Re: 2016 Playoff Thread

by **dbrown4** Sat May 28, 2016 6:11 am

Here's what I never understand about basketball at this level. Why was just that little move by Kerr on the defense just enough to tip the scales. I know you have to qualify it with the "other things equal" but really basketball just like other sports is a game of inches and a lot like life. One small move can make a huge difference. In this case, between winning and losing.

In series play, I can understand why the winning coach or the coach winning the last game will go into the next game and try the same thing thinking it will produce the same result. Enter "other things equal". They already know the losing coach has made the assumed "adjustments" to counter. I know it looks a lot like a chess or boxing match and that's why my fat ass keeps turning the games on every night! To see what changes have been made to counter. One of the best media slogans NBA ever came up with...I LOVE THIS GAME!!

db

by **cowens/oldschool** Sat May 28, 2016 11:21 am

Have to give Lebron credit, he is a great frontrunner, got his team off to an epic start with 21 points in first half, finishing with 33 in series clinching win. Reminded me of game 6 in 12 when he went off for 45 against us and was just unstoppable that first half.

On another note love those Toronto fans, seeing clips of 10,000 of them outdoors cheering watching the game is some great outdoor party!!! If the C's ever play them in a playoff series, I'm definitely crashing that venue.

by **Outside** Sat May 28, 2016 12:23 pm

Dbrown, when you refer to "that little move by Kerr," I assume you're referring to the zone the Warriors used on a few possessions. I liked the move, but I don't think that was the difference between getting blown out in OKC and winning in Oakland.

The biggest difference was that the Warriors' offensive execution was much better, leading to more points for them (duh) but also far fewer fast breaks and early offense opportunities for OKC. There were so many possessions in OKC where the Warriors would clank a shot or turn the ball over and then OKC would be off to the races. The Warriors cut that down drastically in game 5.

Another key is that the role players who played over their heads in games 3 and 4 came back to earth in game 5. Roberson averaged 15.0 in games 3 and 4 but had only six in game 5. Waiters averaged 11.5 in games 3 and 4 but had zero in game 5. Steven Adams, a 58% free throw shooter on 2.5 attempts during the season, shot 78.6% on seven attempts per game in OKC but was 0 for 1 in game 5.

I did like the zone move. It presents a different look to keep the Thunder off-balance a bit. It's not something you can do a lot, and it may be a one-time thing that won't work now that OKC is prepared for it, but they may still try it. It makes it easier for the Warriors to create a wall to prevent Westbrook's drives, which is a big plus, but it leaves shooters open for threes.

We'll see how tonight goes. The Warriors played better in game 5, but I'd love to see Curry and Thompson actually shoot well instead of just okay, and I'd love to see Andre Iguodala, Harrison Barnes, and Draymond Green play like they can play. If the Warriors play at their best, no one can beat them, but so far, OKC has imposed their will to keep them from playing that way. Tonight's the game. We'll see if OKC can handle the moment.

by **dbrown4** Sat May 28, 2016 7:54 pm

Outside,

It's all hands on deck tonight. What does your gut say? Just curious. I myself have no idea. I'd love to see the greatest modern day comeback of all time, but I just don't know. I don't want to see another OKC blowout either. I do want to see the look on Westbrook's face when he has to face the press answering questions after a huge tanking, turnover-fest.

I can assure you if GSW wins tonight, GSW probably blows them out in Game 7. I really want to write this script. And then a GSW sweep in the Finals!!

db

by **cowens/oldschool** Sat May 28, 2016 9:46 pm

Take that Draymond!! what a dunk by Adams right in Green's face....should have kicked him in the balls while he was up there.

by **cowens/oldschool** Sat May 28, 2016 11:25 pm

5 point game, Warriors gamely fighting for their life, don't know why Thunder took out Kantor, he was killing them, and they need scoring from someone other than Durant and Westbrook.

by **bobheckler** Sat May 28, 2016 11:36 pm

Klay Thompson en fuego.

by **cowens/oldschool** Sat May 28, 2016 11:38 pm

What a collapse!!!

by **bobheckler** Sat May 28, 2016 11:43 pm

14-30, 11-18 from 3 for Thompson. 41 points.

by **bobc33** Sat May 28, 2016 11:44 pm

OKC has to be completely deflated. Going to be tough for them to win game 7 on the road.

Watching Curry and Thompson shoot threes when they are on is surreal!

by **dboss** Sat May 28, 2016 11:45 pm

C-H-O-K-E

Dboss

by **cowens/oldschool** Sat May 28, 2016 11:46 pm

Billy Donovan is terrible coach, you give Waiters 35 minutes and he went 1-5 and Kantor was killing them, was 4-5 and you give him 10 minutes? No strategy in 4th, Durant is no superstar one turnover after another in the 4th and hes had no 3 point stoke this whole playoff.

by **cowens/oldschool** Sat May 28, 2016 11:50 pm

We need Buddy Hield

by **bobc33** Sat May 28, 2016 11:55 pm

Amazing how they both hit threes and they are not even close to being square to the basket.

by **cowens/oldschool** Sun May 29, 2016 12:04 am

bobc33 wrote:Amazing how they both hit threes and they are not even close to being square to the basket.

Kenny Smith just said these are the 2 best 3 point shooters hes ever seen and they play for the same team.

by **bobc33** Sun May 29, 2016 12:35 am

cowens/oldschool wrote:
bobc33 wrote:Amazing how they both hit threes and they are not even close to being square to the basket.

Kenny Smith just said these are the 2 best 3 point shooters hes ever seen and they play for the same team.

And in their prime!

by **steve3344** Sun May 29, 2016 3:57 am

Watched the game tonight with great interest while not really caring who won. Gun to my head I'd like to see OKC win but I really don't want Lebron to win another title and the Thunder have absolutely no one to guard him. Plus Cleveland would have home court advantage in that series. GS has Draymond Green and Igoudala to guard Lebron, plus they would have home court, so I'm a bit torn on who to root for in Game 7. It would be better for Cleveland to have to face GS but I find it hard to root for them with Green being such a dirty player. And if OKC does the complete choke and coughs up this series after being ahead 3-1 it opens the door slightly for us to sign Durant. They go to the Finals and odds are he's staying with the Thunder.

That being said there were some fascinating (horrifying if you're a passionate OKC fan) things about tonight's game. Most glaring is their epic collapse, being outscored 19-5 in the last five minutes, going from leading by seven at 96-89, to losing by seven 108-101. Hard to believe that could happen to a team that has two all-world talents like Durant and Westbrook, but those guys are the ultimate wild cards. They can stink up the joint at a moment's notice and make bonehead play after bonehead play. How about turnovers on their last four possessions, five turnovers in their last six possessions and six in the last eight? Yikes.

How about only four assists in the entire second half for the whole team and NO ASSISTS in the fourth quarter for OKC? How about after Durant and Westbrook shot a combined ugly 23 for 59 in Game 5, they do it AGAIN tonight and shoot a dismal 20 for 58! And 1 for 13 on threes! In two historic close-out games where they could put away a team that won 73 games this season and stamp for all-time this season as one to remember for their franchise, their two superstars shoot a ridiculous 43 for 117 - an abominable 36.7%. And with EIGHTEEN turnovers between them. Ten in Game 5, eight tonight. Westbrook had zero turnovers in the first half tonight, but FIVE in the second half.

Durant and Westbrook weren't the only culprits tonight. Dion Waiters should've stayed home. In 36 invisible minutes he was 1 for 5, three points, one assist. Ran up and down the court for THIRTY-SIX minutes and did nothing. Games like this are why he's never been viewed as a someone you could count on. Too many stinkers for the occasional great game from him. Sorta like Jeff Green. Brilliant occasionally, but maddeningly horrible too often.

After coaching brilliantly for most of these playoffs, Billy Donovan made a bonehead mistake tonight. While it was a good idea to foul Bogut with 1:53 left in the first half, he had Roberson commit it. Since the Thunder were at the foul line four seconds earlier, he could have inserted an unimportant player to foul Bogut then gotten him right back out. Granted it was Roberson's first foul of the night but he got called for another foul two possessions later and two more fouls in the opening minutes of the third quarter causing him to have to sit for major portions of the second half. Roberson played 29 minutes tonight after averaging 37 minutes in the previous two games.

But the most glaring difference between the two teams tonight was in three point shooting. GS made a ridiculous 21 of 44 (48%) while OKC was a brutal 3 for 23 - 13%. That's right - 21 threes made for GS, 3 threes made for OKC. It's amazing OKC almost won the game. They should've lost by 30. They might do that in Game 7.

Psychologically I think OKC is shattered. I'll be amazed if they're competitive on Monday. Will be an even more fascinating game. Cavs are loving it, getting to sit on their couches and eat popcorn while OKC and GS slug it out one more time.

by **steve3344** Sun May 29, 2016 6:10 am

https://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-dont-lie/klay--curry-save-warriors-season-and-stun-thunder-to-force-game-7-044020516.html

Read this line, "Klay Thompson's 41 pts are the most in a road game when facing elimination since LeBron had 45 pts in Game 6 of 2012 Conf Finals at Boston" and got angry all over again.

by **RosalieTCeltics** Sun May 29, 2016 7:36 am

Listening to Barkley and Smith, you would think that Durant blew this one for OKC.

I have to say OKC has always been the club I rooted for other than the Celtics, but watching Thompson and Curry work in the final minutes of the game makes you think they were meant to be in the finals. God knows that is what the league officials want. A rematch. and this time LBJ has a real shot at winning it all if they continue to play the way they have since the playoffs started.

I will say, after a while, even I got ticked off at watching Durant trying to for shooting so much, but who knows, his coach may have wanted that. Law of averages said they would really start falling.

BobH must be loving this series!

Rosalie

by **dbrown4** Sun May 29, 2016 8:17 am

Good stuff steve3344. Here's what I'm seeing and I didn't see the game last night. I love it when the media tries to push a story on you. In this case it has been the perfect timing by OKC to have a pretty good regular season, but somehow flip a switch and turn it on in the playoffs and become a super team.

In the short run, possibly. But the core of your team, who you are, is ALWAYS there. And in your post, you hit it on the head about OKC. Now, I'm not counting chickens here, but OKC is about to implode because of this erratic behavior on the court. Notice how the media up until now pushed aside the erratic performances.

Billy Donovan is a very good coach, but he's a college coach on the edge of stepping onto the biggest stage of his life. NCAA Championships aside, an NBA Championship, while similar, is a whole different ballgame from a coaching perspective. Light years of difference.

I know, we have a college coach. But guess what? We're not anticipating/expecting a World Championship from him his first or second year out of the gate. If GSW wins it tomorrow, it's the beginning of the end for OKC as it currently stands. Something below the surface is brewing. Can't put my finger on it, but the warts are beginning to show at the core of OKC. You just can't change your stripes because it's playoff time.

Now some will say, well the tide has shifted. GSW looked down and out three games ago. Now it's OKC's turn to change direction. And you're right. But now it's a Game 7 in Oakland.

Now as for LeBron and the boys, they've got warts and the 50 year monkey on their backs. Kevin Love is their biggest mystery. But CLE brought that all on themselves by the way they played him all season. And that's not going away just because they rolled through a weak EC during the season and in the playoffs.

The only thing that would have made this WCF any better is if the games had been as close as the Miami v. Atlanta series....or Toronto, whichever. The one with all the OT's. That's how this series should have been. And it has shown that in the last two games as it has taken that long to get these two teams to settle down and be themselves.

Steve Kerr and Co. have the best chance to win it all. Coaching. Man vs. Babe. Double Check. Scoring. Check. Championship history. Check. Match ups except Lebron. Been there seen that. Second verse same as the first. Check. Bench. Check.

Again, not counting chickens, but if OKC makes it, while just a step down because of the erratic factor, they canstill ram it down CLE's throat as well just like they've done to GSW.

OKC, however, isn't any more devastated than GSW was three games ago after losing two straight for the first time. But their fuse is REAL short. They just didn't leave themselves any wiggle room like GSW had to get themselves out of their mess. It's one game for it all and OKC ain't at home for their great crowd support. Gotta love it.

db

by **beat** Sun May 29, 2016 8:41 am

Seems to me you are only as good as your last game. Send many here wrote OKC off before the series started. Then GS had no chance. Now OKC again has no chance and Donovan is a less than good coach.

If the ball is falling more than it is for the other team you stand a pretty good chance.

beat

by **cowens/oldschool** Sun May 29, 2016 9:34 am

RosalieTCeltics wrote:Listening to Barkley and Smith, you would think that Durant blew this one for OKC.

I have to say OKC has always been the club I rooted for other than the Celtics, but watching Thompson and Curry work in the final minutes of the game makes you think they were meant to be in the finals. God knows that is what the league officials want. A rematch. and this time LBJ has a real shot at winning it all if they continue to play the way they have since the playoffs started.

I will say, after a while, even I got ticked off at watching Durant trying to for shooting so much, but who knows, his coach may have wanted that. Law of averages said they would really start falling.

BobH must be loving this series!

Rosalie

Durant did blow this series, his shooting% is terrible and Igoudala is pressing on him and hes a turnover machine, he is vulnerable on his drives, Curry stripped him in game 5 a few times....I think Westbrook and Durant are spent and tired, the schedule of a game every other day is too much for them and they collapsed in the 4th and as Steve pointed out the last 5 minutes of the game. Durant is a very good player, but not a superstar. Superstars lead their team and close out games in last minutes of 4th, thats what we've seen throughout the history of the game in playoff basketball, in 2 huge games for his franchise, hes come up lame. Epic collapse.

by **bobheckler** Sun May 29, 2016 12:16 pm

RosalieTCeltics wrote:Listening to Barkley and Smith, you would think that Durant blew this one for OKC.

I have to say OKC has always been the club I rooted for other than the Celtics, but watching Thompson and Curry work in the final minutes of the game makes you think they were meant to be in the finals. God knows that is what the league officials want. A rematch. and this time LBJ has a real shot at winning it all if they continue to play the way they have since the playoffs started.

I will say, after a while, even I got ticked off at watching Durant trying to for shooting so much, but who knows, his coach may have wanted that. Law of averages said they would really start falling.

BobH must be loving this series!

Rosalie

Rosalie,

Being in a bar with the currently bi-polar Warrior fans can be tough. I'd be that too except that I have the good fortune of being a Celtic fan first and Warrior fan second, so I have some emotional distance between myself and the games.

bob

.

by **bobheckler** Sun May 29, 2016 12:25 pm

43 minutes for Draymond Green, who has really struggled in this series. 3 steals to go with his 12 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists. Only Curry had more assists, with 9.

35 total minutes for GSW centers (Bogut, Varajao, Ezeli, Speights). GSW small ball.

Barnes is not worth max money. Period.

GSW 41.4% from the field, 47.7% from 3. So they shot MUCH worse from 2 than 3.

Durant and Westbrook combined were 20-58, 34.5%. 90 fgas by OKC, 64.4% of them by the two guys shooting 34.5%.

bob

.

by **cowens/oldschool** Sun May 29, 2016 8:24 pm

steve3344 wrote:Watched the game tonight with great interest while not really caring who won. Gun to my head I'd like to see OKC win but I really don't want Lebron to win another title and the Thunder have absolutely no one to guard him. Plus Cleveland would have home court advantage in that series. GS has Draymond Green and Igoudala to guard Lebron, plus they would have home court, so I'm a bit torn on who to root for in Game 7. It would be better for Cleveland to have to face GS but I find it hard to root for them with Green being such a dirty player. And if OKC does the complete choke and coughs up this series after being ahead 3-1 it opens the door slightly for us to sign Durant. They go to the Finals and odds are he's staying with the Thunder.

That being said there were some fascinating (horrifying if you're a passionate OKC fan) things about tonight's game. Most glaring is their epic collapse, being outscored 19-5 in the last five minutes, going from leading by seven at 96-89, to losing by seven 108-101. Hard to believe that could happen to a team that has two all-world talents like Durant and Westbrook, but those guys are the ultimate wild cards. They can stink up the joint at a moment's notice and make bonehead play after bonehead play. How about turnovers on their last four possessions, five turnovers in their last six possessions and six in the last eight? Yikes.

How about only four assists in the entire second half for the whole team and NO ASSISTS in the fourth quarter for OKC? How about after Durant and Westbrook shot a combined ugly 23 for 59 in Game 5, they do it AGAIN tonight and shoot a dismal 20 for 58! And 1 for 13 on threes! In two historic close-out games where they could put away a team that won 73 games this season and stamp for all-time this season as one to remember for their franchise, their two superstars shoot a ridiculous 43 for 117 - an abominable 36.7%. And with EIGHTEEN turnovers between them. Ten in Game 5, eight tonight. Westbrook had zero turnovers in the first half tonight, but FIVE in the second half.

Durant and Westbrook weren't the only culprits tonight. Dion Waiters should've stayed home. In 36 invisible minutes he was 1 for 5, three points, one assist. Ran up and down the court for THIRTY-SIX minutes and did nothing. Games like this are why he's never been viewed as a someone you could count on. Too many stinkers for the occasional great game from him. Sorta like Jeff Green. Brilliant occasionally, but maddeningly horrible too often.

After coaching brilliantly for most of these playoffs, Billy Donovan made a bonehead mistake tonight. While it was a good idea to foul Bogut with 1:53 left in the first half, he had Roberson commit it. Since the Thunder were at the foul line four seconds earlier, he could have inserted an unimportant player to foul Bogut then gotten him right back out. Granted it was Roberson's first foul of the night but he got called for another foul two possessions later and two more fouls in the opening minutes of the third quarter causing him to have to sit for major portions of the second half. Roberson played 29 minutes tonight after averaging 37 minutes in the previous two games.

But the most glaring difference between the two teams tonight was in three point shooting. GS made a ridiculous 21 of 44 (48%) while OKC was a brutal 3 for 23 - 13%. That's right - 21 threes made for GS, 3 threes made for OKC. It's amazing OKC almost won the game. They should've lost by 30. They might do that in Game 7.

Psychologically I think OKC is shattered. I'll be amazed if they're competitive on Monday. Will be an even more fascinating game. Cavs are loving it, getting to sit on their couches and eat popcorn while OKC and GS slug it out one more time.

I can't believe they only got Durant for 3 turnovers, he got the ball stolen off him at least 3 times, plus those terrible passes in crunch time that were also turnovers....also I thought he had unlimited range, he can't hit a 3 to save his life, everytime he puts one up, clank, what happened to his 3 point stroke?

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