2025 NBA Finals: OKC Thunder vs Indiana Pacers

[Pastafazul]

Primitive? lol

Many teams in the NBA use zone defenses


Sorry bro, but when you have players who clearly don’t want to play aggressive D you must implement zone . It not only changes up how your opponent attacks the rim, or not , …it save the legs

If you don’t see that these 2 are clearly quicker on the offensive side then the d side , you’re not payin attention

The switch up that Thibs played make no sense if you’re lazy to begin with

No response?


Why is it that at the highest level of the game, we throw out all strategy of how to win games?

Ya got to be the biggest hypocrite on this board , with your insight and knowledge of game, and you coached. WTF man!

 

[dtgold88]

Ummmm….

At the time of the trade Watson was mired in scandal and had just sat out the entire previous season.

I remember just about everyone outside Browns fans on here ridiculing the move and the subsequent contract.

That simply was not the case for the PG trade.

OK? There were still a good dozen teams who went after him and 4-6 were allowed to meet with him (who were willing to offer same package the Browns did).

sure, many overreacted and ridiculed the contract but this was a QB which is kind of important in the NFL.....we also did not give up a league MVP to get him (and more 1st rounders than the Browns gave up, too, if memory serves).

 

[dtgold88]

I'm also a millionaire investment czar who knows more about global policy than any government on the planet.



Message board guy test pass?

Not yet.......gotta get to the point where despite not coaching past a rec level you clearly know more about how to run an NBA team than the coaches who have been around them all season.

 

[dtgold88]

Yes. The Finals should have the script logo painted on the floor. I'd also accept a giant trophy logo at center court. Not digital logos the network puts on either. I'm talking actually painted on

Team played in 4 straight Finals.....couldn't tell ya if there was a Finals logo half court in any of them.

 

[bksballer89]

Team played in 4 straight Finals.....couldn't tell ya if there was a Finals logo half court in any of them.

People find the weirdest thing to bitch about lol the nba last used the nba finals logo at half court in 2014….now 11 years later everyone wants to bitch about it

I do agree it should be brought back but find it funny that it took 11 years for people to cry so much about it. What happens the previous 10 finals?

 

[tlance]

OK? There were still a good dozen teams who went after him and 4-6 were allowed to meet with him (who were willing to offer same package the Browns did).

sure, many overreacted and ridiculed the contract but this was a QB which is kind of important in the NFL.....we also did not give up a league MVP to get him (and more 1st rounders than the Browns gave up, too, if memory serves).

The contract was the bigger problem.

Not as much what they gave to get him.

But very apples to oranges comparing NFL trades to NBA

 

[tlance]

No response?


Why is it that at the highest level of the game, we throw out all strategy of how to win games?

Ya got to be the biggest hypocrite on this board , with your insight and knowledge of game, and you coached. WTF man!

Yes. It is a primitive response by you.

Of course NBA teams use zones sometimes. But you aren’t giving any thought to matchups or anything beyond “hey, let’s play zone! That will fix it!”

It is rare to find an NBA team that can be zoned effectively in the playoffs as more than a change of pace. These teams are too skilled and they can adjust.

Pacers in particular would be a nightmare to zone with all of their shooting and ability to move the ball.

Just a bad idea.

 

[dtgold88]

The contract was the bigger problem.

Not as much what they gave to get him.

But very apples to oranges comparing NFL trades to NBA

The contract was overblown. Play like the many teams thought he would who went after him he would have been underpaid within a year.

No doubt trades are different but the Clips acquired a regressing, oft injured SF and gave up a ton of picks AND a future MVP. Lost PG for nothing......
Browns acquired a QB in his prime who had never missed a game due to injury since his rookie season. Houston received no one close to MVP level in the deal. Guessing we lose Watson for nothing eventually.

Can make a case trade more sense at time for the Browns and turned out worse for the Clips. Not that it helps the Browns in any way. Just gives them company for bad deals.

Now the baseball version? Not sure.

 

[shopson67]

Bill Simmons said the same thing I noticed with Caruso since the Denver series. He fouls his opponents on every possession and the refs turn a blind eye to it. Hand checking nonstop

Same case with virtually every so-called defensive specialist. They just get away with more.

 

[tlance]

The contract was overblown. Play like the many teams thought he would who went after him he would have been underpaid within a year.

No doubt trades are different but the Clips acquired a regressing, oft injured SF and gave up a ton of picks AND a future MVP. Lost PG for nothing......
Browns acquired a QB in his prime who had never missed a game due to injury since his rookie season. Houston received no one close to MVP level in the deal. Guessing we lose Watson for nothing eventually.

Can make a case trade more sense at time for the Browns and turned out worse for the Clips. Not that it helps the Browns in any way. Just gives them company for bad deals.

Now the baseball version? Not sure.

Why no mention of his legal troubles and sitting out a year?

That was a huge part of why it was a major risk.

Without any of that, would have been a win for the Browns. But that context is essential in evaluating the deal. As is the contract the Browns gave.

And if I recall correctly, nobody else was willing to do that. That contract is why Watson changed his mind and added Cleveland to his list of places he wanted to play.

 

[shopson67]

Primitive? lol

Many teams in the NBA use zone defenses


Sorry bro, but when you have players who clearly don’t want to play aggressive D you must implement zone . It not only changes up how your opponent attacks the rim, or not , …it save the legs

If you don’t see that these 2 are clearly quicker on the offensive side then the d side , you’re not payin attention

The switch up that Thibs played make no sense if you’re lazy to begin with

Playing zone in a 3pt happy league is asking for trouble. The zone encourages the 3 pt shot, which can get you down quickly against many teams.

 

[dtgold88]

Why no mention of his legal troubles and sitting out a year?

That was a huge part of why it was a major risk.

Without any of that, would have been a win for the Browns. But that context is essential in evaluating the deal. As is the contract the Browns gave.

And if I recall correctly, nobody else was willing to do that. That contract is why Watson changed his mind and added Cleveland to his list of places he wanted to play.

Seems all the teams looking to acquire him knew about those and didn't seem to care?all we know is he agreed to play for Browns. we don't know how far other teams were willing to go with a deal. Not some crazy notion at time preferred Browns to the other options as figured better chance to win.....of course, that was with him thinking he could still play.

FYI, Cleveland was always on his list as they were one of the 4-5 he was willing to meet with. He omitted some before that.

But you can get the last word on Watson so this stays about OKC (as my comment did....amazing deal for OKC).

 

[thunderc]

You’re not wrong but I do think it’s crazy to rest your top player 7 minutes in basketball time

So I had a sizeable bet on the Thunder -4.5 in the 1st quarter. It wasn’t looking great at the 2 minute mark so I approved of Carlisle pulling Haliburton at that point.

 

[Pastafazul]

Yes. It is a primitive response by you.

Of course NBA teams use zones sometimes. But you aren’t giving any thought to matchups or anything beyond “hey, let’s play zone! That will fix it!”

It is rare to find an NBA team that can be zoned effectively in the playoffs as more than a change of pace. These teams are too skilled and they can adjust.

Pacers in particular would be a nightmare to zone with all of their shooting and ability to move the ball.

Just a bad idea.

There is no harm in trying

They have specific zones that can disrupt an opponents game

Clearly, we saw only 1 defense used against an opponent that clearly was ineffective

And as far as primitive, what do you call what Carlyle’s decision to defend the inbounds right off the start of a game?

 

[shopson67]

Pretty spot on...Caruso changes the energy of the game and does all of the little things. He's kind of a swiss army knife for the Thunder...

He watches what's happening and then goes in and provides what the Thunder need.

Offense, defense, energy, whatever...

I don't know if he's the 3rd most important player...but he's a huge part of what makes them so good.

For a similar reason, explains why the Bucks have struggled since replacing Jrue with Lillard, the supposedly superior player. Fit and role are key.

 

[Pastafazul]

Playing zone in a 3pt happy league is asking for trouble. The zone encourages the 3 pt shot, which can get you down quickly against many teams.

Again their are specific zones used for both the shot, and for the inside game

Adjustment have to be made

Clearly I live in fantasy land cause I would think a coaches responsibility is to give his team the best chance of winning.

Not in today’s game.

Like tlance said, they have little time to practice… which is absurd

 

[shopson67]

Sitting for 10 minutes of game time in the first half is a bit much. If that 10 minute number is accurate, he only sat 4 minutes the second half (total of 34 minutes played).

 

[shopson67]

Again their are specific zones used for both the shot, and for the inside game

Adjustment have to be made

Clearly I live in fantasy land cause I would think a coaches responsibility is to give his team the best chance of winning.

Not in today’s game.

Like tlance said, they have little time to practice… which is absurd

What zone has defenders at or beyond the arc?

 

[tlance]

There is no harm in trying

They have specific zones that can disrupt an opponents game

Clearly, we saw only 1 defense used against an opponent that clearly was ineffective

And as far as primitive, what do you call what Carlyle’s decision to defend the inbounds right off the start of a game?

Half court defense was not the main problem against the Pacers.

It was transition defense and secondary break.

Why not try a zone?

Because it wasn’t likely to work. Would just lead to open shots in the half court in addition to open shots in transition.

Have no idea what you are talking about with Carlisle.

 

[shopson67]

Clearly I live in fantasy land

no argument here