Author: Mike

Andre Roberson actually had one of the better offensive games of his career in Game 6 against the Spurs, but the numbers do not lie on this and are why this will always be a reoccurring problem for the Thunder. Career-wise, Roberson is a .274 three point shooter. This season was his best though as he went 32-103 at .311.

But it’s clear what Steve Kerr is going to do, in essence it’s going to be a live ball version of Hack a Shaq with Andre Roberson from the outside. Draymond Green will either clog Westbrook’s driving lane to the basket or muddle Kevin Durant’s operating space.

In these first two games of the series, OKC has scored 47 and 49 points in the two first halves trailing by 13 and 9 nine points respectively. Golden State is a different animal offensively than any other team in the league in that you have to score with them. You’re not going to shut them down as evidence by OKC giving up a combined 220 points these first two games of the series. That’s 110 points per game so far.

The question Billy Donovan will have to decide is if his team can score enough to win three additional games against the Warriors with Draymond Green roving on both Durant and Westbrook.

Obviously-Dion Waiters has upped his game in these playoffs, but even if you upped his minutes to 34 minutes a game there’s going to be a need for an additional 14 minutes or so at the shooting guard position. Donovan could go Foye there some if had to, he could continue to clog his offense by using Roberson, or he could give Anthony Morrow some minutes.

From an offensive standpoint, Morrow is the best choice. In his career to date, Morrow is 766-1,804 (.425) shooting the three. Last season, when Scott Brooks had to use him 24 minutes a game, he went 141-325 (.434) shooting the three ball. This season with Billy Donovan his role has been greatly diminished because of the defensive aspect of his game. He’s played in 68 games averaging 13.6 minutes a game going 79-204 (.387).

But Steph Curry and his Warriors are a different animal. A team which goes off on spectacular runs and spurts. You’re not going to eliminate this from their game, rather you need to have runs of your own like the Westbrook led run in the third period of Game 1.

I’d only put Morrow out there if it was with Durant, Westbrook, Adams, and Ibaka to somewhat mitigate his defense. But if Steve Kerr continues to ignore Andre Roberson (he will), this lineup could along with either Waiters or Foye getting more minutes  be a strategy Donovan considers.

OKC has a bit of a problem. Namely, Steve Kerr doesn’t think Andre Roberson is ever going to beat his Warriors shooting the ball. This isn’t a unique observation among  NBA coaches or observers. It’s something OKC has seen every time Roberson takes the floor, albeit to varying degrees of ignoring Roberson in the offensive zone.

But as the stakes have gotten higher, the opposing coaches are basically roving the player assigned to guard Roberson. In essence it’s 4 on 5 basketball for the Thunder in their offensive zone unless they can score in fast break transition.

In this series, the rover is Draymond Green, and you don’t have to be a rocket scientist as a rover against the Thunder to realize most of your roving should focus on Durant and Westbrook. Especially Durant, because Durant more so than Westbrook is a pure clutch scorer and finisher. Plus, he struggles dribbling in limited space.

I just read Tramel over at newsok. He says Billy D must either devise an offensive scheme for Roberson or bench him.

OKC took  a hard look at moving Dion Waiters to the starting shooting guard position when Roberson was injured this season. It didn’t do much for me. Besides, as was the case when Reggie Jackson was the Sixth Man, Dion is finishing most of the games on the floor already.

Dion has had a nice post season, but I’d keep him coming off the bench, but possibly nudging his minutes up by say five minutes a game. But I would not start him.

But why not start Anthony Morrow if your problem is creating space and time for Durant?

Granted, his defense isn’t great, but he’s a career 40% three point shooter. His man cannot leave him unattended in the corner. Steve Kerr will not have Draymond Green float off of Anthony Morrow. The downside is if you start Morrow he’s probably going to have to guard Harrison Barnes. But Tramel is right, there is no way OKC can go this entire series with Draymond Green basically floating the passing lane between Durant and Westbrook.

This is what the playoffs are about. Adjusting and changing on the fly. Even Scott Brooks with his stubborn streak of never changing the starting lineup had to sit Thabo in the 2014 post season at one point.

I love what Steven Adams has turned into as a player, but the part of the Harden trade which burned OKC is that Jeremy Lamb was a bust at the shooting guard position and with neither Harden or Jackson content in the Sixth Man role–it’s still biting the Thunder.

When you get to this level of competition it’s very difficult to put a player on the floor who the other team literally does not have to guard.

OKC got away with this in the Spurs series as Roberson had a career night in Game 6 at home. But in this series and in the Cavs series if OKC gets that far, they’ll be playing uphill as it is with five players on the floor who can score the ball.

I think it’s worth a look to see if Anthony Morrow can give Donovan 12 minutes a game total starting both the first and third periods.

One thing is certain, Steve Kerr will become more brazen and aggressive in not guarding Andre Roberson because it’s a percentage money play when the alternative is allowing either Durant and Westbrook more operating space.

Good presser by Billy D as well. I enjoy his press conferences. Smiled when he eluded to the effort question and used the semantically more acceptable ‘activity’, but he’s a smart guy and knows how to play the media game.

At these pressers usually it’s Anthony Slater, Erik Horne, and sometimes Royce Young asking the better questions of Donovan. All three with good questions in this one. Usually though, Slater asks the best questions. He’s the one willing to take a chance and ask the tougher questions. Good for him, that’s one of the reasons he’s become the best Thunder beat writer in the local market. Doesn’t mean you have to be an asshole, just ask a to the point question which has relevance. Not complicated.

Royce Young needs to work on this aspect of his coverage, otherwise he’s a fair, balanced, and for the most part a solid beat writer as well. But you gotta be willing to stick your nose in there from time to time getting your nose bloody if need be. Advantage–Anthony Slater.

My father was a courtroom trial lawyer at both the state and federal level. This is part of my upbringing. I have no tolerance for drawn out, weak, or stupid questions by the media. Ask the question, try to get the answer, and move forward getting the information for your readers. If Durant and Westbrook don’t like tough questions, then that’s just too bad. Cry me a river.

Anyway, Donovan does a good job at his pressers for the most part. I guess Tramel’s question was the genesis for his breakthrough column this morning on Steph Curry’s flurries. Are you kidding me?

This is what Steph Curry does and he has done it against every defense in the league with every scheme attached. You’re not going to shut this guy down entirely, just like no one is ever going to shut down Kevin Durant entirely. You just work through the flurries and hope to overcome them by………… winning the boards, not turning over the ball, playing overall sound team defense, getting everyone involved offensively, making free throws, playing smart, and showing some composure during the rough stretches of the game.

Not complex.

Good questions, good answers, interesting postgame press conference.  Before we go to the press conference, I’m going to grade our three local  writers on their Game 2 pieces. I basically put Royce Young at the Daily Thunder, Anthony Slater at Newsok, and Berry Tramel at Newsok on this list.

1 Royce Young – I thought his piece was solid and I’d go B+. Touched on the things which needed to be touched on, yet didn’t lose sight this will probably be a six or seven game series. Touched on OKC’s rebounding, the two horrible shots by Westbrook to close the first half, and Durant and Ibaka both commiting fouls on three point shots by the Warriors.

2 Anthony Slater – His piece centered on the close of the first half, which btw as Steve Kerr mentioned in his presser was the most important segment of the game as OKC went stupid to close the first half. Good piece. Things which had to be written given the script the game followed. Slater has turned himself into a solid NBA beat writer. I’d go A- on his piece.

3 Berry Tramel – I usually enjoy Tramel as he meanders through the southern plains with his folksy Mark Twain prose, but I thought his piece on Game 2 was weak. He basically ignored Durant’s eight turnovers, Westbrook’s horrible close to the first half, the Warriors finding Enes Kanter’s man, Durant only getting two shots attempts in the third period, OKC getting out rebounded by the smaller Warriors. Instead it was just a defense of his piece the previous day on his thoughts of new found fangs in the Thunder defense.

Let me be clear, you can have fangs galore on defense, but if the Thunder get beat on the boards, have Durant continually making soft turnovers, have only two guys in double figures, and Westbrook making bad decisions to close a half or a period–OKC is not winning this series. I’m going C. Vintage Prestette fluff. If it can’t be better than this then give the assignment to Jenni.

BTW I heard three questions from local media people in this presser. Fred Katz, Norman Transcript—good question. Myron Patton, Fox– good question. Dean Blevins, OKC CBS affiliate–good question. Made me proud.

 

Golden State Warriors 118 — Oklahoma City Thunder 91

Series tied 1-1

In Game 1, the Oklahoma City Thunder got their split and a reinforced identity as a new Thunder squad. Anything beyond a split would have been gravy, but what I didn’t want to see tonight was OKC basically play a complacent game in a series where you have a chance to take out the defending NBA champions.

The fact the Thunder ultimately got hammered by 27 points doesn’t alter the fact the Thunder still have a plausible road map to winning this series in six games, but that won’t happen if the Thunder team we saw tonight is the real Thunder team for the remainder of this series.

All the bad things OKC did at times this season reared their ugly head in this Game 2 blowout win by the Warriors with turnovers and soft defense being the main culprits. But add to the fact—the Warriors played with a sense of urgency while the Thunder played with their luggage already on the team charter for the return flight to OKC at halftime.

Steve Kerr did make some adjustments in finding Enes Kanter  on the floor, but in the end the Warriors just outworked and out-smarted the Thunder.

There’s no way in this series the Warriors should ever outrebound the Thunder, yet for the game the Warriors out boarded the Thunder 45-36. Same with 50/50 balls and long rebounds as the Warriors came up with the hustle plays, while the Thunder were basically outworked and out shot.

Three sequences stand out to me: (1) The Iguodala no look layup and one in the midst of a Warriors 11-2 run to close the first half .  (2) Kevin Durant fouling Steph Curry on a three then compounding it even more by getting a tech and a four point play just when OKC couldn’t afford that type of mental gaffe.  Game over right there and then. You could feel the water rushing through the dam in Oracle…literally. You can’t have that from your leader. You just can’t. And (3) Russell Westbrook air balling two horrible threes to end the first half for the Thunder.

Five Thunder players scored in double figures in Game 1, only two Thunder players scored in double figures tonight while the Warriors had seven players in double figures led by Steph Curry’s 28 points on 15 shots.

The Warriors went back to moving the ball, the Thunder reverted to holding the ball and watching Durant and Westbrook.

Actually, Durant got on a tear late in the second period and the Thunder led for the briefest of times before the Warriors closed the half on an 11-2 tear of their of their own. It would be the first of two Warrior tears of consequence in the game. OKC did their part by committing a turnover, then gift wrapping two Westbrook air balls on two horrible threes. And like the Durant four point giveaway to Curry, you can’t have three possessions to close a half where you don’t touch the rim once on any of the three possessions. You have to maintain some degree of composure.

Playoff basketball isn’t for knee jerkers. If you lose a game you lose a game, but the manner in which OKC competed tonight is a bit alarming. This wasn’t the new Thunder, this was the same Thunder we saw far too often with its warts and blemishes.

The question to be asked is which Thunder squad we’ll see in Game 3? The Thunder we saw for the previous four games or the Thunder we saw struggle with composure and execution issues against elite teams all regular season and tonight?

The win on Tuesday night did not make the series, nor did the loss tonight eliminate the Thunder’s plausible path to a Game 6 series win over the defending champs.

But make this clear, the old Thunder don’t have a plausible path to winning this series, only the new Thunder when this series resumes for Game 3 in Oklahoma City on Sunday evening.

Mike Jackson

The Thunder have now won three straight road games against the Spurs and Warriors. More to the point since the embarrassment against the Spurs in Game 1 the Thunder defense has been solid. Some are saying they look like an entirely different team which is what they are to a certain extent.

Billy Donovan has cut the rotation to eight players. OKC’s top eight players are seeing the playing time–Nick Collison, Cam Payne, Anthony Morrow, and Kyle Singler aren’t getting rotational minutes. Their  minutes are being absorbed by Durant, Westbrook, Adams, and Waiters–all much better defensive players than their regular season bench counterparts.

Better defensive players with more minutes equals a better defensive team. Plus, the two superstars are actually trying on defense. If Tramel wants to go all in on the fangs and Doberman thing that’s fine, but let’s not lose sight of the minutes.

So, yeah, it does look like a different team out there.

I’ve written this so many times on here it’s almost making me dizzy, but the truth is defense wins championships. It gives you a chance on nights when your two superstars go a combined 17-51.

It also helps from an offensive standpoint because the manner in which you run your offense transitions into playing defense. Plus, when Billy D teams Adams and Kanter together the Thunder usually wreak havoc on the offensive boards which translates into second chance points. Last night being a perfect example as the Thunder had a 15-2 advantage over the Warriors on second chance points.

What Donovan has done is basically simplified the Thunder and given the top players more minutes.

You can’t do this in the regular season when you have back to backs, three games in four nights, or four games in five nights, but in post season you can pull this off with the games being spaced with more days off between games.

So when Draymond Green said after the game last night, “That this wasn’t the same Thunder team we played against in the regular season”… he’s basically correct.

This isn’t the same Thunder team which played lackluster defense and led the entire NBA in blown fourth quarter leads.

The fact is–this is the Thunder team we’ve waited to see emerge since late October.

Obviously–Billy Donovan had a plan and so far the plan is working.

 

I thought Billy Donovan had a very strong game. Never panicked even when it appeared Kevin Durant could no longer execute a basketball pass in the first half.

His team regrouped at halftime and corrected everything they did poorly in the first half. Turnovers, rebounds, decision making, and free throws all were stellar coming down the stretch. Plus, I liked his timeout usage. He used them well in quieting every Golden State run in the second half, plus he still had one in his pocket there at the end.

Went with the eight man rotation and stuck with it. What he’s doing is what hockey coaches do when they double shift their first line forwards against the other team’s second and third line defensive pairings. He’s basically using Durant and Westbrook as his ninth and tenth players and trying to catch Golden State in bad defensive matchups.

Solid bench game by Billy D.

I’m pretty sure Steven Adams isn’t a racist. It’s just that he comes from New Zealand and a different culture where people don’t hang on every word uttered on either Fox or CNN. They actually have lives in New Zealand. I’m not trying to be insensitive, but I’m laughing my ass off on this. In a country which just nominated Donald Trump as a presidential nominee of a major political party, we have some concerned over Steven Adams’ choice of words.

Curry and Thompson do run around like little monkeys out there beyond the three point line. It’s an accurate simile by Steven. Nothing racist, but they do run around like little monkeys out there on the perimeter, especially Curry who is mixed, BTW. Should white people be offended?

I’m a white guy named Michael Jackson who went to John Marshall.  I understand cultural nuance. Trust me, I understand racial nuance.

We have way too many people in America with way too much time on their hands who for some reason can’t move forward.

I loved Howard Cosell. Read all his books. He went through the same thing when he said Alvin Garrett of the Redskins was ‘running around like a little monkey out there.’ The same Cosell who stood by then Cassius Clay as he went through his decision to not serve in the Vietnam War. The same Howard Cosell who was an avid advocate of the Jackie Robinson Foundation. That Howard Cosell.

The hair still sucks, but I’ve come to terms with it. Take care of the hand, mate. Let’s go win this thing.

Oklahoma City Thunder 108 — Golden State Warriors 102

OKC Thunder lead series 1-0.

Here’s the thing which has to scare Steve Kerr to death, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook went a combined 17-51 from the field on Monday night at Oracle, yet his team lost by six points at home.

Let’s be candid here, OKC’s two superstars in no way brought their ‘A’ games to Oracle for Game 1, only bits and pieces in the second half, but that was enough on the road as OKC shook off a horrible first half to overcome a 60-47 halftime deficit and claim that coveted road playoff win.

But since OKC is now 5-1 on the road in these playoffs and Billy Donovan in no way seems all that impressed with the coaching of Rick Carlisle, Gregg Popovich, and now Steve Kerr is it selfish to suggest a two game road sweep to start and end this series simultaneously.

Maybe not. Because when it mattered most this new Thunder seemed collected, cool, and calm in the fourth period instead of the choking version we saw in the regular season. Something has happened to this Thunder. Something magical. Fourth quarter leads are holding up. The tough calls are going their way. But maybe, just maybe, they got tired of playing dumb basketball. They’ve grown up as a unit. Gotten better.

OKC was hideous in this first half. It appeared Kevin Durant couldn’t throw a ball six feet to an open teammate or make a wide open shot. Russell Westbrook only made one field goal in the half. They turned the ball over eight times. OKC did the unthinkable in getting beaten on the boards by the smaller Warriors. They missed their free throws. It was here we go again.

But then a calm came over the arena in the second half. Russell Westbrook starting making some shots. Kevin Durant quit throwing the ball away to strangers in street clothes on the first row. Slowly, but surely the game turned and the Thunder gave themselves a chance to win Game 1.

Ignoring the fact Westbrook was 7-21 shooting the ball, he was otherwise magnificent with 26 points, 6 rebounds, 12 assists, and 7 steals. Plus, he played defense. Nineteen of Westbrook’s points came in the third period when in fact the Thunder inverted the game on the Warriors.

Russell Westbrook is my No. 1 Star of the Game, but Steven Adams wasn’t far behind. It was the same Steven Adams we’ve seen since Game 2 of the Spurs series.

Adams was superb. I feel ashamed I ever questioned his hair. 16 points, 12 rebounds, six straight made free throws, and maybe the play of the game late when he grabbed a loose ball, got fouled, and then made two clutch free throws to expand the OKC lead.

In reality, all of the Thunder played fairly well, except for Durant. I expect more from Kevin Durant than this. I’m not trying be be snarky, but I expect a cleaner game than this. But this is why Steve Kerr should be concerned, Kevin Durant played poorly for the most part and probably has a big Game 2 lurking–just a hunch.

Dion Waiters was excellent again. Ibaka was solid–I’m not sure he roared like a lion, but he was good enough.. Roberson had nice moments. Kanter was decent. Foye functional. Only eight Thunder players played and Billy D played it just right.

OKC has its road split. Mission accomplished. No matter what happens in Game 2 on Wednesday–the Thunder now have home court advantage and at the least a plausible road map to a six game series win over the Warriors.

But if you’re competitive…. you know, I know, and Kevin Durant knows if he brings his ‘A’ game to Oracle on Wednesday night his Thunder could give the defending champion Warriors a standing eight count with a Game 2 road win.

Don’t laugh, this new Thunder wins late and they win on the road.

Mike Jackson