OFFICIAL 2010-2011 NBA PLAYOFFS THREAD : VOL. MOST. ANTICIPATED. PLAYOFFS. EVER?

Originally Posted by Im Not You

I love how everyone is assuming that KD isn't "stepping" up because you see don't him being demonstrative ON THE FLOOR and screaming at Russell.

I guess that's the tangible evidence of what you all consider a leader.
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Exactly.
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Like him screaming at Russ on the court would make it better.

Without Russ in OT they wouldn't have won. Battier was playing deny on KD and he couldn't even get the ball a lot of the time in the 2nd and 3rd OT.

And KD is definitely a legit 6'11 w/ shoes on.
 
can't believe i wasted my post limit on the heatles/geezers game

that game last night was the best i've seen in a few years. that Sponge Bob picture in the thread is the best thing i've seen EVER
 
Originally Posted by DaComeUP

Originally Posted by Im Not You

I love how everyone is assuming that KD isn't "stepping" up because you see don't him being demonstrative ON THE FLOOR and screaming at Russell.

I guess that's the tangible evidence of what you all consider a leader.
Click to expand...


Exactly.
laugh.gif
Like him screaming at Russ on the court would make it better.

Without Russ in OT they wouldn't have won. Battier was playing deny on KD and he couldn't even get the ball a lot of the time in the 2nd and 3rd OT.

And KD is definitely a legit 6'11 w/ shoes on.
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Exactly.  Besides, I don't see how you take the ball out of Westbrook's hand in overtime last night.
 
Y'all right, but it's not exactly a good thing KD body language looked like Debo just stole his bike. I understand the frustration with Russ's hogging but the game is still going on as well.
 
Proshares wrote:

Exactly.  Besides, I don't see how you take the ball out of Westbrook's hand in overtime last night.

it's nitpicking at this point.. but i would have liked to have seen harden get the ball a little more considering how effective he was (passing and scoring.. hell, he hit the 3 at the end of the 2nd overtime to tie it back up)
  
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The media is annoying as hell. He's not signing the extension because the Magic have still failed to put a real 2nd option next to him. That team isn't winning any titles. Now they have an Arenas contract that no one wants and a bad Turkgolu contract. He wants the option to make his own decision at this point. I don't blame him. He can't single handedly beat the Heat.
 
Flawed Hero
by Kevin Pelton

Oklahoma City 133, Memphis 123 (3OT, Series tied 2-2)
Pace: 88.7
Offensive Ratings: Oklahoma City 116.4, Memphis 103.7

If there was one play that summarized Russell Westbrook's polarizing yet pivotal performance in the Oklahoma City Thunder's Game Four win over the Memphis Grizzlies, it came late in the second overtime with the Thunder down three. After 15 seconds of dribbling, Westbrook reached the paint and drew the Memphis defense. He fired across the court to an open James Harden, who knocked down the tying triple. For most of the play, Westbrook was in danger of dribbling out the shot clock without creating anything, yet he ultimately did exactly what he was supposed to do, setting up his teammate for a good shot opportunity.

On Twitter during the game, I opined that Westbrook was in the middle of the most criticized 40-point scoring effort in NBA history. After further consideration and a few at replies, I'm going to amend that by adding the qualifier "in a win." Certainly, players get criticized for shooting too much in losses all the time, even when they put up big point totals. But do have it happen while the high scorer's team is also pulling out a need victory is relatively unprecedented.

What we have here, as I see it, is a triumph of narrative over reality, starting with a bit of conventional wisdom (the point guard's job is to create for his teammates, not score himself) and adding an indisputable but irrelevant fact (Oklahoma City's offense was a disaster down the stretch in Game Three). Add in the fact that, as on his assist of Harden, Westbrook so often looked to be drifting rather than controlling the game and it's easy to see why his performance was so maligned. Yet when you try to find objective evidence of Westbrook costing the Thunder, the process becomes much more difficult.

Let's start with this important note: Oklahoma City's offense was in fact quite good in the late stages of Game Four (which turned out to be nearly half the game). Starting at the media timeout with 5:54 left in the fourth quarter, the Thunder had 39 legitimate offensive possessions (not counting intentional fouls and action after the game was decided at the end of the third overtime). On them, Oklahoma City scored 42 points. That works out to 116.7 per 100 possessions, which would be good under normal circumstances and is downright stellar given the strength of the Grizzlies' defense and the fact that offenses become less efficient late in games because transition opportunities are few and far between.

Individually, Westbrook's efficiency was acceptable. He scored 16 points on 16 plays, including crucial buckets with the Thunder trailing in the second overtime. Durant (13 points on 10 plays) was better, but James Harden (nine on eight) was about the same. This wasn't Game Three, where Westbrook was settling for quick jumpers and turning the ball over. Six of his 15 shot attempts were in the immediate vicinity of the rim. Did Westbrook take some bad shots? Yes, but he also again spent plenty of time playing against the shot clock with Durant under the watchful eye of Shane Battier, in position to contest passes.

While getting the ball to Durant in position to score is obviously optimal strategy for Oklahoma City, part of the issue is that there's another team out there that is well aware of this fact. The last play of the first overtime was an excellent illustration. To get the basketball, Durant needed a screen from Kendrick Perkins and did not pop free until less than four seconds remained on the clock. With Tony Allen (in as an offense-defense sub) all over him, Durant fired up a contested 30-footer that had little hope of going in. When Durant got the ball late in the first overtime, he committed a pair of costly turnovers that were forgotten in the wake of his shotmaking late in the game.

This is all at least as much a credit to the Memphis defense as it is criticism of Durant, but to ignore this factors in comparing Westbrook's shot attempts to Durant's is folly. Scott Brooks did a much better job of mixing in some other offense down the stretch, using Daequan Cook's shooting ability and giving the ball to Harden to run pick-and-rolls at times, but often the Thunder's offense came down to Westbrook improvising after the play broke down. Given the circumstances, he did more than a credible job.

The win would have been far easier for Oklahoma City had it not been for the Grizzlies' heroics. In both regulation and the first overtime, Memphis tied the game with low-percentage three-pointers by first Mike Conley and then his replacement after fouling out, rookie Greivis Vasquez. Foul trouble--Conley and O.J. Mayo both picked up their sixth when intentionally fouling at the end of the first overtime, which was entirely preventable in Mayo's case--and fatigue finally caught up with the Grizzlies in the third extra session, when they mustered just four points. Give Nick Collison a lot of the defensive credit. With Collison checking him, Randolph scored only at the free throw line during the third OT.

That the Thunder spent most of the stretch run with two big men on the floor was odd given it was smallball that got Oklahoma City back in the game after trailing by double digits early. Brooks went to Kevin Durant at power forward to get more shooters on the floor with the Thunder struggling to generate offense and was rewarded with a 31-18 surge to finish the second quarter. Durant at the four sparked another run early in the fourth before Memphis was able to rally against the lineup to force overtime. All things considered, Durant did an incredible job of checking the bigger Randolph and Marc Gasol, allowing Brooks to get away with him at power forward.

At this point, there have been so many twists and turns within individual games, let alone this series as a whole, that it's tough to know exactly what to expect heading into Game Five. About all that is clear is that recapturing home-court advantage has given the Thunder the edge--for now.
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Cosign Hollins making bad decisions down the stretch of last nights game... Mayo had no reason being in that defensive situation with 5 fouls.
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Instead of LeBron $%@#%*% you Knicks fans it's going to be Phil this time when he takes over for Doc after this year.

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New York is the last frontier. At least we know for sure it wouldn't happen next season. so we don't have to think about it. But it's crazy how the rumors have started already.

He isn't going to the heat. Pat Riley is not giving Phil that team. I thought he was retired for good until I saw the press conference. The man definitely looks like he will come back to a good situation

gotta see what the roster looks like in 2012. He has never done anything with an elite point guard. I wonder if he would want to coach Chris Paul if he ended up on the knicks.
 
If the Timberwolves cashed in and obtained the #1 OR #2 pick, and assuming Rubio gets over here by 2011, would Golden State ever do a Monta Ellis for Irving/D.Williams swap?

Even though I believe Irving could very well be a better player than Rubio, looking at both organization's rosters, it could benefit both teams.
 
Originally Posted by SCuse7

Instead of LeBron $%@#%*% you Knicks fans it's going to be Phil this time when he takes over for Doc after this year.

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I still think Doc goes back to Boston after his year hiatus.  Or back to Orlando.
  
 
Phil is definitely taking the next year off. I don't think he'll go to the Heat because he's not Riley's guy. He wants to keep it in house with Spolestra. I'm sure Phil is intrigued by the Knicks, but there are some hurdles. I could see him returning to the Lakers in 2012-13 if they're reloaded. Maybe even the Thunder?
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I could see Brooks getting canned in the near future. 
 
i don't see why doc rivers wouldn't be coaching the celtics after his break.

so much depends on where Dwight ends up. if you believe him he doesn't want to be in a cold city so that takes away boston and new york

it's gonna be depressing watching dantoni coach this team again next season.
 
if we went with a new coach.. i think we would pray that the spurs decided to blow things up and that would free up pop (presti's did come from that team)
 
Originally Posted by JPZx

If the Timberwolves cashed in and obtained the #1 OR #2 pick, and assuming Rubio gets over here by 2011, would Golden State ever do a Monta Ellis for Irving/D.Williams swap?

Even though I believe Irving could very well be a better player than Rubio, looking at both organization's rosters, it could benefit both teams.
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Monta is more valuable than anyone in this draft.

No, they wouldn't.

And why would they want Irving, they LOVE Curry, and rightfully so.

Love the new Wizards jerseys.
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