Tequilla
Active poster
Game 5: 31 shots for Westbrook; 24 for Durant
If you look at the box score, you see that Westbrook had 31-10-13 last night and would say that he played a great game. He had a steal at the end of regulation to push the game into OT.
But when you watch the game, you see a team that is so far gone from the standpoint of being a good offensive team that it's borderline painful to watch.
1) Let's get the KD stuff out of the way. He's the best scorer in the game right now going up against arguably the best perimeter defender in Tony Allen that takes away enough air space from KD that he's forced into taking tough, tight, and contested jumpers. Kudos to Allen for his defensive play - it's fun to watch. However, there are areas where you see KD's two biggest current weaknesses exposed combined with a great example of how Scott Brooks is a FS coach. Regarding Brooks, the OKC offense is designed to function in transaction and basically turn itself into street ball. It has minimal direction in the halfcourt other than an endless stream of whoever has the ball either jacks up the shot or it turns into one pass and a shot. You could easily have a drinking game that is tied to OKC having 3 or more passes in the halfcourt prior to a shot attempt. The biggest advantage that KD has over Tony Allen is his height. One way that you can take advantage of KD's height (without having to tap into his weakness) is to continually run KD off of screens and curls such that you get KD moving TOWARDS the basket. On the last play of the game last night, the play drawn up was a screen for KD having him move AWAY from the basket. However, KD needs to do two primary things in the offseason. First, he needs to develop a post game that punishes teams for putting smaller players on him like Tony Allen. When he develops this, he's certain to be doubled. He needs to become a better passer and creator for his teammates such that he isn't throwing up 6 TO games against 2 assists in a Game 5 that is a borderine must win.
2) Normally I bag on Westbrook for the fact that OKC's assists to field goal relationship is so terrible. Last night, again on paper, it looked good with 24 assists on 36 field goals. That's a fairly decent ratio. However, so often last night you'd watch possessions and it was Westbrook (or at times Jackson) just pounding the ball into the court, looking for a screen in the pick and roll so that they could attack the rim. IF there was a pass, it was often a single pass and a shot. In contrast, if you watch Memphis play, they are able to at least 3-4 times per quarter generate an easy basket simply because they are able to move the ball throughout their team and allow the ball to beat the defense. What ends up happening to Westbrook, regardless of what his stat line shows is that as the game gets into the latter stages, everybody knows that he isn't going to pass. You really only need to defend anybody that is within a single pass of Westbrook with everybody else able to provide help in the lane which ends up leading to a very difficult drive for him to get to the basket. The fact that he is 0 for the series in OT is telling to me and speaks to the fact that he's putting everything on his back and isn't creating for his teammates.
IF OKC was smart at all, they'd be looking for a replacement for Scott Brooks as soon as this series is over (and they will lose the series). They also should immediately be looking for possible trade partners for Westbrook to not only bring back more of a pure PG, but also to find an opportunity to establish greater depth on the team so that they can surround KD with more weapons. At that point, the onus is on KD to address his weaknesses and step up and put the team on his back. Additionally, without moves, I can't see any chance that KD stays past his contract as you could see him standing in the corner last night of the court watching Westbrook going 1 on 5 and just shaking his head.
If you look at the box score, you see that Westbrook had 31-10-13 last night and would say that he played a great game. He had a steal at the end of regulation to push the game into OT.
But when you watch the game, you see a team that is so far gone from the standpoint of being a good offensive team that it's borderline painful to watch.
1) Let's get the KD stuff out of the way. He's the best scorer in the game right now going up against arguably the best perimeter defender in Tony Allen that takes away enough air space from KD that he's forced into taking tough, tight, and contested jumpers. Kudos to Allen for his defensive play - it's fun to watch. However, there are areas where you see KD's two biggest current weaknesses exposed combined with a great example of how Scott Brooks is a FS coach. Regarding Brooks, the OKC offense is designed to function in transaction and basically turn itself into street ball. It has minimal direction in the halfcourt other than an endless stream of whoever has the ball either jacks up the shot or it turns into one pass and a shot. You could easily have a drinking game that is tied to OKC having 3 or more passes in the halfcourt prior to a shot attempt. The biggest advantage that KD has over Tony Allen is his height. One way that you can take advantage of KD's height (without having to tap into his weakness) is to continually run KD off of screens and curls such that you get KD moving TOWARDS the basket. On the last play of the game last night, the play drawn up was a screen for KD having him move AWAY from the basket. However, KD needs to do two primary things in the offseason. First, he needs to develop a post game that punishes teams for putting smaller players on him like Tony Allen. When he develops this, he's certain to be doubled. He needs to become a better passer and creator for his teammates such that he isn't throwing up 6 TO games against 2 assists in a Game 5 that is a borderine must win.
2) Normally I bag on Westbrook for the fact that OKC's assists to field goal relationship is so terrible. Last night, again on paper, it looked good with 24 assists on 36 field goals. That's a fairly decent ratio. However, so often last night you'd watch possessions and it was Westbrook (or at times Jackson) just pounding the ball into the court, looking for a screen in the pick and roll so that they could attack the rim. IF there was a pass, it was often a single pass and a shot. In contrast, if you watch Memphis play, they are able to at least 3-4 times per quarter generate an easy basket simply because they are able to move the ball throughout their team and allow the ball to beat the defense. What ends up happening to Westbrook, regardless of what his stat line shows is that as the game gets into the latter stages, everybody knows that he isn't going to pass. You really only need to defend anybody that is within a single pass of Westbrook with everybody else able to provide help in the lane which ends up leading to a very difficult drive for him to get to the basket. The fact that he is 0 for the series in OT is telling to me and speaks to the fact that he's putting everything on his back and isn't creating for his teammates.
IF OKC was smart at all, they'd be looking for a replacement for Scott Brooks as soon as this series is over (and they will lose the series). They also should immediately be looking for possible trade partners for Westbrook to not only bring back more of a pure PG, but also to find an opportunity to establish greater depth on the team so that they can surround KD with more weapons. At that point, the onus is on KD to address his weaknesses and step up and put the team on his back. Additionally, without moves, I can't see any chance that KD stays past his contract as you could see him standing in the corner last night of the court watching Westbrook going 1 on 5 and just shaking his head.
