PG: Oklahoma City Thunder (111) - Phoenix Suns (118)

Moderators: Dadouv47, retrobro90

Player(s) of the Game

Domantas Sabonis | 11 PTS (4-5 FG)
6
40%
Steven Adams | 9 PTS (3-4 FG) 10 REB
0
No votes
Russell Westbrook | 48 PTS (14-30 FG) 17 REB 9 AST
9
60%
Enes Kanter | 11 PTS (4-9 FG) 5 REB
0
No votes
 
Total votes: 15

Ontario
Bench Warmer
Posts: 1,289
And1: 1,102
Joined: Aug 31, 2001
   

Re: PG: Oklahoma City Thunder (111) - Phoenix Suns (118) 

Post#41 » by Ontario » Sat Mar 4, 2017 7:13 pm

Bergmaniac wrote:You barely ever make a second pass after the initial move has lead to a good, but not great look. How often do you someone who has a decent look from 3 passing at the top of the key pass to someone in the corner for a better look? Almost never. And that's what separates the well coached offenses from the rest. You are 29th in the league in secondary assists and Westbrook has only 1.1 secondary assists per game which means that there are simply no plays being run consistently with the intention of Westbrook creating an opening and then the guy who receives the ball moving it too. When it happens, it's almost always not by design, it's improvisation.


I often wonder if that is our guys consciously thinking of Russell's assist totals, if he just dished you the ball you gotta shoot. On the other hand if Russell just drove to the rim odds are your man did just drop off you to pressure him and your look is open. Still it's hard to judge sometimes, one thing I know is that a single pass per possession offense ain't gonna cut it against the leagues better defensive units.
If you do not know how good a basketball player Gary Payton was just go and stand near him for a little while, there's a good chance he'll come over and tell you. - Ahmad Rashad
Ontario
Bench Warmer
Posts: 1,289
And1: 1,102
Joined: Aug 31, 2001
   

Re: PG: Oklahoma City Thunder (111) - Phoenix Suns (118) 

Post#42 » by Ontario » Sat Mar 4, 2017 7:15 pm

OKCThunder wrote:I am not disappointed. Very proud that they are on the road to atleast a 45 win season. How many teams actually perform like this after they lose a top 2 player in the league in the same season? Not too many. Playoffs are a month away and the off season is not to far around. Will Presti pull off a shocker in the Summer time? Remains to be seen ;). I will make a prediction, however, and say that KD will return to OKC.


0% chance that happens... Serge Ibaka on the other hand?
If you do not know how good a basketball player Gary Payton was just go and stand near him for a little while, there's a good chance he'll come over and tell you. - Ahmad Rashad
User avatar
Thabo Sefolosha
Thunder Forum The Opening Tip
Posts: 3,426
And1: 6,662
Joined: Oct 29, 2013
 

Re: PG: Oklahoma City Thunder (111) - Phoenix Suns (118) 

Post#43 » by Thabo Sefolosha » Sat Mar 4, 2017 7:21 pm

Ontario wrote:
OKCThunder wrote:I am not disappointed. Very proud that they are on the road to atleast a 45 win season. How many teams actually perform like this after they lose a top 2 player in the league in the same season? Not too many. Playoffs are a month away and the off season is not to far around. Will Presti pull off a shocker in the Summer time? Remains to be seen ;). I will make a prediction, however, and say that KD will return to OKC.


0% chance that happens... Serge Ibaka on the other hand?

No way KD returns to OKC again. He's moved on, it's time for us to
Image
Thundershock88
Starter
Posts: 2,301
And1: 2,234
Joined: Jul 08, 2015

Re: PG: Oklahoma City Thunder (111) - Phoenix Suns (118) 

Post#44 » by Thundershock88 » Sat Mar 4, 2017 7:26 pm

Thabo Sefolosha wrote:
Ontario wrote:
OKCThunder wrote:I am not disappointed. Very proud that they are on the road to atleast a 45 win season. How many teams actually perform like this after they lose a top 2 player in the league in the same season? Not too many. Playoffs are a month away and the off season is not to far around. Will Presti pull off a shocker in the Summer time? Remains to be seen ;). I will make a prediction, however, and say that KD will return to OKC.


0% chance that happens... Serge Ibaka on the other hand?

No way KD returns to OKC again. He's moved on, it's time for us to



That ship has sailed. I never want him back here anyways.
User avatar
spearsy23
RealGM
Posts: 19,481
And1: 7,654
Joined: Jan 27, 2012
   

Re: PG: Oklahoma City Thunder (111) - Phoenix Suns (118) 

Post#45 » by spearsy23 » Sat Mar 4, 2017 7:52 pm

Bergmaniac wrote:
Knrstz wrote:Coaches don't keep their jobs by changing superstars and Donovan knows that. Poppovich is the only guy in the league who can pull off the 'my way or the highway' approach. Russ makes some very poor decisions at times. However the rest of the roster is so bad that we have to give him a pass.

Did anyone see the Cavs hawks highlight where Cleveland had 10 passes to 3 dribbles on one possession? This team is way too heavy on isolation and it's not just Russ. Adams and Kanter both do it too. Kanter usually scores and Adams is much less reliable. Adams catches the ball, holds it, then starts slowly backing down his man. The result is normally a missed hook shot that is often taken too far away from the basket for him to be reliable. I can't tell you how sick I am of watching Grant try to take the ball to the basket. This guy needs a mid range jimper very badly. It looks like Cole is going to fit in nicely with those guys. The guys that I've seen be active and move the ball are Gibson, McDermott and Sabonis. What's the common thread among those three? They haven't been in the thunder system very long.

You barely ever make a second pass after the initial move has lead to a good, but not great look. How often do you someone who has a decent look from 3 passing at the top of the key pass to someone in the corner for a better look? Almost never. And that's what separates the well coached offenses from the rest. You are 29th in the league in secondary assists and Westbrook has only 1.1 secondary assists per game which means that there are simply no plays being run consistently with the intention of Westbrook creating an opening and then the guy who receives the ball moving it too. When it happens, it's almost always not by design, it's improvisation.

Part of the problem there is the offense and part is that we never have two shooters on the court at the same time. The second pass is almost always going to be to roberson or grant, good luck getting am assist out of that. And if they are the guys receiving the first pass the defense just doesn't bother closing out.
“If you're getting stops and you're making threes and the other team's not scoring, that's when you're going to see a huge point difference there,” coach Billy Donovan said.

Return to Oklahoma City Thunder