Playoffs 2017: WC First Round - Houston Rockets (3) vs Oklahoma City Thunder (6)

[Old Man Game]

I'm going to game 3. Hopefully that's the game we can win. Maybe our role players will do more things like, make baskets, not get into too much foul trouble, with the home court and home whistle.

[Old Man Game]

One of those Trump parody accounts should start tweeting about Dono and the Thunder organization.

"Billy Donovan crazy (or sick) guy. Plays rookie Domas instead of Gibson. Worse than watergate"

[Old Man Game]

Admitted Russ fan Tom Ziller nails it:

Westbrook is the offense, for better or worse. When he’s off the court, the Thunder can’t put points on the board. When he’s on the court but ice cold, the Thunder can’t put points on the board. That’s just the basic nature of this team.

http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2017/4/20/15367188/russell-westbrook-thunder-hero-ball-doom?utm_campaign=teamziller&utm_content=chorus&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter

[Bergmaniac]

Atrocious last quarter by Westbrook. A shame this would probably be remembered instead of the sensational first 3. Though it could have still been enough if the refs hadn't been so bad in the last quarter and hadn't decided not to call a foul when he was blatantly fouled at least 3 times in that period.

Donovan played 12 players last night. Everyone is shortening the rotation in the playoffs and this guy goes 12 deep. You can't make this stuff up. The bench is bad, sure, but the constant shuffles don't help either.

And everyone knows Westbrook plays a very draining style of basketball and even though he's such a ridiculous athlete he can't really go all out for 40 minutes in most games and not get exhausted by the end. A big part of why he was so great at the clutch in the regular season was that he never played over 35 minutes in a non-OT game and always got at least 5 minutes of rest in the second half. Which makes all the more baffling why Presti made zero effort to get a half decent backup for him. Last night he was forced to come back much earlier than usual and the expected happen - flat shots, the lack of his usual extra burst to finish at the rim, etc.

[Ettorefm]

Can you really blame Russ for his shot selection tho? I mean that was rough to watch, but what was he supposed to do? Nobody was willing to help and his two best offensive teammates were either completely unplayable (good job Presti) or so shook they looked like they might airball a Ft (Dipo).

Robes was out there fighting. Grant is our 3rd leading scorer after two games I think. DMD was really the only guy who made shots.

Pair that with our non existent offense besides Russ and you get this.

I'm sorry to sound like a hater (and I'm not, i like westbrook), but that's on Russ also.

S*** players look mediocre with Chris Paul. Mediocre players look like s*** when playing with westbrook. That's not a coincidence, sorry.

There is a reason why Steve Nash had the ball in his hands all the time just like Russ (and averaged less assists than Russ has this season in some years), and yet he got scrubs amazing contracts and even all-star discussion by getting them into the game and facilitating.

hogging the ball for 22 seconds and then passing out of a double team to your shooter is not the same as getting them involved. Thunder players have no confidence because they get cold and don't get into rhythm, so what a suprise that they look awful when Russ is out.

How come every player that shows he can play elsewhere suddenly becomes a no-confidence, weak, inconsistent guy when playing with Russ? Is it always on the other players? Is it the water on OKC?

[The Hack]

Curious what OKC fans think of Kanter.
He was visibly pissed when they brought Sabonis in instead of him after Adams got his 5th. Not sure how much he helps them when he's in the game, but from what I see his attitude is pretty horrible. You guys see him on a daily basis....what do you think?

[bondom34]

Curious what OKC fans think of Kanter.
He was visibly pissed when they brought Sabonis in instead of him after Adams got his 5th. Not sure how much he helps them when he's in the game, but from what I see his attitude is pretty horrible. You guys see him on a daily basis....what do you think?

Haven't noticed that. He's been great attitude wise to me, great teammate. Still needs to be traded, but love the guy.

[bondom34]

Can you really blame Russ for his shot selection tho? I mean that was rough to watch, but what was he supposed to do? Nobody was willing to help and his two best offensive teammates were either completely unplayable (good job Presti) or so shook they looked like they might airball a Ft (Dipo).

Robes was out there fighting. Grant is our 3rd leading scorer after two games I think. DMD was really the only guy who made shots.

Pair that with our non existent offense besides Russ and you get this.

I'm sorry to sound like a hater (and I'm not, i like westbrook), but that's on Russ also.

S*** players look mediocre with Chris Paul. Mediocre players look like s*** when playing with westbrook. That's not a coincidence, sorry.

There is a reason why Steve Nash had the ball in his hands all the time just like Russ (and averaged less assists than Russ has this season in some years), and yet he got scrubs amazing contracts and even all-star discussion by getting them into the game and facilitating.

hogging the ball for 22 seconds and then passing out of a double team to your shooter is not the same as getting them involved. Thunder players have no confidence because they get cold and don't get into rhythm, so what a suprise that they look awful when Russ is out.

How come every player that shows he can play elsewhere suddenly becomes a no-confidence, weak, inconsistent guy when playing with Russ? Is it always on the other players? Is it the water on OKC?

You didn't notice Kanter suddenly became better and Vic put up a career best 3 point shooting and efficiency year huh. Not to mention Adams usage going up, Taj suddenly seeing more usage and the pretty basic observation that the 3 guys they traded away don't even see the court in Chicago.

Maybe you sound that way because the points you're making are either a reach or entirely incorrect.

[Pillendreher]

Can you really blame Russ for his shot selection tho? I mean that was rough to watch, but what was he supposed to do? Nobody was willing to help and his two best offensive teammates were either completely unplayable (good job Presti) or so shook they looked like they might airball a Ft (Dipo).

Robes was out there fighting. Grant is our 3rd leading scorer after two games I think. DMD was really the only guy who made shots.

Pair that with our non existent offense besides Russ and you get this.

I'm sorry to sound like a hater (and I'm not, i like westbrook), but that's on Russ also.

S*** players look mediocre with Chris Paul. Mediocre players look like s*** when playing with westbrook. That's not a coincidence, sorry.

There is a reason why Steve Nash had the ball in his hands all the time just like Russ (and averaged less assists than Russ has this season in some years), and yet he got scrubs amazing contracts and even all-star discussion by getting them into the game and facilitating.

hogging the ball for 22 seconds and then passing out of a double team to your shooter is not the same as getting them involved. Thunder players have no confidence because they get cold and don't get into rhythm, so what a suprise that they look awful when Russ is out.

How come every player that shows he can play elsewhere suddenly becomes a no-confidence, weak, inconsistent guy when playing with Russ? Is it always on the other players? Is it the water on OKC?

You didn't notice Kanter suddenly became better and Vic put up a career best 3 point shooting year huh.

But Chris *The Choker* Paul turned all those scrubs the Clippers have gone through over the years into useable pieces.

[Ettorefm]

Taj suddenly seeing more usage

Wow, usage. What a great way to show that you know nothing about basketball.

Give Abrines 10 more shots and you'll see his usage and stats increase! Wow! What a surprise. Nevermind the drop in efficiency.

Guys got more minutes. How is that relavant?

How about Taj's drop in efficiency and numbers? How about McDermott's drop in every single stat? WTF are you talking about?

[bondom34]

Taj suddenly seeing more usage

Wow, usage. What a great way to show that you know nothing about basketball.

Give Abrines 10 more shots and you'll see his usage and stats increase! Wow! What a surprise. Nevermind the drop in efficiency.

Guys got more minutes. How is that relavant?

How about Taj's drop in efficiency and numbers? How about McDermott's drop in every single stat? WTF are you talking about?

Your entire rant was about players not getting touches. So, those two get touches. Hmmmm

[Bergmaniac]

How come every player that shows he can play elsewhere suddenly becomes a no-confidence, weak, inconsistent guy when playing with Russ? Is it always on the other players? Is it the water on OKC?

Who are these mythical players who have proven to have been able to play elsewhere but suddenly start to suck at OKC? I can't think of anyone.

When was the last time this team actually signed a proven quality and consistently good offensive player who wasn't 35+? Except for Kanter (he''s always played great with Westbrook), it's probably Kevin Martin in 2012.

[Pillendreher]

NetRtG Russ ON yesterday: +14 (41 minutes)
NetRtG Russ OFF yesterday: -91 (7 minutes)

On/Off NetRtG Russ yesterday: +105.

No, I **** you not.

[NaturalThunder]

NetRtG Russ ON yesterday: +14 (41 minutes)
NetRtG Russ OFF yesterday: -91 (7 minutes)

On/Off NetRtG Russ yesterday: +105.

No, I **** you not.

Bu...but he jacked up 43 shots to get his 51 points and froze his teammates out and ballhogged OKC to a loss!!

Seriously, though, all this does is magnify even more how wholly incompetent and flawed this roster and coaching staff are.

[bondom34]

NetRtG Russ ON yesterday: +14 (41 minutes)
NetRtG Russ OFF yesterday: -91 (7 minutes)

On/Off NetRtG Russ yesterday: +105.

No, I **** you not.

Bu...but he jacked up 43 shots to get his 51 points and froze his teammates out and ballhogged OKC to a loss!!

Seriously, though, all this does is magnify even more how wholly incompetent and flawed this roster and coaching staff are.

Doesn't' make teammates better rabble rabble.

[Funcrusher]

****. The bull being spewed by the pundits just kills me. I was just watching the Starters, listening to one of these guys going on about how Westbrook clearly deserves a lot of blame for that fourth quarter, deviating from what had worked the past three quarters, not trusting teammates, who, as we all need to be reminded, are "NBA players," somehow translating into them being capable offensive contributors.

I don't disagree, as much as it kills me to say, that Russ doesn't deserve blame or is beyond any criticism, but I think people who are villianizing him are making this issue seem simpler than it really is.

Take the argument that Westbrook should have continued the same gameplan that got them the lead in the first 3 quarters going into the 4th. If you look at the tape or play-by-play, the first 5 minutes of the 4th quarter, Westbrook was trying (successfully, for the most part) to balance his scoring with distributing. At about the 7:09 point, James Harden enters the game. Shortly after, Donovan takes out two of our best offensive players in Kanter and McDermott because their defense is that much of a liability.

After that point, the lineup besides Russ consists of a variation of these players: Adams, Gibson, Oladipo, Grant, Roberson. "NBA players," yes, no one is disputing that. But it's not as if you can just magically pass the rock around and expect players that are largely one-dimensional, defensive minded players to score the basketball. And the spacing is so terrible for that reason, that it's hard to expect much passing the ball to a teammate a foot or two away from you, rather than just taking the shot yourself. If you're Westbrook, you literally have to play perfect, in terms of balancing finding guys open and finding your own shot, because he really IS their offense.

The first quarter, when the Thunder were most effective, was basically Russ performing a perfect balancing act. It helps that guys were playing off ball, making backdoor cuts to the lane, things of that nature. But then the argument that the 4th quarter should totally have been played like the first just doesn't account for the team's time proven deficiencies. By the 4th quarter, the Rockets players made defensive adjustments. Every time Westbrook came down the court, they sent 3, 4 guys on him and trapped him, essentially ignoring the other OKC players. Not only does this stifle his ability to create good shots for himself, but it also stifles his ability to playmake for others, who, again, largely can not create offense on their own. Unlike Harden, who was shaky for alot of this game, he can't rely on guys to bail HIM out in situations where he's not producing on a direct level.

Which is essentially the paradox of the argument that the Westbrook haters have against him. They criticize him for dominating the offense, but in making that critique they place the ultimate responsibility of carrying the Thunder on his shoulders. That's why, in my opinion, the argument that he lacks good basketball IQ has always been narrow minded, but most particularly in the context of this season. Do I think he should have taken 18 shots? Probably not, but would it really have made a **** difference? I guess he gets less heat if he defers to his teammates that 4th quarter and they lose, but at this point, you should know what you're gonna get with Westbrook. He's a temperamental player, and that hasn't changed since he was a rookie. At the end of the day, this team just isn't built for Russ to compete and win on the highest level. They're a mediocre team.

[Kizz Fastfists]

There are two things we know about the Thunder. The first is that Russ is a great player and arguably the 2nd best player in the NBA. Without Russ OKC has a good shot at the #1 pick. Russ carried the team as far as he can.

[bondom34]

****. The bull being spewed by the pundits just kills me. I was just watching the Starters, listening to one of these guys going on about how Westbrook clearly deserves a lot of blame for that fourth quarter, deviating from what had worked the past three quarters, not trusting teammates, who, as we all need to be reminded, are "NBA players," somehow translating into them being capable offensive contributors.

I don't disagree, as much as it kills me to say, that Russ doesn't deserve blame or is beyond any criticism, but I think people who are villianizing him are making this issue seem simpler than it really is.

Take the argument that Westbrook should have continued the same gameplan that got them the lead in the first 3 quarters going into the 4th. If you look at the tape or play-by-play, the first 5 minutes of the 4th quarter, Westbrook was trying (successfully, for the most part) to balance his scoring with distributing. At about the 7:09 point, James Harden enters the game. Shortly after, Donovan takes out two of our best offensive players in Kanter and McDermott because their defense is that much of a liability.

After that point, the lineup besides Russ consists of a variation of these players: Adams, Gibson, Oladipo, Grant, Roberson. "NBA players," yes, no one is disputing that. But it's not as if you can just magically pass the rock around and expect players that are largely one-dimensional, defensive minded players to score the basketball. And the spacing is so terrible for that reason, that it's hard to expect much passing the ball to a teammate a foot or two away from you, rather than just taking the shot yourself. If you're Westbrook, you literally have to play perfect, in terms of balancing finding guys open and finding your own shot, because he really IS their offense.

The first quarter, when the Thunder were most effective, was basically Russ performing a perfect balancing act. It helps that guys were playing off ball, making backdoor cuts to the lane, things of that nature. But then the argument that the 4th quarter should totally have been played like the first just doesn't account for the team's time proven deficiencies. By the 4th quarter, the Rockets players made defensive adjustments. Every time Westbrook came down the court, they sent 3, 4 guys on him and trapped him, essentially ignoring the other OKC players. Not only does this stifle his ability to create good shots for himself, but it also stifles his ability to playmake for others, who, again, largely can not create offense on their own. Unlike Harden, who was shaky for alot of this game, he can't rely on guys to bail HIM out in situations where he's not producing on a direct level.

Which is essentially the paradox of the argument that the Westbrook haters have against him. They criticize him for dominating the offense, but in making that critique they place the ultimate responsibility of carrying the Thunder on his shoulders. That's why, in my opinion, the argument that he lacks good basketball IQ has always been narrow minded, but most particularly in the context of this season. Do I think he should have taken 18 shots? Probably not, but would it really have made a **** difference? I guess he gets less heat if he defers to his teammates that 4th quarter and they lose, but at this point, you should know what you're gonna get with Westbrook. He's a temperamental player, and that hasn't changed since he was a rookie. At the end of the day, this team just isn't built for Russ to compete and win on the highest level. They're a mediocre team.

Just perfect.

And FYI, I'm quoting you for the player comparisons board. This is just an excellent post.

[Funcrusher]

****. The bull being spewed by the pundits just kills me. I was just watching the Starters, listening to one of these guys going on about how Westbrook clearly deserves a lot of blame for that fourth quarter, deviating from what had worked the past three quarters, not trusting teammates, who, as we all need to be reminded, are "NBA players," somehow translating into them being capable offensive contributors.

I don't disagree, as much as it kills me to say, that Russ doesn't deserve blame or is beyond any criticism, but I think people who are villianizing him are making this issue seem simpler than it really is.

Take the argument that Westbrook should have continued the same gameplan that got them the lead in the first 3 quarters going into the 4th. If you look at the tape or play-by-play, the first 5 minutes of the 4th quarter, Westbrook was trying (successfully, for the most part) to balance his scoring with distributing. At about the 7:09 point, James Harden enters the game. Shortly after, Donovan takes out two of our best offensive players in Kanter and McDermott because their defense is that much of a liability.

After that point, the lineup besides Russ consists of a variation of these players: Adams, Gibson, Oladipo, Grant, Roberson. "NBA players," yes, no one is disputing that. But it's not as if you can just magically pass the rock around and expect players that are largely one-dimensional, defensive minded players to score the basketball. And the spacing is so terrible for that reason, that it's hard to expect much passing the ball to a teammate a foot or two away from you, rather than just taking the shot yourself. If you're Westbrook, you literally have to play perfect, in terms of balancing finding guys open and finding your own shot, because he really IS their offense.

The first quarter, when the Thunder were most effective, was basically Russ performing a perfect balancing act. It helps that guys were playing off ball, making backdoor cuts to the lane, things of that nature. But then the argument that the 4th quarter should totally have been played like the first just doesn't account for the team's time proven deficiencies. By the 4th quarter, the Rockets players made defensive adjustments. Every time Westbrook came down the court, they sent 3, 4 guys on him and trapped him, essentially ignoring the other OKC players. Not only does this stifle his ability to create good shots for himself, but it also stifles his ability to playmake for others, who, again, largely can not create offense on their own. Unlike Harden, who was shaky for alot of this game, he can't rely on guys to bail HIM out in situations where he's not producing on a direct level.

Which is essentially the paradox of the argument that the Westbrook haters have against him. They criticize him for dominating the offense, but in making that critique they place the ultimate responsibility of carrying the Thunder on his shoulders. That's why, in my opinion, the argument that he lacks good basketball IQ has always been narrow minded, but most particularly in the context of this season. Do I think he should have taken 18 shots? Probably not, but would it really have made a **** difference? I guess he gets less heat if he defers to his teammates that 4th quarter and they lose, but at this point, you should know what you're gonna get with Westbrook. He's a temperamental player, and that hasn't changed since he was a rookie. At the end of the day, this team just isn't built for Russ to compete and win on the highest level. They're a mediocre team.

Just perfect.

And FYI, I'm quoting you for the player comparisons board. This is just an excellent post.

Thank you, much appreciated. Honestly, I've only been watching basketball consistently for two years, but the sheer magnitude of people that have been observing the game their whole lives and just don't get it, don't understand how hard it can be to play this game at a highly competitve level, it just... makes me feel bad.

[InTheSabonus]

I'm sorry to sound like a hater (and I'm not, i like westbrook), but that's on Russ also.

S*** players look mediocre with Chris Paul. Mediocre players look like s*** when playing with westbrook. That's not a coincidence, sorry.

There is a reason why Steve Nash had the ball in his hands all the time just like Russ (and averaged less assists than Russ has this season in some years), and yet he got scrubs amazing contracts and even all-star discussion by getting them into the game and facilitating.

hogging the ball for 22 seconds and then passing out of a double team to your shooter is not the same as getting them involved. Thunder players have no confidence because they get cold and don't get into rhythm, so what a suprise that they look awful when Russ is out.

How come every player that shows he can play elsewhere suddenly becomes a no-confidence, weak, inconsistent guy when playing with Russ? Is it always on the other players? Is it the water on OKC?

You didn't notice Kanter suddenly became better and Vic put up a career best 3 point shooting year huh.

But Chris *The Choker* Paul turned all those scrubs the Clippers have gone through over the years into useable pieces.

Good way to tell this guy doesn't really watch basketball. The problem the Clippers have always had is that they've had very little depth outside of their core. Reddick will make shots on any team. Blake will make shots on any team. DJ could finish lobs no matter who threw them. Beyond those guys is where they've struggled. This isn't a knock on cp3, because they haven't historically given him good depth pieces. CP3 is a good conductor of an offense playing with a few talented players.

As for the rest of that garbage post, the biggest question that debunks it is: Who is Russ going to pass to?

There's our 2nd option, Oladipo. Well he's sufficiently **** the bed. I don't blame Russ for not passing to him at all. He's gotten to the playoffs as an already shaky player, and become even more shook. Passing to him at that point would be a guaranteed miss. The 4th quarter of a playoff game is not the time to start placing hope in guys like Oladipo.

Adams/Roberson/Grant/Singler/Christon? lol you could combine the talents of the best point guards to ever play the game and they aren't miraculously going to get any of those guys to score.

Abrines/McBuckets? Benched

Gibson? Played less than 25 minutes. Blame that on Russ I guess?

Kanter? Benched because he can't play D. Unless you want to somehow pin that on Russ, too.

Just a really bad post that shows a great misunderstanding of basketball, and probably shows that they watch very little of OKC.