Definitely. So many blowouts mixed in with tight games at such an advanced stage of the competition. Jekyll and Hyde would approve.
GS wins tonight. But OKC closes it out in Game 6 at home. Too much size, too much speed, and Donovan finally is figuring out how to coach in the NBA compared to college. I can't believe a team is outrunning and outgunning the Warriors, but OKC is almost forcing the Dubs to play slow.
"You know why I love boxers? I love them because they face fear. And they face it alone." - Nick Charles
"First on the throttle, last on the brakes." - @MotoGP Twitter signature
Yeah doesn't matter who wins tonight. Warriors are done.
Thunder will have taken down two teams who set records in the regular season. If they don't finish the job and win it all, they may be missing a big chance because their role players may go back to their career norms next year and beyond.
wco81 wrote:Yeah doesn't matter who wins tonight. Warriors are done.
Thunder will have taken down two teams who set records in the regular season. If they don't finish the job and win it all, they may be missing a big chance because their role players may go back to their career norms next year and beyond.
Everyone always seems to forget that the Thunder have always been good. Horrible luck, surpassed by only the mid 2000 Suns, has prevented them from being a serious threat outside of the year they made the Finals and lost. The Thunder are really really good and everyone forgets that with the regular seasons dominance that GSW and SA were in the middle of. With injury luck this season, they are as good as anyone. Obviously.
wco81 wrote:Yeah doesn't matter who wins tonight. Warriors are done.
Thunder will have taken down two teams who set records in the regular season. If they don't finish the job and win it all, they may be missing a big chance because their role players may go back to their career norms next year and beyond.
Everyone always seems to forget that the Thunder have always been good. Horrible luck,
This ^^^
Ever since OKC played the Heat in the Finals, either or both KD and Russ have gone down with injuries. At least NBA teams can forget about KD leaving in FA.
wco81 wrote:Yeah doesn't matter who wins tonight. Warriors are done.
Thunder will have taken down two teams who set records in the regular season. If they don't finish the job and win it all, they may be missing a big chance because their role players may go back to their career norms next year and beyond.
Everyone always seems to forget that the Thunder have always been good. Horrible luck, surpassed by only the mid 2000 Suns, has prevented them from being a serious threat outside of the year they made the Finals and lost. The Thunder are really really good and everyone forgets that with the regular seasons dominance that GSW and SA were in the middle of. With injury luck this season, they are as good as anyone. Obviously.
I think that's a bit simplistic. The Thunder have arguably two of the top five or six players in the league, and even Golden State can't claim that. But their role players and bench were pretty lousy this year. Plus their coach looked during the regular season as clueless as Blatt with the Cavs, Fisher with the Knicks or Hoiberg with the Bulls.
But something has clicked in the playoffs. Adams is playing great, Waiters actually is an asset and not a liability, Roberson is solid, and Ibaka looks like Solid Serge at times. Donovan also is making smart adjustments that are working, such as bodying and trapping against Curry and constantly trying to outrun Golden State, which no team has been able to do with any regular success the last two seasons.
OKC was one of the better teams in the league this season. Yeah, injuries hurt. But I think most NBA prognosticators thought San Antonio would be the team that could topple Golden State in the West, not OKC. Maybe you're among the few and the proud who thought otherwise, DB.
I sure as hell didn't.
"You know why I love boxers? I love them because they face fear. And they face it alone." - Nick Charles
"First on the throttle, last on the brakes." - @MotoGP Twitter signature
pk500 wrote:OKC was one of the better teams in the league this season. Yeah, injuries hurt. But I think most NBA prognosticators thought San Antonio would be the team that could topple Golden State in the West, not OKC. Maybe you're among the few and the proud who thought otherwise, DB.
I sure as hell didn't.
No, I would never say that I thought that anyone would be able to manhandle the Warriors like this. I said from the beginning of the year that GSW would break the wins record and cruise to a chip. So clearly I'm not saying I knew anything everyone else didn't (hell, just look through this thread). But to say it's a huge surprise is what I'm advocating against. Everyone seems so shocked, forgetting that in the past 4-5 years, OKC has been among the favorites every single year. Without much of a roster change, they are putting it all together now.
pk500 wrote:OKC was one of the better teams in the league this season. Yeah, injuries hurt. But I think most NBA prognosticators thought San Antonio would be the team that could topple Golden State in the West, not OKC. Maybe you're among the few and the proud who thought otherwise, DB.
I sure as hell didn't.
No, I would never say that I thought that anyone would be able to manhandle the Warriors like this. I said from the beginning of the year that GSW would break the wins record and cruise to a chip. So clearly I'm not saying I knew anything everyone else didn't (hell, just look through this thread). But to say it's a huge surprise is what I'm advocating against. Everyone seems so shocked, forgetting that in the past 4-5 years, OKC has been among the favorites every single year. Without much of a roster change, they are putting it all together now.
Very well said, dude. This isn't the Pacers or Trail Blazers upsetting two of the top three teams in the league.
"You know why I love boxers? I love them because they face fear. And they face it alone." - Nick Charles
"First on the throttle, last on the brakes." - @MotoGP Twitter signature
Reggie Miller was right: OKC abandoned the pick and roll far too early in the second half. Whether that was a tactical error by Donovan or panic-based freelancing by KD and Westbrook, it was the beginning of the end for the Thunder.
Golden State will beat Cleveland in 6, just like last year.
For all of those who exclaim that Cleveland has a healthy Love and Irving this year, while the Cavs are far better offensively with them on the floor, they're not as good defensively. Irving is completely disinterested in playing any defense, and Thompson and Curry will torch him. Love is a lousy rim protector, so the rebounding and rim protection disadvantages that nearly sank Golden State against the Thunder won't be a worry against Cleveland.
LeBron's streak of reaching seven consecutive Finals is absolutely remarkable. His career mark of 2-5 in those Finals after this series won't be quite as spectacular.
"You know why I love boxers? I love them because they face fear. And they face it alone." - Nick Charles
"First on the throttle, last on the brakes." - @MotoGP Twitter signature
I don't think Cleveland will lose at home. If Cleveland can steal game 1,2 or 4, I think they win in 6 games. If not, then I predict Golden State will win the series in 7. I know Golden State swept the Cavs in the regular season but the Cavs seem more focused than ever. Looking forward to an exciting series!
In order for the Cavs to win they will have to play much like OKC did every game and I don't see them doing that. When OKC won they were playing just like GS but that only worked for so long. The Cavs are built around LeBron even with Love and Irving so the Cavs will only go as far as LeBron takes them.
Rodster wrote:In order for the Cavs to win they will have to play much like OKC did every game and I don't see them doing that. When OKC won they were playing just like GS but that only worked for so long. The Cavs are built around LeBron even with Love and Irving so the Cavs will only go as far as LeBron takes them.
The Cavs can't play like OKC. They're not as long, physical or as good on defense as the Thunder.
"You know why I love boxers? I love them because they face fear. And they face it alone." - Nick Charles
"First on the throttle, last on the brakes." - @MotoGP Twitter signature
When you think OKC and what could have been if James Harden were still on that team. As for KD, I think he's staying put for at least another year with an opt-out in the second year.
Rodster wrote:When you think OKC and what could have been if James Harden were still on that team. As for KD, I think he's staying put for at least another year with an opt-out in the second year.
Very interesting fantasy to debate. I'm not sure if the ball was big enough for KD, Russ and Harden, especially in this non-iso, pace-and-space era. Plus OKC would have been worse defensively, as only Kyrie Irving is more apathetic about defense than Harden among superstar NBA guards.
"You know why I love boxers? I love them because they face fear. And they face it alone." - Nick Charles
"First on the throttle, last on the brakes." - @MotoGP Twitter signature
Rodster wrote:When you think OKC and what could have been if James Harden were still on that team. As for KD, I think he's staying put for at least another year with an opt-out in the second year.
Very interesting fantasy to debate. I'm not sure if the ball was big enough for KD, Russ and Harden, especially in this non-iso, pace-and-space era. Plus OKC would have been worse defensively, as only Kyrie Irving is more apathetic about defense than Harden among superstar NBA guards.
The other problem with Harden was, he wanted to be the team star and felt he was taking a backseat to KD and Russ so he bolted for Houston.
Rodster wrote:When you think OKC and what could have been if James Harden were still on that team. As for KD, I think he's staying put for at least another year with an opt-out in the second year.
Very interesting fantasy to debate. I'm not sure if the ball was big enough for KD, Russ and Harden, especially in this non-iso, pace-and-space era. Plus OKC would have been worse defensively, as only Kyrie Irving is more apathetic about defense than Harden among superstar NBA guards.
The other problem with Harden was, he wanted to be the team star and felt he was taking a backseat to KD and Russ so he bolted for Houston.
Exactly. Russ and KD blend together like peanut butter and jelly. Harden was becoming the unpalatable ketchup in an otherwise tasty PBJ sandwich.
"You know why I love boxers? I love them because they face fear. And they face it alone." - Nick Charles
"First on the throttle, last on the brakes." - @MotoGP Twitter signature
Rodster wrote:The other problem with Harden was, he wanted to be the team star and felt he was taking a backseat to KD and Russ so he bolted for Houston.
Being traded isn't exactly the same as bolting for greener pastures. Presti had to make the decision and it was a money decision more than chemistry. If they wanted to have Ibaka w KD and Russ then Harden had to go. Kind of like Reggie Jackson last year.
Pete1210 wrote:Last year Cavs won 2 of 5 with a starting lineup of Mozgov, Thompson, James, Shumpert and Dellivinova.
Yep. And that's a better defensive lineup than the one Cleveland will put on the floor tonight with Irving and Love. If Ty Lue has any clue about what he's doing, you will see Love or Irving on the bench for longer stretches of the fourth quarter in tight games than you might imagine, due to their defensive liabilities.
"You know why I love boxers? I love them because they face fear. And they face it alone." - Nick Charles
"First on the throttle, last on the brakes." - @MotoGP Twitter signature
Keep in mind, that Steph may not have been 100% healthy from his knee issues in the playoffs. And there's also the Miami Heat factor (which LeBron knows all too well) working against the Warriors in the OKC series where they were so dominant throughout the year, they almost played bored like they thought they were supposed to win until pushed to elimination and then they upped their game.
