Damn what a clutch shot by Conley.
- Thread starter mstatefan88
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This is going to be fun to watch. Grizzlies have the advantage here after hitting that shot and the crowd getting really into it.
I'm all for physical basketball, but the refs haven't been consistent in the paint, and they are letting a ton of contact go, especially in favor of OKC. Randolph was getting practically mugged down low, and the refs weren't calling it. Very physical game tonight, and in my opinion, a little too physical. </p>
No one seems to want to finish it off though. Huge game for whoever wins it. I think Barrkley got it right when he said the winner of this game will win the series.
I still think either team is capable of stealing a couple of games. It looks like we'll take this one though.... GOD I wish i was able to come up with the money to see both games in Memphis. This series is looking spectacular..
I'm gonna be completely worthless at work tomorrow, but what's new? Griz got a ton of lucky bounces tonight, but couldn't get out of their own way.
Memphis is going to have to bounce back just like we did from the game 2 nights ago. I really think you guys are capable, that's why I think it will be another hard fought game.
Wow. What a great game to go to. Girlfriend's dad got me and my gf tickets. 2nd level, mid court - Amazing seats.<div>
</div><div>Wish they could have pulled it out. Those two three points were the loudest thing I have ever heard. Crazy game. Hope to go to the 6th game!</div>
</div><div>Wish they could have pulled it out. Those two three points were the loudest thing I have ever heard. Crazy game. Hope to go to the 6th game!</div>
1) That is one of the few games that I can truly say at the end of it, win or lose, I was glad I was there to see it. Usually I am throwing things and acting like a 3 year old but not after that one ... or maybe I was just that tired.
2) Although Z-bo put up a decent stat line, he got completely shut down by none other than Nick Collison. If they aren't going to call fouls, and it was apparent they weren't on either end down low (the Thunder's guards are a topic for another day) Collison played him physical completed maybe one or two true post moves all game.
3) My hat is off to Westbrook. For a crying baby that has to talk to the ref after every call, you sir are the only reason (outside of Maynor and Harden in Game 2) that OK City is still in this series. For all the Thunder fans that complain about Westbrook, Durant disappeared at the end of game 3, a stellar 0-7 or something like that, and without Westbrook they get beat by 30 last night. Yeah, Durant scores points but it is mostly off touch fouls. Westbrook is the one who creates almost every shot for that team.
Final thought: The games between these two teams have been good all season, let's keep it that way for years to come. Durant and Westbrook are fun to watch, frustrating to me maybe, but they are quickly going the way of Duncan and Parker with their "ME, a foul on ME? Impossible!" antics after every call. Grow a set you big babies and don't take away from your ridiculous skills by being a b!+@h.
2) Although Z-bo put up a decent stat line, he got completely shut down by none other than Nick Collison. If they aren't going to call fouls, and it was apparent they weren't on either end down low (the Thunder's guards are a topic for another day) Collison played him physical completed maybe one or two true post moves all game.
3) My hat is off to Westbrook. For a crying baby that has to talk to the ref after every call, you sir are the only reason (outside of Maynor and Harden in Game 2) that OK City is still in this series. For all the Thunder fans that complain about Westbrook, Durant disappeared at the end of game 3, a stellar 0-7 or something like that, and without Westbrook they get beat by 30 last night. Yeah, Durant scores points but it is mostly off touch fouls. Westbrook is the one who creates almost every shot for that team.
Final thought: The games between these two teams have been good all season, let's keep it that way for years to come. Durant and Westbrook are fun to watch, frustrating to me maybe, but they are quickly going the way of Duncan and Parker with their "ME, a foul on ME? Impossible!" antics after every call. Grow a set you big babies and don't take away from your ridiculous skills by being a b!+@h.
I think he's the reason this series isn't 3-1 or 4-0 in favor of OKC. He doesn't realize that he's not the No. 1 guy. Sure Durant struggled in the 4th of Game 3, but a lot of that has to do with the fact that they don't do much to try to get him shots. Their best play with Durant is getting him the ball and trying to iso.
When Westbrook takes more shots than Durant, it's a good thing for the Grizz. Westbrook is the reason they lost Game 3, not Durant. Durant's only touches late in Game 3 were with less than 10 on the shot clock and an iso, so that he had to try to create with limited time. Westbrook plays around for 15 seconds trying to make something happen by himself. Then they sometimes get it to Durant late in the clock. You saw at the end of Game 4 what happens when Durant gets the chance to take over.
Westbrook won't be with OKC but for another year or so, because the relationship with he and Durant won't work out. Durant will be so much better when they get him a point guard that's a true point and a facilitator. As it stands, OKC would probably be better off starting Maynor and letting Westbrook play with the 2nd team. That way he's the go to guy when Durant leaves the floor, and Durant will still get the majority of the shots with a PG that understands who Superman is.
When Westbrook takes more shots than Durant, it's a good thing for the Grizz. Westbrook is the reason they lost Game 3, not Durant. Durant's only touches late in Game 3 were with less than 10 on the shot clock and an iso, so that he had to try to create with limited time. Westbrook plays around for 15 seconds trying to make something happen by himself. Then they sometimes get it to Durant late in the clock. You saw at the end of Game 4 what happens when Durant gets the chance to take over.
Westbrook won't be with OKC but for another year or so, because the relationship with he and Durant won't work out. Durant will be so much better when they get him a point guard that's a true point and a facilitator. As it stands, OKC would probably be better off starting Maynor and letting Westbrook play with the 2nd team. That way he's the go to guy when Durant leaves the floor, and Durant will still get the majority of the shots with a PG that understands who Superman is.
I got stuck in the terrace on row U, at least it's on the sideline. Gas is too damn high. This run I'm onstartedwith the spurs game on Mar 27, this will be the 7 game i've been in the car for 200 miles each way to watch this team play.
I guess the start time Friday will depend on if Boston gets off the mat Wednesday.
I guess the start time Friday will depend on if Boston gets off the mat Wednesday.
He may get a little selfish at times which doesn't bode well when you have the arguable best player in the league on your team, but he is also one hell of a player. He has a solid jumper, he's not afraid of contact, and he may be the fastest PG in the league with the ball. The guy gets into the lane faster than possibly anyone I've ever seen.
All of that said, I have to make a couple points about the officiating and then I too will move on. First, there were questionable calls and non-calls on both sides. Zbo and Marc both got beaten up, but so did Perkins and Ibaka. However, the disparity in calls that led to Durant, Westbrook, and Harden combining for 39 free throws while our guards got 17 was utterly ridiculous. Rarely have I seen so many phantom foul calls go to a visiting team, but they were handing them out like candy last night. Normally, this would be the point where I'd say "this is all true, but officiating didn't cost the Grizz the game", but it did. With roughly 3 minutes to go in the 2nd quarter and the Grizz up by 17, the refs suddenly decide to switch gears from letting the teams bang it out to calling a blitzkrieg of touch fouls. If I had to guess, I'd say that the Thunder shot 12-14 free throws in that short time span and all of a sudden, the lead evaporated. All momentum was gone by this point and the game went from a blowout to a tie ball game right after the half.
To pick at a couple specific calls, I wish I could find a Youtube video of the Westbook "and 1" during the 2nd OT. It was hilarious watching him spin through the lane while taking 5 steps and then throwing up a shot. Not only is there no travel called, but Gasol gets called for a foul as Westbrook barrels into him, giving him a 3 pt play. I don't know which was better. Either that play or the Westbrook/Harden(can't remember who it was) drive during one of the OT periods where he has a clear lane, jumps up in the air, and then bobbles the ball out of bounds with no Grizzly within 3 feet. The refs assume that a Grizzly must have deflected it so they give it back to OKC. Nice.
Well, that one was a hard loss to swallow but I'm sure Game 3 was a ***** for the Thunder to take also. One way or another, the Grizz need to pick it up quickly because the efforts they've given over the last three games aren't going to get it done. They've played tough and you have to give a ton of credit to OKC, but they're simply going to have to do more to win this series.
All of that said, I have to make a couple points about the officiating and then I too will move on. First, there were questionable calls and non-calls on both sides. Zbo and Marc both got beaten up, but so did Perkins and Ibaka. However, the disparity in calls that led to Durant, Westbrook, and Harden combining for 39 free throws while our guards got 17 was utterly ridiculous. Rarely have I seen so many phantom foul calls go to a visiting team, but they were handing them out like candy last night. Normally, this would be the point where I'd say "this is all true, but officiating didn't cost the Grizz the game", but it did. With roughly 3 minutes to go in the 2nd quarter and the Grizz up by 17, the refs suddenly decide to switch gears from letting the teams bang it out to calling a blitzkrieg of touch fouls. If I had to guess, I'd say that the Thunder shot 12-14 free throws in that short time span and all of a sudden, the lead evaporated. All momentum was gone by this point and the game went from a blowout to a tie ball game right after the half.
To pick at a couple specific calls, I wish I could find a Youtube video of the Westbook "and 1" during the 2nd OT. It was hilarious watching him spin through the lane while taking 5 steps and then throwing up a shot. Not only is there no travel called, but Gasol gets called for a foul as Westbrook barrels into him, giving him a 3 pt play. I don't know which was better. Either that play or the Westbrook/Harden(can't remember who it was) drive during one of the OT periods where he has a clear lane, jumps up in the air, and then bobbles the ball out of bounds with no Grizzly within 3 feet. The refs assume that a Grizzly must have deflected it so they give it back to OKC. Nice.
Well, that one was a hard loss to swallow but I'm sure Game 3 was a ***** for the Thunder to take also. One way or another, the Grizz need to pick it up quickly because the efforts they've given over the last three games aren't going to get it done. They've played tough and you have to give a ton of credit to OKC, but they're simply going to have to do more to win this series.
That was westbrook, the guy with the camera sitting by the stanchion had the great shot, the ball flew out of his hands and it hit the camera, westbrook was punching the stanchion, and I thought it was because he turned it over.Seinfeld said:
These assclowns like ric bucher who say we're gonna trade Rudy because we've "got much better chemistry since Rudy got hurt" and "we have too much talent," that's great insight. He must feel that the 12-3 when Rudy got hurt was a fluke, How can you have too much talent when they all work together like that? We need that long guy who can elevate and get any shot from the perimiter. If you didn't hear him, he said on Mike&Mike thatthe lakers could target #22, it starts here at the 10:08 mark:
http://espn.go.com/espnradio/player?rd=1#/podcenter/?callsign=ESPNRADIO&id=6512623&autoplay=1
Randolph has hit two free throws to make it a one point game, they turn over Durant, Conley jacks up the wild three for some reason, Harden rebounds with 20 seconds left and Conley fouls him, his sixth and final.
So... 20 seconds left and down one, you are going to have to foul. Who does he substitute for Conley? Of all the people on that bench, he puts in Mayo, who has five fouls, and who had basically shot the Grizz back into the game. Well, 4 seconds in and Mayo fouls out.
I think that cost them the game.
Am I missing something here? To me, that was a huge brain fart.
So... 20 seconds left and down one, you are going to have to foul. Who does he substitute for Conley? Of all the people on that bench, he puts in Mayo, who has five fouls, and who had basically shot the Grizz back into the game. Well, 4 seconds in and Mayo fouls out.
I think that cost them the game.
Am I missing something here? To me, that was a huge brain fart.
Yep, I agree that this cost us the game. Big mistake. It took away any threat of an outside game. Rudy Gay, Mike Conley, and OJ Mayo = the Grizz only real outside scoring options.
The one thing this team needs desperately right now is somebody who can create their own shot, from anywhere, when needed. Superstars aren't just stat sheet fillers. A guy like Rudy would have put an end to that OKC run in the second by getting his *** on the FT line or drawing the defense out so Marc and Zbo could work a little more freely.Pimp Doggy said:
.....looks like an ish smith foul would have been beneficial since we had to foul and they got the ball to westbrook.
I'm surprised how people continue to forget that Westbrook is 1/2 of our scoring. We actually embrace that he's not a pure point guard because we need his scoring. It's not a coincidence that he and Durant both average over 20 points. People all of a sudden start criticizing him for taking so many shots in the post season, but this is the style of game we've been playing for the whole season. The only issue that I have with him is some of his choices for shot selection. There's been a couple where he'll miss, but overall it's a good shot. But every now and then he can get too wild and/or pull up a shot without setting up the offense.<div>
</div><div>Starting Maynor instead of Westbrook just does not make sense. Maynor is not as consistent as Westbrook is in terms of scoring, and when you take Westbrook out and put Maynor in, yea you essential get a better point guard, but your scoring opportunities has decreased quite a bit. Also 1 thing that Westbrook is great at that Maynor probably will never be able to do is cutting to the point. Maynor does most of his facilitating around the perimeter and whenever they need someone to cut inside, they usually give it to Hardin.</div><div>
</div><div>Also, where are these personal issues you see between Westbrook and Durant? The only time I've seen Durant get in his *** was during game 4 of Denver which was understandable. That doesn't mean there was an issues. Teammates will do that from time to time even if they're best of friends when one of them feels the other isn't playing up to par. A lot of times listening to ESPN's analysts isn't a good idea. This is no exception.</div>
</div><div>Starting Maynor instead of Westbrook just does not make sense. Maynor is not as consistent as Westbrook is in terms of scoring, and when you take Westbrook out and put Maynor in, yea you essential get a better point guard, but your scoring opportunities has decreased quite a bit. Also 1 thing that Westbrook is great at that Maynor probably will never be able to do is cutting to the point. Maynor does most of his facilitating around the perimeter and whenever they need someone to cut inside, they usually give it to Hardin.</div><div>
</div><div>Also, where are these personal issues you see between Westbrook and Durant? The only time I've seen Durant get in his *** was during game 4 of Denver which was understandable. That doesn't mean there was an issues. Teammates will do that from time to time even if they're best of friends when one of them feels the other isn't playing up to par. A lot of times listening to ESPN's analysts isn't a good idea. This is no exception.</div>
Westbrook thinks he's a No. 1 guy, and he probably will be that on someone's team, but not with Kevin Durant, who has a chance to be among the NBA's all time greatest.
It's like Kobe and Shaq when they were in LA. OKC is going to have to make a choice eventually on who they want to be their Superman, and it'll be Durant. I'm telling you, OKC would be better with a facilitator at the point (not necessarily Maynor).
If I'm OKC, I shop Westbrook around looking for either a young post player that can play both ends of the floor or a facilitator point guard that can create off the bounce but looks to create for his teammates first. Whichever one you can get for Westbrook you take, and you try to get the other in the draft maybe. Durant needs a BJ Armstrong to his Michael Jordan.
And I'm not listening to ESPN's analysts. I'm using my own judgement based off what I've seen. Westbrook's style of play and his late game play is the reason that Game 4 was in OT, not a OKC regulation win, and he's the reason Game 3 was an OKC loss.
He's a great player, and he's a great scorer. I'm not disagreeing with that, but there are way too many possessions in crunch time when Durant doesn't even touch the ball. Durant is your No. 1 guy. If Westbrook continues to play as if he's the No. 1 guy and continues to have so many late game possessions where the ball never leaves his hands, Memphis will win the series. If he looks to run the offense through Durant first, then OKC will win the series easily, and they'll have a shot at winning it all.
If Westbrook can figure out when to facilitate and when to be a scorer, OKC is simply a better team than Memphis. If not, the teams are pretty even, possibly with a nod to Memphis.
ETA: Let me say that Westbrook has a chance to stay with OKC and Durant if he can figure out he's not Superman. With any Superstar tandem, one has to take the lead role and one has to understand and accept the No. 2 role. Even with Lebron and D-Wade, they didn't start playing at a high level until Lebron decided to accept a role as D-Wade's sidekick. Lebron has no business being a sidekick, but if he's going to play with another superstar, one of them has to defer. With OKC, it's clear who needs to be the super hero and who needs to be the sidekick, but right now the sidekick still believes he's the super hero.
It's like Kobe and Shaq when they were in LA. OKC is going to have to make a choice eventually on who they want to be their Superman, and it'll be Durant. I'm telling you, OKC would be better with a facilitator at the point (not necessarily Maynor).
If I'm OKC, I shop Westbrook around looking for either a young post player that can play both ends of the floor or a facilitator point guard that can create off the bounce but looks to create for his teammates first. Whichever one you can get for Westbrook you take, and you try to get the other in the draft maybe. Durant needs a BJ Armstrong to his Michael Jordan.
And I'm not listening to ESPN's analysts. I'm using my own judgement based off what I've seen. Westbrook's style of play and his late game play is the reason that Game 4 was in OT, not a OKC regulation win, and he's the reason Game 3 was an OKC loss.
He's a great player, and he's a great scorer. I'm not disagreeing with that, but there are way too many possessions in crunch time when Durant doesn't even touch the ball. Durant is your No. 1 guy. If Westbrook continues to play as if he's the No. 1 guy and continues to have so many late game possessions where the ball never leaves his hands, Memphis will win the series. If he looks to run the offense through Durant first, then OKC will win the series easily, and they'll have a shot at winning it all.
If Westbrook can figure out when to facilitate and when to be a scorer, OKC is simply a better team than Memphis. If not, the teams are pretty even, possibly with a nod to Memphis.
ETA: Let me say that Westbrook has a chance to stay with OKC and Durant if he can figure out he's not Superman. With any Superstar tandem, one has to take the lead role and one has to understand and accept the No. 2 role. Even with Lebron and D-Wade, they didn't start playing at a high level until Lebron decided to accept a role as D-Wade's sidekick. Lebron has no business being a sidekick, but if he's going to play with another superstar, one of them has to defer. With OKC, it's clear who needs to be the super hero and who needs to be the sidekick, but right now the sidekick still believes he's the super hero.
Seshomoru said:
Yep, assuming the team stays relatively healthy, by the time they reach the All-Star break next year, I expect them to be clicking. Rudy is exactly what the Grizz are missing. On the offensive end right now, the Grizzlies primarily have to go in the post or get fast breaks on defense. You can mix in a little outside shooting from Mayo, Arther (pick and pops), and Conley, with some Conley drives, but mostly the offense has to go through the post with either Marc or ZBo scoring or hitting cutters for open lay ups.
Next year with Rudy on the floor, those cutting lines will be a lot more open, and Zach and Marc won't have to shoulder nearly the same amount of the load. I'm assuming Mayo will eventually be trade bait, and if they can package him to get a shooter either for the starting line up or off the bench, they'll be one of the favorites to win the West. Teams are having a hard enough time stopping them now when they know the offense has to run through the post.
As if the "well, they're good enough without him" argument isn't absurd enough, he fits the mold of precisely the type player that the Grizzlies need right now. Not only do we need him to stretch the half court defense, but think about how much having an athlete like him would help our woeful fast break offense also. We left no less than 8 points on the court last night due to botched fast breaks. So being that Rudy is 24, we just signed him to a new contract, and he is the exact type of player that we're missing right now, let's trade him! And not only trade him, but let's send him to a conference rival! Not to mention that I have no clue who we'd get in return. There's no room for Pau, Artest/Odom are getting old, and excuse me if I'm not a big fan of Bynum's often injured, punk ***. Even if a third team were to be added to the deal, I see no way that a move like this makes sense for the Grizzlies in any fashion. I'd rather keep what we have and watch the Lakers flounder.