Russell Westbrook after Game 2: “”When we’re winning, I’m good,” he said. I’m just sitting there waiting to get my name called. We was winning, man. You all want to ask the same question and I’m going to give you all the same answer – ‘We was winning.’”
Marc Stein of ESPN.com: “It’s a call you never expected Brooks to be making just two games removed from a Westbrook triple-double in OKC’s Game 7 win at home over Memphis, but here we are again. Wondering whether Westbrook — offensive rebounder extraordinaire — can rise up from underneath that microscope with anywhere near the flair he bounced back against the Grizzlies. “One thing about Russ is that he always bounces back,” Perkins said. “Him not playing in the fourth quarter, I’m sure he’ll use that as more of a motivation thing. It’ll just be scary to see him come out after tonight.” Meaning scary good.” Read more…
The Thunder pulled out an incredibly gutsy, hard-fought Game 2 to even the series 1-1 with a 106-100 win. But more than likely, there’s going to be more talk about how the Thunder won the game than actually that they won the game.
Scott Brooks is the main reason the word “gutsy” is in that lede. Brooks made what I’m sure was an extremely difficult decision to go with his bench the entire fourth quarter. Russell Westbrook — who was very good the first three quarters — didn’t play a second. It was Eric Maynor’s team to run. In fact, only one starter played the bulk of the fourth and it was Kevin Durant. (Thabo and Serge Ibaka played the closing minutes.)
I’ve already heard people saying Westbrook was pouting, furious or a lot of other negative things about his “benching.” I’ve heard people speculating that Brooks wanted to teach him a lesson. But that’s not at all what this was about. This was about the five players on the floor and how well they were playing. This was about going with what was going to win you a game. Russell Westbrook isn’t stupid. The Thunder won the game and that’s what matters. He understands that. I’m sure he’s going to be a little upset. I’m sure he’s offended he didn’t come in. But the win is what matters and he gets that. Read more…
25-6. Just keep repeating those numbers. That’s the Thunder’s record in bounce back games this season, including the playoffs. In fact, any game the Thunder have lost in the postseason, they followed with a win. It’s been 47 days since Oklahoma City has dropped back-to-back games. Read more…
Lovely work from Beckley Mason of HoopSpeak on Dirk: “If the Thunder don’t find ways to push him from his comfort zones, particularly the one at the free throw line, and Oklahoma City looked all out of ideas by the end of Game 1, it’s logical to expect more lights out, if not black out, performances from Nowitzki. All the reasons that the hot hand is thought to not exist–it encourages bad shot selection, greedy play, an itchy trigger finger and more focused defense—are serious dangers to any scorer focused on efficiency. The hot hand myth hurts because the result of the ball going through the hoop becomes more important than the process of generating good shots. Understanding statistical likelihood is replaced by a feeling of Godlike power. Any shot will do because I’m hungry and hunting.”
Rob Mahoney for the NY Times on Scott Brooks: “Brooks is in a bit of a strategic double bind; any choice he makes is seemingly the wrong one, as allowing Nowitzki to continue as-is appears to be tantamount to playoff suicide, and throwing additional defenders at him only generates open 3-pointers and layups for his teammates. Brooks is faced with a test he is expected to fail, meaning that even if Nowitzki does continue to torch the Thunder, Brooks isn’t at fault, provided he continues to experiment with every possible option.” Read more…
It only took a couple minutes for Kendrick Perkins to scuffle with his new adversary, Tyson Chandler. The two tangled (or tuggled, right KJ?) in the first quarter, both picking up technical fouls.
Perk has always said he preps himself mentally by thinking of reasons to hate his opponent. Evidently he hasn’t had to do much thinking with Chandler. Because Perk flat out doesn’t like him. Via ESPN Dallas:
“Me and Tyson never got along. I’m serious,” said Perkins. “He don’t like me, I don’t like him and that’s pretty much how it’s been. Everybody always looks at me as kind of like a dirty player if you’re on the opposite team, but he’s just as dirty as anybody else.”
Chandler said he has no issue with Perk. Read more…
If you haven’t heard, Dirk Nowitzki is good at the basketballing activities. So good that he can score 48 points with only 15 shots. You’ve heard that stat about two hundred times already I’m sure, but still, it’s worth repeating. Because it’s pretty much insane.
Clearly, the Thunder need to do something different. I said before the series that really the best defense against Dirk is just hoping he misses, but 48 on 15 shots is ridiculous. Serge Ibaka actually did a relatively good job on him in terms of going by the book. He played him fairly physical, contested everything and pushed him away from the lane. Didn’t matter though.
I liked what Scott Brooks said after the game in how he told Ibaka not to get demoralized if Dirk started Dirking him: “When I did say that, I didn’t think he was going to make (that) many shots.”
The Thunder are likely spending all day figuring out a new and improved plan for guarding the big German. They only had one day to prepare after Game 7 against Memphis, so with the extra time, they’re going to come up with something. I came up with 10 ideas. I’m not saying they’re brilliant or revolutionary or anything, but I’m just joining in on the brainstorming. Read more…
Gregg Doyel of CBSSports.com: “At the time, I was kidding. Or exaggerating. At the time, it was the first quarter and Kevin Durant and Dirk Nowitzki were already in double figures and I was tweeting that one of them might just score 50 before this series was done. And then it almost happened. For both of them. In Game 1. When it was over, Nowitzki had 48 points and Durant had 40 and the Dallas Mavericks had a 121-112 victory Tuesday night over the Thunder in the first game of the Western Conference finals, and I was thinking the same thing lots of you were thinking: When’s Game 2?”
Marc Stein of ESPN.com: “It’s all true because Nowitzki, unguardable as he seems, knows better than anyone that he isn’t going to win anything without sustained help, which he needs in this particular series to keep making OKC reluctant to double-team him. He has always been able to tune out the naysayers who’ve questioned his ability to carry a team to a championship because he knows the truth: NBA law may dictate that Nowitzki bears the brunt of the blame for the Mavs’ postseason failures because he is the face of the franchise … but the reality is that no contender has a bigger drop-off from its best player to the rest than this one.” Read more…
Dirk Nowitzki just had a playoff performance for the ages. One that will be referenced on split-screens and by announcers for a long time. Forty-eight points on 15 shots. That’s right, 3.2 points per attempt. I think John Hollinger’s PER just spontaneously combusted. Dirk set an NBA record for most makes at the free throw line without a miss. He went 12-15 from the field.
And oh yeah, the Mavs shot 53.4 percent, had an offensive rating of 130.1 and got 53 points from their bench.
The Thunder lost by like 30, didn’t they?
That’s definitely how it felt. But somehow, Oklahoma City stayed in the game throughout, kind of without actually totally being in it. Read more…
This is a series of first times and last times for the Thunder.
It’s the first time, obviously, in Thunder history that the team has made it this far in the playoffs. The “Playoffs” decal on the floor of the arena will read “Western Conference Finals” the next time OKC takes the court. There will be a bigger throng of national media then ever before. There will be no other game that might bleed over into the Thunder’s start time and push the tipoff to TBS or ESPN2. All NBA eyes will be on Thunder-Mavs each time they play.
This is also likely the last time the Thunder will be playing in the West finals as this big of an underdog. The pressure will be there, but it will almost certainly be heavier in future seasons. OKC is playing a team with far more experience in the starting lineup, on the bench and on the coaching staff, and it doesn’t have home court. The Thunder had never won a playoff series before, much less been a contender for the conference title. The team in this era will never again be able to advance to this stage with the special hop in the step of a team with nothing to lose. Read more…
I’ll be honest: It’s taken me a while to come around on this discussion. I was never against James Harden starting, but I was never necessarily for it either.
I always sort of just sided with as long as Harden gets the bulk of the time at shooting guard and played 30 minutes, I’m good. And that’s been the case for a lot of the season, especially since the All-Star break. He’s played his minutes, been productive off the bench and done his job. What’s the big problem?
But against Memphis, things became a bit more clear. Game 7 said it all — OKC beat Memphis 70-49 with Harden on the floor and lost 41-35 without him. The reason? The Grizzlies defense could key entirely on Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant, stick O.J. Mayo on Westbrook and leave Mike Conley on Thabo. Not only that, but Marc Gasol even shaded over Durant most of the time because Kendrick Perkins is such a non-threat. Read more…
Mavs-Thunder preview from Rob Mahoney of The Two Man Game: “If much of Westbrook’s positive impact is taken out of the picture, the advantages held by Nowitzki and the Mavs’ supporting cast (which is more versatile and productive than the Thunder’s crew, even if the difference in efficacy isn’t glaring) become even more vital. That could easily be negated if OKC does particularly well on the offensive glass or gets out into transition frequently, but I see the Mavs taking care of business in both of those regards. The Thunder will naturally get theirs on the break and with second chance points, but not to a degree that will significantly affect the series. Marion, Jason Terry, Peja Stojakovic, and J.J. Barea, on the other hand, seem poised to consistently outscore OKC’s supporting cast thanks to the opportunities granted by Dallas’ offensive system. The Thunder will play much better defense than the Lakers did, but the production and efficiency of the Mavs’ complementary scorers was no fluke.”
John Hollinger of ESPN.com on candidates to rule the West: “With their four best players all aged 22 or younger and airtight cap management that hasn’t wasted a single cent, Oklahoma City’s advantage may only increase if the next collective bargaining agreement imposes more rigorous salary cap rules. In any event, the Durant-Westbrook-Harden-Ibaka nucleus virtually guarantees a spot in the conference’s top four for the next decade or so. The only question appears to be which of the teams below will be joining them in the race to supplant the Dallas-L.A.-San Antonio vortex.” Read more…
I can’t remember the exact game, but it was definitely December of 2008 and the Thunder were definitely something like 2-25.
And I was definitely a little bummed out.
I was at the game with my buddy Andy and as we watched what would inevitably become another Thunder loss, we fantasized about the future. We were still pretty shocked that we were even in Oklahoma City watching our very own professional basketball team, but the thought of the future was fun to talk about.
“Think about when they get good,” he said.
“Think about if they make the playoffs,” I said.
He shook his head. Almost impossible to even conjure up the thought. Then he took it up a notch.
“Man, think about like a Western Conference Finals series here in OKC. Wouldn’t that just be… insane?” Read more…
Just a tremendous piece on from one of my very favorite writers, Tom Friend: “They don’t grow superstars like this anymore. On the team bus, his phone will ring and he’ll say, “Hi Mommy.” His teammate, Royal Ivey, will elbow him and say, “You could be a little smoother with it. Or at least whisper.” But that’s the one of the most revealing parts about him: He hasn’t changed since he was 8 years old. You’d think leading the NBA in scoring twice by 22 would have gone to his head. You’d think leading Team USA to last summer’s FIBA World Championship would have had him sleeping in. You’d think taking the NBA’s youngest playoff team to the conference semifinals would have lengthened his Q-rating. But half the time on the road, he’s “what’s-his-name.”
Love this note from Darnell Mayberry: “Expect a lot of the national talking heads to say this is the way Westbrook needs to play. Do yourselves a favor and ignore them. No way Westbrook needs to take just 12 shots and try to get 14 assists every night. Should he look for his teammates more? No question. But he’s one of the best scorers in the league and, on this team, he needs to score. Period.” Read more…
Russell Westbrook after Game 2: “”When we’re winning, I’m good,” he said. I’m just sitting there waiting to get my name called. We was winning, man. You all want to ask the same question and I’m going to give you all the same answer – ‘We was winning.’”
