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Blaming Russ is such a shortsighted conclusion. Those tweet from Bomani hit it on the head.
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Why do OKC fans keep thinking Kevin Ollie is leaving UConn right now, it's not happening.
I hope he has higher aspirations.. And figures he won't get a better opportunity in the near future.. He knows Durant, Westbrook, ibaka, collison and thabo (having been with the team in 09)
Coached lamb.. Played against fisher, butler and Perkins (if any of them are here next year.. Ditto thabo)
Why won't he get a better opportunity in the near future? He's only 41 years old.
He just came off a national championship at his alma mater and he has made it clear that UConn is his dream job. He's going to continue to build that program up so I don't see him leaving for the NBA any time soon.
2 top 10 players.. A great 3rd option in ibaka.. Talented young guys.. Familiarity with the organization and the players.. Multiple picks in this upcoming draft.. Hell, even Perkins horrendous deal could be a trade chip next season (since it's the final year)
It's from guys who've only seen OKC play during these playoffs and a couple other times during the regular seasonBlaming Russ is such a shortsighted conclusion. Those tweet from Bomani hit it on the head.
I just think this is a lame excuse. I mean I understand the Thunder don't have a ton of offensive talent outside of KD and RW, but most NBA players are capable of putting in open shots and layups. Each of these guys has a way he can score if someone else puts him in the position. Thabo and Butler on 3s, Ibaka on midrange, Adams and Collison on layups, Perkins on nothing. You can't just say "create for who, these guys are all useless"... That's just not how good NBA offenses work.Create for who?
Every game he has 1 or 2 turnovers because Perkins can't even catch the ball.. An allergy that Durant now seems to be afflicted with
Brooks whole offensive game plan is for the bigs to be screeners.. But you hardly have an roll movements.. It's literally just to free up Westbrook or Durant.. I'm convinced collison is our only bring man who gets that you should roll off of it.. And westbrook gets ibaka a ton of wide open mid range shots
I mean he did have 13 assists last night
I think you could admit that creating shots for others and running an offense isn't RW's priority or strong suit.
You are definitely not seeing fool's gold. Just about everyone knows OKC's offensive sets are non-existent, but most of the analysts would rather focus on the talent of Durant and Westbrook and how they win even with their poorly structured offense. And then when OKC loses they point fingers at Westbrook, and not on the offense where the blame should be. Westbrook gets way too much blame IMO, but I'll stop there. With Memphis being healthy and their level of defense it should have been obvious Memphis could win the series. That's why I felt they would win in six and after Game 3 could win in five if they kept doing things the way they had. Unfortunately they turned in another horrible offensive game.
Do they have a big game around the corner? Honestly I would say no.
First their offensive sets, or lack thereof, do not put them in the best positions to maximize scoring opportunities. They pretty much have to depend on run-outs and elite-level players' abilities to score. They occasionally run a basic PnR, use a lot of iso, and create passing opportunities through driving and other defenders leaving their man due to help defense. I've been focusing more on Memphis so after this thread I'll probably look more at what else they might do, though I'm not expecting much if anything more at all.
Second the Grizzlies' team and individual defense takes Durant and Westbrook out of rhythm. I believe Bruce Bowen said something along the lines with Durant that it wasn't rhythm, but lack of space. I can't remember exactly what he said, but I would disagree in that to me what he said is exactly a part of rhythm. From receiving the pass or taking a dribble to the landing after the shot is all about rhythm. TA is disruptive from the beginning to the end of that process on Durant and occasionally Westbrook, though he's gotten some fouls (some questionable) during the end part of that. Both Conley and Lee have done well disrupting that rhythm against Westbrook.
Third is Durant is logging a stupid amount of minutes. He's currently first in the NBA with 46.5MPG (Marc is surprisingly 4th with 44.8MPG by the way) in the playoffs. So while that is helped by the OT games, he is essentially playing all of every game. And going back to the regular season and the game they lost to the Pacers, he is averaging 45.1MPG the last seven games. I decided to look back ten years of playoffs to see who has logged a similar amount of minutes and I had to go back all the way to 05-06 where Arenas with WAS and Lebron with CLE played around the same amount. Neo mentioned the same thing happened in the last playoffs, he logged 45.8MPG against the Grizzlies there.
As crazy as it might sound I have a very tough time seeing Durant and most likely Westbrook being factors the rest of the series. I don't think Durant has the legs to be a factor combined with the defense that TA is playing. And I don't see Westbrook being given the opportunity to get in a rhythm. I said before the series that I believed that if the Grizzlies held OKC to around or under 45% from the field they can/will win that game. They have far exceeded that IMO. Their team FG% has declined every game to where it was 36.7% in Game 4. So the Thunder are going to have to prove me wrong as I believe they have a very big hill to overcome.
Why do OKC fans keep thinking Kevin Ollie is leaving UConn right now, it's not happening.
I hope he has higher aspirations.. And figures he won't get a better opportunity in the near future.. He knows Durant, Westbrook, ibaka, collison and thabo (having been with the team in 09)
Coached lamb.. Played against fisher, butler and Perkins (if any of them are here next year.. Ditto thabo)
Why won't he get a better opportunity in the near future? He's only 41 years old.
He just came off a national championship at his alma mater and he has made it clear that UConn is his dream job. He's going to continue to build that program up so I don't see him leaving for the NBA any time soon.
2 top 10 players.. A great 3rd option in ibaka.. Talented young guys.. Familiarity with the organization and the players.. Multiple picks in this upcoming draft.. Hell, even Perkins horrendous deal could be a trade chip next season (since it's the final year)
So you're just going to disregard the fact that he has his dream job already?
I agree with your reasoning, OKC would be a great situation for pretty much any coach, but you shouldn't focus your coaching search on Kevin Ollie because it would be a waste of time.
Trade scenario my brother came up with, which I wouldn't mind seeing.
To Lakers: Westbrook
To Celtics: Nash (Lakers 2014 1st round pick)
To OKC: Rondo (possible celtics 2014 17th overall pick)
What do you think ?
Can't believe dudes in here are screaming trade Westbrook. OKC has more than enough talent to win a title. Second best player in the league...all star PG (like him or not), a good PF, and great role players. THEIR COACH doesn't have any idea, other than let Durant and Wes play hero ball, how to use these guys to the best of their ability.
You give the bulls coach this OKC roster and they'd win the West and give Miami all they could handle in the finals
Can't believe dudes in here are screaming trade Westbrook. OKC has more than enough talent to win a title. Second best player in the league...all star PG (like him or not), a good PF, and great role players. THEIR COACH doesn't have any idea, other than let Durant and Wes play hero ball, how to use these guys to the best of their ability.
You give the bulls coach this OKC roster and they'd win the West and give Miami all they could handle in the finals
Or he'd burn the roster out by ASW
It aint the playoffs if Joey doesn't wanna steal the show.Crawford just iced Durant.
I'm just saying... You pass it off as no big deal, but Popovich, who is the smartest coach in the league clearly thinks it is very important. Why is it so easy for you to dismiss that criticism?literally no one would be talkin this run's players into the ground thing if we had a little scoring to help get w's
the wiz couldve swept chicago(Basically did) BUT with a sneeze of actual CONSTANT offense they couldve been swept EASILY
I'm just saying... You pass it off as no big deal, but Popovich, who is the smartest coach in the league clearly thinks it is very important. Why is it so easy for you to dismiss that criticism?literally no one would be talkin this run's players into the ground thing if we had a little scoring to help get w's
the wiz couldve swept chicago(Basically did) BUT with a sneeze of actual CONSTANT offense they couldve been swept EASILY
...Not run his starters into the ground? Play his bench players? It's not like his starters are consistent offense.What is he supposed to do when he has a lack of consistent offensive?