...Anthony out gave George the impetus to be aggressive. He was impressive guarding the Warrior players positions 1 to 4. Gave them the business on the offensive end too.
I think they decided to take the night off; plus, from what I'm hearing, their bench isn't that great. Oh, and we dodged a bullet not signing Iggy; for those who remember, he was our first phone call last summer...yikes!. Think GS is going to regret that deal.
Nah... OKC came out and punched them in the mouth. Westbrook played his usual "angry" ball. George was efficient, lethal. Adams manhandled the Warrior front line in the second half even if he was limited with foul trouble.
Oh, Melo only played 6 mins. Hmm, makes a little more sense now. If he opts in this summer they’re so screwed. Huge payroll and no title to show for it.
They're 5-0 against Raptors, Rockets, Cavaliers and Warriors. 1-1 against the Spurs and lost by 2 points against the C Bags. You don't give them the elite teams. Sent from my E6533 using Tapatalk
Kerr referred to them being mentally fatigued the other night in Sacramento; but I'll take your word for it. I didn't watch the game...
Greg Anthony noted that Golden State did look out of sync and a step slow... The matter is that they can still be explosive with that core but OKC just throttled them to the point where they could not get untracked as they are known to do. I've never seen them kept down and dominated like they were. Thunder hammered them on the boards, active hands deflecting passes, ran the Splash brothers off the three point line, effective defensive switching on the perimeter. Green looked frustrated all night. Adams? He's a hulking presence that moves well, plays smart and doesn't force anything. Saw this one sequence where even he ran Curry out of the three point line forcing him to pass on the move. I hope OKC left it all on the floor tonight with not much for Thursday against us...
Good for us if...? They play the way they did tonight, OKC will be a tough out. Sure I'm wondering if tonight was an aberration but I was impressed.
I'm uncertain if he gets bounced out early that he'll leave; I think it will help our chances, and yes it's good for us...the phrase "too bad" was inferred if he re-upped in OKC and wanted to stay in mediocrity during his prime years. Sure, they'll be a tough out, but the west is stacked; and Billy Donovan, who is one of the worst coaches in the league, will get out coached, IMO. OKC is an early out; now if we're talking with Roberson, that could possibly be a different discussion, but as we know, he's done for the season.
OKC bench played out their minds tonight too... Grant, Patterson, that kid with the mullet beard making treys. Westbrook could just as easily shoot them out of the game.
Not a good thing when OKC wins. The moment he got traded i was saying "Oh s***, watch out". Some of us were downplaying it. Some were bummed out. I'm starting to prepare for the let down...
It can't be stated enough that if Melo and George opt into their player options next season to stay in OKC, the Thunder will be the 1st team ever to pay out more than 300M in combined guaranteed salary and luxury taxes. Now that's with George only opting into his $20.7M player option and 4 of their free agents not reupping. If they wanted to resign their 4 free agents and give PG13 the 30M max, you're looking at closer to $350M in combined salary and taxes. 14/15 season: 2.8M in luxury taxes 15/16 season: 14.5M 16/17 season: no luxury taxes cause KD bailed 17/18 season: 24.5M 18/19 season: projected 150-200M Last season, they made a profit of $64M with KD off the team and Russ winning MVP. This season they could also turn a profit with their luxury tax bill only being 24.5M, but marginally considering the higher team salary. So seriously, you think next season Clay's going to be okay with losing money for a team that isn't heavily favored to win it all? If Clay made a 64M profit with just the MVP on the roster, why would he go in the red with more "names" on the roster if they ain't title favorites? Btw, Lakers are worth 3.3Billy and only come 2nd to the Knicks in their 3.6B valuation.
I can't see how Paul George won't be coming here. This is playing out perfectly. Lakers are winning. They have great chemistry that's building. Luke has figured out his rotations. This team is only gonna get better and they don't even have their PG playing. OKC isn't winning s***. Parts don't fit. Get George this summer and if LeBron comes, fine, but if LeBron doesn't come, sign Boogie and keep the rest of the core like Randle and clarkson. Let Brooks and KCP go, the team is set from there.
Wish I could share in your optimism but its truly going to come down to how we finish this year and how OKC does in the playoffs. I love to be optimistic whenever I can but looking at this logically and seeing the little signs here and there from PG and that team. I don't like our chance of getting him. Russ is making it easier for PG too.
Why are you such a downer? We are going to sneak into the playoffs then shock the world and beat Golden State in an epic seven game series where Corey Brewer will hit a game winning 3 as time expires. Then we will sweep OKC in the second round, but lose in 7 to Houston.
This is from a regular viewer's standpoint. Russell Westbrook has learned how to include PG in his game and the chemistry is really building up. Familiarity on the floor on and off the ball for these two has been gradually getting better and better. So that doesn't help our chances. --- I hope they win it all so PG can move on and get over "winning a title". Because I'm seeing this through, with a successful trade, OKC is at least gonna make it to the WCF. Sent from my E6533 using Tapatalk
There's first to everything. That is more likely to happen than them having a R1 exit. Sent from my E6533 using Tapatalk
