VCfor3 wrote:Bad finish to the 3rd there. I get why we had those guys in but man that was rough. May need to put Brooks in there in the future as a scoring punch.
OKC got on a nice run in combination with a couple favorable calls but Memphis definitely panicked with the momentum shift. That TO to end the 3rd, was a back breaking.
Looked like Jenkins wanted to see what Melton could do as lead guard. It was a rough game for him, with another costly TO in as many games. His handles need to be tighter & he needs to absolutely do a better job of taking care of the ball if he's to be considered Ja's potential backup. At this point, Memphis might need to continue the search.
I haven't watched any OKC games other than this one for the season but if this game was any indication of why they're sitting 7th with a near 500 record, Paul carried them for the vast majority of the game. The veterans play is absolutely decreasing the value of their pick in the first year of a rebuild. Despite having a bunch of owed picks, it will set them back. Denver's first will be late 20's, Houston, Miami & Clippers all look like they will be good for the foreseeable future. At this rate OKC will need some considerable good fortune or they will find themselves in a prolonged rebuild while paying a 34yo 80m over the next 2 seasons to do so.
The real difference for these 2 rebuilding teams, is that Jenkins put Memphis' fate in the rookie's hands win or lose, whereas OKC had Paul & Adams closed out the game, which was even a game thanks to some home cooking down 20.