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WASHINGTON WIZARDS at OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER
• Record: 28-20
• Standing: #5
• http://www.nba.com/games/20180125/WASOKC
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SUMMARY
BOXSCORE
OKC:

WAS:

Thunder Upcoming 3

HIGHLIGHTS

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| NBA.com | | Thunder.com | | ESPN.com/NBA

Obviously it was russ’ night but Adams, George and Ferguson all had their moments.

I just said didn't really get to see much but if others are encouraged sweet. But uh, not to jinx but is Russ's rough start officially over? I hope so.

Westbrook was en fuego. Great duel with Beal.

Happy to see Ferg close it out with the starters and play well.

Melo got up for a couple of dunks, looks to be much bouncier than early in the season.


Normally I'd disagree with having ferguson out there instead of robes while beal was torching us, but the offense was scoring so well (including a couple by ferg) that it didn't make sense to give them a chance to foul.

Fun back and forth from beal/Russ.

PG's hands and anticipation are incredible. Steven's are pretty damn good too.

Also, Russ was getting to the rim so easily and there was never any protection there.

YEAH BOI

Good win. I groaned when Washington went on a 9-0 run in 1:38, but they managed to endure the run and stretch the lead out again.

Russ went bananas. He beasted Washington single handedly during the middle of the fourth.
PG shot poorly but he showed how valuable he is on the defensive side of the ball.

I love T-Ferg as much as the next man, but..... going with him down the stretch when Dre could have been subbed in was an interesting decision. It worked out, but Washington got within 6 points in the last 2 mins. That could have backfired.

In respect to Alex Abrines:


Will he ever play for the team again? Perhaps not

bondom34 wrote:I just said didn't really get to see much but if others are encouraged sweet. But uh, not to jinx but is Russ's rough start officially over? I hope so.

The way he was slithering through the defense by exploding for finishes sure made it look like normal Russ.

spearsy23 wrote:
PG's hands and anticipation are incredible.

I never truly, really understood why PG was lauded as such a premiere defender during his Pacers days. If I'm being honest, other than seeing analytical data that tells me so, most players who are praised as being the best in the league all pretty much look the same to me. They almost always rotate correctly, they can keep a wide-range of players in front of them on a consistent basis, and they play the pssing lanes well.

However, watching George play defense this year has really opened my eyes to more nuances of being an elite defender. Like you said, his anticipation and his hands in general are a marvel.

Our offence is what it is. Best quote of the night was Harlan stating how Billy told him he doesn't run plays "because Russ doesn't like it".

But we played good D early on, they had a comeback but we didn't fold and pushed the lead. Felton is still amazing, Patterson was great, Ferguson played his role well, Adams completely dominated the game without scoring more than 12 points, Russ=MVP, PG made game winning defensive plays, and Melo dunked not once but twice, possibly for the first time all season...

Reasonably happy with it. We just have to take the complete lack of plays+terrible rotations in stride and hope the bad shots we take drop.

Osirus89 wrote:YEAH BOI

Good win. I groaned when Washington went on a 9-0 run in 1:38, but they managed to endure the run and stretch the lead out again.

Russ went bananas. He beasted Washington single handedly during the middle of the fourth.
PG shot poorly but he showed how valuable he is on the defensive side of the ball.

I love T-Ferg as much as the next man, but..... going with him down the stretch when Dre could have been subbed in was an interesting decision. It worked out, but Washington got within 6 points in the last 2 mins. That could have backfired.

In respect to Alex Abrines:


Will he ever play for the team again? Perhaps not

Him and Singler could bring back some much needed help

InTheSabonus wrote:Our offence is what it is. Best quote of the night was Harlan stating how Billy told him he doesn't run plays "because Russ doesn't like it".

But we played good D early on, they had a comeback but we didn't fold and pushed the lead. Felton is still amazing, Patterson was great, Ferguson played his role well, Adams completely dominated the game without scoring more than 12 points, Russ=MVP, PG made game winning defensive plays, and Melo dunked not once but twice, possibly for the first time all season...

Reasonably happy with it. We just have to take the complete lack of plays+terrible rotations in stride and hope the bad shots we take drop.

Yea that quote explains a lot.

To everyone that thinks Westbrook's defense is bad, watch beal and wall on this play



Edit: I can't get over beal literally backing away to make absolute sure he's no threat to help.

Admission, as ugly and unorganized as the offense and rotation is, it is nice to see the top guys seem to really like hanging out with each other on this team. Even last year never felt like it was all there just because it was a mishmash of personalities and age groups but Russ/PG/Melo seem like they actually hang out.

Oh and

Classic Thunder. Got up big in the first half, defense calmed down in the second half because of that lead & completly ignored Adams (who was a big reason for the lead). Should have been a much more comfortable win but a win s a win.

Russ went back into last season mode & carried us home. PG & Adams were all over the place breaking up plays. Felton. Melo (who is either on or complely off) didn't force things & made some good plays.

bondom34 wrote:Oh and

Read on Twitter

That's three teams Fred.

DoubleJ13 wrote:Classic Thunder. Got up big in the first half, defense calmed down in the second half because of that lead & completly ignored Adams (who was a big reason for the lead). Should have been a much more comfortable win but a win s a win.

Russ went back into last season mode & carried us home. PG & Adams were all over the place breaking up plays. Felton. Melo (who is either on or complely off) didn't force things & made some good plays.

Lillard and Kyrie better though. And Wall. TBH most above average point guards would be better.

Moving slowly into the not trade Ferguson but for a much bigger piece than an expiring (Lou or Evans)

Knrstz wrote:

InTheSabonus wrote:Our offence is what it is. Best quote of the night was Harlan stating how Billy told him he doesn't run plays "because Russ doesn't like it".

But we played good D early on, they had a comeback but we didn't fold and pushed the lead. Felton is still amazing, Patterson was great, Ferguson played his role well, Adams completely dominated the game without scoring more than 12 points, Russ=MVP, PG made game winning defensive plays, and Melo dunked not once but twice, possibly for the first time all season...

Reasonably happy with it. We just have to take the complete lack of plays+terrible rotations in stride and hope the bad shots we take drop.

Yea that quote explains a lot.

My exact feeling. Why isn’t this surprising to me? Hmm...

But hey that’s just the way he likes to play and if it works it works. Do your thing Westbrook.



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