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EDIT: Anyone know why the video isn't showing in the post?
A breakdown of the game by Coach Nick at BballBreakdown:
Link to the video in case you can't see it in the post:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFXMk...HLxBaw8sZw7SkA
EDIT: Anyone know why the video isn't showing in the post?
It's showing just fine...
Not very encouraging stuff tbh, his only reason for not being super worried for the Spurs were Manu and homecourt... Very skeptical about Manu being the key against a team that plays the passing lanes like that... Then we're left with homecourt...
No Manu, back to back, Kawhi in early foul trouble which means Green had to be used KD which in turn allowed both KD and Russ to go off. Nothing more to it. OKC is a young team and even they looked like on their back to back last night.
Coach Nick's breakdowns are great! Thanks for posting. The key to the OKC beating the Spurs is their overall defensive team speed led by Ibaka. I did think it was interesting that Coach Nick pointed out the physical play the Thunder got a way with during the game. Nice defense by the Thunder, it's no secret really what the Spurs run, OKC is just one of the few teams that have the personnel to disrupt it.
The fact that James Harden is no longer on the team gives them a very good chance to beat them in seven-game series.
". . . the stone-handed Splitter. . . "
We still love ya Tiago.
We turn into a team of Boris Diaws when we play the Thunder. Shoot the ing thing.
Thanks for posting.
The Thunder are one of the few teams, maybe the only one, that can pack the paint against the Spus and retain the ability to get out and challenge their shooters. I'm not sure there's a real great solution for that, other than settling for good instead of always looking for great. Running more offense eventually exposes weaknesses in almost every defense in the NBA. Not so much with the Thunder.
Giving up 30 points off of 19 turnovers is a problem that can, however, be minimized. Ball security is always important in the playoffs, it will be absolutely critical in a series with OKC.
OKC played good defense, but that didn't cause the mistakes on offense or Spurs defense. There were some blown calls, as always, but you take that risk if you're playing aggressively and sometimes it pays off.
As usual it all comes down to the refs. The Spurs and Thunder are way too closely matched for biased officiating to not matter. A call or two here or there can basically swing momentum and decide entire games or even entire series.
If OKC is allowed to knock Tony down or trip Patty up without being called for it while KD gets his usual +6 ticky tack free throw advantage, then OKC wins. Period.
All that and the Spurs were up at halftime. The difference in this game was the 3rd quarter where the Spurs let the game get out of hand with turnovers.
At least two of those turnovers were actually fouls on OKC that weren't called (the shove on Parker to a layup and the tripping of Patty Mills in route to another layup).
That and a terrible lineup to start the third quarter.
Nope. Gimick offense exposed by Presti tbh
Depressing. Spurs look soft, both mentally and physically vs the Thunder.
Agreed. You could almost see the moment that Brooks figured out the key to disrupting the Spurs offense in the second half of game 2 of the 2012 WCF. Even though we won THAT game, it was all down hill from there.Nope. Gimick offense exposed by Presti tbh
On another note, did anyone else notice how much Beli was playing like crap? I think this among other issues compounded the problem.
if it was a gimmick offense how come everyone hasn't hasn't stopped it? Why were we a free throw away from winning and NBA world championship last June?Nope. Gimick offense exposed by Presti tbh
The Thunder were getting away with murder and we were getting called for breathing on guys. Jesus, what do you expect?
Marco needs Manu. This is old news.
this, but let's pretend it was not the main factor at the turn of the 3rd period game, and believe that only the athletics thunder killed the Spurs
thats sums it up pretty well.
Spurs vs Thunder is a virtual coin flip especially with Spurs HCA.
Truth of the matter is that the Spurs offense looked nothing like we have come to expect in the previous month. They looked like an entirely different team and seemed utterly surprised with the Thunder's pressure on the ball. Now, hopefully, this is just a product of lack of rest and Manu being out of the lineup along with the fact that Leonard was not on the court during a pivotal part of the game. However, if they end up playing OKC in the WCF, they will have to make some adjustments come playoff time if they want to beat this team.
To me, they will need to tweak their offensive gameplan just a bit. I know that the Spurs offense is predicated on throwing the extra pass, but it was useless on quite a few possessions Thursday night, simply because of the Thunder's speed. The shooters will have to be willing to take partially contested shots, instead of looking for the wide open shot every possession because those simply don't exist against the Thunder.
Here's what that clip DOESN'T show you.
Kawhi did an INCREDIBLE job on Durant, and on top of it looked aggressive offensively. Very encouraging.
Thunder should've been down ~9 points at half but took and made two very low-% shots that went in
10 point game with ~6 minutes left and Pop refused to put in his starters.
Alot of the tape shown was with our second unit. Manu didn't play, and he's our playmaker on that second unit.
We won NINETEEN GAMES IN A ROW. If you are down after ONE loss I have serious doubts about your basketball knowledge. Sure, it came against the Thunder which sucks, but the Spurs were JUST FINE against the best defense in the league (Indiana) and the most athletic defense in the league (Miami)
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