OKC isn’t a terrible matchup for us, I wish that narrative would die...Rockets would beat their ass 4-1, and that 1 loss would probably be in OKC by a few points in a game where PG and Russ played really well and Russ was actually efficient Rockets are a terrible matchup for OKC...better players, better shooting, better BBIQ, and better coaching...OKC fans did not want to see us in the 1st round because they knew their season would end early we beat them on Christmas without CP3, were up by 26 in the next game without Capela, and controlled the vast majority of the last game too (up by 13 heading into the 4th) all those miracle comebacks are not sustainable...that MVP level play from PG was not sustainable...and Russ gon Russ
I still think its a bad match ups for us, just bc they playing bad vs Blazers doesn't mean anything, I bet the Jazz fans are feeling the same way about rockets being a bad match up with them. Im just saying it would've been a lot harder match up for Rockets.
not sure how u can say it doesn’t mean anything...their flaws have been on full display...can’t shoot, full of limited role players, trash bench, led by inconsistent PG and highly flawed/inefficient Russ, and bad coaching of course Jazz fans are feeling that way, but what Houston is to Utah doesn’t even come close to what OKC is to Houston OKC just isn’t that good...people keep overhyping them
I think 6 out of the 8 teams that made the playoffs have/had WCF potential..(excluding jazz/clippers). So there's always going to be the 2 teams that should have made the 2nd round get bounced too early. This time it will be OKC and either Spurs/Denver.
But OKC is on the verge of 3 straight first round exits. And had it not been for a miraculous comeback from something like 25 points down last postseason, they'd be staring at 3 straight 4-1 knockouts. That's not only not making the 2nd round. It's not even being competitive. And while you could argue the Rockets should've won the 2017 matchup(although maybe not in 5 games), there is no excuse to lose to a young, inexperienced Jazz team when you've got home court advantage or getting your asses kicked by a Portland squad that lost Nurkic right before the playoffs.
Watching that game last night made me wonder - what is the offensive gameplan for OKC? Just let Westbrook do everything? What is their plan B if he is not hitting his shots (which has been the case in this series)? It is like about 2, maybe at the most 3 passes and someone takes a 3 point shot that clanks off the rim which leads to a rebound for the other team. There is no flow on their offense at all.
Of course there's no flow, just look at the roster, poor playmaking, no good passers, low iq players and poor shooting/spacing. I don't think Donovan is a good coach, it's very possible he's mediocre if not bad but, they clearly built the team with a specific identity, which is athleticism and lenght, not skill and iq. Now would be interesting to see all the trades and draft picks made by Presti, but just by naming a few that comes to my mind, i think you can kinda see a pattern here: - kept Westbrook over Harden (even though tbf, at the time i think almost everyone would've done the same) - drafted guys like Ibaka, Roberson (not drafted but they signed him as an undrafted i think), Ferguson, Adams, Diallo, Huestis, Reggie Jackson - signed and traded for guys like Noel, Grant, Perkins And with Wesbtrook as the PG well, that's not going to help...i mean, the Rockets played well with McHale as a coach, and i don't think he was better than Donovan or Brooks.
1. Their game plan is let Westbrook do his things. Everybody else just scrambles. 2. Their plan B if he is not hitting his shots is for him to keep shooting.
The problem is their Plan A. It’s just turrible. A westbrick lead team will lose 9 out of 10 times. They need to blow it up.
I swear it feels like literally every OKC playoff series loss could be described the same way: underwhelming and Westbrook does more damage than good by taking a personal matchup too far.
And yet...next preseason...they will be the media's favorite darling pick to outperform expectations. Like clockwork.
Are the Thunder just that bad, or is Portland overachieving? I feel like while everyone is focused on a Rockets vs. Warriors rematch next round the Blazers may be laying in wait in the WCF, like an alligator in a murky swamp, ready to gobble up the tired and worn victor of that series.
McGrady seems to think it's a torn labrum. If that is true then surgery should correct it in the long term.
No chance of that happening. Rockets or Warriors will win in no more than 6 games probably more like 5 games.
Westbrick is that bad. It's hard to win today when one player is so inefficient and shoots so much. Especially when said player is also a PG that isn't great at being a PG.
