NBA Playoffs 2013 Round 1 - OKC Thunder vs Houston Rockets P

[m2e1iriko]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zKsSl6H5o8[/youtube]

Hey everyone. This is a short preview video for the series between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Houston Rockets.
Enjoy

[dunleavyjr]

Prediction
Houston 104
OKC 117

[BIG EDDIE]

Very nice video m2e1iriko!! Well done.

Im so hyped for this series, its gonna be awesome also to play against Harden.
Hope hes not gonna haunt us

I see OKC taking game 1 and 2 quite easily and win the series in 5, but dont underestimate the Rockets, they have a very good team, we need to play 48 mintes defense each night...they can put up 10-15 points in 2-3 minutes anytime if you dont keep your focus.

[sonictecture]

Durant and Westbrook can find success in isolation situations against Houston, but I hope they keep everyone involved and spread out the offense. Making Houston guard cutters and spacers will open up more space for Durant and Westbrook in later parts of the game.

Guarding the three point line is big against Houston. Lin and Harden love to drive and dish and they have several players who can hit from beyond the arc. Houston is much less efficient from three if they are being guarded at the line.

Rebounding. Asik is the best rebounder on the floor for either team, so OKC will have to have a team effort and put a body on Asik to prevent Houston from gaining any kind of advantage in this area.

Turnovers. The pace will create some turnovers, but OKC wants to avoid the lazy pass turnovers that sometimes plague the team.

Transition defense. Brooks tends to play to the pace of opponents rather than asking the Thunder to set a pace, but Houston will want to play faster than us and it gives them a chance with easy baskets and less time for our defense to set. I'd like to see the Thunder attempt to set pace a bit by getting back on defense and forcing Houston to play some half court or rush bad shots in attempt to quicken pace.

Foul trouble. If Houston can get any OKC starter in to foul trouble, who will Brooks bring in for minutes?

[theokie]

Westbrooks going to have a huge series. Watching Lin try to guard him will be laughable.

[sonictecture]

Westbrook has a match up advantage against nearly every opposing guard. It will be interesting to see his decision making in when to take advantage and when to get others involved. If you were Houston wouldn't you try and funnel Westbrook into Asik without worrying about Perkins?

Wouldn't you want to bait Westbrook to shoot more FGA than his average? The more Westbrook shoots the less the more efficient Durant shoots and if they are the only two players shooting the team is easier to defend.

Can the Thunder win the series with Westbrook as the key offensive weapon? Maybe, but Houston's chances of winning should increase if this is the case.

[comingbacktousa]

Some thoughts on game 5.

People on the general board saying Westbrook is better than Durant and Durant is overrated is pretty dumb. In the 3 games with out Westbrook, 38 points on 23 shots on 52% despite only shooting 32% from three. 38 points 9.8 boards and 5.6 assist are extremely good numbers when the entire other team is focused on stopping him. Durant made the right play more often than not tonight. He trusted his teammates to make open shots, and they missed a lot of them. You really can't fault him for passing to open shooters.

I'd pretty much play through him every possession, either let him try to create for himself(with or without a pick) or get doubled and find the open shooters. Really the only offensive play the Thunder have. Might as well run it every time instead of letting the clock run down and then giving him the ball.

Garcia and Harden shot 12/21 from 3. Durant and Martin shots 1/13. That's pretty much the difference in the game right there.

I thought Sef played a pretty good game. Played pretty good D without fouling, Harden was just feeling it from 3 tonight. Liked that he was still aggressive shooting despite missing his first couple. It seems like every game, Durant and Westbrook are getting on him for not taking those open looks.

Liggins playing 18 minutes was kind of annoying. He plays good d besides a few dumb plays (helping on Brooks? by bumping him when there was less than 3 seconds on shot clock and not making Harden picking the ball up and preventing the 2 for 1). But in a night when the Thunder are struggling to score, it just doesn't make sense for him to be playing that much. Sef is a better defender. Let him guard Harden and either put Martin or Collison in.

Collison playing 6 minutes was another confusing decision. Best pick and roll defender on the team. He makes smart plays its that simple. I would really like to see Collison and Ibaka play together and force Houston to put another big man in. Put Ibaka on Garcia since hes less of a threat offensively than Parsons if they don''t adjust.

Jackson on offense had a good game. Defense not so much. Seemed like Durant was getting frustrated with him in the 4th for not getting him the ball. Couple times it looked like he wanted to bring it up but Jackson didn't pass it. Probably should have let him since its easier to make plays from the top of the key than by the sideline like 25 feet out where Durant usually gets it.


Still think the Thunder win the next game.

[BirdmanPresents]

Most people in the general board were saying this series is going to expose either Westbrook or Durant, but it has been the opposite. Durant has show why he is one of the best players in the league and Westbrooks absence has shown how vital he is to the Thunder.

Further more it has exposed the rest of the team and the coaching. Everyone outside of Durant and Fisher haven't stepped up. Ibaka has been Inconsistent and doe's not look like a #2option next to Durant, and doesn't justify choosing him over Harden. The rest of the team has been shooting horribly and cant hit shots even with Durant setting them up beautifully. Scotty Brooks again has showed questionable lineups, has not made adjustments to make up for Westbrooks lack of production, has had an inablility to play some of the younger guys, and has not found ways to get Durant the ball in different situations or plays. Not to mention hack-Asik was not only a strategy fail, but lost the team respect around the league.

As fun As it is watching Durant take over, all this ISO ball is ugly. The offense is so stagnant and the defense isn't spectacular. Yes they lost their #2 option but NO ADJUSTMENTS HAVE BEEN MADE. Scotty Brooks is just a horrible basketball coach.