10/21 - 8PM CST | G2: Oklahoma City Thunder at Utah Jazz

[slick_watts]

Donovan was desperately and rightly looking for someone who could make a shot, so he went to his better offensive players.

this is nonsense. you know, and i know, that at that point in the game nobody but westbrook, anthony, or george is likely to attempt a shot. abrines (or anyone) is just as invisible on offense as roberson would be.

Here's a video for you. Note Roberson being late then jumping past ingles on two of his threes, then completely losing him in transition. Guys were going by him on the catch several other times as well.

this is why i can't believe you are a basketball coach. roberson had two aggressive close outs on ingles, he wasn't late, but he did leave his feet and ingles correctly pump faked.

that transition lay-up? that was anthony's pickup there. robes was on the other side of the court.

notice how wide open he is is by contrast the final two threes with ferguson and abrines.

[ThunderBolt]

Ha if they shot halfway decent they would've won.

isn't that what abrines is supposed to be in for...?

Roberson got blown by on numerous closeouts, over pursuing or falling for fakes by that same ingles.

video, please?

here's abrines falling over (being generous) allowing ingles open three: http://on.nba.com/2hW8lUg

and it's not only abrines. grant played at roberson's expense, as did felton (?) next to westbrook, and ferguson. makes no sense at all. andre roberson is on another level from these guys.

Pointing to a 6 minute stretch

we couldn't defend during this stretch.

This is going to get pretty embarrassing for the Roberson crowd.

embarrassing? we played roberson only 14 minutes, and lost.

Yes, it's what abrines is in for. He didn't shoot well. Again, slick, they lost because they shot terribly, not because of any lack of defense (the only thing Roberson brings). Donovan was desperately and rightly looking for someone who could make a shot, so he went to his better offensive players.

Here's a video for you. Note Roberson being late then jumping past ingles on two of his threes, then completely losing him in transition. Guys were going by him on the catch several other times as well.

Watch on YouTube

I understand that everyone has off nights shooting. Saying that abrines was in for shooting but didn’t shoot well is only fair if when Roberson makes a mistake defensively the. your willing to look at the entire body of work, not just one mistake. Hence, net rating. I hope that Alex can be good enogj defensively to replace Andre. I didn’t see that last night.

[hardenASG13]

Donovan was desperately and rightly looking for someone who could make a shot, so he went to his better offensive players.

this is nonsense. you know, and i know, that at that point in the game nobody but westbrook, anthony, or george is likely to attempt a shot. abrines (or anyone) is just as invisible on offense as roberson would be.

Here's a video for you. Note Roberson being late then jumping past ingles on two of his threes, then completely losing him in transition. Guys were going by him on the catch several other times as well.

this is why i can't believe you are a basketball coach. roberson had two aggressive close outs on ingles, he wasn't late, but he did leave his feet and ingles correctly pump faked.

that transition lay-up? that was anthony's pickup there. robes was on the other side of the court.

notice how wide open he is is by contrast the final two threes with ferguson and abrines.

Nope, not nonsense, guys who can't shoot don't play much, especially when the team is creating turnovers but can't hit a shot. It was Anthony's pickup, but Roberson saw him. When you see your teammate doesn't pick up a guy, in basketball, you keep falling back to prevent the other team from getting a layup.You don't just say "that wasn't my pickup," like Roberson here.

[slick_watts]

Nope, not nonsense, guys who can't shoot don't play much, especially when the team is creating turnovers but can't hit a shot. It was Anthony's pickup, but Roberson saw him. When you see your teammate doesn't pick up a guy, in basketball, you keep falling back to prevent the other team from getting a layup.You don't just say "that wasn't my pickup," like Roberson here.

are we watching the same play? i think this is indicative of major bias you have against andre roberson (if that wasn't already evident enough). he did not do anything wrong there.

[bbms]

The difference between Roberson on and off court is the difference from an elite defense to a good defense.

There's no one in this bench that can elevate our play to match the defensive loss of Roberson, unfortunately. Abrines' 3pt shooting hasn't translated to any offensive improvement of this team, and I want the spaniard to look good.

Why Grant is favored over Huestis is beyond me.

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[Atomic Punk]

Ha if they shot halfway decent they would've won.

isn't that what abrines is supposed to be in for...?

Roberson got blown by on numerous closeouts, over pursuing or falling for fakes by that same ingles.

video, please?

here's abrines falling over (being generous) allowing ingles open three: http://on.nba.com/2hW8lUg

Abrines falling over? You mean being tripped by Gobert right? I was watching that guy closely last night and I can't believe how much he gets away with that crap. He is very subtle and sly about it be he often slides his foot out like that when setting screens. He did it several times last night.

and it's not only abrines. grant played at roberson's expense, as did felton (?) next to westbrook, and ferguson. makes no sense at all. andre roberson is on another level from these guys.

Pointing to a 6 minute stretch

we couldn't defend during this stretch.

This is going to get pretty embarrassing for the Roberson crowd.

embarrassing? we played roberson only 14 minutes, and lost.

[hardenASG13]

The difference between Roberson on and off court is the difference from an elite defense to a good defense.

There's no one in this bench that can elevate our play to match the defensive loss of Roberson, unfortunately. Abrines' 3pt shooting hasn't translated to any offensive improvement of this team, and I want the spaniard to look good.

Why Grant is favored over Huestis is beyond me.

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Huestis not getting a chance is making less and less sense.

[Atomic Punk]

aside from the obvious problems with our 'OK3' (russ too deferential, george and melo being ineffective creating offense), there are some perplexing lineup choices by donovan.

last year, we were -14pp100 with jerami grant at pf. grant + adams was -17pp100. he was downright terrible there. he's now not only playing pf exclusively, but also playing small ball center (with defensive sieve anthony instead of george) in an expanded role. these minutes are eating into andre roberson's minutes (14 minutes thru three quarters). to close 3Q we have grant-anthony-ferguson-abrines-felton, a lineup that cannot possibly defend, and will struggle offensively as well unless anthony is on fire.

we have plenty of evidence that these lineups don't work. but we're doing it anyway. roberson is our best defensive wing, but he is being marginalized the first two games for grant, abrines, and even ferguson.

Who was in the lineup when they closed the lead in the 4th. It was some combo of those guys you mentioned wasn't it? I honestly can't remember because I was shaking my head so hard I couldn't focus on the screen clearly. Whoever it was, I thought Donovan pulled them for the starters a little early. I also thought Roberson should have been on the floor instead of Felton down the stretch, I really don't get that move at all.

[Atomic Punk]

Utah isn't even good. They'll finish 5th in the West at best, and they're owning us tonight. I mean they're doing what ever the hell they want to us on both ends and making us like it.

They're sure as hell nowhere near as good as Golden State, Houston, or San Antonio. This may be another 45-48 win year.

Actually, Utah is pretty decent. Very good defensively, very well coached, some talent, and guys who know their roles.

[Atomic Punk]

The difference between Roberson on and off court is the difference from an elite defense to a good defense.

There's no one in this bench that can elevate our play to match the defensive loss of Roberson, unfortunately. Abrines' 3pt shooting hasn't translated to any offensive improvement of this team, and I want the spaniard to look good.

Why Grant is favored over Huestis is beyond me.

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Huestis not getting a chance is making less and less sense.

Why? Because he has hit a few spot up threes in garbage time? What other evidence is there to support him getting a "chance".

[Atomic Punk]

I know it''s overreactionary, but right now my expectations for this season are about on par with what they were for last season. We played one of the two worst teams in the NBA. Tonight we played a middle of the pack NBA team and got beat convincingly.

We're not very good right now.

It's game 2, Jesus, chill out......

[bbms]

The difference between Roberson on and off court is the difference from an elite defense to a good defense.

There's no one in this bench that can elevate our play to match the defensive loss of Roberson, unfortunately. Abrines' 3pt shooting hasn't translated to any offensive improvement of this team, and I want the spaniard to look good.

Why Grant is favored over Huestis is beyond me.

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Huestis not getting a chance is making less and less sense.

Why? Because he has hit a few spot up threes in garbage time? What other evidence is there to support him getting a "chance".

Because if there are players getting minutes to develop in a NBA game, like Abrines and Grant, the development minutes should be at least spread to all potential contributors, for them to have opportunities to show development.

It'd make sense if Abrines or Grant were finished products, which is clearly not the case in OKC at this point.

[Atomic Punk]

Huestis not getting a chance is making less and less sense.

Why? Because he has hit a few spot up threes in garbage time? What other evidence is there to support him getting a "chance".

Because if there are players getting minutes to develop in a NBA game, like Abrines and Grant, the development minutes should be at least spread to all potential contributors, for them to have opportunities to show development.

It'd make sense if Abrines or Grant were finished products, which is clearly not the case in OKC at this point.

That is not a justification. There is no such thing as equal opportunity in the NBA. What need/role would Huestis fill right now, that could be done better than whomever he would take minutes away from? Obviously the organization has seen him in practice and the G League far more than you or I, so I am guessing they don't see enough to justify consistent minutes at this point.

[hardenASG13]

Why? Because he has hit a few spot up threes in garbage time? What other evidence is there to support him getting a "chance".

Because if there are players getting minutes to develop in a NBA game, like Abrines and Grant, the development minutes should be at least spread to all potential contributors, for them to have opportunities to show development.

It'd make sense if Abrines or Grant were finished products, which is clearly not the case in OKC at this point.

That is not a justification. There is no such thing as equal opportunity in the NBA. What need/role would Huestis fill right now, that could be done better than whomever he would take minutes away from? Obviously the organization has seen him in practice and the G League far more than you or I, so I am guessing they don't see enough to justify consistent minutes at this point.

Why not give him at least a few minutes, when opportunities are there to do so? If he can't cut it fine but he looks like he at least deserves a chance. He looks as ready as Ferguson to contribute at this point.

[Atomic Punk]

Because if there are players getting minutes to develop in a NBA game, like Abrines and Grant, the development minutes should be at least spread to all potential contributors, for them to have opportunities to show development.

It'd make sense if Abrines or Grant were finished products, which is clearly not the case in OKC at this point.

That is not a justification. There is no such thing as equal opportunity in the NBA. What need/role would Huestis fill right now, that could be done better than whomever he would take minutes away from? Obviously the organization has seen him in practice and the G League far more than you or I, so I am guessing they don't see enough to justify consistent minutes at this point.

Why not give him at least a few minutes, when opportunities are there to do so? If he can't cut it fine but he looks like he at least deserves a chance. He looks as ready as Ferguson to contribute at this point.

I do think he will get some meaniful run this season and he may prove to be effective in short minutes as a spot up three point shooter and versatile defender. I just don't agree with the notion that he "deserves" anything at this point. I don't think Abrines or Grant "deserve" anything either, it just seems that the coaching staff would prefer to give them rotation minutes at this point. That could certainly change though.