***Official NBA Playoff Discussion Thread***

RedRedJarvisRedwhine said:
I've watched him since he was at Texas. I've seen hundreds of his NBA games going back to his Seattle days. Like I said, I like him. And he may prove me wrong. I don't see it. Say hello to the Karl Malone and John Stockton of this decade.
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Potentially. Like I said, if you're letting KD's last game take you on a rollercoaster of opinion about him, I can see it. Other than that, what I saw was a guy who put up points, guarded everybody on the floor on defense except for the PG, and kicked the ball to his teammates for WIDE open looks constantly. Then his teammates couldn't help him out and make those shots. IMO, he did all of those things with the same effectiveness as Lebron, but that wasn't apparent because nobody else could hit their shots. And along with it all, he has shown that he is a competent player with the game on the line, which is something you can't say about LBJ. JMO, but that's what I saw.

 
HuskerShark said:
RedRedJarvisRedwhine said:
I've watched him since he was at Texas. I've seen hundreds of his NBA games going back to his Seattle days. Like I said, I like him. And he may prove me wrong. I don't see it. Say hello to the Karl Malone and John Stockton of this decade.
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Potentially. Like I said, if you're letting KD's last game take you on a rollercoaster of opinion about him, I can see it. Other than that, what I saw was a guy who put up points, guarded everybody on the floor on defense except for the PG, and kicked the ball to his teammates for WIDE open looks constantly. Then his teammates couldn't help him out and make those shots. IMO, he did all of those things with the same effectiveness as Lebron, but that wasn't apparent because nobody else could hit their shots. And along with it all, he has shown that he is a competent player with the game on the line, which is something you can't say about LBJ. JMO, but that's what I saw.
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Well a competent late game performer takes that ball all the way and puts the onus in the ref. Hes gonna get the call. Instead he pulls up from 20 feet with 7 seconds on the clock. Lebron goes to the hole, gets the call, then chokes on the free throw line. But he makes the correct decision to drive to the hole. As much respect as Marc Gasol will get as a defender, I take KD to make or get fouled in that scenario 6/10 times. And by his FG % last night, he should've taken it to the hoop.
 
FWIW, if you look at Jordan's game-winning shots, they were usually mid-range jumpers. What you're saying basically follows the old expression that hindsight is 20/20. Durant was getting collapsed on all game long by 2 and 3 defenders, and he had a really rough night handling the ball as a result. Taking a jump-shot was probably the way to go.

 
HuskerShark said:
FWIW, if you look at Jordan's game-winning shots, they were usually mid-range jumpers. What you're saying basically follows the old expression that hindsight is 20/20. Durant was getting collapsed on all game long by 2 and 3 defenders, and he had a really rough night handling the ball as a result. Taking a jump-shot was probably the way to go.
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And besides, he is a fantastic jump shooter. So when the opportunity presents itself, like it did last night, you take the shot.

The only thing you learned about Kevin Durant in this series is that he can't do it all. Which very few players can. Lebron couldn't do it in Cleveland. Kevin Durant needed Russel Westbrook in this series.

 
Bye Bye Big XII said:
HuskerShark said:
FWIW, if you look at Jordan's game-winning shots, they were usually mid-range jumpers. What you're saying basically follows the old expression that hindsight is 20/20. Durant was getting collapsed on all game long by 2 and 3 defenders, and he had a really rough night handling the ball as a result. Taking a jump-shot was probably the way to go.
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And besides, he is a fantastic jump shooter. So when the opportunity presents itself, like it did last night, you take the shot.

The only thing you learned about Kevin Durant in this series is that he can't do it all. Which very few players can. Lebron couldn't do it in Cleveland. Kevin Durant needed Russel Westbrook in this series.
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Or a serviceable set of support players. Reggie Jackson looked impressive at times, and Ibaka and Martin were very inconsistently decent, but everybody else is just no good whatsoever.

 
Bye Bye Big XII said:
Let me just put it this way. Had Russel Westbrook been healthy, the Thunder would've won this series.
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Im gonna disagree with this. I liked Memphis to make a push last playoffs with Rudy Gay on the team and loved them this year. And as far as Durant not being able to do everything I agree. Like I said, he needs to demand more from his team and be vocal in doing it. He isn't getting the most out of his guys. The Kevin Martin deal was a bust and Sephalocia(sp?) is horrible. I like Westbrooks game but he is essentially a volume jumpshooting point guard. A great rebounding PG so that helps but OKC is so out matched in the trenches and you saw a Memphis team that was gonna live and die with Randolph and Gasol. And if you're gonna compare his failure to do it alone with Lebrons, then you have to be just as critical when he fails. Lebron didn't have anyone the caliber of Westbrook when at Cleveland.
I'm guessing that for the next 5 years, KD will have the spurs, warriors, clippers, Memphis, nuggets, and maybe lakers(depending on Kobe's health/ Howard's free agency and I think they make a hard push to CP3). And as long as Lebron is waiting in the east, I don't see OKC getting a ring.

 
Bye Bye Big XII said:
Let me just put it this way. Had Russel Westbrook been healthy, the Thunder would've won this series.
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Agreed. Reggie Jackson was in way over his head this series trying to guard Conley. Westbrook may not have been able to completely hold him down but he is a much better defender than Jackson is. Durant isn't comfortable having to bring the ball up and create his own shots. Westbrook being healthy would have allowed Durant the freedom he needs off the ball to run off screens and find the easy looks he was getting all year long. Westbrook also pushes the pace more than Jackson did which leads to easy buckets/FT's and in games as close as all these games were that makes a huge difference.

 
RedRedJarvisRedwhine said:
Bye Bye Big XII said:
Let me just put it this way. Had Russel Westbrook been healthy, the Thunder would've won this series.
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Im gonna disagree with this. I liked Memphis to make a push last playoffs with Rudy Gay on the team and loved them this year. And as far as Durant not being able to do everything I agree. Like I said, he needs to demand more from his team and be vocal in doing it. He isn't getting the most out of his guys. The Kevin Martin deal was a bust and Sephalocia(sp?) is horrible. I like Westbrooks game but he is essentially a volume jumpshooting point guard. A great rebounding PG so that helps but OKC is so out matched in the trenches and you saw a Memphis team that was gonna live and die with Randolph and Gasol. And if you're gonna compare his failure to do it alone with Lebrons, then you have to be just as critical when he fails. Lebron didn't have anyone the caliber of Westbrook when at Cleveland.
I'm guessing that for the next 5 years, KD will have the spurs, warriors, clippers, Memphis, nuggets, and maybe lakers(depending on Kobe's health/ Howard's free agency and I think they make a hard push to CP3). And as long as Lebron is waiting in the east, I don't see OKC getting a ring.
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Westbrook is more than just a volume shooting point guard. He's another star player that teams have to prepare and defend against. With both of those guys on the court, the defense has to play pick your poison. You double up Westbrook he kicks it to Ibaka or Durant; you double up Durant, he kicks it to Westbrook or Ibaka. You double up both, you better be prepared to get your a$$ handed to you in the paint.

Another thing about Westbrook is that he is the emotional leader of the team. He's fiery and that helps and hurts his team depending upon the situation. Durant is just not that kind of person, and he never will be. He's the silent lead by example type of person, and there have been many of them in the NBA who have won championships. KD and OKC needed Westbrook. Without him, the series was completely different.

 
Yeah, it's pretty obvious that Westbrook makes OKC a WAY better basketball team. I can't say for sure that they would have beat the Grizzlies if he were playing, but I bet it would have gone into game 7. Memphis is going to be a tough team for anybody, and like I've been saying, I like how they match up with the Heat. I just hope that's not wishful thinking on my part.

 
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