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I don't think I have a ever seen a guy 6 2 dominate a guy 6 9 on DEFENSE like I did tonight. This reminded me a little of when Tony Allen used to give Durant fits, but worse. This was one of the greatest defensive performances I can remember seeing. Lawd have mercy...

Been saying it all year. He's going to have Luka or PG in hell next round (unless the officials call it tight). He's an all-league defender and arguably the best perimeter defender in the league, IMO. This series is also an example of Brandon Ingram being overrated. His Olympic experience was a catastrophe, but he would have been better off not coming back at all if he was going to perform like this. He looked really bad.

Dort this year is so locked in in these playoffs that it’s like the Dorture Chamber has gone full Hostel.

Playoff Dort. He is frustrating sometimes but he has always brought it in the playoffs. I remember him locking up Houston Harden in game 7 of the 1st round in his rookie year and arguably outplaying him outright.

Why is this guy not really talked about as a DPOY type guy? I don't think I've ever paid more attention to what a defensive player was doing than I did tonight. That was just a masterclass on how to get into someone's head. Is he not talked about because he's in OKC or do the stats just not support him being one of the top 5 defenders in the league? I hear about Holiday, Smart, OG, Caruso, Suggs, Jones, but I don't hear much at all about Dort. Is Caruso really better than what I just saw tonight?

OKC is playing together really well and Dort's improvement during the offseason is a big reason why. Dude is locked in.

First play off series he locks up Houston Harden. Second series and Ingram looks like a genuine role player.

Dude a Linebacker playing basketball not impressed.

the mental fatigue of going against this dude must be insane

How are you 6 9 and not just catching the ball high and shooting right over this guy?

VeggieBurger wrote:How are you 6 9 and not just catching the ball high and shooting right over this guy?

the other guy put pressure on your lower body and you can't get a good position

VeggieBurger wrote:Why is this guy not really talked about as a DPOY type guy? I don't think I've ever paid more attention to what a defensive player was doing than I did tonight. That was just a masterclass on how to get into someone's head. Is he not talked about because he's in OKC or do the stats just not support him being one of the top 5 defenders in the league? I hear about Holiday, Smart, OG, Caruso, Suggs, Jones, but I don't hear much at all about Dort. Is Caruso really better than what I just saw tonight?

People seem to use advanced stats to disprove Dort's prowess. The thing is, I have seen the Thunder win so many close games because Shai/JDub closes it offensively, but also because Dort is locking up the opponent's best player.

dort plays good on-ball defense but usually doesn't impact the game defensively in other ways like some other wings do (like derrick white). he's more of an avery bradley type than a total game wrecker. that's why he doesn't get as much juice at the other guys.

We need more Dort license plates!

slick_watts wrote:dort plays good on-ball defense but usually doesn't impact the game defensively in other ways like some other wings do (like derrick white). he's more of an avery bradley type than a total game wrecker. that's why he doesn't get as much juice at the other guys.

Can you break this down to me? Are you saying he isn't as good a team defensive player? I want o use Caruso as the archetype because he gets so much attention. Please let me know what Caruso does better than this guy. Keep in mind, I'm no analyzer of either, but what I saw tonight was DPOY type of performance. Maybe it's an anomaly, but if this is how this guy plays defense all the time he deserves All 1st team type attention.

VeggieBurger wrote:

slick_watts wrote:dort plays good on-ball defense but usually doesn't impact the game defensively in other ways like some other wings do (like derrick white). he's more of an avery bradley type than a total game wrecker. that's why he doesn't get as much juice at the other guys.

Can you break this down to me? Are you saying he isn't as good a team defensive player? I want o use Caruso as the archetype because he gets so much attention. Please let me know what Caruso does better than this guy. Keep in mind, I'm no analyzer of either, but what I saw tonight was DPOY type of performance. Maybe it's an anomaly, but if this is how this guy plays defense all the time he deserves All 1st team type attention.

Caruso's elite as well, but I watched Brunson give him 48 in Chicago. Dort completely will take a guy out of the game and make them not want the ball and unlike Caruso, he's durable.

VeggieBurger wrote:

slick_watts wrote:dort plays good on-ball defense but usually doesn't impact the game defensively in other ways like some other wings do (like derrick white). he's more of an avery bradley type than a total game wrecker. that's why he doesn't get as much juice at the other guys.

Can you break this down to me? Are you saying he isn't as good a team defensive player? I want o use Caruso as the archetype because he gets so much attention. Please let me know what Caruso does better than this guy. Keep in mind, I'm no analyzer of either, but what I saw tonight was DPOY type of performance. Maybe it's an anomaly, but if this is how this guy plays defense all the time he deserves All 1st team type attention.

alex caruso plays passing lanes off the ball and protects the rim. he led the league in steal percentage and has a very high block percentage for a wing also. he causes havoc in the game defensively whether he is on or off the ball. lu dort only does so when he's on the ball, really.

Capn'O wrote:We need more Dort license plates!

I repeat, we need more Dort license plates!!

Nothing new, he allways been a great on ball defender. He seems just to raised the intensity this time lol. But he is allways hell to face for a teams 1st option scorer.

Dude is a junkyard dog, but Ingram doesn’t necessarily strike me as a mentally strong player. Should be a scoring problem every single night with his physical gifts, but basically goes missing every other game scoring single digits or low teens.

Pelicans obviously missed Zion massively in this series too. Healthy Zion would have been a genuine issue for OKC with his physicality, not that I see the Pelicans doing anything crazy in this series if he actually was healthy.

Next round will be a test, whether it’s Clippers or Mavs..Could see Luka doing far more against him than Ingram ever could if that’s how the matchups fall.