WCQF: Oklahoma City Thunder vs Houston Rockets | P1

Galloisdaman · Post #261 » by **Galloisdaman** » Tue Aug 25, 2020 12:12 am

I think the bench played well today. Sitting Adams for the last 3 minutes could not have been a easy call when Adams is giving up his body but it worked.

1bigfan13 · Post #262 » by **1bigfan13** » Tue Aug 25, 2020 12:19 am

Credit to Adams for finally putting together a complete game. He was better all around today. If OKC can get this version of Adams going forward I'm perfectly fine with leaving him in the rotation.

Post #263 » by **Dadouv47** » Tue Aug 25, 2020 1:02 am

CP3 was a monster today (except from deep). He made key jump shots when we were struggling and Houston was opening a big lead in the 3rd. Underrated performance.

I know it's still his second year in the NBA but a bit disappointed about SGA performance during this series. He needs to work on his athleticism (also taking some bad shots)

thor19 · Post #264 » by **thor19** » Tue Aug 25, 2020 1:13 am

Dadouv47 wrote:CP3 was a monster today (except from deep). He made key jump shots when we were struggling and Houston was opening a big lead in the 3rd. Underrated performance.

I know it's still his second year in the NBA but a bit disappointed about SGA performance during this series. He needs to work on his athleticism (also taking some bad shots)

SGA is not superathletic, he is more of a change pace player and crafty he need to improve, but you say it , is only the second year. Also we need a little of pick and pop from Adams and I think that will open the court. ( I KNOW IS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE )

Post #265 » by **ThunderBolt** » Tue Aug 25, 2020 1:14 am

Other than the first game, shai has played pretty well. He didn’t have a great second half but I’ve been pretty pleased with him and bazley.

NaturalThunder · Post #266 » by **NaturalThunder** » Tue Aug 25, 2020 1:59 am

Galloisdaman wrote:
NaturalThunder wrote:The Rockets were 18/32 from three at one point in the 3rd quarter. They shot 5/26 from three over the final 18ish minutes of the game.

Normally you could say live by the sword die by the sword but they shot around 40% from 3. I think the 3 late game turnovers were what killed them.

Yeah, they ended at 40% from three, on absurd amount of attempts, but at one point they were shooting 18/32 from three midway through the third, or 56%. That's absurd. Fortunately, once Houston predictably started cooling off, we kept scoring and that's not always a guarantee. I still have very little faith we win this series, especially if Westbrook comes back, but the last 18 minutes of this game was very enjoyable and does give a glimmer of hope.

Also, Schroder scoring an efficient 30 points really helps. It's on secret, but he was an absolute trainwreck of awfulness in games 1 and 2.

NaturalThunder · Post #267 » by **NaturalThunder** » Tue Aug 25, 2020 2:01 am

Galloisdaman wrote:
ThunderBolt wrote:
Galloisdaman wrote:
Normally you could say live by the sword die by the sword but they shot around 40% from 3. I think the 3 late game turnovers were what killed them.

People mock Houston but i dont know of any other team that other teams want to avoid more than the rockets. I feel that way.

Well when Hou is hitting on all cylinders they are scary. Honestly I do not think anyone thought this would be a 2-2 series a few days ago. Crazy thing is I still do not think OKC has played anywhere near their best. They can go up another notch as can Houston.

I agree with you. When Houston is hitting on all cylinders they are scary, but they hit on all cylinders for 2.5 quarters tonight and our limited offensive team found a way to claw back and beat them. This is the weirdest Thunder team maybe ever. I still tink Donovan needs to move on, and Presti needs wake the f**k up when it comes to his views on what an NBA teams needs in 2020, but this season, for so many reasons, has been an unexpectedly enjoyable one.

jambalaya · Post #268 » by **jambalaya** » Tue Aug 25, 2020 4:04 am

Before today's game the pair data was showing Paul and / or Adams in all the worst bigger minute pairs and Alexander, Schroder and Gallinari exclusively in the good ones.

I'd probably play Paul / Adams less and Adams less generally or at least less in worst circumstances (whatever they are, haven't looked that closely). I'd play the good pairs a bit more, as a trio often. Modest or bigger changes can make a difference.

I wouldn't assume that just repeating what they have done recently is good enough. Yeah keep the best, but shrink the lesser performing.

itzmrgigglez · Post #269 » by **itzmrgigglez** » Tue Aug 25, 2020 5:09 am

SGA has played 40+ minutes the past 2 games.

48 mins in Game 3
44 mins in Game 4

Been doing good offensively and defensively, really showing his potential

mcscotty · Post #270 » by **mcscotty** » Tue Aug 25, 2020 7:29 am

I really enjoy this Thunder squad. They've been the comeback kids all season.

getrichordie · Post #271 » by **getrichordie** » Tue Aug 25, 2020 1:37 pm

itzmrgigglez wrote:SGA has played 40+ minutes the past 2 games.

48 mins in Game 3
44 mins in Game 4

Been doing good offensively and defensively, really showing his potential

This is something to keep an eye on in Game 5. That's a lot of minutes, even for playoffs.

The good news is that Schroder didn't play so many minutes and the bad news is that our Schroder + SGA line ups are where we get a lot of our net production.

Post #272 » by **Dadouv47** » Tue Aug 25, 2020 1:39 pm

getrichordie wrote:
itzmrgigglez wrote:SGA has played 40+ minutes the past 2 games.

48 mins in Game 3
44 mins in Game 4

Been doing good offensively and defensively, really showing his potential

This is something to keep an eye on in Game 5. That's a lot of minutes, even for playoffs.

The good news is that Schroder didn't play so many minutes and the bad news is that our Schroder + SGA line ups are where we get a lot of our net production.

More worried about CP3 having to play every 2 days...

Galloisdaman · Post #273 » by **Galloisdaman** » Tue Aug 25, 2020 6:21 pm

Anyone else not a huge fan of taking around 8 seconds to advance the ball up court on so many sets? I feel like it lets Houston rest and regroup to set their defense too often. The more time in their end of the floor the more effort they have to give defending and the more time they have to pick up a foul.

Post #274 » by **ThunderBolt** » Tue Aug 25, 2020 6:35 pm

Galloisdaman wrote:Anyone else not a huge fan of taking around 8 seconds to advance the ball up court on so many sets? I feel like it lets Houston rest and regroup to set their defense too often. The more time in their end of the floor the more effort they have to give defending and the more time they have to pick up a foul.

This team has talked about pushing the pace even throughput the regular season but it’s not going to happen with cp3. He’s just slow. Gallo and Adams aren’t winning any speed contests either. Dennis has quick on the first step but he’s not a great facilitator. Although it’s a good idea, I don’t think this team is built for it.

Galloisdaman · Post #275 » by **Galloisdaman** » Tue Aug 25, 2020 6:41 pm

ThunderBolt wrote:
Galloisdaman wrote:Anyone else not a huge fan of taking around 8 seconds to advance the ball up court on so many sets? I feel like it lets Houston rest and regroup to set their defense too often. The more time in their end of the floor the more effort they have to give defending and the more time they have to pick up a foul.

This team has talked about pushing the pace even throughput the regular season but it’s not going to happen with cp3. He’s just slow. Gallo and Adams aren’t winning any speed contests either. Dennis has quick on the first step but he’s not a great facilitator. Although it’s a good idea, I don’t think this team is built for it.

I think you are right about CP3. I know Gallo and Adams are not speed demons but they are often standing in the offensive zone waiting for the ball to come up court. Adams even mentioned after game 1 they can't take 8 seconds to get the offensive end of the court. By just giving away 8 seconds we give Houston time to rest and regroup. Its a poor plan in my opinion. Dennis has moved the ball up much faster. So has SGA.

getrichordie · Post #276 » by **getrichordie** » Wed Aug 26, 2020 2:15 am

getrichordie wrote:Exactly... we have to push the pace in order to create something. At some points I'd rather have Schroder with the ball because he pushes the pace and while he didn't play well last night, he usually can find some sort of crack in the defense and create something.

I said this after game 2 and Donovan put ball in Schroder's hands more. Credit to Donovan.

getrichordie · Post #277 » by **getrichordie** » Wed Aug 26, 2020 3:44 pm

It's game day, baby!!!

Things I want to see:

- SGA playing more aggressively this game.
- Adams playing less. Noel playing more.
- Bazley playing a little bit more.
- A little more Dort/Bazley/SGA/Schroder lineups if possible.
- Dort not get in foul trouble.

getrichordie · Post #278 » by **getrichordie** » Wed Aug 26, 2020 4:50 pm

Read on Twitter

I was thinking about it, and I think we should be worried that a fresh Westbrook is coming back in a Game 5.

Old Man Game · Post #279 » by **Old Man Game** » Fri Aug 28, 2020 11:38 am

I hope the players know what they're doing. We all (I hope) support the aims of BLM. But it occurs to me that stuff like sitting out games to draw attention could have diminishing returns at a certain point.

We don't want a situation where people just tune out because we've gone to the same playbook over and over again.

Post #280 » by **ThunderBolt** » Sat Aug 29, 2020 2:44 pm

Just as an FYI to everyone, I'm going to be stepping down as a moderator. Some of you may be contacted by Howard. Without going in to a lot of details, I'll just say that the political aspects of sports has really frustrated me. I understand there are problems and injustices in the world and I have my beliefs as to what will fix them. I'm sure each of you has his or her own beliefs as well.

For me, sports its a time to have some time to enjoy myself and not focus on all of the bad stuff in the world. Again, it's not that I don't care about those injustices but the nba is no longer serving the purpose for which I had it in my life. Maybe in the future things get back to a level of normalcy or maybe not. I don't know. For now, I want a break from it.

Winner