He can shoot you back into a game but he can also shoot you out of a game with his shot selection at times. Like you said he needs to defer to Gasol more instead of trying to do so much most of the time.
And the foul on Westbrook was just beyond a player like him. No excuse for that at all. Let me add Westbrook's 3-point shooting has improved dramatically. He's drilled a bunch of them late in games the last couple of months. Regarding Ibaka, folks need to realize he can hit a 15-20 foot jumper and has been doing it since last year. People automatically stereotype him as an offensively challenged player, which is nonsense. The spin move in the first half was sweet and I imagine he'll bring that out more next season. He can do it in both directions.
Miami Heat vs OKC Finals, would be a pretty epic, but I don't see Thunder beating the Lakers over 7 games just yet.
I don't either but that would be a cool Finals. The guys who ganged up vs the team out together the "old school way".
Not a Melo fan, but Carmelo took over tonight (and the other night and the night before that ) in the absence of Amare against the Pacers and hit the game-winner tonight...didn't even have a turnover....as the Knicks keep their winning streak alive People like Roslolian look silly for saying Landry Fields is more valuable than him or is better than Anthony. Also for the people who like using the facile and simplistic +/- stat to make a "point"....Shawne Williams was +16 tonight while Melo was +6...Thus if you went off of that bs state you wouldn't realize that Melo was the best player on the court and won the game for his team.
+/- may not be big for ONE game, but over a reg season, it's very valuable. many coaches use that stat to determine their lineups.
I disagree....I don't wanna derail the thread, but lemme just say that basic +/- is NOT an accurate representation of what goes on during a game. Adjusted +/-...that's another story cuz it's a better representation, but neither give you the full picture which is why you have to watch the games. Yup, forgot about that one...He blocked Granger to end the game.
obviously you have to watch the games. and i'm sure people who use the +/- correctly would also watch the games to justify their use of that stat. i know spoelstra uses the +/- to determine his lineups and he has said that openly. and other coaches have done the same thing. you watch the games, but this stat can help you confirm what you're seeing.
ahh, but that wasn't game 7 when they got 27 ft's in the 4th quarter. that was game 6, which was in LA.
Yep, you're right. The time has fuzzed my memory. I was pretty upset after the game. Game 4 was the shot that still gives me chills when I see replays. 2002 was the year the Kings should have won the championship instead of the Lakers. Too be "shoulds" don't count.
Lakers will be fine. They're struggling, so what? They lost 7 out of their last 11 heading into the playoffs last year and they won it all. They'll probably end up with the 2 seed and have to go through San Antonio on the road. Big deal. Lakers have the matchup advantage of the Spurs anyways
I agree that the Lakers match up well with the Spurs if they end up playing in the conference finals. The Lakers have no answer for Tony Parker, but the Spurs can't match the Lakers front line. Also, I just don't foresee Duncan being able to get into any kind of groove with the Lakers putting Joey Crawford on him during key stretches.
the thunder are young, big, hungry, have a superstar, have a second star, play defense, what more do you want?
