OT: 2018-19 NBA Thread.

[Jaybee]

Originally Posted by donevwil

They played most of the season as though they'd be able to "flick the switch" when they needed to, or wanted to. The switch is broken. What planet is KD on right now, Beverley isn't that good a defender or irritant. They'll beat the Clippers, but the Rockets must be salivating.

Agree with all this, except the Beverley part. He is a great defender, partially because he is the most irritating adult human on the planet. As an OKC fan, I still think he cost the Thunder a title in 2012 with his bull**** diving at Russ' legs.

KD us otherworldly, but the book on him has always been to have a small, strong guy get in his personal space. Tony Allen, CP3, Jrue, Marcus Smart, and Pat Bev have all had some relative success doing this.

[Jaybee]

Originally Posted by jtakeda

I don’t think the clippers will be a problem I don’t think the rockets will be a problem.

I think the problem is the Bucks.

I think rockets are undermanned but the bucks are the real deal. If they keep playing like this they’ll lose in the finals to the bucks in 6 games

They kinda remind me of the 2004 (Payton/Mailman) Lakers. Done with each other, kinda hoping someone is good enough to put them out of their misery.

[donevwil]

Originally Posted by Jaybee

Agree with all this, except the Beverley part. He is a great defender, partially because he is the most irritating adult human on the planet. As an OKC fan, I still think he cost the Thunder a title in 2012 with his bull**** diving at Russ' legs.

KD us otherworldly, but the book on him has always been to have a small, strong guy get in his personal space. Tony Allen, CP3, Jrue, Marcus Smart, and Pat Bev have all had some relative success doing this.

Beverley was an elite defender 2 - 3 years ago, but he's definitely found another gear, or the fountain of youth, this series. Do what you do and do it well my dad always said.

The most telling thing was the complete change in tone when Kerr pulled Curry in the 3rd. You could just feel the change in momentum.

It all makes for excellent entertainment. I've been a Warriors fan since '74, but I'll take some serious adversity with the potential of an upset over a bunch of sweeps any day.

[Jaybee]

Thank you, Damian Lillard.

Thank you for putting my Thunder out of their odd second-half misery, and allowing me to enjoy the rest of these playoffs without emotional investment.

I'm really looking forward to the chess matches coming up in round 2 - Portland might be able to play Jokic off the floor (sorry SAS, you're done. Have to shoot and make 3's to play on this level). Boston's season-long roller coaster is currently at a high point, but the Buck's have a couple gears left. Playoff Kawhi has shown up, and so has Playoff Siakam, which we didn't even know was a thing! Houston/GSW!


******

The rest of this is a ramble, perhaps only of interest to me:

Where are the Thunder going from here? Other than Kawhi, I think this is the most interesting question this offseason.

I see a few "options":

1) Run it back. They were the second best team in the West as recently as the All-Star break. PG's shoulder injury was a killer, and it's kinda weird that everyone (Grant/Ferguson/Schroeder) all lost their jumpers at the same time. The defense, when engaged, is legitimately terrifying and should only be better with Roberson back. Russ' efficiency, while never great, will probably return to its mean. As recently as a year ago, everyone was saying Portland should blow it up - they kept their core, made some small moves around the margins, and are no worse than 40% to reach the WCF now.

2) Trade Russ. It's pretty clear that you don't win in the playoffs without a lead guard who is also a threat from distance. I don't know if anyone is stupid enough to take on $40M per for a declining player in his 30's who relies exclusively on athleticism.... wait, I have a call coming in? "Oh, hi Mr. Sarver. Have I got a deal for you! No, he'll get along great with Devin Booker!"

3) Trade Adams. I love Steven Adams. That said, he is an anachronism. Any center who can't credibly contain a pick and roll 35 feet from the hoop from the league's best guards isn't playable in the playoffs. This is a huge ask, and no one can do it, but you get schemed out. Happened to Steve this round, is happening to Rudy Gobert right now, will happen to Clint Capela and Jokic next round. This is why everyone is going small - it's not fair to ask a 7 foot 250 pound guy to stay in front of Kyrie/Dame/Steph/Harden. Steve does a bunch of good things in the regular season, but $25M for slower Capela is a lot. He's a movable asset. Bring in some shooters, commit to playing a Buck's style 5-out with Westbrook driving/kicking to a bunch of shooters.

Thanks for reading, sorry for the ramble.

[junkfood]

Originally Posted by Jaybee

Thank you, Damian Lillard.

Thank you for putting my Thunder out of their odd second-half misery, and allowing me to enjoy the rest of these playoffs without emotional investment.

I'm really looking forward to the chess matches coming up in round 2 - Portland might be able to play Jokic off the floor (sorry SAS, you're done. Have to shoot and make 3's to play on this level). Boston's season-long roller coaster is currently at a high point, but the Buck's have a couple gears left. Playoff Kawhi has shown up, and so has Playoff Siakam, which we didn't even know was a thing! Houston/GSW!


******

The rest of this is a ramble, perhaps only of interest to me:

Where are the Thunder going from here? Other than Kawhi, I think this is the most interesting question this offseason.

I see a few "options":

1) Run it back. They were the second best team in the West as recently as the All-Star break. PG's shoulder injury was a killer, and it's kinda weird that everyone (Grant/Ferguson/Schroeder) all lost their jumpers at the same time. The defense, when engaged, is legitimately terrifying and should only be better with Roberson back. Russ' efficiency, while never great, will probably return to its mean. As recently as a year ago, everyone was saying Portland should blow it up - they kept their core, made some small moves around the margins, and are no worse than 40% to reach the WCF now.

2) Trade Russ. It's pretty clear that you don't win in the playoffs without a lead guard who is also a threat from distance. I don't know if anyone is stupid enough to take on $40M per for a declining player in his 30's who relies exclusively on athleticism.... wait, I have a call coming in? "Oh, hi Mr. Sarver. Have I got a deal for you! No, he'll get along great with Devin Booker!"

3) Trade Adams. I love Steven Adams. That said, he is an anachronism. Any center who can't credibly contain a pick and roll 35 feet from the hoop from the league's best guards isn't playable in the playoffs. This is a huge ask, and no one can do it, but you get schemed out. Happened to Steve this round, is happening to Rudy Gobert right now, will happen to Clint Capela and Jokic next round. This is why everyone is going small - it's not fair to ask a 7 foot 250 pound guy to stay in front of Kyrie/Dame/Steph/Harden. Steve does a bunch of good things in the regular season, but $25M for slower Capela is a lot. He's a movable asset. Bring in some shooters, commit to playing a Buck's style 5-out with Westbrook driving/kicking to a bunch of shooters.

Thanks for reading, sorry for the ramble.

Completely agree with being thankful that Lillard hit that shot so the rest of the playoffs can be enjoyed. There was always that glimmer of hope that the thunder would play up to their potential defensively, which would allow them to overcome their glaring weaknesses on the offensive end. They are a team that is less than the sum of their parts. While a talented team, without consistent shooting surrounding Westbrook, it just isn't going to work.

It will be very difficult to move Westbrook but Presti has definitely surprised everyone in the past. Unfortunately there have never been any surprises that brought in consistent shooting from at least an average defender. Abrines, Patterson, McDermott, Morrow, Butler, Singler, Foye, Lamb and the list goes on and on of players who could not provide the shooting that the roster needed. Many of those guys looked as if they might but for one reason or another it didn't work out.

I would hate to see Steven Adams go, but if it could bring in shooting to surround George and Westbrook they need to do it. The small ball unit they were running last night was working well. Grant and Ferguson are young and have the potential to be great fits. I would try and flip Schroeder also if the return makes sense.

Jake

[Jaybee]

Presti is, on the whole, a pretty amazing GM. When you lose a top 3 player for nothing in a tiny market, you should by all accounts be lottery bound for the next 5-10 years. How long have the Kings or Magic been "rebuilding." Turning Serge Ibaka and a draft pick into Paul George and the Melo flotsam into a productive backup guard are amazing turns. There is something to be said, especially in a small market, for just remaining good and not bottoming out.

But shooting! I know it's not as simple as just slotting whatever player in, but how long have the Thunder been waiting for their 3+D guy? You can make a list of pretty flawed wings currently making between vet minimum and 12M/yr that would be amazing on this team - Lee, Matthews, Harkless, Aminu, Ariza... OKC has drafted a number of long springy athletes, but none of them have ever figured out how to scare a defense by spotting up. Maybe we blame Presti's San Antonio heritage, since SA seems to be able to turn athletes into shooters?

[Jaybee]

So we're doing this again, Houston?

[jtakeda]

Originally Posted by Jaybee

So we're doing this again, Houston?

I saw the clippers walking out of the 4 seasons about 2 hours ago when I was heading downtown to get back home.

They looked ready to start vacation

[Jaybee]

Originally Posted by jtakeda

I saw the clippers walking out of the 4 seasons about 2 hours ago when I was heading downtown to get back home.

They looked ready to start vacation

If the Clips stay within 20, I will be impressed.

[joosttx]

Originally Posted by Jaybee

So we're doing this again, Houston?

you taking to me???

Seriously, if you have not watched DL's post game interview and contrasted it to RW's interview it really shows the difference from winners and losers. Watching Paul George's body language is interesting too.

[Jaybee]

Originally Posted by joosttx

you taking to me???

Seriously, if you have not watched DL's post game interview and contrasted it to RW's interview it really shows the difference from winners and losers. Watching Paul George's body language is interesting too.

Ha! No.

I was referencing the Rockets tendency to get a little to cute at times. They should be up by 15, cruising into round 2 and here they are up by 6 at the start of the 4th.

[Jaybee]

Warriors! What are you doing????

[joosttx]

Im really liking the Marv Albert and Chris Weber announcing.

[Jaybee]

Originally Posted by jtakeda

I saw the clippers walking out of the 4 seasons about 2 hours ago when I was heading downtown to get back home.

They looked ready to start vacation

Hold the plane to Cancun.

Impressive win by the Clips - part of this is the Dubs really not getting their **** together, but there are some other parts too.

1) Doc is pantsing Kerr this series.
2) LouWill and Trezl are a legit problem. Clips bench wayyyyy better than the Dubs, especially without Cousins.
3) The physical D is taking Curry out of the series.
4) Part of being really good is showing up. At some point, if you stop showing up, even if you are the most talented, you can still get beat.


I expect all of this to be followed up by a 30 point beatdown in LA.

[jtakeda]

LA is just a stop over on the way to Cancun.

While I do think the warriors will win this series, their lackadaisical defense will punish them in the Rockets series very quickly.

In all honesty though, I watched the Utah/rockets series and I think the clippers might be playing better ball than the rockets right now but the rockets want revenge and I think that will be a big driving factor for them.