WCQF: P1 | (4) OKC Thunder vs Utah Jazz (5) | Utah wins 4-2

[Jkam31]

Russ swearing live on ESPN was worth the price of admission.

Haha that mad my day


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[garrick]

This is the knock on Westbrook and that he takes so many shots and the offense is not in a rhythm because of it, PG is much better than this and on a better team I doubt he would play this badly.

OKC had some many chances to tie the game but missed a ton of open threes and didn't foul any of the Jazz players in time for them to even have a chance in the closing seconds, all those triple doubles don't mean anything unless you can take your team deep in the playoffs and Westbrook choked this season.

stop it pg is hot garbage he chocked stop making excuses

explain how PG played quite well with the Pacers and then suddenly he's playing like hot garbage? He's much better than this.

Similar to how Cleveland sucks outside of LBJ, the system is broken.

[EmperorLocky]

PG13 initiated the contact. It is also true that refs blow the whistle on this....but all along the refs should have been calling the foul on the offensive player.

But...PG13....why not just shoot the damn ball instead of asking the refs to blow the whistle ?

Exactly. You should never rely on the refs. Same rule in boxing, don't leave it in the judges hands. But in this scenario it was a correct no-call.

What was worse was the 12 seconds Utah was able to waste before getting fouled.

[erudite23]

Steven Adams is a **** monster. I’m so glad to see him in the rear view.

[Thundershock88]

Conrats to the Jazz and their fans. Excellent team, and I'm jealous of the coaching.

[EmperorLocky]

This is the knock on Westbrook and that he takes so many shots and the offense is not in a rhythm because of it, PG is much better than this and on a better team I doubt he would play this badly.

OKC had some many chances to tie the game but missed a ton of open threes and didn't foul any of the Jazz players in time for them to even have a chance in the closing seconds, all those triple doubles don't mean anything unless you can take your team deep in the playoffs and Westbrook choked this season.

stop it pg is hot garbage he chocked stop making excuses

explain how PG played quite well with the Pacers and then suddenly he's playing like hot garbage? He's much better than this.

Similar to how Cleveland sucks outside of LBJ, the system is broken.

Unfortunately I don't think they can fix the system in OKC. Some label the 'hate' tag on fans for being critical of Westbrook's play style and they reason it is because he is great. I think for the most part the criticism he receives is because all of these years he has not made himself a better team player. Everyone recognises how great he is but for myself I also recognise Westbrook's refusal to change his game.

I hope there is a coach out there that OKC can get that can have Westbrook buy into a team system but I just don't think he'll change. Not after all these years. He's great but he won't lead a team playing the way he does to the promise land. I would love to see Westbrook in a system where ball movement and off ball cuts are primary. Westbrook could would be absolutely devastating in that environment if he would be willing to change.

He's still only 29 and if he looks after himself he could still be a devastating player for the next 3-5 years.

[mischievous]

I missed the game, but what’s the justification for Westbrook taking 43 shots?

[G35]

Watching Billy Donovan's media interview after the game on NBATV and its funny how much tap dancing coaches have to do to protect players feelings. He was asked about Carmelo's plus/minus stat and how poor it was compared to others IIRC. Billy said that the stat is not indicative of a player's performance and he doesn't really look at the stat. Billy realized that saying he doesn't take the stat seriously looks bad because he started back tracking saying he understands the stat and what it does and why its used but its not a good indicator.

Its funny how we have all these stats that tell us everything about a player but when these stats are brought up all the coaches disavow them because it puts them at odds with the players......

[Rauxcee]

I'm just here to mention that Rudy Gobert was the best player in the series. The man is incredible.

This needs more attention. Gobert was phenomenal and is the best player on the Jazz, without question. So much of what he does doesn't show up in stats or a box score, but his impact on a game is one of the best in the league. Just a great series by him, and he completely owned the Thunder.

Props to Ingles and Rubio getting in PG and Westbrook's heads with their defense. And Mitchell being a stud and carrying the team on the offensive end. As a rookie.

Sadly it's not about how well the Jazz played, it's about hating on Westbrook and how the Thunder under preformed.

P.s. I thought it was a good no call. PG clearly jumps into Gobert to get contact.

[Catchall]

Anyone want to talk about how big Derrick Favors' 18-ft jumper was with about 1:10 left? That kept the Jazz up by 3 when the lead got down to 1 point.

[Soul Patch]

Anyone want to talk about how big Derrick Favors' 18-ft jumper was with about 1:10 left? That kept the Jazz up by 3 when the lead got down to 1 point.

I thought Favors was had a mismatch more often than not in the last five minutes but hardly got any looks. Glad he got that shot and took it.

[whocurrz]

43 shots for 46 points. That’s some Kobe level jacking. Holy **** I would hate to play with Russ

He probably would have shot less if anyone on his team showed up offensively. Lol

Yeah man there were maybe like 2 heat check threes I saw him take that were bad but he was moving the ball early, taking open threes off of rebounds when they needed it (like 3 at the end). If anything he tried to let others make plays too much(PG was awful creating off the dribble despite getting robbed of one maybe two opportunities for 3 FTs). He shot jump shots late because he tried to defer and it got back to him. Should have just attacked early is the only makor criticism.

[knuckles862]

I like how realgm disregards +- because its a flawed stat until someone they dislike (Melo) has a very bad one. not saying he didnt play like trash because he did but i just think its funny

[Tritodian]

43 shots for 46 points. That’s some Kobe level jacking. Holy **** I would hate to play with Russ

He probably would have shot less if anyone on his team showed up offensively. Lol

Yeah man there were maybe like 2 heat check threes I saw him take that were bad but he was moving the ball early, taking open threes off of rebounds when they needed it (like 3 at the end). If anything he tried to let others make plays too much(PG was awful creating off the dribble despite getting robbed of one maybe two opportunities for 3 FTs). He shot jump shots late because he tried to defer and it got back to him. Should have just attacked early is the only makor criticism.

I think the criticism is not that Westbrook took 43 shots, but he only scored 46 points off of 43 shots. Give any other top 10 player 43 shots, and I assure you they will score more than 46 points. Westbrook has a lot of Iverson in him (both good and bad), and it's just not going to work in 2018.

[NBAFan93]

Watching Billy Donovan's media interview after the game on NBATV and its funny how much tap dancing coaches have to do to protect players feelings. He was asked about Carmelo's plus/minus stat and how poor it was compared to others IIRC. Billy said that the stat is not indicative of a player's performance and he doesn't really look at the stat. Billy realized that saying he doesn't take the stat seriously looks bad because he started back tracking saying he understands the stat and what it does and why its used but its not a good indicator.

Its funny how we have all these stats that tell us everything about a player but when these stats are brought up all the coaches disavow them because it puts them at odds with the players......

To say Melo could have been better in this series is an understatement (he at least owed them one breakout game w/ 20+ points even if not efficient), but I really hope NBA coaches don’t just sit there after games using +\- as the determinant of how good their players play.

I’ve seen some really questionable +\- results over the years - it’s far from a perfect stat...

[NBAFan93]

I like how realgm disregards +- because its a flawed stat until someone they dislike (Melo) has a very bad one. not saying he didnt play like trash because he did but i just think its funny

I personally always discard it. Even when a player I like has a good one, I rarely will rave about it or give it much credence.

[TheBallsDeeper]

I'm just here to mention that Rudy Gobert was the best player in the series. The man is incredible.

Total game changer. As impactful on defense as Setph Curry is on offense. Top five in the league IMO.

[EireannX]

I missed the game, but what’s the justification for Westbrook taking 43 shots?

1. PG was 2-12.
2. Donovan doesn’t seem to have schemes to feed Adams when he’s dominating down low.
3. Mitchell went HAM in the 3rd and Westbrook had to keep his team from being blown out.
4. Billy Donovan again.

[udfa]

If that's not a foul then the league should retroactively remove about 1000 FTAs from Wade's career stats. I don't think the no call is quite the atrocity that some others seem to think it is, and I have no sympathy for PG given his zero heart performance, but it sucks to see the end of a good series sullied by poor officiating.

[EireannX]

Anyone want to talk about how big Derrick Favors' 18-ft jumper was with about 1:10 left? That kept the Jazz up by 3 when the lead got down to 1 point.

I thought Favors was had a mismatch more often than not in the last five minutes but hardly got any looks. Glad he got that shot and took it.

Mitchell needs to learn the PnR better, especially when OKC was throwing everyone at him in the paint towards the end. So many open baseline 3s.

But he’s had to develop so much offensive game this year that it’s probably an offseason thing. Fortunately he has two of the best current orchestrators in Rubio and Ingles and a great roll man in Favors to learn from.