GT 36: Thunder from Over Yonder @ Washington HOV (Defense) Lanes

[CntOutSmrtCrazy]

I'll be happy if it's a 10 point game going into the fourth, but this one could get ugly fast with recent efforts in mind.

[tontoz]

OKC has been my favorite team to watch on league pass this season. A bunch of talented young guys who play hard and unselfishly.

I do feel like they need another big to be a true contender. We are the only team in the league worse than them at rebounding.

[CntOutSmrtCrazy]

Man, WUJ better not leave out Deni down the stretch...

[nate33]

The Wizards have actually played a pretty competent game overall.

[Frichuela]

No rim protection against SGA = game over. Well done Wes, our tank commander.

[nate33]

Damn, Poole had a WIDE open 3 to cut the lead to 5 with 90 seconds to go and he missed it.

[nate33]

No rim protection against SGA = game over. Well done Wes, our tank commander.

I dunno, I think the small ball line has worked pretty well. We were down 11 at the 8-minute mark of the 4th when Gafford would have come back in, but WUJ just left Shamet on the floor with the other starters and they cut the lead down to 5 a few times. Chet's 3-point shooting was keeping Gafford out of the paint anyhow.

If not for a couple of tough luck plays like Kispert stepping on the out-of-bounds line and Poole missing a wide open 3, they might have won. Ultimately, I thought the defense looked a little better in the second half with fewer mistakes and fewer easy backdoor cuts.

[nir2610]

Poole score that 3 + Kuz take less shots + WUJ take timeouts when they are actually needed = Wizards win this by 5-10 pts

[pancakes3]

First game I've attended in person in a while. Some thoughts:

- Kuz is the best player on the team by far. The offense falls apart without him.
- Poole is laughably bad. And kind of dirty. Lots of holds, and little forearm pushes (which he got called). I don't know how you can be dirty and lazy on defense. He also gets lost a lot. And complains to the ref a lot.
- Poole's ball handling is sus. He can dance around ok, and when he has steam going, he can get to the rim but in a regular halfcourt set, he can't get around a cone.
- Coulibaly looked a lot more raw in this game than in previous games. And used less.
- Coulibaly really doesn't have a place in the offense. There were multiple plays where he and another player were just standing around within 3 feet of each other in the corner because the "play" was really just a 2-3 man game on the other side.
- Deni tries too hard. The talent is there, but the cohesion is not. He's trying to force passes, probably because he feels pressure to be THE playmaker instead of how the ball flows in the OKC offense. Deni is not looking for hockey assists because he doesn't trust the guy he's giving the ball to make the next good play.
- Poole and Coulibaly are SKINNY
- I didn't hate the decision to go small in the 4th because Kuz could handle Chet ok, but it was the other players on the court that gave me pause because they weren't going to be able to handle SGA without Gafford down there.
- Didn't care much for WUJ's lineups either but I think it's more to do with Poole than anything. Dude just doesn't fit. Would have rather given Muscala's minutes to Gill. Muscala's washed. But that's a nitpick.

Did put in a $20 live-bet that we cover (-9.5) because I liked the energy we came out with, and the lack of energy OKC came out with. Not enough to win, but enough to keep it from being a blowout.

The arena was dead silent for the first 3 quarters.

Smattering of boos for Deni when it was announced that he's from Israel.

Boos for Giddey early, that grew in momentum as the game went along - probably because people were explaining to casuals about the pedo.

OKC was hunting the switch on Poole all game.