That Durant 4 point play was ridiculous.
- Thread starter missouridawg
- Start date
I'm not going to bed anytime soon. What a gutsy win
They could have just folded. Since we won am I allowed to say the officiating was ****?
They could have just folded. Since we won am I allowed to say the officiating was ****?
Anyone who watched that game and says the nba sucks is a dirty liar
Hell, the entire first round so far had been great.
Hell, the entire first round so far had been great.
damn that was awesome/nerve wrackin'
The mvp had 36 and 11, but TA was a BEAST tonight. The damn refs had me wanting to take a tire iron to them with the inconsistency, prison rules one possession touch foul freethrows the next. I've got tickets for saturday but crap I want to go thursday!
The mvp had 36 and 11, but TA was a BEAST tonight. The damn refs had me wanting to take a tire iron to them with the inconsistency, prison rules one possession touch foul freethrows the next. I've got tickets for saturday but crap I want to go thursday!
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Saturday is going to be awesome downtown
You have the hot wing festival going from 11-8 and the game starting at 8:30
You have the hot wing festival going from 11-8 and the game starting at 8:30
As infuriating as it is to watch while he's playing against the Grizzlies, Durant is edging himself into that Jordan/Magic/Kobe category in terms of being an absolute spectacle to watch. Before anyone goes hysterical on me, I'm not planting him into the "one of the best ever" category quite yet. He's just able to do things on the court that pretty much no one his size should be able to do.
His postgame comments were pretty good too. You could tell he was pissed at how that game ended. He all but called out Westbrook for taking that late three.
I just think Memphis is a bad matchup for OKC. Allen gets in Durant's head and he tries too much. Westbrook tries to take over and stops sharing the ball. Perkins is utterly useless because Z-Bo owns his ***. They don't have anyone who can guard Gasol when he is right. And their perimeter defense is terrible...Conley and Udrih got penetration anytime they wanted to. Lee and Miller give the Griz an added dimension from the three point line that they've been missing in previous years. It's going to be interesting to watch the rest of the series play out.
Agreed... Westbrook is one hell of a player, but he's got to realize that Durant is the man on that team. The only way that KD shouldn't be getting the last shot is if he chooses to pass to someone else.
To that point, though, I can understand why Durant would be pissed. It wasn't like Westbrook only missed that last shot. He also jacked up a pretty wild one at the end of regulation that just happened to bounce into the hands of Perkins, and then unless I'm mistaken, I think he it was also him that just about turned it over before flipping it to KD on that wild 4-pt play. I don't know why he was so hell bent on being the one to take the game winner, but if OKC is looking for someone to blame, I have a feeling that he's the one getting a lot of that heat this morning.
I was glad to see Memphis doing a MUCH better job on transition D last night, though. It was inexcusable how many times that got burned on fast break pts in game 1 due primarily to not getting back after missed shots.
To that point, though, I can understand why Durant would be pissed. It wasn't like Westbrook only missed that last shot. He also jacked up a pretty wild one at the end of regulation that just happened to bounce into the hands of Perkins, and then unless I'm mistaken, I think he it was also him that just about turned it over before flipping it to KD on that wild 4-pt play. I don't know why he was so hell bent on being the one to take the game winner, but if OKC is looking for someone to blame, I have a feeling that he's the one getting a lot of that heat this morning.
I was glad to see Memphis doing a MUCH better job on transition D last night, though. It was inexcusable how many times that got burned on fast break pts in game 1 due primarily to not getting back after missed shots.
Less Tayshaun. And Westbrook is the Grizz's best weapon. I say probably 10 possessions in the second half where no one else touched the ball. He's a great playmaker, but a complete ballhog.
And speaking of Udrih mad props for last night. He was lights out and couldn't ask for anything better from your backup point guard.
It has baffled me for weeks that Udrih was nailed to the bench in favor of Calathes. Nick has some value, particularly defensively, but Udrih is a far superior player. I think Calathes's suspension actually made the Grizzlies a better team. Now, Udrih, isn't going to hit as many shots every night as he did last night, but the guy is a really good PG. He absolutely used to own Conley and he's probably a starting PG for more than half of the teams in the league.
Durant tries to do too much because Allen gets in his head? Durant scored 36, was 5-12 from deep, 12-28 overall, and had a couple of last second desperation shots that counted in those stats. He also had 11 rebound, 2 blocks, and 4 assists.
Durant tried and succeeded.
Allen didn't defend him every second of the game, sure, but its not like he shut Durant down. Not even close to that. There were a handful of possessions where he denied the entry pass to Durant at the top of the key/3line. Obviously Allen plays hard D and good D. Credit to him. But saying he gets in Durant's head and forces Durant to do too much is a bit much.
As for Perkins- he is utterly useless because he has devolved into a bad player. Z-Bo doesn't own him, most everyone owns him. His stats are awful and he played only half the game last night.
Some of the credit being given is way off base.
From espn stats on twitter
Tony Allen held Kevin Durant to 13 pts on 5-of-14 shooting (36%), but Durant scored 20 pts on 8-of-11 shooting (73%) against all others
Allen clearly has an effect on him and it's not just grizzlies fans pointing it out.
Tony Allen held Kevin Durant to 13 pts on 5-of-14 shooting (36%), but Durant scored 20 pts on 8-of-11 shooting (73%) against all others
Allen clearly has an effect on him and it's not just grizzlies fans pointing it out.
That definitely is limiting Durant when compared to the rest of the Grizz. Do you seriously believe Allen is in Durant's head? This is one of the best players in the league and will most likely go down as a top 25 player of all time when he retires. Allen defended him well, and I mentioned that in my earlier post, but I don't think Allen is actually in Durant's head. I don't think Durant is so mentally weak that Allen is in Durant's head.
Yes he is and it isn't even a debatable point. Did you notice how much Durant stood around on defense? Did you notice how their offense became stagnant and Durant did a lot of mid-level posting instead of moving like he usually does? It's because he has to work his *** off to get his shots because Allen is in his hip pocket. There is a lot more to basketball than how many points you score. Durant knows this, and that's why he was hanging his head so much after the game.
He's the greatest offensive basketball player on the planet, and he can score on anyone. But Allen makes him work a lot harder to do so, and it renders other aspects of his game useless.
Plain and simple... Tony just wears him out.
And that's the only way you can sometimes guard a talent like that. It's not just getting into him when he has the ball. It's sticking to him every second and making him work his *** off to even touch it. Even when he does, he's often to far from the basket to do anything besides fire up a long range shot with legs that are wearing out from running open. A lot of it is pure hustle, yes. But Tony is a freaking genius when it comes to defense. He's two steps ahead of the offense on their screens. He knows when to run over the top, under, which angles are the most likely for the pass, and he does it relentlessly. He knows when to double, when to fake it, and he knows who to do it to. What he's making Durant do might be the most important thing about this series. It was a thing of beauty in Game 2.
And that's the only way you can sometimes guard a talent like that. It's not just getting into him when he has the ball. It's sticking to him every second and making him work his *** off to even touch it. Even when he does, he's often to far from the basket to do anything besides fire up a long range shot with legs that are wearing out from running open. A lot of it is pure hustle, yes. But Tony is a freaking genius when it comes to defense. He's two steps ahead of the offense on their screens. He knows when to run over the top, under, which angles are the most likely for the pass, and he does it relentlessly. He knows when to double, when to fake it, and he knows who to do it to. What he's making Durant do might be the most important thing about this series. It was a thing of beauty in Game 2.