bondom34 wrote:Soonerule wrote:From NewOK's old fuddy-duddy, the "Fruit", Berry Tramel:
Durant and Westbrook finished with 10 assists each, just the second time in their long partnership that both reached double-digit assists in the same game. That's 20 of the Thunder's 24 assists from two guys averaging almost 54 points a game combined.
“Kevin and Russell, I think they set a great tone,” said Billy Donovan. “Both of them are really trying to do the right thing". as opposed to the wrong thing they have been doing the last 7 years (narrative in blue mine)
We're slowly seeing the Thunder play differently. More spacing. More passing. Less one-on-one. Lessen the scoring load on the bell cows. Get others involved, and eventually things will grow easier for Durant and Westbrook.
The Thunder, 14-8, has won three straight. Durant's shot attempts in those games: 13, 14, 14. Westbrook's shot attempts in those three games: 13, 7, 17. Both have averaged 19 shots a game for their career.
“I just tried to play the game and make it simple for myself,” said Durant. “It is fun. It's fun seeing the game slow down for you. That's when things started to get really fun.”
http://newsok.com/sharing-is-caring-durant-westbrook-pass-thunder-to-victory/article/5466125Nobody in the media was more cheesed by the Brooks firing than Tramel... nobody.
Not saying I'm not pleased with the last 2 games. Just saying so far we still haven't seen more than that (2 games), and overall the results are no better than what Brooks got. They're still miles behind GSW and maybe a little (though I'm not entirely sure) behind the Spurs.
how easily we forget the Mavs game, and for that matter, the game against the Spurs.
That Mav's game, IMO, is a strong indication that had Presti brought Donovan on board last year, injury riddled season or not, the Thunder would have made the playoffs. Additionally, the guys would be in their second season working the new system and that much farther along.
Remember the Mavs game was the last game KD was out with the hamstring strain and the first game Westbrook really surrendered to Donovan's system. I even commented afterward that I was in no rush for KD to return. Not because I have a thing against KD, that would be nutz, but because the team had found a rhythm and I didn't want it to be disrupted by a player that was behind in the learning curve. I expected a breakdown in that rhythm after KD's return because it was inevitable even as great a player as KD is. It's just like being sick and missing school, it takes a while to catch up. Of course, now that KD has caught up to the rest of the class, damn the torpedos and full speed ahead.
I don't know if you read my post on Muscle Memory. I know it was long, and the truth is, before Sherm edited it, it was much longer. Every hitch we have seen thus far was explained as it related to muscle memory. The turnovers, lack of flow, miscommunication mistakes, the tendencies to drift back into bad habits... all of it was merely growing pains while the team adjusted to reacting differently to the same visual stimuli they had experienced throughout their pro career. What used to be a reflex reaction had to be thought through and the result was ugly to watch. It always is... but not something Donovan had not experienced with every freshman class he had coached for 29 years. Just like old Dr Phil, this was not his first rodeo. That is why he was so calm. Heck, he was downright passive IMO. Why? Because it was all expected. IF he panics, his team panics and he knew they would figure it out eventually. Now look at Donovan during the game. He is out of his seat engaging with the team almost constantly and looking like the guy we saw prowling the Florida sideline all these years.
Thus my reference to GS and Cleveland in the post. Kerr inherited a team that already fielded a top 3 defense and an offense that just needed a little tweaking with a roster that pretty much carried over intact from the previous season and miraculously went thru an entire season injury free. The Thunder's defense was not bad after the trade last year, they were an embarrassment. I was a little worried on that front but major kudos to Monty Williams work there. KD had not played with almost half of the new rotation and was coming off the foot injury and even Serge had limited time with the new guys last year. On top of that, Donovan wasn't tweaking the offense, he came in and completely changed the concepts and he has the team playing at Brooks' level with 3/4 of season remaining to keep building on this new foundation. Allow me one more point in the Kerr vs Donovan debate. Kerr has been analyzing NBA trends and players for decades, Donovan had been doing it for only 6 months and beat the best coach in the NBA on his first attempt. The first time Kerr and the Warriors met Pops and the Spurs? A 13 point drubbing by the Spurs on the Warriors home court and the aging Spurs were playing the second night of a back-to-back.
I was playing around with this the other day:
https://www.teamrankings.com/nba/stat/total-rebounds-per-game?date=2015-12-11Now I know you are really into advanced stats, and as more time passes they will become more and more telling, but sometimes for the best picture of something you have to go old school. Rebounds!! One of the oldest stat categories in the book and very under-appreciated IMO. Wanna see how hard your team is working, check their rebounding trend. Go ahead... check last year, then the year before.... keep going.... then click on the + More Team Stats link above the year, play with some other team stats. We are currently as high or higher in just about any stat you pick with previous seasons and trending up from where we were at 3 weeks ago and here is the best part, we only found our rhythm with our complete roster, KD included, 2 games ago.
That's it, that's my best shot. I'm not trying to argue with you, I'm just trying to ease your mind. Presti is all knowing, in Presti we trust.... even when it's hard to. I'm telling you, the guy must think in 5 dimensions.
. I'm entirely enjoying if this keeps up and I eat crow on him and Kanter. Wish Dion woulda proved me wrong too.
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