To prepare for the Thunder’s second round matchup with the Grizzlies “The Face” talks to Chip Crain, ESPN TrueHoop blogger from 3 Shades of Blue. We discuss:
The Grizzlies perfect round 1 matchup against the Spurs
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
They were gone. They were history. They were no longer part of the equation.
But now, they’re back.
Expectation. Pressure. Stress.
After the Thunder wiped their hands clean of the Nuggets, in terms of just taking another step, it was mission accomplished. Winning a playoff series meant this season could be seen as nothing but a complete success. Oklahoma City had progressed a little more. There was another jump in the development towards becoming a champions. The 55 wins and a division title were great and all, but with homecourt, winning a series was the expectation. Anything less would lead to a wave of disappointment.
And it all went according to plan. Of course there always was the hope for more before the postseason started, but I don’t think anyone would be upset with a second-round dismissal at the hands of the top-seeded Spurs.
But then a funny thing happened. The Grizzlies won. And as a result, all that stuff is going to come back.
The majority is already picking the Thunder. OKC is the favorite. Vegas says so, all the people that type and talk for a living say so. The Thunder have homecourt, have Kevin Durant and should have an edge. The nerves, they’re back again. Read more…
Good Saturday second rounders. Thank you for your support of Daily Thunder. Grizzlies huh?
The Thunder’s five-game series win over the Nuggets was really, really special. The first playoff series win in Oklahoma City history and it featured a number of memorable moments and plays. But it’s over now. It’s done. Now the Thunder have their next opponent and things are about to get real again. Soak up the taste of victory one last time and after that, I better not catch any of you watching this again. It’s time to move on and focus on that team from Memphis.
The Grizzlies defeated the Spurs in six games setting up a second round matchup with the Thunder. Memphis of course is the eight-seed so Oklahoma City will have homecourt advantage. Here’s the schedule for the series. (All times Central)
Game 1 — Sunday, May 1: Memphis at Oklahoma City, 12:00 p.m. (ABC)
Game 2 — Tuesday, May 3: Memphis at Oklahoma City, 8:30 p.m. (TNT)
Game 3 — Saturday, May 7: Oklahoma City at Memphis, 4:00 p.m. (ESPN)
Game 4 — Monday, May 9: Oklahoma City at Memphis, 8:30 p.m. (TNT)
Game 5 — Wednesday, May 11: Memphis at Oklahoma City, TBD (TNT)*
Game 6 — Friday, May 13: Oklahoma City at Memphis, TBD (ESPN)*
Game 7 — Sunday, May 15: Memphis at Oklahoma City, TBD (TBD)*
As the Spurs and Grizzlies get set for a big Game 6 in Memphis tonight, Thunder fans will be watching with a little different perspective. One of these two teams will be the next opponent.
That was obviously true before and we were all thinking about that when Oklahoma City went up 3-0, but now it’s an official question. Who should the Thunder be rooting for? It’s a pretty important question because if OKC was to win this series, it would be in the Western Conference Finals. That… just blows my mind to think about.
Here’s my snap take: I think the Thunder matches up better with the Spurs. I really do. Yes, OKC went 0-3 against them with only one game being close, but the Thunder’s speed, athleticism and size inside could really frustrate San Antonio. You know, much like the Grizzlies. And of course those three games came with the Old Thunder, not the New Thunder. Big, big difference. No doubt the Spurs are a great team. They didn’t accidentally win 61 games. They’re championship tested. But in terms of straight matchups, I’d prefer the Spurs. Read more…
League owners ask, “Where have you gone Che Guevera?”
(If you missed any of the previous installments in this series, click here.)
Throughout this series, there has been a common theme. When it comes to the Collective Bargaining Agreement discussions, the owners have the advantage. Thanks to the NFL Players Association, though, the court may have just been leveled.
In order for the union to beat the owners in the NFL’s battle, they ceased existence. The fancy term is “decertification,” but what it really means is that the players are no longer a collective unit. As such, they cannot collectively bargain anything. To which most people, if they are anything like me, would initially think, “Doesn’t that mean the owners won?”
If this were thunderdome, that would be the case. Two entities went into the ring of collective bargaining, and only one entity exited. In this case, however, death becomes the union. Read more…
Rob Mahoney of HP with a terrific defense of Russell Westbrook: “However, if we look at all of the lineups that played more than 25 minutes this season featuring Westbrook and Durant without Green, we see a completely different result. 10 different lineup combinations that fit that criteria totaled 921.6 minutes of playing time over the course of the regular season, and with Green out of the mix, those lineups were collectively 7.8 points better per 100 possessions than their opponents. In contrast to the old starters, the new starting lineup is doing quite well; the Westbrook – Sefolosha – Durant – Serge Ibaka – Kendrick Perkins lineup was 5.8 points better than their opponents per 100 possessions in 271.4 regular season minutes.”
John Hollinger writing on breakout players in the postseason: “While Wednesday night wasn’t a great showcase of Ibaka’s offensive skills — he had five turnovers despite hardly touching the ball — the series as a whole was a spectacular display of his talents. “I-block-a” sent back an estimated 12.4 percent of the 2-point attempts by the Nuggets in the series, according to Basketball-Reference.com, turning aside 24 shots in five games. None were bigger than his two at-the-basket denials when the Nuggets led by nine with fewer than four minutes left on Wednesday. Take those away, and it’s game over; no amount of Durant heroics would have mattered.” Read more…
If Kevin Durant’s blitz at the end of the fourth quarter Wednesday doesn’t finish as his signature moment of the 2011 playoffs, then may God have mercy on the Western Conference and my distressed vital organs.
There used to be a few candidates for the moment when KD stamped himself as a superstar in the NBA. There was no definitive answer. Winning his first league scoring title, leading the “B Team” to a World Championship, starting the All Star Game — all could be argued. But that debate ended Wednesday. NBA superstars make their names in the playoffs, and KD just made his. Scoring nine points in the final 3:24 of the series-clinching win over the Nuggets, along with a key block, is his moment.
For now, at least. The second round awaits, and Wednesday night was the kind that leaves you wanting more. And I’ll bet Durant feels the same way. Read more…
Some 12 hours later, I’m still stunned. I feel like we just watched a performance for the ages. Kevin Durant has always been amazing and he’s done this sort of thing before in regular season games, but in that moment last night with his team up against a wall, he came to the rescue.
Again, if you forgot: Durant had 16 of the Thunder’s final 20, including nine in the last two minutes. The pull-up 3. The and-1. The pretty step-back jumper over Afflalo. All so, so good. None bigger or better than his backdoor cut on Wilson Chandler and jumper over Nene with 15 seconds left. And then of course for good measure, he blocked J.R. Smith’s attempt on the other end. Amazing.
(One thing I didn’t mention last night but deserves to be: How about that timeout by Scott Brooks to even give the Thunder that opportunity? The team was a complete mess with the shot clock winding down. Russell Westbrook nearly threw the ball away, James Harden was trapped and a horrible shot was about to happen. But Brooks kept his head and called a terrific timeout. That’s what even gave Durant a chance to close it. And this block from Serge Ibaka which was entirely ridiculous.)
One question though: Who’s team is it KD? Oh that’s right. It’s his mother$%#@#% team.
John Hollinger of ESPN.com: “Durant’s 19-foot shot over Nene was the finishing touch on an amazing closing stretch, one that saved Oklahoma City’s bacon on a night when the rest of the team couldn’t find the basket with a GPS and a team of sherpas. Not only did Durant score 41 points on 27 shots, he did it without a single turnover. Compare that to his teammates: They were 16-of-55 from the floor (29.1 percent) and had 14 turnovers. Apologies for boring with you math, but the difference between Durant and his teammates on this night is startling once your break it down. The Thunder scored 59 points on the 84 “micro” possessions that weren’t used by Durant, and 41 on the 32 he did use. That’s 0.70 on the non-Durant plays and 1.28 on the Durant plays.”
Kurt Helin of PBT: “Is there a more fun team to watch play than the Oklahoma City Thunder? They are pure passion on a basketball court. It was true again Wednesday night as this game had everything a basketball fan (especially an Oklahoma City one) could want — a come from behind win (they were down 9 at the three minutes left), big shots from Russell Westbrook and James Harden, and bigger ones from Kevin Durant (he finished with 41). Durant helped the Thunder take the lead on running floater across the lane — how do you defend a floater that a 6’9” player releases with his arm over his head? But in the end, it was Serge Ibaka that won this game.” Read more…
We just watched one of those games where you’ll be talking to a friend in 25 years and say, “Man, how about that Game 5 against Denver where Durant went off for 41?” We just watched a real moment. We just watched the type of thing that you can only hope happens to your team. It’s the type of thing we all dreamed about when this team moved here three years ago.
The Thunder were down nine with a little more than three minutes left. It felt like Game 4 all over again. The team was out of sync the entire night offensively and was only hanging on because of the free throw line. The Nuggets offense was clicking along. They were hitting shots. They had the Thunder wobbled, stunned and hanging on to the ropes. This series was about to be packed up and shipped back to Denver for a Game 6. And things were about to get really scary. Read more…
The best way I think I could sum up the Thunder fanbase’s feelings right now heading into Game 5 would be a queasy confidence. Up 3-1 coming back home, that feels good. But any time you lose in the postseason, everything is amplified. Notably, the performance of Russell Westbrook and the consequences that came after. Read more…
1. The Thunder is the better team. If anyone would like to argue that point, the prosecution presents five wins in six games as State’s Exhibit A. The prosecution rests.
2. OKC is one boxout, and one Russell Westbrook desperation jumper that hit the rim, from being unbeaten at home in the playoffs. I don’t know if that record will survive this postseason, but it will survive this series.
3. Kendrick Perkins is probably super pissed right now. Westbrook too.
4. Nene’s hairstyle is not postseason material. He looks like a Cabbage Patch Kid.
5. Tattoos, or at least getting them here or working here as a tattoo artist, was illegal in Oklahoma so recently that there has to be some carry-over effect. Bad karma for Denver in OKC. Especially Chris Andersen, who prompted my brother’s basketball-novice girlfriend to blurt out, “Whoa. Eewww. What the hell is that all about? That’s gross. What’s his problem? Why does that guy do that?” Read more…
Ben Hochman of the Denver Post wondering how Russ will respond: “Now, Westbrook is a competitor and an angry, fiery dude on the court. He also feeds off the home crowd, as we saw in the first two games, notably the opener, when he poured in 31 points (on 23 shots). So it will be fascinating to watch how the Nuggets defend him in Game 5 on Wednesday, be it with Arron Afflalo, Ty Lawson, double-teams, etc.”
Beckley Mason trying to decipher why Rose and Westbrook are treated differently: “At the end of games, Rose does an excellent job of controlling tempo and makes very mature pass/shoot decisions. It helps that his go to move is going to the rim, but he’s made a number of nice kick-outs, notably to Kyle Korver, for big, late shots. Part of the reason this works so well is because everyone in the gym, on both teams, knows that Rose wants to penetrate. Korver knows where to be. If Westbrook breaks off a play for Durant because KD gets muscled off his cut, it’s less likely that his Thunder teammates will be perfectly positioned to take advantage of Westbrook’s improvisation.” Read more…
You probably woke up this morning still thinking about last night’s game. (Maybe that’s because by the time it ended, your alarm was just a few hours from going off.) You probably woke up thinking about wasted possessions, silly jumpers, stupid turnovers and little ball movement.
In other words, you probably woke up thinking about Russell Westbrook.
Like I said last night, yes, Westbrook was not good. Too many shots, too much forcing, too little trust. He tried to take the weight of the game and put it on his back. It’s an admirable thing for a player to possess that kind of fortitude, but a line always has to be drawn there. Especially when you’ve got this guy named Kevin Durant on the floor with you.
Everyone was talking about Westbrook’s game, his 30 shots and how he hogged in crunch time. So I looked at the Thunder’s last 15 possessions last night, spanning back to about five minutes left. At the time, Oklahoma City trailed 89-83. Let’s rewind. Read more…
To prepare for the Thunder’s second round matchup with the Grizzlies “The Face” talks to Chip Crain, ESPN TrueHoop blogger from 3 Shades of Blue. We discuss:
