Oklahoma City Thunder vs San Antonio Spurs - OKC WINS in 6, Congrats!

[lb510]

Originally Posted by Maximus Meridius

Originally Posted by hymen man

@ Westbrook Kaleidoscope

That shirt is ugly as hell

 

[acidicality]

Watched the game in person during my vacation around Texas...AT&T is a really nice arena, much better than Oracle (where the Warriors play)

A few impressions of the game from my seats:

1) Spurs are really fun to watch in person; on TV you can tell they're really unselfish but you really notice it in person.
2) Durant is unstoppable

He can get a good shot anytime he wants. It seemed like the Spurs played decent D on him but he was still able to make some crazy shots.
3) Spurs should have got S-Jax some looks at 3s during crunch time.
4) Wasn't a big Westbrook fan, and after watching him in person my opinion hasn't changed. I still feel he over-dribbles way too much.

I still think the series is going 7 games. Was a hell of a game to watch though...definitely by far the biggest sporting event I've been to

 

[cbrooks3]

Originally Posted by ATGD7154xBBxMZ

Originally Posted by cbrooks3

I want to start off in saying that I'm a huge Thunder fan. I just want to drop in and express my thoughts on why Russ is so scrutinized. When Russ is playing well, he is great. When Russ is playing poorly, he dribbles down and does not pass the ball, just shoots. I would understand if he passed the ball, cut, screened, something, and got it back then shot it in the flow of the offense, but when nobody else touches the ball (when KD is on his team, arguably the most pure scorer in the world right now) it is a bad possession. He doesn't just do this a couple times a game, but makes a habit of it. There are entirely too many possessions where nobody else touches the ball. This not only doesn't make the defense work, but most certainly puts a huge damper on the efficiency of the Thunder's offense and its flow.

I feel he doesn't pass sometimes cuz he knows he aint getting the ball back

KD passes as a last resort, once he's locked in to shoot he shoots, same for Harden and when he does pass it's to the bigs in the paint or Thab/Fish for the corner 3.


As for this Russ is a pg talk. No he really he isn't, give him 3 inches and he'd be playing his position and not being criticized as much since he'd be appropriately compared to a young Kobe. I already talked about players who are true pgs and players who get forced/labeled as pgs due to height restrictions. Russ is fast, really athletic, and is a streaky perimeter shooter. I don't care what he played in college, dude is the prototype NY pg that scores first and dishes off of penetration. He doesn't have great court vision, he's not an amazing passer, and his decision making can be questionable. That's why he'll be more comparable to Rose than Rondo.

Russ isn't going to get the ball back is just fine.  If KD shoots, they are more efficient. He is the scoring champ for goodness sake, he's supposed to shoot it.  I am fine with him shooting 15-20 times a game, I just can not stand when he dribbles down and pulls, and I don't care if he makes it.  If it is a fastbreak and he just pulls up, fine by me.  When he just dribbles down and there are another 9 guys on the floor in front of him and he shoots it, multiple times in a game (5+), those are bad possessions.  The 24 second shot clock makes it tough to get flow offensively anyways, so when he does that we have an even tougher time.  Now that he has shown the ability to actually get double digit assists, he needs to realize he isn't shooting well and drive to get other people open and not just pull up.  If he can do that, the Thunder win multiple championships.  If he doesn't figure that out, the Thunder will be lucky to win 2, let alone this one.

 

[scientific method]

Originally Posted by acidicality

Watched the game in person during my vacation around Texas...AT&T is a really nice arena, much better than Oracle (where the Warriors play)

A few impressions of the game from my seats:

1) Spurs are really fun to watch in person; on TV you can tell they're really unselfish but you really notice it in person.
2) Durant is unstoppable

He can get a good shot anytime he wants. It seemed like the Spurs played decent D on him but he was still able to make some crazy shots.
3) Spurs should have got S-Jax some looks at 3s during crunch time.
4) Wasn't a big Westbrook fan, and after watching him in person my opinion hasn't changed. I still feel he over-dribbles way too much.

I still think the series is going 7 games. Was a hell of a game to watch though...definitely by far the biggest sporting event I've been to

You like the shirts? Seems kind of busy to me, reminds me of the "The Drizzle" shirts.

 

[elpablo21]

My man Fish

 

[scientific method]

He missed that shot though

If Manu could have this back, like Kenny says, he probably fully commits to that double team. He was a fraction of a second from maybe getting the steal too

 

[elpablo21]

Originally Posted by Scientific Method

He missed that shot though

I was praising him on the flop

 

[checks mcgee]

Originally Posted by Antidope

Series isnt over, SA can easily win one at OKC just like they did tonight.

ur dreamin, we need a gif of Harden after he hit that shot. 

reacted like a straight G

 

[scientific method]

 

[monstar1]

Harden swag on a 100 1000 trillion 

 

[crazy dav0]

that game was wild ... westbrook is hilarious ... but the one thing the refs can't do anything about is big shots. Harden / Kd

OKC has earned this ... they need to win at home ... NO WAY THEY WIN A GAME 7 in san antonio ...

 

[darthska]

Damn, OKC has stopped SA dead in their tracks.

I feel like the Thunder better win in OKC, though. Spurs ain't losing Game 7 at home.

 

[iamjusayn]

Spurs turn the rock over way too much esp TP and manu

 

[dcypoe]

Big J 33 wrote:

That's a good way to look at it, but I took it as him trying to make a point about Russ shooting too much
Yup, I'm using that chart to make a point Russ shoots too much & might I add, doing a good job proving it. What, your gonna tell me he doesn't? That he deserves to shoot more than Durant?

 

[acidicality]

Originally Posted by Scientific Method

acidicality wrote

---

Watched the game in person during my vacation around Texas...AT&T is a really nice arena, much better than Oracle (where the Warriors play)

A few impressions of the game from my seats:

1) Spurs are really fun to watch in person; on TV you can tell they're really unselfish but you really notice it in person.
2) Durant is unstoppable

He can get a good shot anytime he wants. It seemed like the Spurs played decent D on him but he was still able to make some crazy shots.
3) Spurs should have got S-Jax some looks at 3s during crunch time.
4) Wasn't a big Westbrook fan, and after watching him in person my opinion hasn't changed. I still feel he over-dribbles way too much.

I still think the series is going 7 games. Was a hell of a game to watch though...definitely by far the biggest sporting event I've been to

You like the shirts? Seems kind of busy to me, reminds me of the "The Drizzle" shirts.

I don't think they're too bad, but IMO the "It's Electrifying!" is definitely a bit corny to put on a playoff shirt

 

[|A-Man|]

Originally Posted by Dcypoe

Big J 33 wrote:

That's a good way to look at it, but I took it as him trying to make a point about Russ shooting too much

Yup, I'm using that chart to make a point Russ shoots too much & might I add, doing a good job proving my point.

But when he shoots "too much" they tend to win more times than not. Eventually the truth will come out to separate coincidence from fact.

 

[goldmember]

This series is over. NO WAY OKC is losing at home

 

[ag 47]

Originally Posted by Dcypoe

Big J 33 wrote:

That's a good way to look at it, but I took it as him trying to make a point about Russ shooting too much

Yup, I'm using that chart to make a point Russ shoots too much & might I add, doing a good job proving it. What, your gonna tell me he doesn't? That he deserves to shoot more than Durant?


Well, considering the team's playoff success, you can make an argument for either.

 

[dcypoe]

Fine, imma just give in and say that Westbrook is the MJ in this combo, and Durant the Pippen.  I mean, that's what you guys want us to believe, right?  That Russ is the true leader of this team.

 

[SneakerProSr.]

I won't be shocked no matter what happens from here on out.

I could see OKC losing at home and winning a game 7 in SA.

 

[ag 47]

Originally Posted by Dcypoe



Fine, imma just give in and say that Westbrook is the MJ in this combo, and Durant the Pippen.  I mean, that's what you guys want us to believe, right?  That Russ is the true leader of this team.

Hardly. I don't see why it's difficult to accept that the team needs both to shoot. It's fairly clear that it doesn't really matter who shoots the most as long they both get their shots. 11 wins says that this is a manufactured "problem."

 

[|A-Man|]

Originally Posted by Dcypoe



Fine, imma just give in and say that Westbrook is the MJ in this combo, and Durant the Pippen.  I mean, that's what you guys want us to believe, right?  That Russ is the true leader of this team.

No, the Pistons just had no chance against the Bulls that year. You need to stop nitpicking and realize both need to shoot, Russ just takes more cuz the ball is in his hand more and that works for them really well unless he's having an extremely off night.

 

[mr4thquarter]

Thunder UP!!!

 

[aztec06jr]

Originally Posted by Dcypoe

Big J 33 wrote:

That's a good way to look at it, but I took it as him trying to make a point about Russ shooting too much

Yup, I'm using that chart to make a point Russ shoots too much & might I add, doing a good job proving it. What, your gonna tell me he doesn't? That he deserves to shoot more than Durant?

Shoots too much? Your boy Durant has been the scoring champ 3x running and it's well documented that Russ assists on a higher percentage of Durant's FGs that any other duo in the league. Russ is the best scoring and rebounding PG in the league...and according to the coaches, he's only behind CP3 and Rondo when it comes to defense. Hell, he was the 3rd guard on the All NBA team. Plus his energy/explosiveness is unmatched. 
His team is 1 win away from the Finals and they start 2 players with absolutely no offensive game (Thabo + Perkins). Russ NEEDS to be aggressive. KD has BEEN leading the league in scoring...it's Russ, Ibaka, and Harden's collective elevated play + Durant's improvement in the clutch (stats show that Westbrook shoots a better % in the clutch, btw) that has taken this team to the next level. Ibaka going 11-11, Ibaka + Collison + Perkins shooting 90% from the field, Fisher/Cook hitting timely shots... That didn't happen last year.. It does help that this young team has caught 3 aging veteran squads..

This team is on their way to going through arguably 3 of the top 20 players of all time (Dirk, Kobe, Duncan) and may very well be on their way to beating 4 (Bron) and all I hear is this nonsense that Westbrook needs to stop shooting. That's his game though. Iverson/Kobe don't like to pass, Rondo can't shoot, Melo can't win in the playoffs, Westbrook likes being the alpha male, etc.

If it worked for Kobe + Shaq, why can't it work for these guys? It's obviously working so far. If Westbrook stops shooting, I think he becomes less effective on defense and OKC's offense becomes more predictable. 

Why does the public call for Westbrook to stop shooting? Why can't it call for Durant to become an All-NBA defender with his size, length, and ability? Durant got 0 All Defense votes and he's arguably a top 5 athlete in the entire league. Don't get me wrong, Durant is easily 1A or 1B in this league depending on how you slice it but to constantly call out Westbrook's supposed flaws when this team could easily improve with any 1 of the following: Durant becoming a defensive stopper (he's shown flashes i.e. last year's matchup against Kobe), Perkins developing a HS level offensive game, Thabo improving his 3pt FG%, Brooks attending the Nike HS Coaches Clinic in Vegas, etc.

This type of criticism reminds me of people criticizing Kobe post-Shaq but giving Nash a pass when he didn't play any kind of defense. Or people saying Rondo was lacking an offensive game. Players can't fit this mold that we expect...we have to appreciate them for what they are. Westbrook is a player that plays hard, improves every year (check stats + compare his midrange game to 2 years ago), and is on the best young team in the league. 

The same people who hate on Westbrook are the ones who are rocking with DRose. This is just the evolution of the PG position. Westbrook, by all accounts, had an off night yet he finished with 23, 12 assists, 4 boards, 4 steals, and 1 block. And that's an off game?

 And that's not even taking into account his defense or the energy he brings on the break or how he disrupts the passing lanes.

So yes, Durant is the top player on the Thunder and should be option A in crunchtime but to try to reign in Westbrook when they're 1 win away from the Finals (which they're going to be favored no matter who they play, partly due to homecourt advantage) is just idiotic...the criticism calling for Westbrook to turn into a pass first guard is even more asinine...How you gonna tell an athlete/star like Westbrook to start playing like Rubio though? 

 

[carver]

DRose ain't got a kd type player on his team, though..not even someone like james harden..I don't think westbrook should change his game though because he is what he is and that isn't pass first and there's nothing wrong with that..but in late game situations he should let kd handle that. Period.