Series Thread: 4) Oklahoma City Thunder vs 5) Utah Jazz

[DJ Fieri]

Jazz proved me wrong about them.

I wonder if Donovan Mitchel would've happened this fast if Hayward had stayed.

Imagine if Heyward had stayed? They would have a nice team for a while.

Maybe not as fast as he did but Heyward's not exactly a ball-stopper. He's a pretty nice passer for a guy who can score.And he's not a chucker, he's an efficient scorer.

 

[trojanfan12]

But somehow people will find a way to blame Russ lol

As the team leader, much of this falls on him. Ramona Shelbourne nailed it with her post that OKC is living and dying by the best and worst of Westbrook's instincts.

Having said that, dude left everything he had on the floor, so it's kind of hard to put much of the blame on him.

 

[rmilia1]

They determined that he fouled "on the gather", so technically speaking, he wasn't shooting making it the correct call.

Having said that, I think it's bs. It's the NBA's version of the NFL's "completing the process/surviving the ground" nonsense on catches.

I know the rule it just doesn't make sense lol. If a guy makes a layup and got fouled at the free throw line he wasn't shooting. George was in the process at least . Russ wasn't even close. Really weird

 

[bksballer89]

 

[trojanfan12]

You'd rather a hero ball hairball from Melo or George?

His team gave him nothing tonight.

Hero ball wouldn't have been needed if George & Anthony showed up but they didn't

Apparently you need to find something you know a little more about to try to sound smart about.

Russ played his ass off last night and is not the reason they lost. However, he did have a little bit of a hand in it.

Russ has the same problem that Kobe had post Shaq and pre Pau. Once he decides it's time to go to "hero ball" he doesn't do a good enough job of "checking back in" to see if someone else can get going. The difference is that Russ has an all star caliber player in PG and a former all star who can still shoot to check back in with and Kobe didn't. Unless and until he figures that out, OKC is always going to have this issue and it's going to be difficult to get other top FA's to join him.

 

[Heatles84]

 

[trojanfan12]

He could be a stepping stone to land a Franchise guy.

Exactly. Landing PG definitely improves the Lakers and depending on the improvement of the youngsters, likely makes them about a 5-7 seed in the playoffs next season. He does not make them a contender.

However, as you point out, he could be the piece that attracts a franchise guy that will make them a contender.

 

[trojanfan12]

Couldn't agree more. So, does LA still go after him if they can't get a franchise player to play alongside him?

Of course they do. It would be stupid not to. He still improves the team a good bit and as @Mecca pointed out, could be the piece to land them a franchise guy. Whether it be Lebron this off-season of someone else next off-season.

 

[bksballer89]

Stupid tweet. If you listened to Russ comments, that wasn't his issue

 

[trojanfan12]

42 shots...by one player. That's ridiculous.

Kobe says "Hold my beer." lol

 

[trojanfan12]

No coincidence that Indy got a lot better after he left?

To be fair, no one saw Oladipo and Sabonis turning into what they have. Even the Pacers own FO said they figured they were a 30 win team this year.

Because of Oladipo and Sabonis, who ironically didn't show that they could play like this when they were playing with Westbrook, they essentially got 2 very good players while losing only 1.

 

[trojanfan12]

I know the rule it just doesn't make sense lol. If a guy makes a layup and got fouled at the free throw line he wasn't shooting. George was in the process at least . Russ wasn't even close. Really weird

Yeah, I agree. That's why I say it's like the catch rules in the NFL (which they may have finally fixed). There are some situations where a guy is clearly going to shoot, so it should be a shooting foul even though he may not technically be "in the act".

 

[thunderc]

As the team leader, much of this falls on him. Ramona Shelbourne nailed it with her post that OKC is living and dying by the best and worst of Westbrook's instincts.

Having said that, dude left everything he had on the floor, so it's kind of hard to put much of the blame on him.

It wasn’t just last night, he plays hard every second of every game. That’s why there is no one in the history of the NBA to compare him to.

 

[trojanfan12]

On PG to LA:

Maybe I'm just trying not to get my hopes up...after all, I'm an admitted PG fanboy. But I'm not convinced that he's coming to the Lakers.

Don't get me wrong. I think chances are more likely than not that PG leaves and if he does, he's likely coming to the Lakers.

Getting bounced in the 1st round is pretty much a worst case scenario for OKC keeping him. About the only thing worse would be having missed the playoffs and even that may not have been as bad depending on the reason.

However, when the "OK3" were on the same page, they looked like a team that could take down the Warriors and Rockets. Also, until last night, PG was the Thunders leading scorer in the series which may indicate that on some level, Westbrook was at least trying to share.

It will likely come down to how well OKC (and Westbrook) can sell PG on the idea that they can co-exist and win a lot more games vs. how well the Lakers can sell him on their youth movement, grabbing another max level guy and how badly he wants to return to LA.

 

[The Oldtimer]

I believe Russ signed another extension, so he's in OKC for a while.

Yes you're right, poor Russell.

 

[Hornsstampede2.0]

OKC is fucked

That giant all time biggest deal in NBA history Westbrook contract hampers them first.

And the appeal of going there hampers them 2nd even with limited cap space.

KD started the rumors....now Carmelo and PG will keep the rumors going that you cannot play with Westbrook.

They will have zero cap room, a bad draft pick, an undesirable cold small market location, and a reputation for not meshing players well.

Durant, Green, Ibaka, Harden, Oladipo, Sabonis, Anthony, and George could make an allstar team of ex-Thunder.

And not a single thing to show for any of them leaving.

 

[trojanfan12]

It wasn’t just last night, he plays hard every second of every game. That’s why there is no one in the history of the NBA to compare him to.

No doubt. It's one of the reasons that he's one of my favorite players to watch. His bad games/stretches/moments are never for a lack of effort or trying to win.

I can't think of anyone in league history that plays as hard as Russ does every minute of every game. The dude literally has no "off switch".

Unfortunately, that's also part of his problem, imo and why I like watching him play for someone other than the Lakers. He would be better served to temper that a bit with letting other guys do some of the heavy lifting.

Last night is a good example, imo. I thought that some of the shots he took late in that game were off because he was tired. Had he waited longer to switch to hero ball or done a better job of trying to get someone else going, maybe they are able to finish coming back and win the game?

 

[trojanfan12]

Durant, Green, Ibaka, Harden, Oladipo, Sabonis, Anthony, and George could make an allstar team of ex-Thunder.

Damn. You could win a lot of games and maybe win a title with that group.

 

[beardown07]

Stupid tweet. If you listened to Russ comments, that wasn't his issue

Fuck that crybaby. Oh noes, the fans said mean things. BFD. Sack the fuck up, poor loser.

 

[OregonDucks]

It's always someone elses fault when you blow up and overreact. You need to call out someone elses behavior to justify your wrongdoing.

The fan may have said something, but whatever it was, if he even did, it had to be small and very quick, like a one word jab because there was hardly any time between when Westbrook walked by him and did his little stunt. I am going to say the fan didn't even say anything and Westbrook is just trying to publically justify his overreaction move.