I’m watching these playoffs, we scrape past OKC. Russ is injured, he comes back, I’m telling myself he is just a bit rusty. The Lakers series game 1 we absolutely surprise them as they realise they can’t play Mcgee and Howard heavy minutes. Game 2 they adjust - they’re trapping Harden, they play zone, they play AD at the 5. Our system is shocked. We adjust a bit and start hitting shots with Harden and 4 shooters. And here come the Russ only minutes and we implode and lose the hard earned lead. Bad turnovers, bad shots. Game 3 both teams come out on fire. We implode again in the 3rd quarter when they start trapping Harden. Our spacing is ruined with Russ on the court. He can’t get easy shots at the rim with AD and Lebron. He starts forcing jumpers with Harden out of the possession cause he is double teamed. I was hoping we’d get February Russ in the playoffs. But can we really? Every smart defensive team will trap Harden and make someone else beat them. Looks like Russ is not capable of taking advantage of this because ultimately he can’t shoot the ball.
probably not. and definitely not with cheap tillmen thinking he can play gm too. harden is gifted, but i don't think he has that extra gear like jordan, mergady, hakeem. having harden say turtle is the team's leader was disheartening.
Can we win without a true center might be a more valid question. Can we win with big men having their way at the rim? Russ is rebounding better than anyone but isn't our center.
Westbrook before contracting Covid and getting injured in the bubble...yes current Westbrook...absolutely not
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO DD
Westbrook 5/4 years ago when he could hit a decent midrange maybe.. now.. before after during covid... no
EDIT: Can we win with only 3 players? Can we win without a real PF, a real C? Can we win when your beloved superstar quits game after game every year? Then, can we win with a recovering Westbrook?
Lol. I guess we lost tonight because of defense as well. Our offense is in shambles when Harden gets trapped. It’s embarrassing
