Oklahoma City Thunder 2017-18

[Urbanized]

1. Skip Bayless is a buffoon and the kiss of death

2. I’m personally furious that he said this because I’ve yet to see him make a prophetic or particularly insightful pick, and I’d hate for credibility of any type to come to him via a Thunder championship. He has been nothing but a detractor since this team arrived.

[Laramie]

Utah Jazz Game 1 Meltdown 4.15.18

Excerpts:

We’re straight up embarrassing OKC.
Ahh Crymelo throwing up a brick, takes me back. Lol this is a poor excuse for a super team.
Jazz are staying in it but the worrisome part is they are playing at OKC’s tempo
Looking at Westbrick ‘s face makes me feel like I have diarrhea
Get Adams in foul trouble. Go at him. Every ****ing possession.
Paul George needs to start missing again… I don’t like this Paul George.
Bull ****! Call it on Westbrook then, his was intentional.
The thunder arena with the stupid cop sound ever single time there is a foul is aids.
How are we not down 30+
**** pg13
Thunder make everything or get the rebound.
I’m not an Adams fan at all but he is tougher than Gobert and Favors.

Link: http://thunderdigest.com/2018/04/15/...tdown-4-15-18/

[Laramie]

Kudos to the Thunder organization for the coordinated T-shirt crowds and Rumble opening drum beat rally. Didn't use to see this in the NBA until Oklahoma City entered the league & the playoffs.

NBA franchises seem to be following our lead.

Toronto Raptors:

[John]

Kudos to the Thunder organization for the coordinated T-shirt crowds and Rumble opening drum beat rally. Didn't use to see this in the NBA until Oklahoma City entered the league & the playoffs.

NBA franchises seem to be following our lead.

Mascot wise, we've been very lucky in our short NBA tenure, having both Hugo and Rumble (nee Squatch), who were/are two of the most innovative/respected/well-compensated individuals in their line of work...

[Roger S]

Skip Bayless is calling OKC for the championship over Philly. That would be a historic playoff run, but I want to believe.

You lost me at Skip Bayless.

[Laramie]

.

Utah Jazz 102 - Oklahoma City Thunder 95

Box score: http://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=401029440

[G.Walker]

We lost this game at the free throw line 23-12. Also, PG13 going 6-21 ain't gone cut it. The Thunder team is day & night, but they have been like that all season, not surprised.

[Anonymous.]

We basically played without Adams and he was cooking 4-5. Refs completely removed him and changed this game. That's just how it goes sometimes. I think they will come out hitting heavy in G3.

[dcsooner]

Lost because we have no real offensive identity, isolation play abounded with really poor shot selection. Where is Ennis when you need him?

[dankrutka]

OKC’s big 3 were 0/14 in the 4th and shot terribly. Overall, the shots were fine. It was just a night where they didn’t fall. No need to panic. Enes couldn’t even stay on the floor against half the playoff teams in the West because he’s such a vulnerability on defense.

[Urbanized]

^^^^^^^
Agreed on all counts. Absolutely love Enes as an individual, a representative of a city, as a teammate, as an offensive rebounder and scorer in the paint, but legitimate chance he would have been on bench most or all of last night’s game. Utah’s bigs would have FEASTED on his defense.

[shawnw]

I guess Playoff P wasn't invited to game 2

[dankrutka]

The big problem with Enes' defense wasn't his post defense, but his inability to guard in space. Teams have been really aggressive about getting him in a pick and roll and then attacking him. Now, having said that, Melo presents some of the same limitations and we have seen some teams target and attack him. It'll be interesting if Melo gets played off the floor at times. We already know Enes would have.

[Urbanized]

Yeah, Melo needs for his shots to drop. Or more precisely the Thunder needs for Melo's shots to stop dropping. He can still be a great asset, but ONLY if he's scoring. He has definitely stepped up his perimeter defensive intensity the past two games but he's getting rolled when his assignment pulls him in the lane.

[kswright29]

Too bad we didn't have the crew from the Pacers -Cavs game tonight. They are flat-out letting them play, just the way it should be come playoff time. None of that ticky-tack garbage we saw the other night.

[dankrutka]

First, all OKC needs is one of the two games in Utah so if OKC can get the next game then they're still in an okay spot. But, Russ seems completely rattled by Gobert. He's scared and getting completely destroyed by Rubio. If OKC goes down and loses PG, Russ has no one but himself to blame. Second, Donovan deserves a lot of scrutiny. I don't mind his game plan, but his team is completely inconsistent and I blame it at least partially on his inability to generate any consistency during the regular season. The way the team melted down tonight is reminiscent of a team with poor habits and players who do not believe in the system. How often is OKC swinging the ball around the perimeter in the 1st quarter and then that disappears as the game goes on? That's on the coach... and probably Russ. Losing is one thing, getting blown out is another. Remember, the West teams in OKCs realm -- Portland, Utah, NOLA -- were all expected to be well worse than OKC. There's no question this team is underperforming. I'm not saying Donovan should be fired, but I think he's been exposed a bit. Or, Russ has been exposed. OKC has lacked offensive consistency through Brooks and Donovan... Russ is the consistent piece to the offensive problems. Of course, Adams foul trouble doesn't help... but Gobert is just so, so good. Anyway, this is my frustrated steam-of-consciousness post. Now, let's see if Russ and Donovan can prove me wrong.

Again, get game 4 and we're back in it.

[Jake]

This team has so many issues.

Really disappointed in Westbrook. Don't know if he can lead a team to a title by being the number one guy.

[Teo9969]

Russ is a great player, but he's simply not consistent enough to lead a team to greatness by himself. Someone else has to step up as well. While PG13 is supposed to, he's only been okay in OKC - obviously a Top 10-20 player in the league, but mainly because he's such a great defender. They need him to be able to take over a game.

This is just not a great matchup for OKC because they don't have the perimeter shooting to keep Gobert from absolutely abusing the glass.

[Teo9969]

First, all OKC needs is one of the two games in Utah so if OKC can get the next game then they're still in an okay spot. But, Russ seems completely rattled by Gobert. He's scared and getting completely destroyed by Rubio. If OKC goes down and loses PG, Russ has no one but himself to blame. Second, Donovan deserves a lot of scrutiny. I don't mind his game plan, but his team is completely inconsistent and I blame it at least partially on his inability to generate any consistency during the regular season. The way the team melted down tonight is reminiscent of a team with poor habits and players who do not believe in the system. How often is OKC swinging the ball around the perimeter in the 1st quarter and then that disappears? That's on the coach... and probably Russ. Losing is one thing, getting blown out is another. Remember, the West teams in OKCs realm -- Portland, Utah, NOLA -- were all expected to be well worse than OKC. There's no question this team is dramatically underperforming. I'm not saying Donovan should be fired, but I think he's been exposed as a mediocre coach at best. Or, Russ has been exposed as a good, not great, player. OKC has lacked offensive consistency through Brooks and Donovan... Russ is the consistent piece. Of course, Adams foul trouble doesn't help... but Gobert has made it obvious that he's a better player than Adams. Anyway, this is my frustrated steam-of-consciousness post. Now, let's see if Russ and Donovan can prove me wrong.

Again, get game 4 and we're back in it.

I have been a big fan of Billy's tinkering because I always felt like it was such a large part of the success that OKC found in the 2016 playoffs. I think that probably more now than I did back then, but I think maybe there's a caveat that perhaps I never acknowledged before: That 2015/16 team had Durant, Westbrook and Ibaka who were at the time in their 8th season together and had established a certain style of play together. The tinkering was a great idea because it allowed everyone to learn all the nuances of play together.

This team however hadn't played crap together before this year - you can tell there is just no real identity even if there are several things that they do really well. If the Thunder somehow manage to keep PG13, I think next year will be better for this year's coaching. But that's a silly move considering PG13's staying here probably depends very much on whether or not the Thunder can have at least two quality series in the playoffs.

[Laramie]

.

Utah Jazz 115 - Oklahoma City Thunder 102

Box score: http://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=401029445

[Anonymous.]

This matchup is so bad for OKC. I would have rather drawn literally any other West team except the Rockets. Golden State knew exactly what they were doing when they lost to the Jazz by like 40. Hardest road.

[dankrutka]

I have been a big fan of Billy's tinkering because I always felt like it was such a large part of the success that OKC found in the 2016 playoffs. I think that probably more now than I did back then, but I think maybe there's a caveat that perhaps I never acknowledged before: That 2015/16 team had Durant, Westbrook and Ibaka who were at the time in their 8th season together and had established a certain style of play together. The tinkering was a great idea because it allowed everyone to learn all the nuances of play together.

This team however hadn't played crap together before this year - you can tell there is just no real identity even if there are several things that they do really well. If the Thunder somehow manage to keep PG13, I think next year will be better for this year's coaching. But that's a silly move considering PG13's staying here probably depends very much on whether or not the Thunder can have at least two quality series in the playoffs.

Great post. My big problem is that the playoffs are here and two players OKC really needs to contribute -- Alex Abrines and Patrick Patterson -- have never gained any comfort in their roles. I mean, we went through an entire season and Billy never established clear roles for them. Now, he rolls out a lineup with these guys to increase shooting and just expects them to play comfortably. Again, Billy's tinkering worked in 2016, but it failed last year and, so far, it's falling short this year. We need a coach to find a middle ground between Scott Brooks' stubbornness and Billy's tinkering.

[Jersey Boss]

The problem here is Russell Westbrook. For the last two games he has not even been the second best guard, in fact being the third best. To then get into the post game and claim he can take care of Rubio is feeding into the typical fans claim this team has the ability to turn it off and on at will. Don't piss on my shoes and tell me it's raining. If Russ is guaranteeing this for game 4, why did he not do it in game 2 or 3?
As far as PG, why would the ownership group think it is a good investment to not only increase the payroll but increase the payroll tax as well. What has this team showed this year that would warrant this? Melo will be here, another year older and while Russell is a freak on what he does physically, he just does not seem to be accumulating the knowledge of a superstar. The great ones compensate with cunning as they age, I don't see RW showing any promise in that department. Some claim that the team just needs more time together, but I look at Houston, Indiana and they don't seem to have the need for a year of aging. Russell is a stat collector and I don't see him having the smarts to lead a team to get a championship. Should OKC lose this series they are the biggest disappointment in the league as far as what the expectations were based on the talent of the roster.

[Thomas Vu]

What has the defense been giving Rubio? In the regular season/past in general it would say to leave him open and let him shoot. One game being hot you could throw up to luck, two games though? It's really odd though if they keep leaving him open that they didn't decide at some point to take him seriously.

What looks really odd is that Utah looks like they have no depth. Their bench doesn't even hit 20 the last two games.

[Anonymous.]

Russ needs to attack and get Gobert out of the game like they have done to Adams. It is the only chance we have unless we have another red-hot PG, which is like western Oklahoma getting rain.