ash_k wrote:lobosloboslobos wrote:ash_k wrote:At some point, OKC had won 7 out of the last 9 games versus both Spurs and GSW .. Blew out G-State twice in a row by 20+ each time.
Then game 6: again despite of KD/Wes missing 40 shots combined, only an NBA Playoff Record saved G-State's season - still cant believe Klay was able to do it while covering Westbrook.
Whenever OKC was moving the ball, GSW could not hang with them. OKC was the superior team (chOKC wasnt!)
choking is just another name for not being as good. both teams are terrific. but the better team won. end of story.
Thank you, Klay for that 3-point NBA record. and as KD said :
, "They beat us at the 3-point line. We beat them everywhere else."
End of story.
That's a nice quote, but it doesn't capture why they ultimately lost. OKC is a running team that over-ran The Dubs while they were stupidly trying to play at their pace. OKC wants to score 120 s fast as they can. They had not played superior defense up until this series--but they were well coached this time around and took away many of the early offensive sets of the Dubs.
It's not surprising given Golden State's preference to shoot that they tried to go mano a mano with OKC. What they found out was that OKC had the length and quickness advantage to snuff out their early opportunity and transition offense, much of what allowed them to blow teams out in the regular season (and to the weaker teams they got to play earlier, especially when the Clips went out due to injury). Running only assisted OKC's stars and support players in getting to their spots and dunking the ball.
Four games in, Golden State realized they couldn't continue this pace, and had to reign OKC in by playing in a more controlled, intelligent pace. Instead of going for the quick bucket, beat them with the secondary offense off of a turnover. Get back and set up a wall on Westbrook and let Iguodala, who struggled with Durant's speed, get back in position. This also let them get their weaker players into foul trouble, and made their defensive whiz a non-factor.
As far as the shooting goes, there had to be a correction at some point given what Clay and Curry had been shooting--especially if their defense started to get stops and kept them close. The second half and fourth quarter are always dangerous for an ISO team, as the opposition by this point has probably found a decent way to defend it. Keeping a game within one or two possessions will allow the team with the free flow offense which makes better decisions with the ball to take control of the game (often in a demoralizing fashion).
Put simply, OKC were the better athletes, but the Dubs were the smarter team with a better system and better support players--as we are seeing in the finals.
So, you are right in one aspect--OKC are the superior athletes. The problem is, they don't have the highest basketball IQ. They are the ISO king team of the league, and Westbrook is Lebron light. The problem comes when smarter teams force them into a half court pace and their ISO offense causes silly turnovers and poor shot selection. OKC's wings are catch and shoot guys, not facilitators--so that means if you crowd them and take away their passing lanes they struggle to make good choices-just like the raps do.
