[Western Conference Semi-Finals] Oklahoma City vs Memphis

Purposely downplaying your team's chances so you can be pleasantly surprised if/when they do win

 

What?

 

As long as, at every point in the game, the offense runs through one of either Gasol or Randolph, Memphis won't have a hard time with anything.

It's plays like Prince seeing Gasol, in a great position in the low post, and driving it in from the left to shoot a contested hook shot, that will blow the game for Memphis.

Hollins needs to drive it into his perimeter players that Gasol and Randolph should have the offense run through them.

 

No, Curry is a great player. That much is very obvious. But people saw him have some great games in the playoffs, then immediately act like he's been just incredibly dominant all season long, when that just ain't the case.

Same case with Memphis. They're very good, and certainly have a shot at winning the series, but people giving OKC "no chance" and just writing OKC off, I find to be pretty foolish.

 

I know that,I already said Memphis could do it but don't get why everyone is so confident in them doing it just because they did it against the Clippers.

 

Yeah, but OKC can defend the Memphis bigs with single coverage most of the time, which is huge because so much of what Memphis does is off the post being collapsed. The Clippers apparently couldn't do this without fouling since Memphis went to the line like 40 times a game, but, as I said earlier, we won't see that with OKC. In fact, we'll see just the opposite as the Thunder get a lot of cheap calls themselves.

Honestly, if OKC hadn't come out so rusty to start, this game probably wouldn't have been that close. I expect a convincing OKC win next game.

 

Next game I expect a heavy dose of ball denial on KD.

 

The problem is, Durant has to do literally every single thing for his team to win.

He has to score. He has to find Martin / Fisher in the corner. He has to play good defense to try and disrupt the pass inside to Gasol and Randolph.

On top of all that, he has to be defended by the best defensive squad in basketball.

OKC isn't up 3-0 anymore, like they were against the Rockets. OKC can't just think "oh, we'll just win the next one, and move on." Hollins has time to adjust, while Durant has to keep having monster game after monster game.

 

As do I...


And then I expect Durant to still drop 28+ per usual

 

They have no one who even has a chance of checking him. Prince is too slow now and Allen is too small. He had so many open looks in the first half that he just bricked.

Also, hard to see Ibaka missing so many wide open shots next game.

 

Very overlooked factor from all these newfound Memphis believers. They act like OKC played their best game, yet only won by a couple. They had only 2 real consistent contributors in Durant and Martin, and their 2nd best player at the moment went a dreadful 1-10. They will certainly improve over the course of the series.

 

I will admit I had no idea how much Perkins had regressed offensively. That was embarrassing out there.

 

Regressed? Perkins has always been terrible on offense.

 

Yeah but in this game it was like he had never played before. He had some very Kwame Brownesque plays.

 

The Grizzlies could really use Francisco Garcia

 

Anyone remember when the Grizzlies lost Game 2 against the Clippers in heartbreaking fashion and never recovered and got swept?

 

If anything, most people hear are relying on that since only a few of us are picking OKC and I still see a lot of Grizz in 5 comments.

 

FIFY.

 

I had Grizz in 6. I think they win their home games and steal 1 in OKC.

Honestly, if the Grizz had Parsons instead of Tay Prince, they would be easily better. Parsons can run and he can actually space the floor.

 

Prince is being overrated as a defender, at this point in his career. When he was on that team in Detroit, there's no doubt he was lockdown. He can't do anything to stop Durant (not that anyone really can).

Parsons would also pass to Gasol. lol