ClutchFans Game Thread: Thunder @ Rockets 4/25/2017 (Playoffs Round 1, Game 5)

Game 5 ended with a bit of a whimper tbh, so not as much excitement. Also I daresay we were more relieved than anything else that this series is behind us.

And the CF old heads are ruthless in smacking down unnecessary new threads, so people think twice

 

Man, we are dead last in 3% for the playoffs at .284. Kinda ironic.

 

Kawhi Leonard, 2-way basketball player

W-L-W-L-L-L

Now we know what will happen if we play the Spurs next.

 

And yet beat OKC 4-1

If we can up that to around 37%, we have a chance in Round 2

 

Wow lol

 

I've been told that Houston is nothing without their 3 ball. Harden system player because of his elite shooting.

What a world.

 

Worth its own thread!

 

HA! That line is exactly how they lost to OKC last year.

 

This play is just unbelivable. I remember seeing it real time but it happened so fast
it was hard to tell what happened.
But you can plainly see he interfered with Oladipo's putback so he could take control
and make the hero play himself. Why would he do that in such a close game?
Because he wants the stats, that's the ONLY reason.
MVP my great behind. NO MVP worth his salt would jeopardize a must win game for his own glory.
Except a 6th seed MVP

 

To be fair brother, I personally don't think Westbrook intended on blocking his teammate. I think he was caught in the moment and was just over hustling to get the rebound. It was a critical point of the game.

 

It's happening.

 

<a href="https://ibb.co/fjGzak"><img src="https://image.ibb.co/jiTqgQ/IMG_5514.jpg" alt="IMG_5514" border="0"></a>

 

OKC was rushing out the line. Spurs have older players. Don't believe they will be closing gap as quick as OKC was doing.

 

I took as it happened so fast he wasn't aware of his teammate having best position and when in doubt be aggressive and just grab the ball.

So it's kinda more deliciously ironic to me. And funny to think that maybe he was so used to teammates letting him pad his stats with rebounds, he was conditioned to expect that to be his. I just think it's more an example of how WB gets tunnel vision to the ball and rim in the 4th Q, which is one of his weaknesses, he can go too fast with blinders on...less court awareness.

And in this case ... oops, he blocks a teammate. lulz

 

I've played enough ball to know that you DO NOT contest a shot at your own basket. LOL
Especially in a close game. I don't see how it could have been mistaken identity for the fact
that Oladipo seemed to be in control of the ball, preparing to make a putback, when WB swoops
in to swat it away and take it to the baseline for his own attempt.
I don't know. Looks like poor judgement to me or simply greedy play.
Just loved the irony that WB missed on his reverse attempt

 

This. I don't think OKC gets enough credit on how good they are defensively.

 

Getting so many days off waiting for the playoff round to start is foreign to the Rockets.

So... any news if the players are doing light workouts today? Film study?

 

What I noticed in this series is that the refs do not swallow their whistles for the playoffs as much as they used to, which is great for us. Harden and Lou got the foul calls going up for three multiple times, for Harden sometimes multiple times in a single game. The foul drawing ability stacks, so even though Harden is drawing plenty they're still willing to give it to Lou at the same rate he was drawing in the regular season. We couldn't hit our threes, but our TS% as a team was respectable thanks to getting to the line, plus Nene's insane finishing ability inside. Gordon can't seem to draw free throws the same way, even though he drives to the rim a lot too. Who knows why?

Our roster construction should bear this in mind going forward. Anderson's TS% was sky high during the regular season, but he's ice cold in the playoffs and can't adjust. The only time he looked remotely effective was when Gibson fell for his pump fakes and he attacked the hoop, which he cannot do on a regular basis. Ariza can't drive well either and suffered a similar drop in the first round, but at least he contributes with above average defense. All of our scorers need to be able to shoot, drive the ball, and draw free throws. Preferably all three. Hayward and Gallinari seem to be the best free agents this summer at being able to do this.

 

Yeah, I was just giving WB the benefit of the doubt because I personally can't conceive/fathom trying to "steal" a rebound from a teammate like that intentionally during that part of the game. Maybe he was being greedy for his own stats. I would think it would take a more calculated effort in that moment to jump up and block the potential "tip-in" from Oladipo just to get the rebound for himself. It is just absurd...but hey...anything is possible.