KoolKeith3000
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@supreme35 @ChaseJohnNottinghamI agree, I thought it was odd that Brooks didn't play Martin down the stretch, considering he was shooting the ball well (6-12). When you factor in that the other main scoring option (Westbrook) is down with injury, and that Memphis is a very good defensive team, it makes it hard to justify going with the offensively challenged starting lineup to finish out the 4th quarter. When Durant was practically getting triple teamed, I sure as hell would have preferred having Martin on the court as another scoring option, over Perkins, or Thabo.
Martin should play in overtime, they need another scorer on the floor.
Durant has done a pretty damn good job fronting the post on Gasol.
Good coaching move putting Leonard on Curry. He's giving him trouble with his length.
@DXL I just did a quick check of current players that improve their 3-point shooting in the playoffs, compared to the regular season. So far, the only players I have found are Jason Terry and Steve Novak. I'm sure there are more guys on that list, but it does seem to be fairly uncommon.
@DXL So Fisher is a 37% career 3-point shooter in the regular season and a 40% 3-point shooter in the playoffs. The interesting thing about that stat, is most players don't improve their 3-point shooting in the playoffs. They usually shoot close to the same percentage as in the regular season, or it drops down. It goes to show that Fisher is clutch in pressure situations.
@ou_sas @Crow I think they need to start Delfino, or possibly Motiejunas at the 4. The only way they have any chance of competing is to use a stretch 4 to pull Ibaka out of the paint, taking away his shot-blocking, and forcing him to guard the 3-point line.
@Lost Ones @Aren't They were also missing Stephen Jackson, a player Popovich has a success using as the stretch 4 against us in the past. Also, the Spurs were playing their 4th game in 5 nights, while the Thunder had a week to rest. I would just throw out the Spurs game out as an example of beating a good team, they were missing too many key players to take anything away from that game.
@OohWeeItsVelvetHoop @Old Man Game Kevin Calabro is one of the best commentators in the league. He's ten thousand times better than Brian Davis, in my opinion.
I thought Durant really got going offensively playing at the 4. Perkins played okay, but I would have stuck with the Durant/Collison combination, in overtime.
@OKC035 The bench has been losing leads all year long, well before Fisher arrived. That's partly why I think Durant is in a mini-slump right now, he's had to play extensive minutes in order to keep the bench afloat. It looks like those high minutes he played earlier in the season are starting to catch up with him.
The bench has been terrible and losing leads all year long for the Thunder. Combine that with the fact that Denver has one of the deepest teams in the league and it doesn't work out in the Thunder's favor. Fisher was awful tonight, but our bench has been a major problem all year.
Smart move by Karl to replicate the same strategy Miami uses against OKC, staying small most of the game. Faried only played 18 minutes, with Chandler getting most of the minutes at the 4. Once again, there's no real advantage to sticking to the big lineup in these situations. Perkins/Ibaka lack any type of a low-post game to punish the smaller player on the block, they don't utilize their size in terms of rebounding (perk had 3 boards tonight), and defensively they don't match up well against the more athletic lineups. Seriously, watching stretch 4's drain open jumpers with Ibaka guarding them is getting really old.
I wouldn't be surprised if we see more teams move their wing players to the 4, when playing us, especially in the playoffs. The Spurs can use Stephen Jackson in that role, Gallo and Chandler can both play that position for Denver, The Clippers can go with Butler, or Odom at the 4, with Griffin sliding to the 5. I know everyone worries about the Heat being a matchup problem, but there are other teams that can use the same strategy to varying effects. Brooks is going to have to come off his tendency to stick with the big lineup too long, otherwise this could end up backfiring again in the playoffs. I don't want to see a repeat of last year against Miami, where I feel like the team lost in large part due to the coaching.
I was hoping Presti would trade for a two-way player that could provide scoring off the bench. Someone in the mold of Jared Dudley, that can defend and hit open shots. I suppose Brewer is a better option than Liggins, but this roster is now filled with guys that can only play on one side of the court.
@[censored] Not changing the starting lineup against this particular team is kind of a big deal though. Starting Durant at the 4, with any one of our bigs at center gives the team the best chance to win.
@[censored] That makes sense, Mullens is usually camped out behind the three-point line on the offensive end. Tough to grab an offensive rebound when you're 30 feet from the rim.
In roughly the same amount of minutes per game, Byron Mullens is averaging 8.1 rebounds, while Ibaka is now at 7.9. Kind of disappointing to me, I feel like Ibaka is underperforming at times in that area. He only grabbed 3 boards in Utah last night, there's really no excuse for that.
@IhaveamancrushonWestbrook @justin_mia @ThunderChick2010 @sexywatt @1 Knee 4 Points 5 Rebounds 35 Million Dollars @Old Man Game
Do you have any issue when management trades away players that want to stay? Presti rightfully traded Jeff Green, yet Green had been told many times he was a part of the Thunder nucleus moving forward. I guess the players have to remain loyal, but it's a different story for management.