Dirk wrote:Boxscores will never tell the whole story.
James in Toronto
Only 6 free throws attempted.
Only 11 shots attempted.
Only 23 points.
Team season low 19 free throw attempts.
Not scoring didn't seem to bother him. Didn't force anything.
--- double-teamed all game* (when he wasn't, he casually murdered them, reminding them why he was doubled in the first place)
--- reads the game perfectly
--- trusts teammates
--- teammates take advantage, move the ball, feast on corner 3s
--- bonus: with James just chilling on offense by not forcing things, he had more energy to play solid d = strong in the post vs Siakam, free safety role (5 steals), takes charges
*obviously a terrible plan. You cannot play 3x4 all game long. I was shocked that Nurse didn't adapt.
Click clips below if you will.Unsurprisingly, you can then verify the impact of that failed defense.
Passing
Team average: 244.7
Last night: 328.0
Catch & shoot
Average : 30.0 pts/ 53.8 efg%
Last night: 62 pts / 60.8 efg%
91% of 3pointers were assisted.
23.47% of the shots were corner 3s (usually 12.65% on the season)
Remember, James is doing all of this playing along side a player who bricks wide open 3s (when he doesn't refuse to shoot them). And bonus---bennyhillthemesong
said "brick player" had a triple double because harden gave up the ball. point being, in spite of his "bricks" said player built a solid game instead of being relegated to the 2 spot when we all know that's not how he should be utilized. said "brick" player was feeding his mates ALL KINDS of opportunities when he drove, whereas harden would have taken the shot. it was a clear demarcation of responsibilities. westy DID take 27 shots though LOL, which is way more than anything he's done this season
to wit: if the question were asked who of the two should be the pg and handle the ball, and who should be the sg and score, your answer would be "the two as we saw them in last night's game". hey look man,,,for the past 3(including this) years westbrook has been MORE THAN willing to cede scoring chores to others, so let's get over the "brick" stuff - it gets boring.
the problem is dantoni does not dictate.....he lets his players feel their way to a solution, but you have two alphas who have been alphas for 10 years
here's the thing. westbrook's inefficiencies are built into his game for him to function.@okc they did ok in spite of his inefficiencies because they built around it. @hou, there is MORE THAN ENOUGH scoring talent around westbrook that hou can take advantage of his positives and brush off his negatives.
the net effect of losing westbrook is okc is headed for a 30win season. yes they lost pg, but they gained cp3, sga, and gallinari. those three have more combined ppg than westbrook/george. you can't lay the whole minus 20wins on the loss of just pg13
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