Oklahoma City Thunder Regular Season 2015-2016 Part 2

[OKCLouisiana]

And on Russ shooting 17 or less, a handful of those games he sat the 4th, so association isn't causation.

Well I believe he sat the fourth because the game was already determined at that point so the point of russ shooting less is valid considering OKC must have played well enough to not need one of the most important players at all in the final moments of the game.

[bondom34]

And on Russ shooting 17 or less, a handful of those games he sat the 4th, so association isn't causation.

Well I believe he sat the fourth because the game was already determined at that point so the point of russ shooting less is valid considering OKC must have played well enough to not need one of the most important players at all in the final moments of the game.

The point he was trying to make is Russ shoots less = wins. The reason OKC won those wasn't because Russ shot less, they were blowouts when he would have shot more and they'd still win. You can say GSW wins most games when Curry shoots less too if he's not playing the 4th.

[Bergmaniac]

That second quarter run was really awesome. Westbrook was incredibly dominant just with his passing and driving. Memphis had no clue whatsoever how to deal with the small ball lineup of the Thunder. Durant looked back to his best, if he and WB could keep the turnovers down the Thunder offense will be really hard to stop.

Westbrook and most other star scorers in the league shoot more when the role players are struggling offensively with their shooting and/or can't get good looks consistently, which is when the losses usually happen, so no wonder the Thunder's record is better when he shoots less, especially when we take into account blowouts and sitting out the final quarter.

[Cuban_Linx]

KD's such an awesome all round player when he doesn't have to create everything for himself on offense. Defensively he was great and he even did well protecting the boards and holding his own against the Memphis bigs when Donovan went small. I read it on DT and I haven't paid attention to it myself, but if KD's always this capable defending bigs (rebounding wise he definitely matches up) we should go small a lot more often. If we're not gonna use Kanter better, it's better to sit him more often to allow more minutes for KD at the 4.

[bondom34]

Lowe Post touches on OKC at about 50-51 minutes for a while:

http://espn.go.com/espnradio/play?id=14330983

He and JVG think that if they can get the defense tight they can hang w/ GSW. Lowe loved the small lineup last night.

[KD35Brah]

Apparently one of the reasons Mitch hasn't played and is in the DLeague is because he needs to work on his conditioning....

[spearsy23]

Apparently the one of the reasons Mitch hasn't played and is in the DLeague is because he needs to work on his conditioning....

Seems odd since he came into camp much lighter than last year.

[KD35Brah]

Apparently the one of the reasons Mitch hasn't played and is in the DLeague is because he needs to work on his conditioning....

Seems odd since he came into camp much lighter than last year.

[tweet]https://twitter.com/anthonyVslater/status/674735379669377024[/tweet]

[spearsy23]

. And I gotta give Donovan credit here - the team has moved the ball pretty well these last two games. Durant's and Westbrook's FGA have gone down (23.5 per game combined) and the rest of the team finally played his part.

Eh, they didn't play the 4th so obviously their shot attempts will be way down. The ball isn't really moving more either, last night players not named Russ had 1 more assist than usual, it was purely his driving and kicking that elevated the assist numbers. Well, that and Serge not sucking. Ball isn't ever going to move freely here, and that's okay.

[spearsy23]

Apparently the one of the reasons Mitch hasn't played and is in the DLeague is because he needs to work on his conditioning....

Seems odd since he came into camp much lighter than last year.

[tweet]https://twitter.com/anthonyVslater/status/674735379669377024[/tweet]

Oh, I didn't mean to imply I Didnt believe you. It's just odd that after spending the offseason losing weight he still needs conditioning work.

[bondom34]

Seems odd since he came into camp much lighter than last year.

[tweet]https://twitter.com/anthonyVslater/status/674735379669377024[/tweet]

Oh, I didn't mean to imply I Didnt believe you. It's just odd that after spending the offseason losing weight he still needs conditioning work.

I'd think he lost some due to injury as well, he was hurt for a while I think pre concussion. I could just be remembering wrong too.

[spearsy23]

Off topic but:
Happy birthday Dion

So far this year I've been on Russ, Robes and Dion's bball reference pages on their birthdays. Either a coincidence, or I'm on there way too often

[bondom34]

Happy Bday to Dion!

[Pillendreher]

. And I gotta give Donovan credit here - the team has moved the ball pretty well these last two games. Durant's and Westbrook's FGA have gone down (23.5 per game combined) and the rest of the team finally played his part.

Eh, they didn't play the 4th so obviously their shot attempts will be way down. The ball isn't really moving more either, last night players not named Russ had 1 more assist than usual, it was purely his driving and kicking that elevated the assist numbers. Well, that and Serge not sucking. Ball isn't ever going to move freely here, and that's okay.

I diasgree. The ball clearly moved better in my opinion. It's not just assists, it's the extra passes made. There were several possessions where they didn't settle for the shot and instead swung the ball around the perimeter to get a better shot.
They had 286 passes per game over the last two games, while averaging 266 passes per game before that.

[KD35Brah]

Seems odd since he came into camp much lighter than last year.

[tweet]https://twitter.com/anthonyVslater/status/674735379669377024[/tweet]

Oh, I didn't mean to imply I Didnt believe you. It's just odd that after spending the offseason losing weight he still needs conditioning work.

I just posted it because i didn't specifically read that from someone. It was implied from that tweet.

[KD35Brah]

Royce Young Article:

But Durant is listening to his new coach, repeating his talking points and working to embrace his philosophies. Durant is committed to setting an unselfish example, making extra passes when they don't make any sense, like against the Grizzlies when he turned down a wide open catch-and-shoot wing 3 to try to swing the ball to Andre Roberson in the corner.

More important, though, so is Westbrook, it seems. Westbrook routinely will solicit Donovan in-game, often sprinting over to the bench and putting an arm around his coach's shoulder during a dead ball. Following a recent Thunder practice, Donovan and Westbrook stood alone on the practice floor, engaged in an extended discussion. Donovan was doing most of the talking, Westbrook the listening. That hasn't been a standard sight in OKC the past seven years.

The strong-headed point guard isn't the easiest player to coach, and it often feels like Donovan is maybe a little too quick to praise Westbrook's intelligence, playmaking or leadership after every practice and game, but these are still fresh relationships, and all parties involved appear intent on developing them.

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/14336921/nba-oklahoma-city-thunder-better-billy-donovan-quarter-mark

[KD35Brah]

Article on Kanter's improvement on defense.

http://www.welcometoloudcity.com/2015/12/10/9852228/thunder-enes-kanter-defense-improvements-pigs-fly

[bondom34]

Kinda wish RK would drop by a bit, haven't seen him on here in a while. I have to go to WTLC to pester him now .

[Thabo Sefolosha]

http://vote.nba.com/

[KD35Brah]

I'm going to be extremely pissed if Kobe takes Durant or Westbrook's spot.