Thunder Even Series With 117-114 Win In Game 4

Just a great ball game from the Thunder. Billy Donovan finally seems to have come to terms with what Steven Adams and Terrance Ferguson can and can’t do for his Thunder ball club.

Terrance Ferguson didn’t see the floor again since Lu Dort’s return and that is a good thing for Billy D’s basketball team.

Steven did start and played around 26 minutes or so but when it came to Big Boy Britches Time Billy D got it right and went small with CP3, Dennis, Shai, Lu Dort, and went with a shooter in Gallo at the center spot.

Voila. As much as I love Steven as an author this is why until he learns to shoot from beyond ten feet his value is limited.

Dennis Schroder was the game’s MVP with a career playoff personal best of 32 points and some genuine clutchness in the game’s final minutes.

Chris Paul was steady if not spectacular. Dort was Dort. He grinds, he rubs, he checks like a hockey player because he’s Canadian and that’s what Canadians do even when they’re not on the ice.

But I thought Shai, another Canadian by the way who has a frilly Gretzkyesqueness about him, was a real key. Instead of playing like a pussy—he showed some toughness. He led the Thunder in minutes played at around 44 and led the team in rebounds with twelve boards of which eight were defensive.

I thought his overall basketball aura was much better. He has to get better in this realm. He doesn’t want to stay in the Kevin Durant mode where he can only bench press ninety pounds. I KNOW this is more of what Billy Donovan wants to see from his other Canadian.

In hockey parlance for the two Canadians…Shai is Gretzky and Dort is Messier the bad boy grinder who does the dirty work. This is what I thought about Durant and Westbrook at one time, until I realized Westbrook doesn’t play smart at times like Messier did with both the Edmonton Oilers and New York Rangers.

This is my sedgeway into Russelll Westbrook. Is he going to play in this series and who would it be good for if he does play?

I’ve watched Russell Westbrook play every game he played as a member of the OKC Thunder and I’m not sure what the answer is to my own question.

His rebounding would be a plus for Houston for certain. But would he be able to reign it in and exclude the horrific decision making as this series is now a best two out of three for the right to advance to the semi-finals in the West?

I don’t know. Vegas doesn’t know. The soft frilly millenials at the Daily Thunder don’t know…except Johhny Thunder perhaps because he reads this blog now and again.

It is a basketball conumdrum of sorts. But is it really? At what point does an elite athlete learn to stop playing dumb when it matters most?

Was Michael Jordan dumb until he finally beat the Pistons and got to the Summit?

I don’t think Westbrook is dumb. I just think his own uber competitiveness makes him play dumb at times. Can Harden harness this if Westbrook returns?

So much to think about.

But this is what we do know. The series is now tied at 2-2 and Dennis Schroder is back in a confidence groove. We know Shai doesn’t have to play like he’s in the WNBA. We know Lu Dort is a better man than Mike Gundy. We know Billy D has a small ball lineup he believes in versus this Houston team. We also know Billy D has tightened the rope on the rotations and who he doesn’t believe can get it done at Big Boy Britches Time.

We know we have a compelling series on our hands.

Game 5 on Wednesday in the Bubble.

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