OT: Westbrook Blows

[rip7774]

The Thunder are like the anti-UConn.

1. They miss tons of foul shots in key spots all throughout all games I watch.
2. They get loose balls if they feel like it
3. Durant and most of team rarely box out
4. They take a ton of bad shots in key spots
5. Defense? What's that says OKC

Series was tough to watch. Coaching and desire were the big differences to me. Westbrook is really up and down, and totally maddening, but he hustles and wants to win bad so he is an outlier for the most part except of course #4, which he qualifies for unquestionably. I wonder how different they were with an extra scorer like Harden. I think Brooks seems like a great guy, but they need more structure and willingness to change lineups. Fisher guarding Duncan repeatedly down the stretch was maddening. Lamb could have been useful in that series, but looked rusty/timid. His length and athleticism could have made some plays.

In all, I was pretty disappointed in Durant's complete indifference to hustle plays, he let Ginobili get that huge rebound in crunch time and just stood there & he does that a lot. He is young so that can change but I just kept thinking these guys and especially him are so opposite of what we are, they just seem so entitled and not willing to do the little things Kromah and Boat and Giffey, really everyone did.

Durant took a lot of bad shots but he wasn't getting the rock enough. But still, go get an offensive rebound or a steal, make something happen when the ball isn't in your hands!

 

[tzznandrew]

The Thunder need to do a couple of things:

1. Get a coach who can coach for the post-season, not on a game by game basis. By this I mean a number of things:
   • Develop trust in a bench. The Thunder have athletes and talented players on the bench. Reggie Jackson may be gone (they need to work on keeping him if they can). But Lamb, Adams, and Jones should all get many more minutes. This article points out some things I've noted before about Lamb: http://basketball.realgm.com/blog/230361/Why-Comparing-Players-By-High-School-Class-Makes-More-Sense.
   • Instill some sort of offensive system. In one of the other threads somewhere, someone pointed out an offensive system isn't for the star players, it is for the role players. They need a system to give them confidence, and to put them in the right places.
2. Get a guard (better than Fisher) who is pass-first. Jackson really isn't. Whoever he is, play him predominantly in the second unit, but also play him near the end of the game. People are down on Westbrook, but I think that's unfair. Dude does a lot of great things. But at the end of the game, it might be better to have a Kemba 2011 situation: have a player who can take pressure off him and allow him to be him. Relieve him of distributing duties, and let him attack. Westbrook is great at attacking. It's what makes him one of the best 10 players in the NBA. He can rebound and dish as well, but, when the game is on the line, he goes into full attack mode. You don't want to shut that off, but you need other players involved...now, I'm not sure there's a player available who can do this, but that would be ideal, I think, for this Thunder team, and is sort of what Brooks went for sometimes with Fisher, but Fisher is just too washed up.

 

[MilliniumPrince]

With a better point guard, they wouldn't need one guy to carry the team: They'd actually outplay all comers as a unit.

With an offensive system they wouldn't need a different point guard. Which do you think is easier to find: a point guard who is better than Westbrook AND available, or a coach who can be creative offensively with two of the top 4 most ungaurdable players in the world?

 

[Gurleyman]

I thought Durant looked like a different player after he rolled his ankle. Seemed like he had no explosiveness and couldn't change direction. Even on his go ahead layup it looked like he didn't get above the rim. Westbrook had better matchups to attack as well, once Leonard was on KD.

OKC was also terrific at the foul line. Westbrook shot about 95 percent in the series. KD and Jackson are 90 percenters. That was the least of their problems.

 

[phillionaire]

actually lance stephenson is the one who blows
https://v.cdn.vine.co/r/videos/30E8...p4?versionId=OtW392WyZvgny3V9DQDEvCshKlU8yR4J

 

[James]

Things to keep an eye on as far as OKC front office moves:
1. How do we get perkins out of here and maybe get some first rounders in return?
2. Thabo's poor shooting slump in a contract year makes me assume he wont be back, Nor should he
3. His minutes ( as well as perks) should be redistributed in a popavichian manner to Lamb, Jones, Adams, Butler ( who should come back with his new found role as vet shooter)
4. Another wily vet Big to be brought it, with a cheaper price tag than perkins.

KD is 25 he will get better and soon surpass lebron as best player on the planet. Its crazy that both Russ and Durant are so early in their careers.
I'm surprised by the westbrook hate by casual nba watchers though, at his worst he still is an engaging spectacle

 

[Rocktheworld]

Just looking at the box scores you see KD and Westbrook often, especially in this game, account for the majority of the team's turnovers. That tells me that OKC needs a real point guard, and Reggie Jackson ain't the answer. Westbrook just should have the ball in his hands as much as he does. Bazz really would be perfect for this team.

 

[intlzncster]

KD is 25 he will get better and soon surpass lebron as best player on the planet. Its crazy that both Russ and Durant are so early in their careers.
I'm surprised by the westbrook hate by casual nba watchers though, at his worst he still is an engaging spectacle

Dunno, Lebron's all around game is phenomenal. KD will have to make some strides on D before he's there.

 

[James]

Dunno, Lebron's all around game is phenomenal. KD will have to make some strides on D before he's there.

he also turns 30 this year. Durants career arc looks similar. OKC can win it all with this core, just can't be having old ass fisher and perkins playing key minutes in the playoffs. replace them with productivity. One could argue brooks needs to be replaced, his offensive scheme is clearly terrible when you consider the pieces

 

[aceboon]

Anthony Slater, one of the OKC's beat writers, has been pushing the idea of a Reggie/Russ backcourt and asked Brooks about it and he admitted its a possibility. That would be a good look, Brooks needs to get out of this rigid way of thinking that the off guard has to be some 3 & D guy(Thabo lost his 3 ball and his D ended up slipping anyway), Jackson & Westbrook are both long enough and big enough to defend SGs and really the SG position isn't really that strong anymore like it was during the late 80s through early 00s to worry about getting burned there on a nightly basis. Continue to groom Lamb as the 6th man scoring option and playmaker(why did they abandon the pick n roll with Collison/Adams that he was successful with early in the season?), then sign/draft a shooter to open up the floor, and the same with another ballhandler to hopefully take Fish's spot.

 

[WeAreUCONN]

GO SPURS GO !!!!!

 

[WeAreUCONN]

I have been a spurs fan, for 25 years. they have brought me as much joy as the Uconn Men.
I was pretty shocked, that they won that game w/o Parker in the 2nd Half.
Team is on a Mission.

 

[UConn17]

The Thunder need to do a couple of things:

1. Get a coach who can coach for the post-season, not on a game by game basis. By this I mean a number of things:
   • Develop trust in a bench. The Thunder have athletes and talented players on the bench. Reggie Jackson may be gone (they need to work on keeping him if they can). But Lamb, Adams, and Jones should all get many more minutes. This article points out some things I've noted before about Lamb: http://basketball.realgm.com/blog/230361/Why-Comparing-Players-By-High-School-Class-Makes-More-Sense.
   • Instill some sort of offensive system. In one of the other threads somewhere, someone pointed out an offensive system isn't for the star players, it is for the role players. They need a system to give them confidence, and to put them in the right places.
2. Get a guard (better than Fisher) who is pass-first. Jackson really isn't. Whoever he is, play him predominantly in the second unit, but also play him near the end of the game. People are down on Westbrook, but I think that's unfair. Dude does a lot of great things. But at the end of the game, it might be better to have a Kemba 2011 situation: have a player who can take pressure off him and allow him to be him. Relieve him of distributing duties, and let him attack. Westbrook is great at attacking. It's what makes him one of the best 10 players in the NBA. He can rebound and dish as well, but, when the game is on the line, he goes into full attack mode. You don't want to shut that off, but you need other players involved...now, I'm not sure there's a player available who can do this, but that would be ideal, I think, for this Thunder team, and is sort of what Brooks went for sometimes with Fisher, but Fisher is just too washed up.

For Number 2, draft Shabazz

 

[bmayuc]

Three things:

1. I thought upon first glance this was about Westbrook, CT. And I wholeheartedly agree, as a Deep River/Valley Regional Alum. Go Warriors.

2. All jokes aside, RussWest is like the best Mustang you find in a pack of wild horses. He needs to be broken, taught game/clock management discipline, and directed/controlled. When in a flow he is unstoppable getting to the rim/pull-ups in transition/fouled heading to the line. However he comes off the rail often because he'll just take the first open shot that is available. When RussWest is taking pull-up jumpers from 18-20 feet with 15+ seconds on the shot clock and Durant getting no touches, that is a sin against basketball. ESPECIALLY IN OT of a PLAYOFF GAME.

3. As a basketball junky, I hope that they fire the coach and get someone who has the bonafides to reign RussWest in and to tell Durant to put on some weight(finally) and get his ass in the post. Too good to waste those three talents.

 

[SixRings]

My thoughts are this:
1) Drunken Saturday night posts that stem from anger and frustration should not be taken too seriously. Obviously, I was under the influence and cannot be held accountable for my topic title or content.
2) RW has unbelievable talent and can score in bunches.
2) Also in spurts, RW makes bad decisions with the ball.
3) OKC runs zero offense. Its all adlib out there.
4) I love Durant and want to see him succeed.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

It is strange that Brooks runs such a chuck and duck offense because he played for a coach in Tomjanovich that ran a great offense and the mid-90's Rockets teams shot a very high percentage from the field. It helped having the second best player in basketball at the time on the team, but everyone shot well from the field, especially Brooks.