Game 4. (2-1) vs. Indiana Pacers (3-0). 7:30PM ET.

[Clarity]

I dont know what game you were watching but smith wasant bad on defense,not much you can do if a player is still hitting shots with a hand in his face.Smith was a shot blocking machine last night.

No clue what game he was watching in general because most of what he said wasnt accurate in the least.

Josh has been an absolute monster on defense.

"Box score analyst" is what that's called.

But, George scoring 31 is something to raise eyebrows. A hand in his face is nice, but you can always get more physical with a guy like that. Lord know the Pacers didn't hesitate to body up our players.

ahh good old box score analytics, the 2nd fave go to for most sports fans after the ESPN Top 10 plays. lol

Josh had trouble keeping his body up on Paul & he will continue to struggle against the Paul's & Lebron's of the world simply because his lateral movement isnt comparable to theirs but there arent many players like them & Josh had a hand in Paul's face nearly all night. PG is just that damn good.

[Clarity]

I'm willing to bet Detroit beats OKC. I just think we match up well with them and I believe in this team. I say we beat the Thunder.

Ill be disappointed if we dont beat OKC, their front line shouldnt be able to contend with ours. Ibaka is very good obviously but Perkins is worthless. They are a 2 man jump shooting team, 2nd to last at points in the paint.

The key in that matchup is how Jennings plays on d.

[Notanoob]

I'm willing to bet Detroit beats OKC. I just think we match up well with them and I believe in this team. I say we beat the Thunder.

I do too. Cheeks knows all of their plays/tendencies, and I think with 2-3 days to prepare, he's going to have our guys as ready as possible, and I think the players are going to come out to prove something after last game.

I'm not so sure. Seeing how Smith had trouble with George (even if he was making contested shots), I can't imagine he'll be able to guard Durantula. And who can guard Westbrook? It comes down to Stuckey or KCP really, but those guys aren't starting or even getting huge minutes. Both Durant and Westbrook strike me as coming out with something to prove, I don't think either of them will be taking a game off. Certainly, our interior defense is a huge boon, but we'll have to play better on offense. That means hitting shots (Datome and Jennings in particular, they were cold), and giving Moose more touches inside (Jennings needs to give him the ball regularly, he's our best offensive option IMO), among other things.

I think it should be a very good game though-we've been grinding it out with Memphis and Indiana, but now we get to beat up the much-maligned Perkins?

[Maker_84]

I'm willing to bet Detroit beats OKC. I just think we match up well with them and I believe in this team. I say we beat the Thunder.

Ill be disappointed if we dont beat OKC, their front line shouldnt be able to contend with ours. Ibaka is very good obviously but Perkins is worthless. They are a 2 man jump shooting team, 2nd to last at points in the paint.

The key in that matchup is how Jennings plays on d.

Pistons play bad defense against deep shooting teams.

[tmorgan]

I like optimism as much as the next guy, but Westbrook is going to grind up Jennings and spit him out.

If we win, it'll be because we shoot MUCH better and Monroe and Drummond have big games. I'm interested to see Steven Adams play. Perkins sucks.

[Q00]

I'm willing to bet Detroit beats OKC. I just think we match up well with them and I believe in this team. I say we beat the Thunder.

Ill be disappointed if we dont beat OKC, their front line shouldnt be able to contend with ours. Ibaka is very good obviously but Perkins is worthless. They are a 2 man jump shooting team, 2nd to last at points in the paint.

This. Besides experience, the main reason we had trouble against Memphis and Indiana was that they have the personnel to neutralize our strength inside, forcing us to beat them with our perimeter players, and we just aren't strong enough in that area yet.

Against OKC though, its basically our strength inside vs their strength outside, and if we are getting our points off high percentage shots inside, while they get most of their on jumpshots, I like our chances.

In other words, Durant will be tough to guard like others have said here, but so will Monroe, Smith, and Drummond inside for them. So its not like its just whether we or not we can stop them, deciding if we win/lose. They have to stop us too, and while Ibaka is a great paint protector, he can't stop all three of our bigs at the same time.

[Clarity]

This. Besides experience, the main reason we had trouble against Memphis and Indiana was that they have the personnel to neutralize our strength inside, forcing us to beat them with our perimeter players, and we just aren't strong enough in that area yet.

Against OKC though, its basically our strength inside vs their strength outside, and if we are getting our points off high percentage shots inside, while they get most of their on jumpshots, I like our chances.

In other words, Durant will be tough to guard like others have said here, but so will Monroe, Smith, and Drummond inside for them. So its not like its just whether we or not we can stop them, deciding if we win/lose. They have to stop us too, and while Ibaka is a great paint protector, he can't stop all three of our bigs at the same time.

I wouldnt use neutralize, id more say contend with. They won the battles because of chemistry, we arent there yet. Def agree with them using our perimeter players against us.

I love our chances vs OKC. Durant is a nightmare but will be easier for Josh because KD doesnt have that elite lateral quickness like PG did. KD's length is insane though & hes KD at the end of the day. We should be able to bully these dudes inside, all 3 of our bigs. We are bigger, stronger & more athletic than them.

Pistons play bad defense against deep shooting teams.

We have played 4 games, statements like these arent able to be backed up by anything substantial yet.