 percent of their assists and 48 percent of their turnovers. The other 5-7 guys in the rotation split the leftovers.

Down the stretch of Game 3, there were no leftovers. In those final 11 minutes and change, this is what the Thunder offense looked like.

The heavy doses of Westbrook and Durant worked out over the course of the regular season, as the Thunder finished with the league's No. 6 offense. OKC has been in the elite range in that category a few years now. It's really hard to stop the Thunder.

But it didn't work in Game 3. Perhaps Memphis is simply too good defensively to let the pair kill them -- Tony Allen, Mike Conley and Marc Gasol are especially brilliant when defending the Thunder. Or maybe Westbrook and Durant simply took too many bad shots, forcing the issue. I mean ...

I'm one of Westbrook's biggest supporters, but that is just not healthy. And the Thunder are two games away from a painfully early exit.

It's premature to spend too much time on the subject -- the Thunder have survived a 2-1 deficit before -- but I can't stop wondering what the Thunder do if this postseason goes upside-down fast. If Memphis pulls out the series, the season will have been an abject failure for Oklahoma City. And given Durant's status as one of the two best players in the league and expressed desire to win championships, the ghost of LeBron's Cavaliers hang over this whole saga.

Remember, Cleveland made the NBA Finals back in 2007. They didn't get back there in the following three seasons despite LeBron's greatness and some decent players being added around him. Durant led the Thunder to the 2012 Finals. If they exit early this time around, that's two straight seasons of falling short. Durant isn't a free agent until 2016, which means that Oklahoma City has two more postseasons after the current one to get Durant his ring before he has the option of leaving.

Durant and LeBron are different, to be sure. Not totally different -- for every LeBron vanity moment you cite, I'm going to point you toward Thunderstruck -- but they are generally different cats. A striking similarity, though, is that Durant is motivated by the same goal that enthralled LeBron five years ago: the Larry O'Brien Trophy. LeBron had to leave to capture it. That won't be lost on Durant ... or Sam Presti.

With two more chances to give Durant what he so desperately wants, what will Presti do? Is it enough to replace Scott Brooks and find a new answer in place of Kendrick Perkins? Will he trade Westbrook for a less aggressive playmaker? Will he consult Durant and give him some measure of control and, potentially, blame for the decisions made? Will Clay Bennett, who writes the checks and can imagine what a 2016 Durant exit might do to his bank account, consider bringing in another GM to finish the job? Will Durant speak up?

As I said, it's wholly premature for this type of talk. But the questions won't get out of my head as I watch Tony Allen destroy Durant's dream again. You can be sure that in the lulls of the adventure, it's something Durant, Presti and all the rest think about, too. Ignoring the questions won't mean they cease to exist.

http://www.sbnation.com/2014/4/25/5...future-thunder-vs-grizzlies-nba-playoffs-2014

 

[blastercombo]

i'm assuming you're not referring to any of the OKC fans on here 

Naw, other dudes who've seen then play a couple times but just looked at their record

 

[rck3sactown]

 

okc and mgmt arent gonna fire him. you do know ownership is cheap, right? lol
dont know why clay is so cheap, considering it's his wife's money

I know.

F clay.

I have a feeling Bennett is gonna clutch on to the team for as long as possible..... ala Maloofs

it would be hilarious/ironic/poetic maybe if a Hansen/Ballmer group comes along down the road and bamboozles him into selling and moving the team back to Seattle 

 

[bhzmafia14]

Why did it take OKC to be down 2-1 in a series for all of these "issues" to come up about them? These were the same issues I brought up prior to the series even started....

I'm not talking about everyone, but for the people who felt like Memphis had no chance in this series...

And I'm not saying Memphis is going to win this series just yet, but I just want to know what went through people's mind to think OKC was going to run over Memphis when history tells us differently.

/rant

 

[100027]

 
I have a feeling Bennett is gonna clutch on to the team for as long as possible..... ala Maloofs

it would be hilarious/ironic/poetic maybe if a Hansen/Ballmer group comes along down the road and bamboozles him into selling and moving the team back to Seattle 

Don't start me dreaming

But in reality David's decision to allow this continues to look worse and worse.