2016 NBA Playoffs WESTERN Conference Discussion

Other than Curry...who does Golden State have that can create off the dribble and make plays for himself or teammates? Same lack of that did in San Antonio. The Warrior supporting cast seems to be more of the catch and shoot ilk living off their constantly moving offense. The Thunder have two dynamic players who can do such things plus the role players are contributing too. Defense, crashing the glass. Another thing is that OKC is running the ball down their throats...a dose of their own medicine. Heck, Westbrook is a one man fastbreak by himself...

 

Agree but just not to the degree of being an impact player. Westbrook and Durant can. Cause defenses to collapse, get everyone in the arena other than their own teammates to scramble and commit fouls. It is still possible for Golden State to come back from this deficit. I wouldn't throw dirt on their graves yet. Survive Game 5 and eke out Game 6 IF OKC revert to their disjointed ways...then it's theirs. Tall task but not impossible.

 

Those right there are the two biggest problems for Warriors this series. I agree with Kerr in what he said in the post game press conference: THey played a lot better on defense tonight, but you have to finish the defensive possession by getting the rebound.

Also, all those turnovers aren't helping at all. Lack of focus - turnovers and lacking effort - giving up offensive rebounds are killing the Warriors.

 

They are getting a butt whooping on the boards...

No rebounds, no rings...
- Pat Riley

 

^^^ I think GS can get the next game, but I don't see them winning 3 in a row. I don't think it's really anything Kerr is doing or not doing either, OKC seems like a team on a mission, they're hungrier right now. Specifically, Westbrook has his Kobe on a mission face on right now. He is on a mission to destroy Curry, and when he gets going on the fast break racing to the hoop, he can't be stopped right now. I really hope he and the team can keep it up, stay hungry, because I need them to beat LeBron. They certainly seem capable even though history isn't on their side, hopefully they're as hungry to get revenge on him as Westbrook is to destroy Curry.

 

Draymond Green is being exposed in this series as well. It's like all season long (last two seasons actually), he was able move freely and do anything he wanted because of the space Klay and Steph gave him. It was almost like he was going through walk-throughs with the way no one was really playing defense on him. The Thunder are actually guarding him. They put Adams in his grill and he can't do anything. All the talk about how unique he is on offense, I always kind of questioned a bit. He always seemed like he had 5-6 feet of space around him. And he's not running around getting hard screens to get open. He just doesn't have people guarding him. I haven't broken down the tape, but from just watching the game, it seems like the Thunder just decided to actually guard Draymond and not cheat off of him to Klay and Steph. Without some dude making open passes in the center of their sets, the GS offense is bogging down.

 

I also think Curry is more hurt than they're letting on. Curry is missing open shots and layups. I mean, he hasn't missed those all season long. Combine his bum knee with him having to run 24/7 against the aforementioned maniacal Westbrook (who needs to be tested...not for PEDs, but to see if he has cybernetic parts), you have a recipe for disaster.

 

Well the OKC defense just isn't biting on all the screens and stuff. They're using their length and athleticism defensively to force tough shots. Then with that same length and athleticism they're securing rebounds to limit Golden State's chances. They're fighting small ball with large ball which is something nobody else has been able to do.

OKC got a primer on the motion offense with San Antonio. The Spurs would run around in their motion offense and the Thunder would just switch everything so all that running just got the offense tired and nobody was ever freed up for a shot. There was no chasing the ball around the perimeter, it was just straight up defense using all that length and athleticism.

 

TROPHIESˢᴹ | Draymond Green gets a text from Kobe Bryant after theGolden State Warriors fall behind 3-1 to the Thunder.

An UNINTERRUPTED Original

 

I want the Warriors to win, but I agree with you. KD and Russ won't let this opportunity past them by.

 

The Warriors would have to dig incredibly deep to win three straight. I don't see it happening. Steph doesn't have that extra gear right now since the MCL knee injury. The Thunder are playing exceptionally well, have immense hunger and all of the momentum. I can see one last ditch monster effort tonight from GS forcing game 6, but I don't think it goes further than that.

We will see how strong Westbrook and Durant's killer instincts are this evening. Donovan has that squad playing relentless ball. I don't think GS's cool attitude is going to work. They will have to throw that away and go all out to match OKC's energy.

 

I wanted OKC to get destroyed by the Spurs so that our chances of getting Durant could increase ever so marginally. Welp, that's not happening.

They've surpassed my expectations, and if they win the whole thing, they would beat the Mavs, Spurs, Warriors, and Cavs. That's really impressive. It kind of feels like the Mavs-run.

On the other hand, maybe if the Thunder lose 3 straight in a row, it will plant some doubt in Durant's mind to leave. Maybe..