Re: 2016 Playoff Thread

[worcester]

This goes to show how very important matchups are. I share your disgust with Draymon Green, Cow. He stepped way over the line kicking Adams.

[cowens/oldschool]

Actually just reread some of my comments, they were all meant to be addressed to Heckler, I have to go hard at Heckler otherwise he goes on these too long rants back at me too.

[cowens/oldschool]

This goes to show how very  important matchups are. I share your disgust with Draymon Green, Cow. He stepped way over the line kicking Adams.

right never saw Perk or Rodman or Silas do something so dirty and those guys were way more physical than this punk.

[cowens/oldschool]

Cow, Steph will be HoF based on his shooting and stealing, but you're right. Westbrook kicked his ass and exposed his weaknesses. It is also important to have strength and length up front like the Thunder have. Defense still counts in the NBA. You're also right that the '86 Celts would have demolished the 2016 Warriors, Thunder, Cavs, Raptors and whomever else this new NBA wants to throw down against our dream team. Of course there are no Wayback machines to make that happen. Where are you when we really need you, Mr. Peabody?

http://www.srossi.net/2011/01/mr-peabody.jpg

Thanks worse, I dare any poster to prove to me that this Warriors team could beat Larry's team? Old school would kill the 3 ball pretenders.

[worcester]

Prove to me that this Warriors team could beat Larry's team?

Never gonna happen...

[cowens/oldschool]

Prove to me that this Warriors team could beat Larry's team?

Never gonna happen...

damn straight, our offense would rip them to shreds just with the midrange game and post up game, plus we can run on them too. Larry and Kevin would destroy DG, Igoudala and Barnes, it wouldn't be fair.....plus Larry would have a moment where'd he say you want to see my 3 point game you punk? then go off in one of his zones and say thats why I won 3 in a row, easy money.

[cowens/oldschool]

I loved the way Bird and Cowens and KG and Hondo played angry, these guys smile too much today.

[Outside]

I've been a Warriors fan since the 1960s, but after decades of mediocrity, I set that fandom aside and became a fan of the game in general. But when the Warriors had their title run last year, my inner fandom rose from the dead and I became a raging lunatic riding emotional waves of ups and downs instead of the detached intellectually composed analyst that I'd become over the decades. I chose to not post during the playoffs last year because I didn't want to unleash that primal fan in a flood of cursing and insults when people here criticized Golden State. It worked out best for me and everyone else for me to stay away.

I assumed I'd do the same this playoff season, but having last year's title in my back pocket has quelled the insanity of my fandom, at least to an extent, and I've posted a couple of things on unrelated topics during the playoffs. When Cowens went on his anti-Golden State, anti-Curry rant, I felt composed enough to write a logical, minimally emotional response.

Which brings me to this post. Dbrown, I enjoy your posts, and I'm going to respond here to points from your post, but please please please don't construe that as criticism of you. You brought up several points that I'd like to provide counterarguments to, and that's for the sake of discussion and isn't in any way an attack on you (again, I like you, and since you like Kerr and are rooting for the Warriors, I like you even more). I'll do my best to keep my insane inner fan in check, but if a little creeps through, let me apologize in advance.

Sorry for the overly long intro. On with the show.

The notion that the Warriors are so talented that anyone could coach them got a big boost this year when Luke Walton took over coaching in games while Kerr recovered from complications from back surgery, but it's just not true.

Mark Jackson deserves credit for building a defensive mindset, but he was awful on the offensive side, running a rudimentary offense that ended most possessions with giving the ball to Curry or Thompson and telling them to make something happen, hero-ball style. Jackson played mind games that pitted players against each other and shut out input from assistant coaches and management. They still achieved a moderate level of success based on the defense and their talent -- 47-35 one season, 51-31 the next -- but it was a poisonous environment, and they were underachieving compared to what they could be.

Mark Jackson became the antithesis of the culture that the Warriors' management wanted to build, which was a team based on openness and collaboration. GM Bob Myers played at UCLA, and one of his favorite Woodenisms is "It's amazing what you can accomplish when no one cares who gets the credit." Jackson became all about hoarding the credit.

Enter Steve Kerr, who fit the culture they wanted to build like a glove. He instituted a collaborative approach with management, particularly Myers, and a collaborative coaching staff that allowed everyone down to the video coordinator to make suggestions. Kerr wanted to utilize the offensive skills of the roster much better by running a pace-and-space offense, and he tasked Alvin Gentry with developing one that incorporated principles of everything Kerr learned during his career, including Mike D'Antoni's "seven seconds or less" offense, the Tex Winter/Phil Jackson triangle, and Popovich's various offensive principles. They went from 51 to 67 wins, an incredibly difficult jump to make, because of the culture that management built and a coaching staff that unleashed a talented roster to perform in a high-powered offense.

This year, when Kerr was beset with debilitating headaches and other maladies, they looked to the outside world as if they were on cruise control because their offensive and defensive systems were already established, the roster was basically unchanged, and the collaborative environment that had empowered the assistant coaches allowed Walton to step forward more easily. Kerr still directed things as best he could, at first by phone, then at practices, and eventually at games, but the reason it looked like you could just roll the ball out there is that they had built an environment that utilized everyone's talents and didn't rely on just one person to make it work. That is a huge departure from how the team ran under Jackson.

It's also a big departure from how other teams work. If it's so easy that all you have to do is roll out the ball, why are other talented teams not successful all the time? Why has it taken the Thunder this long to turn into a juggernaut? Why have teams with talented rosters like the Wizards, Raptors, and Rockets underperformed so badly? Each case is different, but the point is that it's NOT easy, even with a talented roster. What the Warriors have achieved with their talented roster deserves recognition.

As for the "small ball" lineup, Jackson never went to it by choice but instead fell into it at the very end of his tenure in the series against the Clippers. Bogut was out, Ezeli was gone for the whole season, and Jermaine O'Neal was the only center left (and even he got taken out by Glen Davis during the series), Jackson went with a small lineup with David Lee and Draymond Green because that's all he had left. Kerr used it by design.

The term "small ball" is somewhat misleading. It merely means they don't use a traditional center, but they have considerable size, and especially length, with those lineups. Green, Barnes, Thompson, Iguodala, and Livingston are all 6-7 to 6-9 with long wingspans, and their interchangeability is key to their effectiveness, along with everyone's ability to drive, shoot, and make plays for others.

The Thunder are doing well against the Warriors' small-ball lineups with one of their own, but they have an advantage because with Durant at 6-11 and a quarter-mile wingspan, and they are even longer than the Warriors and just as mobile. Add in Green, Curry, and Iguodala underperforming the past two games and the Warriors' "death lineup" that had been unstoppable is now getting run off the floor.

It's not that the Thunder are destroying the Warriors with their bigs. The Thunder have played their small lineup of Durant, Westbrook, Ibaka, Waiters, and Roberson 30 minutes in the series, and they are plus 49. All other lineups for the Thunder have played 162 minutes and are minus 18.

http://espn.go.com/blog/statsinfo/post/_/id/118960/five-reasons-the-thunders-small-lineup-is-so-effective

Adams has been very good, but he's not the difference in the series. Kantor's minutes have shrunk to the point he only played 8:33 in game 4. Small ball isn't dead; it just got a turbo boost.

As for Kerr, he's only in his second year coaching, but he's been working toward this for 30 years. He always thought his future was in coaching, and he's been thinking like that since his college days. He thought he'd have a short NBA career and go work as an assistant under Lute Olson at Arizona, Then he had a long NBA career, still with an eye toward coaching, picking up stuff he liked from Lenny Wilkins in Cleveland, Phil Jackson in Chicago, and Gregg Poipovich in San Antonio. He was a broadcast analyst and a GM in Phoenix, adding to his experience with his eye still on coaching, which was always his ultimate destination in the game. So he is new to the job, but he has prepared for it far more than a typical first-time coach.

While Kerr has incorporated various things from Phil, I don't think his coaching style is similar. Jackson was a remote figure, while Kerr is immersed within the group. Jackson would take potshots at players through the media and generally keep players off-balance regarding their relationship with him, while Kerr is up front and honest with his players. Kerr has a completely different vibe.

This is a time for Kerr, Curry, and Green to step up. Even if they still lose the series, they need to show their championship mettle. I was really disappointed in how game 4 went. I am cautiously hopeful for much better in game 5.

Sorry for the length of this post. Even if no one reads it, I enjoyed writing it. And Dbrown, I hope you don't mind me responding to the points you raised.

[dbrown4]

Outside,

Not a problem. No offense taken. That's what this site is all about. I may be more po'ed with GSW performance in this series this far than you are. I really enjoy watching this team play the last two seasons. While I've called their style Globetrotter-esque at times, that is a high compliment with the ease at which they execute extremely difficult plays and sequences. They make basketball look easy. No matter what our level of experience in the basketball world, we all know this is not the case. Look easy, yes. Easy? Not in the least.

Very few teams come around in the NBA over the years that have created such a stir and pure enjoyment of the game of basketball than the Golden State Warriors these past two seasons.

If there is a problem with sustained winning, it is that it is like high water. It covers a lot of stumps. GSW this season has not even lost two games in a row until two days ago. That is in no way long enough to see anything wrong or that could potentially need fixing.

Enter OKC who has literally bulldozed GSW this series so far. I don't know if there is a solution you can come up with on the fly here except go with the canned "one game at a time" mantra.

None of us know what goes on in the locker after games, before games or at halftime. We see them for a couple of hours a night. All I was saying about Kerr was for what I see of him, he doesn't look engaged. And maybe that's just his style and he never will get too high or too low. Heck, our coach is even keeled. He's stated that's his style and when he ventures out of that, his team starts losing!

GSW has put their backs against the wall tonight. I want to see them win the next three games more than anything. It will actually fit my KD to Boston fantasy perfectly. Better than I even imagined. If OKC blows this/GSW pulls a rabbit out of the hat what could possibly be more crushing and humiliating to OKC than watching this slip away and out of their grasps over the next 5 days starting tonight?! It might be the most devastating series loss in NBA history given OKC's talent level. Would you want to hang around OKC next year after that thinking you just need to make a few adjustments to get to the finals and win it all? Of course you wouldn't!! And here comes KD to Boston on a silver platter!!

But I digress. Kerr has everything he needs to pull off what would be/will be called the NBA's greatest comeback of all time without being down 3-0. But he is having it handed to him by a college coach who instructs his players to go full steam ahead and simply outmuscle and outhustle the competition. So far, GSW has absolutely no answer. But that answer has to come from the coach. And he has now has only one game to figure it out. But if GSW bows out tonight or in OKC Saturday, the finger pointing will place Kerr directly on the hot seat for not making the adjustments quick enough to save Golden State.

Either team from the West is going to clobber the East in the finals. You're beginning to see CLE getting the gut check already, last night not withstanding. I'd prefer it be Golden State in the finals because if they pull this off, there is no way they will lose the finals. The story just doesn't fit. It will be the ultimate rags to riches to rags to riches story vs. We Really Sucked For The Last 50 Years and LeBron Is Our Savior Believeland.

Outside, you can see with most of my arguments I don't back them up with facts like a carefully worded BobH post. I would call my post a pretty good, unsubstantiated rant because I'm pissed about the position the Warriors have put themselves in right now. I don't want to see the best season ever tainted like it looks like its going to go down tonight. (Chicago White Sox come to mind. Nobody cares since they didn't win the World Series) I believe the Bulls pretty much smoked through the playoffs after their record breaking season. They certainly never got themselves in the playoff pickle GSW is in tonight.

Enter Rudy T. We will see the heart tonight. So far the heart hasn't shown up this series. Nowhere to be found. It's 3 Game 7's now. With the given stakes, I don't think there could be anything more dramatic that I can recall in my lifetime following the NBA all my life. But as of right now...it doesn't look very good at all, other things equal. The only thing GSW has in it's favor tonight is it is a home game and if things go well, 2 out of 3 games remaining are at home. That's about it. My eye is on Kerr tonight.

db

[Outside]

I don't think I'm over the top on Curry...

I was just pointing out how hes been getting abused by Westbrook, great for the game that this 3 ball era's greatest star, a unanimous MVP for the first time ever is not even best player at his position in the playoffs, good for the game that there are other great players. I'm just calling it the way I see it, he is not a great 2 way player, 1 way yes, they are attacking him defensively, that is a fact, if you watch the games they are really taking it to him.

I do agree with you, his defense is better than Nash's.

I thought it was over the top for two reasons:

-- Everyone, not just Curry, is getting abused by Westbrook the past couple of games. Curry starts on Westbrook, but Thompson is the primary defender on him, and others have their turn. Why put all the blame on Curry?

-- You still claim Curry is a lousy defender, and he's not. You've cherry-picked the worst case of the last two games when the entire Warrior team is performing poorly defensively and turned that into a blanket statement that Curry is a lousy defender. I'm guessing your opinion is also based in part on a popular opinion spread by Curry detractors that he doesn't play defense. Again, that's not true. He was a poor defender when he came into the league, became a capable defender after a few years, and is now a very good defender. He received 13 points in the All Defensive team voting released today, including three first team votes. If you watched him play all the time, and not just in these playoffs, you'd have a greater appreciation for his defense.

Curry often doesn't take the defensive assignment of the other team's best guard, but that's because Klay Thompson (49 points, 16 first-team votes) is an even better defender. That's not a slam on Curry's defensive abilities.

If you want more on Curry's defense, here you go:

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/12648764/how-stephen-curry-developed-top-flight-defender

[bobheckler]

Draymond's brain is melting down.


bob


.

[cowens/oldschool]

I don't think I'm over the top on Curry...

I was just pointing out how hes been getting abused by Westbrook, great for the game that this 3 ball era's greatest star, a unanimous MVP for the first time ever is not even best player at his position in the playoffs, good for the game that there are other great players. I'm just calling it the way I see it, he is not a great 2 way player, 1 way yes, they are attacking him defensively, that is a fact, if you watch the games they are really taking it to him.

I do agree with you, his defense is better than Nash's.

I thought it was over the top for two reasons:

-- Everyone, not just Curry, is getting abused by Westbrook the past couple of games. Curry starts on Westbrook, but Thompson is the primary defender on him, and others have their turn. Why put all the blame on Curry?

-- You still claim Curry is a lousy defender, and he's not. You've cherry-picked the worst case of the last two games when the entire Warrior team is performing poorly defensively and turned that into a blanket statement that Curry is a lousy defender. I'm guessing your opinion is also based in part on a popular opinion spread by Curry detractors that he doesn't play defense. Again, that's not true. He was a poor defender when he came into the league, became a capable defender after a few years, and is now a very good defender. He received 13 points in the All Defensive team voting released today, including three first team votes. If you watched him play all the time, and not just in these playoffs, you'd have a greater appreciation for his defense.

Curry often doesn't take the defensive assignment of the other team's best guard, but that's because Klay Thompson (49 points, 16 first-team votes) is an even better defender. That's not a slam on Curry's defensive abilities.

If you want more on Curry's defense, here you go:

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/12648764/how-stephen-curry-developed-top-flight-defender

you have legit points Outside and I have always enjoyed your posts.

I'm not gonna throw a bunch of stats at you and I realize Curry and Westbrook are not on each other all game, similar to Bird and Magic, however in this series, who has more impact? which player has better stats and intangibles? if they did have to cover each other all game, which player would dominate or win that match up? who could cover the other better and not get abused?

I didn't mean to put all the blame on Curry, but 2 time MVP'S usually never go into match ups on this level where they are at such a physical disadvantage.

[bobheckler]

I don't think I'm over the top on Curry...

I was just pointing out how hes been getting abused by Westbrook, great for the game that this 3 ball era's greatest star, a unanimous MVP for the first time ever is not even best player at his position in the playoffs, good for the game that there are other great players. I'm just calling it the way I see it, he is not a great 2 way player, 1 way yes, they are attacking him defensively, that is a fact, if you watch the games they are really taking it to him.

I do agree with you, his defense is better than Nash's.

I thought it was over the top for two reasons:

-- Everyone, not just Curry, is getting abused by Westbrook the past couple of games. Curry starts on Westbrook, but Thompson is the primary defender on him, and others have their turn. Why put all the blame on Curry?

-- You still claim Curry is a lousy defender, and he's not. You've cherry-picked the worst case of the last two games when the entire Warrior team is performing poorly defensively and turned that into a blanket statement that Curry is a lousy defender. I'm guessing your opinion is also based in part on a popular opinion spread by Curry detractors that he doesn't play defense. Again, that's not true. He was a poor defender when he came into the league, became a capable defender after a few years, and is now a very good defender. He received 13 points in the All Defensive team voting released today, including three first team votes. If you watched him play all the time, and not just in these playoffs, you'd have a greater appreciation for his defense.

Curry often doesn't take the defensive assignment of the other team's best guard, but that's because Klay Thompson (49 points, 16 first-team votes) is an even better defender. That's not a slam on Curry's defensive abilities.

If you want more on Curry's defense, here you go:

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/12648764/how-stephen-curry-developed-top-flight-defender

you have legit points Outside and I have always enjoyed your posts.

I'm not gonna throw a bunch of stats at you and I realize Curry and Westbrook are not on each other all game, similar to Bird and Magic, however in this series, who has more impact? which player has better stats and intangibles? if they did have to cover each other all game, which player would dominate or win that match up? who could cover the other better and not get abused?

I didn't mean to put all the blame on Curry, but 2 time MVP'S usually never go into match ups on this level where they are at such a physical disadvantage.

Cow,

This isn't a physical league anymore. It is a finesse and wussy league, so you need ro draft and trade accordingly.


bob


.

[cowens/oldschool]

I have to give Curry credit, he made 2 huge momentum saving defensive plays tonite.

Durant is not a lights out 3 point shooter, it comes and goes like any good player, hes a silky smooth scorer who dribbles too much at times.

[steve3344]

Too many missed shots by Durant and Westbrook tonight (23 for 59 combined) and too many turnovers for them (10).  Every time OKC got close it seemed like one of those two would either miss a big shot or turn it over.  Should be a war Saturday night.  The biggest miss was a Durant three point attempt with about 35 seconds left that would have cut it to three when the lead had been 11 just twenty seconds earlier.  Making that shot would really have made it interesting.

[cowens/oldschool]

I don't think I'm over the top on Curry...

I was just pointing out how hes been getting abused by Westbrook, great for the game that this 3 ball era's greatest star, a unanimous MVP for the first time ever is not even best player at his position in the playoffs, good for the game that there are other great players. I'm just calling it the way I see it, he is not a great 2 way player, 1 way yes, they are attacking him defensively, that is a fact, if you watch the games they are really taking it to him.

I do agree with you, his defense is better than Nash's.

I thought it was over the top for two reasons:

-- Everyone, not just Curry, is getting abused by Westbrook the past couple of games. Curry starts on Westbrook, but Thompson is the primary defender on him, and others have their turn. Why put all the blame on Curry?

-- You still claim Curry is a lousy defender, and he's not. You've cherry-picked the worst case of the last two games when the entire Warrior team is performing poorly defensively and turned that into a blanket statement that Curry is a lousy defender. I'm guessing your opinion is also based in part on a popular opinion spread by Curry detractors that he doesn't play defense. Again, that's not true. He was a poor defender when he came into the league, became a capable defender after a few years, and is now a very good defender. He received 13 points in the All Defensive team voting released today, including three first team votes. If you watched him play all the time, and not just in these playoffs, you'd have a greater appreciation for his defense.

Curry often doesn't take the defensive assignment of the other team's best guard, but that's because Klay Thompson (49 points, 16 first-team votes) is an even better defender. That's not a slam on Curry's defensive abilities.

If you want more on Curry's defense, here you go:

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/12648764/how-stephen-curry-developed-top-flight-defender

you have legit points Outside and I have always enjoyed your posts.

I'm not gonna throw a bunch of stats at you and I realize Curry and Westbrook are not on each other all game, similar to Bird and Magic, however in this series, who has more impact? which player has better stats and intangibles? if they did have to cover each other all game, which player would dominate or win that match up? who could cover the other better and not get abused?

I didn't mean to put all the blame on Curry, but 2 time MVP'S usually never go into match ups on this level where they are at such a physical disadvantage.

Cow,

This isn't a physical league anymore.  It is a finesse and wussy league, so you need ro draft and trade accordingly.


bob


.

there are still great athletes and physical players, just more 3 point shooting, pnr and pace and space skills then ever before, show me a wus and he can't get playing time at this time of year either....if its all about finesse KO would be getting 38 minutes a game and no one would be abusing him regularly, but everybody does, so must be more physical players on the floor than wussies.

[Outside]

Curry did play much better tonight. He's still not in MVP form offensively -- he's not dialed in on threes, and he missed too many shots at the rim that he normally makes. But he was really good defensively.

Cow, you're right that Westbrook has a physical advantage, but again, who does he not have that advantage against? He's an incredible athlete, and he plays with such aggression and such a great motor.

Curry is a different type of animal. When he's on, he distorts the defense so dramatically that he makes the game easier for everyone else, and when he's on from deep, he can demoralize the opponent. He did it so often during the regular season that it's surprising he hasn't done it during the playoffs, but I suppose that's the way it goes coming back from injury. He had the one great game in his comeback game against Portland, but that tricked us (and maybe him, too) into thinking he could step back into MVP mode, but other than a short burst in a few games, it hasn't been there. My guess is that they don't win game 6 unless he has that type of game.

Saw an interesting stat -- according to ESPN Stats and Information, Westbrook is 8 for 25 in the series with seven turnovers when Curry is his primary defender. Not sure how they decide who is the primary defender when they do so much switching (I assume it's who's on him when he takes a shot), but that's better for Curry than I thought it would be.

Game 5 was a good win. Game 6 will be tougher.

[bobheckler]

This should have been a "statement win" after the two blow outs in OKC.  Credit to OKC for fighting to the very last second like they were the ones about to be closed out.  GSW played like they were hanging on for dear life.

Barnes turned down a $17M/year contract?  Fool.

Steven Adams was out on top helping to guard Curry.  That's a modern day center.  He is very limited offensively but he is a versatile defender who can defend multiple positions, as we saw last night and in OKC.  The days of a center just hanging under the basket and waiting for players to come to him are gone.  A center like Bill Russell would work in this NBA, same with Parish.  They both could run, both had quick feet.  Wes Unseld?  Maybe not.  I loved Big Wes, a rugged rebounder and one of the best outlet passing centers ever, but he would be a dinosaur in this game due to his lack of mobility.  He'd be Sully, without the offense, and Sully isn't a starting NBA center in today's NBA.


bob


.

[worcester]

Outside, such a cogent an interesting analysis. One point often overlooked about GSW is the team has the best trainers in the NBA, with superb nutritionists and others who fine tune the Warriors both physically and mentally.

[cowens/oldschool]

Curry did play much better tonight. He's still not in MVP form offensively -- he's not dialed in on threes, and he missed too many shots at the rim that he normally makes. But he was really good defensively.

Cow, you're right that Westbrook has a physical advantage, but again, who does he not have that advantage against? He's an incredible athlete, and he plays with such aggression and such a great motor.

Curry is a different type of animal. When he's on, he distorts the defense so dramatically that he makes the game easier for everyone else, and when he's on from deep, he can demoralize the opponent. He did it so often during the regular season that it's surprising he hasn't done it during the playoffs, but I suppose that's the way it goes coming back from injury. He had the one great game in his comeback game against Portland, but that tricked us (and maybe him, too) into thinking he could step back into MVP mode, but other than a short burst in a few games, it hasn't been there. My guess is that they don't win game 6 unless he has that type of game.

Saw an interesting stat -- according to ESPN Stats and Information, Westbrook is 8 for 25 in the series with seven turnovers when Curry is his primary defender. Not sure how they decide who is the primary defender when they do so much switching (I assume it's who's on him when he takes a shot), but that's better for Curry than I thought it would be.

Game 5 was a good win. Game 6 will be tougher.

he doesn't have that physical advantage against Marcus Smart

[Outside]

he doesn't have that physical advantage against Marcus Smart

You don't think so? Strength, no, but Westbrook has the advantage in speed, quickness, agility, and leaping ability. Plus he has an indomitable mindset.

He and KD are catching flak for dissing Curry's defense in the post-game interviews, but in the midst of a series, I wouldn't expect anything different. Of course Westbrook is going to scoff at the notion that anyone can play good defense against him. That's just how he's built, and he doesn't need to apologize for that. He's Angry Russ, he's going to take your lunch money, and there's nothing you can do to stop it. That's an indomitable mindset.

[cowens/oldschool]

I actually think Marcus can defend him better than most IMHO, Marcus is quite athletic himself, can still stay on him doggedly better than most.

[swish]

I actually think Marcus can defend him better than most IMHO, Marcus is quite athletic himself, can still stay on him doggedly better than most.

  http://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/h2h_finder.cgi?request=1&p1=westbru01&p2=smartma01

  Not sure just how much of the time was actually head to head - but here are the numbers for the team match ups.


  swish

[cowens/oldschool]

I actually think Marcus can defend him better than most IMHO, Marcus is quite athletic himself, can still stay on him doggedly better than most.

  http://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/h2h_finder.cgi?request=1&p1=westbru01&p2=smartma01

  Not sure just how much of the time was actually head to head - but here are the numbers for the team match ups.


  swish

I agree with you its hard to go just by stats, some plays there is help and while if I was coaching I would put Marcus on him as much as possible, but we also have another prime time defender in Avery Bradley, and you know he had to be pressing on him as well.....so with it being hard to gauge with just stats, 2 numbers popped out to me, one was Westbrooks FG% which was very low around 33%, so Smart has to get some credit and AB as well. Good to know the stats back up my eye test that these guys are dynamic defenders. The other stat that I noticed was Marcus's rebounding avg of 8 in 3 games, very good for a guard. I know Westbrook can be a hell of a rebounder, but so can Smart as we've seen some great offensive board work from Smart that is constant, the way he works and battles and were still just scratching the surface with Smart as he has alot more potential that can be drawn. I love Smarts physical style and look forward to many more match ups with Westbrook.

[dbrown4]

And Outside, I found what I was looking for out of Kerr last night. He went to that fuzzy zone defense several times that effed up OKC just enough mess with their minds and help GSW win and OKC lose. That's championship coaching!

But you are right. That was the 1st Game 7. Tomorrow will be the hardest of the 3-Game Game 7's. They win that and OKC is scrambling and desperate.

With these blow outs, neither team is that much better or the other that much worse or vice versa. This series should have played out about 7 times like last nights game. Teams are equally matched. But when one team is very on and the other is very off, that's what you will get and it has been for the most part that type of series.

db

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