Mouth is Bleeding
05-09-2016, 01:52 PM
All our passing numbers were down enough that they copied OKC from the regular season.
Just think about that. Is this what we have become? Is it what we want to be to this extreme extent?
Assists, hockey assists, potential assists and the bulk passes over a game.
All indicators down enough to be closely resembling the Thunder...
Way down and as much as it's hard to look past the factor that was our bigs getting worked by their bigs as the game went on, it is the offense that's the main problem and where we really need to improve.
Kanter. And Kanter and Adams together in lineups should have problems.
Kanter is one of the worst defensive bigs in recent league history, but that's against ball-movement and it's his total inability to defend the pick and roll.
That's also the Thunder's defensive weakness in general. Sure they're long and fast in general but they're undisciplined and their assignments don't hold up against ball movement and spacing. Up against ISO even Waiters and Kanter have the core physical attributes to be useful.
Meanwhile those very things that OKC struggle against, Spurs core traits, have left our building completely and our ISO heavy big 2 instead have come to resemble what we have seen so many times KD and Russ (but worse?).
They are getting theirs, but they're still falling short. Not enough support and not enough of the supporting cast involved.
In this game in particular, but worryingly partly in the others as well, when we aren't scoring efficiently in large parts only due to creating from turnovers or wild Westbrook missed layups and him not coming back, it's a rather shocking Spurs-Thunder role reversal and it's us playing and failing like the Thunder.
We can't win like that. Even if Kawhi has a case over both KD and Russ as an overall player, that's not due to his scoring, and if this is our chosen path, why won't our arguably worse iso players fall short where their super-scorers did so many times.
What can we do?
Generally we absolutely need to make them pay when they go big. PUT KANTER IN THE PICK AND ROLL. Maybe that has to mean more Manu? We've actually gone on runs when he has been in the game a number of times and his on-off numbers are excellent.
Move the ball. Space the floor.
The super injections when it comes to offense I strongly belive is Kawhi at the 4 lineups.
Kerr and the Warriors would not even hesitate doing this. It is the undisputed way to turn bigs into big liabilities in the current NBA and the OKC bigs badly need to become just that.
Right now instead that's our bigs not theirs. Without Duncan on the floor to protect the rim, the OKC are either rolling or alley-ooping to the basket and to counter that we started switching. Well, bad idea, and KD goes absolutely unplayable once he even has split seconds isolated with Diaw or West.
With say a PG (Tony and Patty), Manu, Danny, Kawhi, LMA lineup we take away our new worrying big-weakness and I strongly believe that it would feature some of the exact offense that we've been lacking, now turn THEIR BIGS into liabilities and very likely force them away from their biggest lineups.
Yes, we would be up against KD at the 4 very soon, which is strong, but I do like our small lineups better both sides of the floor.
It would probably also mean something of an overhaul to the rotations, but it's time to think outside the box, and ever since getting Kawhi, these lineups, with both Manu and Danny in, have been a great success. Often in the playoffs.
Just think about that. Is this what we have become? Is it what we want to be to this extreme extent?
Assists, hockey assists, potential assists and the bulk passes over a game.
All indicators down enough to be closely resembling the Thunder...
Way down and as much as it's hard to look past the factor that was our bigs getting worked by their bigs as the game went on, it is the offense that's the main problem and where we really need to improve.
Kanter. And Kanter and Adams together in lineups should have problems.
Kanter is one of the worst defensive bigs in recent league history, but that's against ball-movement and it's his total inability to defend the pick and roll.
That's also the Thunder's defensive weakness in general. Sure they're long and fast in general but they're undisciplined and their assignments don't hold up against ball movement and spacing. Up against ISO even Waiters and Kanter have the core physical attributes to be useful.
Meanwhile those very things that OKC struggle against, Spurs core traits, have left our building completely and our ISO heavy big 2 instead have come to resemble what we have seen so many times KD and Russ (but worse?).
They are getting theirs, but they're still falling short. Not enough support and not enough of the supporting cast involved.
In this game in particular, but worryingly partly in the others as well, when we aren't scoring efficiently in large parts only due to creating from turnovers or wild Westbrook missed layups and him not coming back, it's a rather shocking Spurs-Thunder role reversal and it's us playing and failing like the Thunder.
We can't win like that. Even if Kawhi has a case over both KD and Russ as an overall player, that's not due to his scoring, and if this is our chosen path, why won't our arguably worse iso players fall short where their super-scorers did so many times.
What can we do?
Generally we absolutely need to make them pay when they go big. PUT KANTER IN THE PICK AND ROLL. Maybe that has to mean more Manu? We've actually gone on runs when he has been in the game a number of times and his on-off numbers are excellent.
Move the ball. Space the floor.
The super injections when it comes to offense I strongly belive is Kawhi at the 4 lineups.
Kerr and the Warriors would not even hesitate doing this. It is the undisputed way to turn bigs into big liabilities in the current NBA and the OKC bigs badly need to become just that.
Right now instead that's our bigs not theirs. Without Duncan on the floor to protect the rim, the OKC are either rolling or alley-ooping to the basket and to counter that we started switching. Well, bad idea, and KD goes absolutely unplayable once he even has split seconds isolated with Diaw or West.
With say a PG (Tony and Patty), Manu, Danny, Kawhi, LMA lineup we take away our new worrying big-weakness and I strongly believe that it would feature some of the exact offense that we've been lacking, now turn THEIR BIGS into liabilities and very likely force them away from their biggest lineups.
Yes, we would be up against KD at the 4 very soon, which is strong, but I do like our small lineups better both sides of the floor.
It would probably also mean something of an overhaul to the rotations, but it's time to think outside the box, and ever since getting Kawhi, these lineups, with both Manu and Danny in, have been a great success. Often in the playoffs.