Playoffs 2017: WC First Round - Houston Rockets (3) vs Oklahoma City Thunder (6)

[gom]

Oh gom's here. It's gonna be lit.

We're doing this. Buckle up!

Spoiler:

[bondom34]

Oh gom's here. It's gonna be lit.

We're doing this. Buckle up!

Spoiler:

Katy Perry gifs? Man gotta get you on Daily Thunder.

[sleestak33]

Donovan got a lot of credit for his coaching in last year's playoffs but 90% of what he did was to simply limit the rotation, specifically Singler and that should have been done 20 games into the season when it was apparent to everybody besides him and Presti that he was just a disaster and shouldn't be playing any more. Singler, Christon, Grant and Sabonis (and Roberson to a large degree) are going to have to be limited in the minutes they play (Singler and Christon simply can't play in this series at all) if OKC is going to have any chance and Abrines and McDermott will have to play huge roles and hit shots to space the floor while OKC pounds the ball down low to Kanter, Adams and Gibson for this team to have any chance of winning this series. We just have to hope Donovan has enough common sense to get the rotation down to 8 or maybe even 7 players because they simply can't score enough points to keep up doing what he's been doing all year.

[bondom34]

Donovan got a lot of credit for his coaching in last year's playoffs but 90% of what he did was to simply limit the rotation, specifically Singler and that should have been done 20 games into the season when it was apparent to everybody besides him and Presti that he was just a disaster and shouldn't be playing any more. Singler, Christon, Grant and Sabonis (and Roberson to a large degree) are going to have to be limited in the minutes they play (Singler and Christon simply can't play in this series at all) if OKC is going to have any chance and Abrines and McDermott will have to play huge roles and hit shots to space the floor while OKC pounds the ball down low to Kanter, Adams and Gibson for this team to have any chance of winning this series. We just have to hope Donovan has enough common sense to get the rotation down to 8 or maybe even 7 players because they simply can't score enough points to keep up doing what he's been doing all year.

If you want to limit Roberson this series, it's going to be over in 4 blowouts. Because Harden will go for 50.

[Bergmaniac]

Pounding the ball down low wouldn't work. Nene is the strongest centre in the league. You can't bully him in the post. Plus they can just double Kanter and 90% of the time he won't pass but will take a tough shot instead. Adams and Gibson aren't good post scorers anyway. You should run pick and rolls and hit the offensive glass hard instead. Houston's pick and roll defense is pretty mediocre.

Besides, how many times did pounding the ball down low work this season against good teams? I can't think of any. It's not 1995 anymore.

[Pillendreher]

Pounding the ball down low wouldn't work. Nene is the strongest centre in the league. You can't bully him in the post. Plus they can just double Kanter and 90% of the time he won't pass but will take a tough shot instead. Adams and Gibson aren't good post scorers anyway. You should run pick and rolls and hit the offensive glass hard instead. Houston's pick and roll defense is pretty mediocre.

Besides, how many times did pounding the ball down low work this season against good teams? I can't think of any. It's not 1995 anymore.

Posting them up is not the way to go. If we were to exploit any advantage we have in the bigmen department, it will have to be by pounding the offensive glass. Gibson, Adams and Kanter all well above average offensive rebounders and you can also add Roberson and Westbrook to the mix. The Thunder are 1st in ORB% and the Rockets 21st in DRB%. That's something we should look to exploit, but hopefully without giving up too many points in transition.

[gom]

Definitely, the Thunder should have an advantage on the glass. Both teams have excellent pace. Kanter, McDermott, and Oladipo are fine shooters, but ideally, a game played in the paint is better for OKC than one on the perimeter. I disagree with Bergmaniac about Gibson's post play. It's always been very solid and clutch.

The Thunder have great players, but we're looking at a lineup of basically 9, right?

Westbrook (35 mpg avg)
Oladipo (33)
Roberson (30)
Adams (30)

Kanter (21)
Gibson (21)
Sabonis (20)

McDermott (20)
Grant (20)

And then Norris Cole or Semaj perhaps spelling Westbrook, and maybe Abrines for Oladipo sometimes.

Is that about right?

I think if McDermott is on the floor, Roberson also must be on the court. Otherwise, we give too much up at the perimeter. Maybe Gibson can play with Kanter to spread the floor a bit?

What have the most successful lineups been against great teams?

[sleestak33]

Pounding the ball down low wouldn't work. Nene is the strongest centre in the league. You can't bully him in the post. Plus they can just double Kanter and 90% of the time he won't pass but will take a tough shot instead. Adams and Gibson aren't good post scorers anyway. You should run pick and rolls and hit the offensive glass hard instead. Houston's pick and roll defense is pretty mediocre.

Besides, how many times did pounding the ball down low work this season against good teams? I can't think of any. It's not 1995 anymore.

The question is how many times did Donovan trying to play small ball and match lineups against teams like the Warrior and Rockets? They got completely ran out of the gym by the Warriors and were lucky to win one game against the Rockets. You can't match lineups when you have guys like Roberson, Grant, Christon, Sabonis and Adams who all can't shoot and score with any consistency. Their only chance is to play their best offensive players, run pick and rolls with the bigs, try to make 3s with Abrines and McDermott (which will help space the floor), pound the crap out of the offensive glass and try to outscore them. They have zero chance playing their normal lineups. You must not actually watch games.

[sleestak33]

Definitely, the Thunder should have an advantage on the glass. Both teams have excellent pace. Kanter, McDermott, and Oladipo are fine shooters, but ideally, a game played in the paint is better for OKC than one on the perimeter. I disagree with Bergmaniac about Gibson's post play. It's always been very solid and clutch.

The Thunder have great players, but we're looking at a lineup of basically 9, right?

Westbrook (35 mpg avg)
Oladipo (33)
Roberson (30)
Adams (30)

Kanter (21)
Gibson (21)
Sabonis (20)

McDermott (20)
Grant (20)

And then Norris Cole or Semaj perhaps spelling Westbrook, and maybe Abrines for Oladipo sometimes.

Is that about right?

I think if McDermott is on the floor, Roberson also must be on the court. Otherwise, we give too much up at the perimeter. Maybe Gibson can play with Kanter to spread the floor a bit?

What have the most successful lineups been against great teams?

Roberson's minutes must be limited to 10-12 at most and Kanter needs to take almost all of Sabonis' minutes which would put him up to 35-40. Grant can barely play at all maybe 8-12 at most. Abrines and McDermott will need to take almost all of the minutes for the perimeter players. We have seen what normal rotations and playing non-scorers like Roberson, Grant and Sabonis works against the Rockets and the Warriors...it's simply a disaster. Some of you guys just don't get it man or you're just not actually watching the games in the regular season. The ONLY way OKC is ever going to have a chance to beat teams like the Warriors or Rockets is to play their best offensive players and try to outscore them.

[Pillendreher]

Definitely, the Thunder should have an advantage on the glass. Both teams have excellent pace. Kanter, McDermott, and Oladipo are fine shooters, but ideally, a game played in the paint is better for OKC than one on the perimeter. I disagree with Bergmaniac about Gibson's post play. It's always been very solid and clutch.

The Thunder have great players, but we're looking at a lineup of basically 9, right?

Westbrook (35 mpg avg)
Oladipo (33)
Roberson (30)
Adams (30)

Kanter (21)
Gibson (21)
Sabonis (20)

McDermott (20)
Grant (20)

And then Norris Cole or Semaj perhaps spelling Westbrook, and maybe Abrines for Oladipo sometimes.

Is that about right?

I think if McDermott is on the floor, Roberson also must be on the court. Otherwise, we give too much up at the perimeter. Maybe Gibson can play with Kanter to spread the floor a bit?

What have the most successful lineups been against great teams?

Roberson's minutes must be limited to 10-12 at most and Kanter needs to take almost all of Sabonis' minutes which would put him up to 35-40. Grant can barely play at all maybe 8-12 at most. Abrines and McDermott will need to take almost all of the minutes for the perimeter players. We have seen what normal rotations and playing non-scorers like Roberson, Grant and Sabonis works against the Rockets and the Warriors...it's simply a disaster. Some of you guys just don't get it man or you're just not actually watching the games in the regular season. The ONLY way OKC is ever going to have a chance to beat teams like the Warriors or Rockets is to play their best offensive players and try to outscore them.

Lmfao. Thank God you're not our coach. I can't even. Let's try to outscore two historically good offenses. Sure, go ahead.

[oken]

sleestak may not have realized the shining in Harden's eyes when he sees Kanter entering the game every time. He's like the hungry wolf that had been waiting for that moment to have a feast when he sees Kanter. Unfortunately, even though I am an admirer of his passion and offensive arsenal, I believe Kanter cannot provide any positive contribution against small-ball-ish teams like HOU because he cannot switch/rotate/check his back etc. (basic defensive things) properly. And he cannot even defend Nene properly because he is an old fox. But if somehow OKC can get past this round (NBA2k17 gives us 47% chance: https://goo.gl/pxZvWV) I believe he will have better time with Spurs.

[gom]

sleestak may not have realized the shining in Harden's eyes when he sees Kanter entering the game every time. He's like the hungry wolf that had been waiting for that moment to have a feast when he sees Kanter. Unfortunately, even though I am an admirer of his passion and offensive arsenal, I believe Kanter cannot provide any positive contribution against small-ball-ish teams like HOU because he cannot switch/rotate/check his back etc. (basic defensive things) properly. And he cannot even defend Nene properly because he is an old fox. But if somehow OKC can get past this round (NBA2k17 gives us 47% chance: https://goo.gl/pxZvWV) I believe he will have better time with Spurs.

Nene is slippery to be sure. About the Roberson thing: His defense is crucial to winning. Scoring isn't important at all.

Also, I like Westbrook-Oladipo-Roberson in the backcourt and perimeter with Adams and one of the PFs (my preference is Gibson, because of his ability to harvest the glass and post-up) for the starters, but basketball is a team game. I think OKC's bench will get a lot of opportunities to shine. If the series is reduced to Harden vs Westbrook, I think Westbrook's versatility wins out. I don't think it is this easy, however. The team needs to play their hearts out.

However it goes, this has everything to be a glorious series. Great coaches, great teams, and two phenomenal superstars.



As someone from a team who is not in the playoffs and wanted it so bad, I envy you guys, but you've played 100% throughout the season. It's the culmination of a ton of work.

Let's enjoy it!!!

[spearsy23]

If Mcdermott even gets off the bench the game is over. 9 man rotation won't be but should be
Russ
Dipo
Robes
Taj
Steven
Enes
Abrines
Sabonis/Grant

Sabonis is our best pick and roll defender off of the bench, it sucks that he is horrible on offense, but we have to have a big capable of switching on screens.

[hardenASG13]

If Mcdermott even gets off the bench the game is over. 9 man rotation won't be but should be
Russ
Dipo
Robes
Taj
Steven
Enes
Abrines
Sabonis/Grant

Sabonis is our best pick and roll defender off of the bench, it sucks that he is horrible on offense, but we have to have a big capable of switching on screens.

McDermott will hafta be used at times in this series, but I think he needs a very short leash. Hes worth a look vs their second unit if OKC is struggling offensively. If he's not hot, he's gotta come out, as he's shockingly bad on defense, and at creating shots sometimes. If hes not hitting, or getting shots off for that matter, they need to pull him. Of course, i personally feel the same about roberson. If its like the fourth game from the regular season, and houston effectively takes roberson off of harden with their ball screen 30 feet from the basket, then hes not serving much of a purpose out there. I honestly think i missed 2 of the other 3 games vs houston, but they looked very comfortable creating the switch and then going to work last game.Sabonis is definitely an x factor if he can knock down the 18 footer or better yet top of the key 3 somewhat consistently. He seems like a guy who has the mentality to step up in the playoffs to me, just not sure if he's ready to this year.

[Pillendreher]

Donovan really needs to get his act together lineup-wise. Since the ASB, we've played 10 3-man-lineups for at least 200 total minutes:



The vast majority of minutes must go to those guys. Russ-Dipo-Robes-Gibson-Adams has a +11.8 NetRtG in 208 minutes played. That's the 4th best NetRtG out of all 5-Man-Lineups with at least 150 mp since the ASB.

We can't afford to waste minutes on the scrubs on our bench. Let Dipo handle the ball for the 2nd unit. Give Kanter some minutes to pound the glass. Focus on defense. Don't play Christon for Christ's sake. Get Abrines shots.

[Pillendreher]

Several underdogs have come out playing hard and fighting so far. We should be doing the same. Can't start sluggish tonight.

[ducler]

[ducler]

[gom]

This is a pretty tame thread. Here is one charm:

Watch on YouTube

Time for OKC to take the power back.

[Pillendreher]

I'm nervous.