They don't need to work quicker out of the gun, what theyre doing is fine. If I'm Memphis I would want the ball out of Durant's hands as much as possible, too. It's all strategy. You speed up your sets, and you end up in a foot race with the most athletic team in the league. Slow it down, and grind it out.
Also part of their strategy. Did you see how much they were sagging off him on the 3 point line? Daring him to shoot? and he fell for it, like the fool he is. And there's nary a thing Scotty, or Durbeta can do about it. he is the true alpha on the team.
Tee hee
let us proceed...
Look at Kevin in this clip, he's seen this movie too many times. But ah, Kendrick Perkins to the rescue.
http://www.nba.com/video/channels/pl...s-overtime.nba
Pop is always preaching dont reach show your hands dont foul, and this is what the refs are accustomed to, so when the spurs do reach or try to body, they get whistled for it.
Mem is like eff that, I'm getting up in your grill from tip off, and the refs adjust their whistles to it because they can't foul everyone out in the first quarter. The thunder do this to the spurs too.
But pop is too busy trying to keep people off the free throw line. While that works against some teams (MIA), it actually back fires against teams like OKC because you get called for the foul anyway. So not only are you giving them space, you're getting fouls called when you do try to body em up.
Last edited by UZER; 04-22-2014 at 09:50 AM.
rofl. Greatness.
The Grizzlies have a mental edge playing against the thunder. It reminds me of the 90's knicks psychological edge against the Heat during their rivalry years. The Knicks always had confidence playing Miami regardless of who was on the roster, and always believed they could win against them in any scenario. Those series always went the distance with the Knicks winning every time except '97. I feel the Grizzlies have the same type of confidence whenever they see OKC on the court. If OKC doesn't win a game in Memphis this series ends in 6. If OKC splits in Memphis this series goes 7 games with it being a toss up.
When stuff goes sour, who does OKCfan blame on more, Scotty Brooks or Westbrook?
It's amazing how both are always the scapegoats when Durbeta chokes....
That's it? That's a short list. We have a buffet to choose from....Pop, Manu, Tony, Green, Tiago, Bonner, the ball boy, the phone rep that answers calls for season ticket orders....
I said Griz in 6, and I am sticking by it. Most of it is because I don't want the Spurs to match up with OKC, because OKC matches up perfectly with the Spurs game, but the Griz have a legit chance of upsetting the Thunder.
Having two legit big scoring threats, with one being a great passer, will cause significant issues for OKC. I never imagined Allen would be so effective against Durant, but the Griz does have the backcourt to limit Westbrook. Add in Brooks' legendarily bad coaching, and the Griz have a legit shot.
But then, realistically, OKC in 7, probably 6.
I can't believe people are trying to argue that Memphis' offense isn't abysmal. It relies on Conley floaters and Lee long twos in as their perimeter scoring. That's horribly unsustainable. This was literally the best game the Grizz could have ever hoped for from their smalls, and they squeaked by a Thunder team that was being assassinated by Westbrook. If anything, this demonstrates just how big the gap between the Thunder and Grizzlies is.acting like Udrih, Lee and Allen shooting 15-21 while Durant and Westbrook shot 23-56 isn't a fluke.
No one's arguing that Brooks isn't a terrible coach. But it's one thing to depend on two top-10 players to dominate. It's another to hope that players who are barely playoff-worthy to shoot insane percentages.
in game 1 Marc and Zbo had awful shooting games and they still nearly came all the way backI can't believe people are trying to argue that Memphis' offense isn't abysmal. It relies on Conley floaters and Lee long twos in as their perimeter scoring. That's horribly unsustainable. This was literally the best game the Grizz could have ever hoped for from their smalls, and they squeaked by a Thunder team that was being assassinated by Westbrook. If anything, this demonstrates just how big the gap between the Thunder and Grizzlies is.
its not memphis' O that is giving okc fits, its the pace. half court sets, low turnover numbers
http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2014/4/2...own-tony-allen
Very good read
They were getting good looks, by design of their offense. There's nothing fluky about it.
There's no "design" that leads to guards shooting 75 percent. That's luck, especially the long jumpers.
Sure they might not shoot 75%, but don't act like they were hitting bad, contested shots. They were getting the looks they wanted, and with little contests. Go read that article I posted if you're not convinced this team can beat OKC.
Of course Memphis "can" beat OKC, just like Chicago "can" beat Miami. Efficient, low-scoring, defense-first teams can beat anybody. They just have to get really lucky.
memphis matches up better with OKC than they would the Spurs. yeah they probably need luck, most teams would against OKC. keep in mind memphis won the series in 5 last year. while westbrook is an obvious missing piece, he isn't exactly a superstar in the half court game, so as long as memphis continues to keep turnovers low and dominates the pace, his impact will be minimized. its a matchup issue more so than a talent issue, much like we've seen in the past with Indiana-Miami
even in game 1 where the memphis bigs were terrible and Durant had an awesome game, memphis made okc work their tails off in the 2nd half, getting the 22 point lead down to 2 at one point. the key to beating okc is to keep them out of the open court by slowing the pace and limiting your turnovers
Even if D Rose came back today in 2011 form, the Bulls would still lose in 6, max. Memphis has a much higher chance of beating OKC, and it has nothing to do with luck.
imo
With all those adjustments, Memphis was one basket from losing, one 20-foot Tony Allen two from being down 2-0, one Westbrook pull-up from being done. That's how big the talent gap is. By no means am I trying to undermine Memphis' win. I am just saying that I don't see it as a harbinger for future success. I hope I'm wrong, obviously.
Durant scored 33 points in 43 minutes. By no means is that an "awesome" game by his standards. Don't get me wrong, I think holding KD to his average on lower efficiency is something Memphis can do reliably. But they're still playing with fire.
Essentially, basketball is a game of coin flips. Memphis is trying to win the coin-flipping game by limiting the number of flips, while OKC wants more flips. Memphis has worse odds on each flips, but they stand a better chance to win the majority of flips if there are fewer. But they still don't stand a great chance. They had to win a freakishly high number just to squeak by last night.
Winning in okc is always a
and it took a miracle 4 point play and missed free throw for them to even force overtime
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