Western Conference Finals: #1 Warriors vs. #3 Thunder

[ParniValjak]

No, it too is the right approach. Its just reached the level of an exploit now. Your way of playing has been artificially inflated to be counted as 1 1/2 times as valuable as everybody else's way of playing. A league mandated rule run amok created the situation. Its going to be up to the league to correct it.

I am not sure the league wants to correct it. They are loving that the game has transitioned into a "chuck a 3" instead of smash mouth basketball.

The real travesty in all this is that kids these days are either working on the 3 point shot or ability to dunk. There is no mid range game, post ups or any of the other fundamentals that make the game of basketball great. Nowdays if the only thing you can do is shoot a spot up 3, you will have a place in the league and make a living. The quality of the games has deteriorated greatly.

 

[Chicken Chaser]

Draymond Green with the Lucha Libre moves and busting his own head... smh what a clown

 

[Sac.Kings]

Draymond Green with the Lucha Libre moves and busting his own head... smh what a clown

I hope it really hurt. Glad there was no injury to either player, but I hope it hurt. Scumbag.

 

[Big Cuz 15]

wow draymond taking it to new levels. he could've seriously injured steven adams there.

1)hopping on his back
2) kicking him in the jewels
3)re-enacting bruce lee moves
4)trying to do a kelly olynyk on kevin love in a elimination game.

how is the league NOT doing anything about this?

 

[Big Cuz 15]

http://ftw.usatoday.com/2016/05/dra...nba-golden-state-warriors-thunder-game-7-foul

that looked like a WWF move lmfao

 

[fansinceday1]

The thunder went back to trying to match the warriors, and are going down because of it.

 

[Sac.1989]

and so it falls to us to dethrone the warriors. DJ's working those defensive schemes and Demarcus has the paint in his sights

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

Welcome to Chokelahoma City. Population: 15.

 

[New Era]

Poor OKC...reminds me of what we went through in the early 2000's. They just can't get over the hump.

 

[kingsboi]

I agree and it baffles me. Why any GM, coach or player believes that they are going to beat the Warriors at their own game is beyond me. They have the 2 best deep shooters, who happen to also be the best at off-balance, quick shots in the league. You aren't going to beat them doing the same thing.

Instead of mimicking them to a much lesser degree, I'd be building my team to take advantage of their weaknesses and the general weaknesses of all teams playing this style. The Thunder (and a few others) have shown that long, athletic teams pose a problem defensively. Also, you can run them in transition when they quick shoot and miss. And you can punish them on the glass. I'd be building my roster with players that posses these kinds of strengths.

The Kings already have a a player that owns the paint and can punish the offensive glass. WCS obviously fits the length and athleticism checkbox. We just need to find some guards and a SF that can do the same. Rudy can be one of those players when he wants to be, but we know his focus is elsewhere.

Unfortunately that's been his story through out his career. He coasts too much for my liking. I don't condone just getting rid of him for scraps, but I would actively look for trading partners if I was Vlade. I'll say it til I'm blue in the face, give me a mammoth sized team that will bruise and punish you at multiple positions, that's fun basketball to me.

 

[kingsboi]

Farewell OKC, it's too bad they couldn't down the two best teams in the league in back to back series. That would of been one for the record books. They desperately need a third wheel behind 35 and 0. I don't consider Ibaka that.

 

[peacelate]

Old habits die hard. Thunder forgot what gave them a 3-1 lead.

 

[Big Cuz 15]

Poor OKC...reminds me of what we went through in the early 2000's. They just can't get over the hump.

sac at least ran some offense. OKC don't seem to run offense. give it to KD or westbrook and get outta the way. everybody stands around. kinda surprised they didn't utilize their size more in the series.

 

[Big Cuz 15]

Old habits die hard. Thunder forgot what gave them a 3-1 lead.

yup. too much hero ball in the last 2 games. they were cutting and the role players were getting easy buckets.

 

[KingsFanSince85]

The thunder went back to trying to match the warriors, and are going down because of it.

Old habits die hard. Thunder forgot what gave them a 3-1 lead.

Yep. That's precisely what happened. And they stopped playing the same level of "disruption" defense that they had been playing the 1st 4 games.

and so it falls to us to dethrone the warriors. DJ's working those defensive schemes and Demarcus has the paint in his sights

They desperately need a third wheel behind 35 and 0. I don't consider Ibaka that.

If you noticed how much trouble Steven Adams caused the Warriors, you have to wonder what kind of damage the likes of Cousins, KAT or Drummond would do. Heck, if the Thunder can keep Durant and Westbrook together and somehow land an aging Pau Gasol -- they could really be in business. Not that Adams isn't a good and promising young player, but he's still got a ways to go. Even Timofey Mosgov looked good in spots against the Warriors front line in the Finals last year, so Adams performance wasn't totally unexpected. But a more polished and skilled big would have put the Thunder over the top. Gasol could do that for OKC next season. Of course, they gotta find a way to keep Durant first.

As for the Kings, they have the tougher task of finding perimeter players that can threaten the defense enough to allow Cousins free reign to dominate down low.

 

[VF21]

Old habits die hard. Thunder forgot what gave them a 3-1 lead.

Yup. That, in a nutshell, says it all.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

Yeah, you and I definitely need to have a #HateOff one of these days.

 

[peacelate]

yup. too much hero ball in the last 2 games. they were cutting and the role players were getting easy buckets.

I don't understand why OKC tried to be cute and beat GSW at their own game after they smoked them in games 3 and 4. Makes you wonder if KD and Westbrook are a good duo.

 

[KingMilz]

i have no doubt we would set the blue print in how to beat the warriors if we could surround boogie with athletic wings and a sound defensive system.

Adams and Kanter have done well this series - neither are the offensive force that DMC is.

No we don't, unless you have a LeBron/Durrant or the whole Spurs system you don't have the blueprint to beat the current Warriors. It has nothing to do with Big Ball or Small Ball it's about having a elite player if you want really to have a chance to beat a TEAM as good as the GSW.

 

[Big Cuz 15]

I don't understand why OKC tried to be cute and beat GSW at their own game after they smoked them in games 3 and 4. Makes you wonder if KD and Westbrook are a good duo.

lacks discipline and structure. there has to be some movement so the defense can't just hone in on westbrook. back cuts, backscreens to help get easy shots. get some of the other players involved. steven adams threw some dimes in the games they won. don't know why they don't involve him as much.

someone needs to lay draymond out to give him a taste of his own medicine. he's seriously going to injure someone the way he plays.

 

[KingMilz]

Old habits die hard. Thunder forgot what gave them a 3-1 lead.

Can we give some credit to the Warriors? Every post Is about the Thunder chocking well excuse me the Warriors won 73 games and are a better overall team and have far more heart than the Thunder.

 

[KingMilz]

Yep. That's precisely what happened. And they stopped playing the same level of "disruption" defense that they had been playing the 1st 4 games.




If you noticed how much trouble Steven Adams caused the Warriors, you have to wonder what kind of damage the likes of Cousins, KAT or Drummond would do. Heck, if the Thunder can keep Durant and Westbrook together and somehow land an aging Pau Gasol -- they could really be in business. Not that Adams isn't a good and promising young player, but he's still got a ways to go. Even Timofey Mosgov looked good in spots against the Warriors front line in the Finals last year, so Adams performance wasn't totally unexpected. But a more polished and skilled big would have put the Thunder over the top. Gasol could do that for OKC next season. Of course, they gotta find a way to keep Durant first.

As for the Kings, they have the tougher task of finding perimeter players that can threaten the defense enough to allow Cousins free reign to dominate down low.

That's because they had to focus on Durrant/WB off course Adams is going to kill them on the glass, they were not guarding him or Roberson........they would play all those bigs different unless they had Durrant/WB with them. You have to give up something to the Thunder it makes no sense to say well if Adams killed them than all those guys would....no they wouldn't they would get focused on and limited.

 

[peacelate]

Can we give some credit to the Warriors? Every post Is about the Thunder chocking well excuse me the Warriors won 73 games and are a better overall team and have far more heart than the Thunder.

You won't find me discrediting the Warriors. They deserve every ounce of credit they are getting. Anyone who thought they were going to go away quietly was in denial.

My post had more about the predictability of the Thunder in crunch time that has plagued them for so long. The Thunder could have won this series even when Klay and Steph were draining threes, but when push came to shove, they panicked and went back to old habits.

 

[Gilles]

Warriors is a stacked team, and though Kerr tightened up the rotation this series, this was the game, bench got them the win: after Green's foul trouble, Kerr had to expand his rotation, and bench unit managed to overrun mentally fatigued Westbrook and Co. Thunder need third creator.
P.S. When Iggy starts really slowing down, GS defensive ability will drop significantly, if they won't find his replacement.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

Can we give some credit to the Warriors?

No. Or, I don't know, maybe "give credit" means something different to you than it does to me. To me, "giving credit" would involve co-signing what they're about, and I'm not doing that. I stipulate that the Warriors are the defending champions, and that they have a great player, and that they play together, and that they broke the record for wins during the regular season, and that's as far as I'm going.

Golden State won this series because the Thunder choked; I don't care how many wins you had, you don't come back from 3-1 without some choking being involved.

 

[KingsFanSince85]

That's because they had to focus on Durrant/WB off course Adams is going to kill them on the glass, they were not guarding him or Roberson........they would play all those bigs different unless they had Durrant/WB with them. You have to give up something to the Thunder it makes no sense to say well if Adams killed them than all those guys would....no they wouldn't they would get focused on and limited.

You missed the point. Completely.

I get everything you are saying about KD and Westbrook. I agree with it. I'm saying that if Adams could cause so many problems, imagine if the Thunder had an even more capable big than Adams (who at this point is really average)? Obviously Cuz, Drummond and KAT are pipedreams, but that's why I brought up the Gasol idea -- who is likely to be a FA.

Regarding my comment about the Kings, who already have a more skilled and dominate big than Adams, if they can get some perimeter players that require even half the attention KD/WB attract -- Boogie would be nearly unstoppable. That was the point. That they need to find some players that attract attention away from Boogie. And those players don't have to be KD/WB level, but it would surely be awesome if they were

 

[KingsFanSince85]

Golden State won this series because the Thunder choked; I don't care how many wins you had, you don't come back from 3-1 without some choking being involved.

THIS.

If the Warriors were truly all that great, they wouldn't have been down 3-1 to begin with thus facing multiple elimination games. Anybody that watched the series objectively should clearly see that the Thunder was in control and winning by playing their style of ball. However, they suddenly stopped doing the things that got them the 3-1 lead in the first place. OKC already had a reputation for falling into those kinds of traps so, no, it had little to do with anything the Warriors did. At all. The only credit I give to Golden State is that they were able to take advantage of the opportunity. Not every team can do that.

Lastly, calling GM6 anything but a choke just shows a lack of awareness. OKC outscored the Warriors in each QTR until the 4th when they were suddenly outscored by 15. At home. In a game that puts them into the Finals.

Before anybody points to Klay's hot shooting as the reason for it, I'll remind you that OKC only scored 18 points in that 4th QTR. The Warriors hot shooting wouldn't have mattered if OKC didn't pucker up and go into the tank offensively. That's precisely what they did. Some good defense by GSW, but largely poor shot selection, ISO ball and unforced turnovers.

 

[KingsFanGER]

And how has that worked out for us the past 6 years giving Boogie the ball and watching him bulldozer his way to the basket or shoot a jumper?

Agreed. People seem to forget that guys playing in the NBA are the best of the best after all. of course there are players that are less talented than the stars, but give those players practice jumpshot after practice jumpshot and most of them will start to knock down those shots.

Becuase its basically by the rulebook cheating.

Always was. It was just counted on to be too difficult to make a difference. Now it is, and its killing the rest of the game. Don't believe me? Watch these numbers:

Since 1980, year by year, average number of 2pt shots a game, 3pt shots a game, and % of all shots that were threes:

1979-80: 87.88 2PA, 2.77 3PA = 3.1%
1980-81: 86.40 2PA, 2.02 3PA = 2.3%
1981-82: 85.96 2PA, 2.28 3PA = 2.6%
1982-83: 87.40 2PA, 2.26 3PA = 2.5%
1983-84: 85.98 2PA, 2.38 3PA = 2.6%
1984-85: 85.96 2PA, 3.13 3PA = 3.5%
1985-86: 85.29 2PA, 3.34 3PA = 3.8%
1986-87: 84.06 2PA, 4.73 3PA = 5.3%
1987-88: 82.71 2PA, 5.00 3PA = 5.7%
1988-89: 82.41 2PA, 6.55 3PA = 7.4%
1989-90: 80.55 2PA, 6.60 3PA = 7.6%
1990-91: 80.05 2PA, 7.15 3PA = 8.2%
1991-92: 79.72 2PA, 7.63 3PA = 8.7%
1992-93: 77.00 2PA, 8.95 3PA = 10.4%
1993-94: 74.55 2PA, 9.89 3PA = 11.7%
1994-95: 66.18 2PA, 15.30 3PA = 18.8% Shortened Line Experiment (22 foot arc)
1995-96: 64.13 2PA, 16.05 3PA = 20.0% Shortened Line Experiment (22 foot arc)
1996-97: 62.50 2PA, 16.79 3PA = 21.2% Shortened Line Experiment (22 foot arc)
1997-98: 67.00 2PA, 12.70 3PA = 15.9%
1998-99: 65.04 2PA, 13.16 3PA = 16.8%
1999-00: 68.38 2PA, 13.72 3PA = 16.7%
2000-01: 66.89 2PA, 13.71 3PA = 17.0%
2001-02: 66.52 2PA, 14.74 3PA = 18.1%
2002-03: 66.10 2PA, 14.68 3PA = 18.2%
2003-04: 64.89 2PA, 14.93 3PA = 18.7%
2004-05: 64.59 2PA, 15.76 3PA = 19.6%
2005-06: 63.01 2PA, 15.98 3PA = 20.2%
2006-07: 62.77 2PA, 16.94 3PA = 21.3%
2007-08: 63.39 2PA, 18.11 3PA = 22.2%
2008-09: 62.79 2PA, 18.12 3PA = 22.4%
2009-10: 63.57 2PA, 18.13 3PA = 22.2%
2010-11: 63.21 2PA, 18.01 3PA = 22.2%
2011-12: 63.05 2PA, 18.38 3PA = 22.6%
2012-13: 62.00 2PA, 19.95 3PA = 24.4% <-------------- Explosion begins
2013-14: 61.46 2PA, 21.54 3PA = 25.9%
2014-15: 61.15 2PA, 22.41 3PA = 26.8%
2015-16: 60.49 2PA, 24.09 3PA = 28.5%


So when do you sound the alarm? When it hits 1/3 of all shots taken? At the current pace of expansion, that should be 3 years. 1/3 of all shots will be threes. Or do you wait until 40%? 50%? Or do you recognize you have a perverse incentive structure causing an issue and work to head it off before it entirely supplants the rest of the sport?

I refer you to the mid-90s experiment with a shortened 3pt line. It was too effective, causing too big a perversion of the game. Took a decade for threes to catch back up to hose levels after the experiment ended, and until 5 years ago they were holding pretty steady in the low 20% range. High, but seemingly stabilized. But in the last 4 years this explosion has been unprecendented, and it is rapidly shoving out every other approach to the game. The mid-90s explosion showed one thing clearly: this is all about incentives. If you de-incentivize 3pt shooting, you can cut back on its prevelance, carve some room back out for the drivers, the post players, the mid range shooters. But if you don't, the enormous +50% bump you give to 3pt shooting makes it the ultimate weapon, and its rapidly turning a deep and complex sport into a one trick puppy.

I don't think the 3 is killing the game. It's changing it and you don't like this change.
Unless you have guys like Curry and Thompson you need to set good screens and move the ball well to get your players open 3's.
And I personally take watching good team play ending with a 3 over watching Barkley shoving guys to the basket or Shaq just overpowering guys half his size.
The game is quicker and beautiful to watch nowadays.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

Mileage varies on that; the game nowadays is nothing like my idea of "beauty."

 

[Bricklayer]

Agreed. People seem to forget that guys playing in the NBA are the best of the best after all. of course there are players that are less talented than the stars, but give those players practice jumpshot after practice jumpshot and most of them will start to knock down those shots.


I don't think the 3 is killing the game. It's changing it and you don't like this change.
Unless you have guys like Curry and Thompson you need to set good screens and move the ball well to get your players open 3's.
And I personally take watching good team play ending with a 3 over watching Barkley shoving guys to the basket or Shaq just overpowering guys half his size.
The game is quicker and beautiful to watch nowadays.

No its objectively killing the game.

Now, you may like what is replacing the game. But its not NBA basketball, whatever it is. If it strays out towards 40% of all shots being 3pters, in fact I will start switching my behind the scenes advocacy to looking for some rich folks ready to take the rotten structure of the NBA down with a rival league playing actual basketball. There is a huge market of disaffection just beneath the surface.