Daily Thunder.com The Friday Fan: Why Game 2 made Game 3 possible

(Your turn. Any thoughts, comments or stories? Send it in. dailythunder@gmail.com. Today’s insight comes from reader Jay.)

A lot is made of the advantage the Lakers have inside against the Thunder, and its an obvious and valid point to make. There aren’t honestly any teams in the league that can match up with Bynum and Gasol physically, but with the Thunder it does a real number on them because Jeff Green is so important to what they do and he just doesn’t have any chance against Gasol.

This is what led Brooks to try the big lineup in the 4th quarter of the first two games. I honestly thought it was a great idea at the time…get one of your premier players (and possibly your best big-moment guy) on the court in crunch time without having to get mauled every time down the court. I thought it was the kind of thing you have to do in the playoffs…change your rotations to match your opponent and also to acknowledge how different the fourth quarter of playoff games are. But sometimes you try to solve one problem and create another one.

Jeff, God bless him, just can’t guard Kobe. And Kobe knows it. His energy level when Green is on him is totally different. He’s able to get wherever he wants on the floor and just gets those big eyes. So I assumed that after 2 games where it obviously wasn’t working, Brooks would decide to use Thabo similarly to how Phil uses Artest…he would play when Kobe played. But Brooks showed exactly why he deserved that Coach of the Year award. He refused to concede offense in the fourth, knowing that the team is just too easy to guard when Thabo, Collison and Ibaka are all in the game together. So he stayed with Harden, but made the switch and put KD on the Mamba.

The second I saw Durant on him and realized it wasn’t a cross-match situation something inside me thought, “This could work…could this work?” And of course it did. Kobe and Phil weren’t ready to deal with KD’s length. If I remember right, Kobe got his first FG in the 4th early on with a tough fade away on Harden, then got his second (and final) FG in the last minute when Russell matadored in transition. So, unless I am just totally wrong, Kobe never scored on Durant. And if the fourth quarter of Game 2 had gone similarly to how it did in Game 1, Brooks might have stayed with Green on him again. But Kobe went berserk in the fourth and made it clear, beyond any doubt, that the lineup wasn’t going to get it done.

But thats not the only reason Game 2 made Game 3 possible. The other reason (the main reason, actually) was the 17 blocked shots. I personally think the single most underrated, un-written about strength of the Thunder this season is how they have defended the post. They do such a fantastic job of fronting the post that its really, REALLY difficult to get the ball inside. And not just because of the guy doing the fronting. Its the way the team is so committed to it (again, Brooks coaching these guys to their strengths).

The opposite big sinks down and makes it clear that a lob is going to be really tough. If they bring that big into the high post and try to use high-low action, the guard up top (Westbrook especially) does a great job of sinking and cutting that pass off. And whoever guards the ball on the wing does a great job of always (seriously, they’re so consistently good at this) at pressuring the ball “away” from the post. But as good as they are at it, teams are still gonna get the ball in there if they’re committed to it, and when they do there has to be help inside. And that’s where those 17 blocks come into play. To have to be as patient and disciplined as you have to be to post feed against the way the Thunder guard the post, only to get 17 shots sent back did something to the Laker’s mentally. If you remember, OKC lost Game 2 because of Kobe in the fourth.

They weren’t able to exploit their interior advantage, Kobe did it by attacking, getting comfortable shots and by penetrating. But he isn’t going to do that all game, right? So what was the carry-over? LA took 31 3-pointers. You know that wasn’t their gameplan either. I just think that through 3 games, the Thunder have made it so damned difficult for them to exploit their advantage inside, that LA is gradually checking out mentally. You can see it gradually shifting from Game 1 until tonight…they’re just becoming less and less willing to force it in there.

So where does that leave us going to Game 4? Well, I think we are going to see 2 major differences on Saturday. First of all, Phil and Kobe will be ready for the KD matchup. I’m gonna guess that they’ll try more screen game and less iso plays. Regardless, both Kobe and the rest of the Lakers will have a better idea of how to attack that matchup. So, Brooks is gonna have to have something else ready. And that’s where he’ll have to earn that award again, because I’m not sure what the right move is.

The other thing I think will be big is that I fully expect LA to get back to force feeding the ball inside. They might have been gradually checking out, but Phil is going to have their full attention now. He will be armed with those 31 3-point attempts in a loss. They are going to be better at it in Game 4, to be sure. So what has to happen? Well, I think if the Thunder are going to make this a series and get another home game, they’re going to have to win the first quarter.

Dictating the pace of play and putting some scoreboard pressure on LA is going to be the best way to discourage a methodical Laker attack. LA has been able to dictate the pace of this series by taking such control in the first quarter of all three games. Like I said, if OKC has real aspirations for this series then they’re gonna have to step up and win the first quarter on Saturday night.

MarcUpNorth

@justin

Maybe it's a fine line between being inflexible and giving the team some stability seeing as how we have 3 rookies in the rotation, our point guards don't have 3 years in the NBA between them etc!

It's normal for us bloggers to second guess the coach... that's part of the fun of following a team but it still isn't as simple as we all make it seem when we second guess coaches. Part of Brooks' opportunity to play Harden more and reduce Green and Thabo's minutes was the fact that Harden played well.

In LA, because Harden seemed lost, he had to shorten his bench even more. Like you mention it was nice to see him come up with a Green-less rotation at the end and pull off the win. Kobe was still pretty effective at scoring when checked by Harden but he had to stick with him a lot more than when he covers Thabo (understatement of the day).

Durant's late period effectiveness against Kobe (which totally blew me away) gave Brook's even more lineup flexibility... not only that but it gave Durant a little extra time to get away from Artest on turnovers and missed shots compared to when KD guards Artest. Again I would give the coaches some kudos for getting Durant to commit to playing better D and for having the balls to match him up against Kobe.

It is also interesting that Vahagn brought up the fact that we can cheat off some of the Laker's players so having offensively or defensively challenged rotation players isn't exclusive to the Thunder. However the Laker's have had time to prepare their roster to be championship caliber whereas Presti hasn't made those adjustments yet... that limits what Brooks has to work with this post season. Had the Thunder deemed it appropriate to go out and pick up the likes of a Marcus Camby (I think it was better to wait) then his rotation options would be greatly expanded.

Like someone mentioned, can't wait to see how this chess match plays out, luckily we wont have to wait long before the next game.

52 comments

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Didn't notice that this post wasn't from Royce... great analysis Jay!!!

Funny I didn't even think of starting Nick on Gasol.. that could work too and keep Serge as the first big off the bench.

Nick sets good picks too and has that impact on the Dee. Not as much of a factor in the transition game but then again it doesn't take much to beat Bynum or Gasol down the floor.

One thing is for sure in my mind, with the play of the Beard last night and the possibility of KD guarding Kobe it does give Brooks a lot more flexibility than it seems we had before game 3.

Add to that your starting combinations... should be a very interesting game!!!

The good Thing with a Green vs Ibaka starting group is that it would have that surprise element and possibly afford the team a better chance to get off to a good start. It is probably evident to everyone that Ibaka has had a much greater impact than Green in this series.

Would be a huge surprise as you say, if Brooks stepped that far out of the box.

I am sure the fans would eat it up!

justin :
One of the things that makes Artest so good is his strength..

Doug Collins was talking about his hand strength and speed... I was amazed by how often he managed to get the ball poked away from KD. Seems if KD gives him any kind of a look at the ball he manages to get a hand on it and rip it away.

Like you said he manages to stick close to KD even through picks... that's why quick transitions and having KD guard a different player seems like a good move... just to give him a few more minutes of freedom.

justin

@MarcUpNorth

Jeff Green's a poor shooter. Phil Jackson will live with Jeff Green attempting mid range / three point jump shots all day just like we live with Kobe / Artest doing it.

I honestly can't think of a reason to keep Green in the starting lineup against this team besides continuity.

I like Ibaka off the bench too for those reasons but the simple fact is that if Pau Gasol catches the ball anywhere inside of 18 feet with Jeff Green guarding him, it's an automatic double team. Pau has over a half a foot of length on Jeff.

I agree that how he closes is more important than how he starts, but we're putting ourselves at a severe disadvantage having Jeff Green guard Pau for any meaningful length of time. I don't know about you, but I'm tired of watching the Thunder have to dig themselves out of holes.. I feel the primary reason this is happening is because Jeff Green just doesn't have the size to compete with a Bynum / Gasol front court. Starting Collison or Ibaka over Green would really set the tempo defensively and help us by not allowing the Lakers such a drastic matchup advantage...

I liked the strategy to start the last game, ie push the ball up even if it is KD handling the ball. i think where things didn't go well is tht at times the defense still had good position against him and he was making such an effort to push the pace that he forced shots. If instead he had realized that the deef had good position to counter him but weren't on Green and Thabo and therefore the best thing would have been to pass the ball out (occasionally take a quick shot since that does set up his defender for an eventual drive,but not a quick shot every time).

To go with that if Green took the ball to the hoop when he received the ball that could get a quick foul or two on Gasol or Bynum. Of course I think the ideal would be for him to sink a 3 point shot and force Gasol to stick with him on D.

The fact that Green hasn't been knocking them down means that both Gasol and Bynum stay in the paint and the Lakers take advantage of the Gasol vs Green match-up when they have the ball yet we don't take advantage of the mis-match on the other end.

I would also be very surprised if he changed his starters but I don't think it would be a great strategy anyway although it would once again throw an element of surprise at the Lakers (like the KD on Kobe switch). I think just sitting Thabo and Green sooner if the game flow warrants it would be a good adjustment.

Good point about the match ups with Green vs Odom instead of Green vs Gasol. I like Ibaka off the bench because he brings a lot of energy when he comes in and I think that is an important factor... but a Green-Collison pairing might do all right too (replacing Ibaka-Kristic). You might lose the nice chemistry of the Nick-Serge pairing but who knows.

Like I said before I think who he closes with and how he subs might be more important than who he starts. My point is since he has started the same group almost all year why not stick with them until you see how the game is going, then switch sooner if things are not working out.

One of the things that makes Artest so good is his strength.. he fights through screens really well. I don't think running Durant off the screens does much against him. I may be wrong, but towards the end of the game Durant was just doing work while isolated and he had a little more success. How come we don't run Durant in pick and rolls?

We will definitely need to keep running in transition at every opportunity. And also James Harden will need to be just as productive.

Ibaka at PF seems to be most effective against the Lakers when Bynum / Gasol are in, and Jeff Green seems more effective when Gasol / Odom are in. That simple adjustment could make or break the series...

Sas

Game 2 put the fear of Serge iBlocka in the Lakers' heads. Game 3 has made them regret that... What do you think, more Serge in game 4 as they try to go back to the bigs? They're going to want to reestablish themselves on the boards this next game, so Serge, Nick and Krstic will have to step up. Game 4 may rest on their shoulders.

The biggest thing for us to keep doing is keep our transition offense going. The Lakers have looked slow - and at times, dare I say it, old - against that faster tempo play. Russ has been dunking over pretty much anyone who even thinks of coming near him; he needs to keep taking the rock to the basket. The reemergence of Harden as a threat will force the Lakers on D to play closer man on him, which might help KD out.

I bet Nick will be called upon to set up even more screens for KD in half-court sets - we might even see someone join him to try and double screen him... Imagine if Artest gets rubbed off on a double screen and all of a sudden there's KD with the ball at the top of the key with only Gasol and a possible weak-side rotation from Bynum between him and the basket...

Every game, it seems like we're bringing an entirely new facet for LA to deal with. In LA, it was dealing with Russ. Game 2 was the ridiculous number of blocks. Game 3, Jimbo reemerged, and KD got hot at just the right time. I can only look forward to Game 4 with anticipation at seeing what will come out (Jeff Green, if you read this, please take this as official permission to find your shot again).

When we play Dirk, Dallas will repost him constantly and Dirk will be on the attack.. Gasol is a better passer than Dirk (IMO) and it ends up hurting him. We'd be in trouble if Gasol put his mind to it and attacked our defenders before the double arrived. He's a thinking player, though, and seems to have to survey the court before making his move. Then our hedge defender will come over, Gasol passes out, and Lakers have 10-12 seconds to shoot. It kills them unless they are hitting from the perimeter.

I would love to see an adjustment to the starting lineup but I know it won't happen. Nenad Krstic and Jeff Green just get murdered by the Lakers front line, we've seen it every game so far. We double more (Green can't handle Gasol one on one on the catch, Serge can at least do yeoman's work).

The Lakers made their threes early and got over confident, I think that's why they continued to shoot. We also left them open a lot on our rotations; but generally did a decent job on the close outs especially on the two threes they attempted in that 8-0 run.

I would be super impressed in Brooks if he started Ibaka or something.

duff

last night watchen the thunder was the most excited iv been in like 10 yrs

@Todd

Good point about the 17 blocks and leaving an impression on the other team for the following game. The Thunder's consistent approach with regard to playing hard right to the end of each match I think pays off big time... I imagine teams take notice when a team never cruises when they get behind, it is demoralizing to get another big lead and then see your opponents still play every point as if it is the most important and as if the game is tied.

I think that also applies to the foul I eluded to earlier where Nick challenged Bynum on a dunk that he had no chance in stopping... it just leaves the message that we are not going away, we will play each point to the end, we will not quit. I think it does lead to things like 30 3 point attempts as your friend pointed out.

Funny how things turn out regarding coaches managing playing time and rest. Read soemwhere a Laker fan putting the loss on Jackson for resting Kobe at the end of the end of the third while he was hot and the Lakers were up by 8.

Of course as it turns out they end up losing. The fan must have figured that Kobe staying in the game longer could have preserved their lead or even increased the margin. probably Jackson is figuring that he needs to give Kobe some rest so that he can do his thing in the fourth even if this risks the Thunder coming back (like they have constantly done anyway).

Going by the way things turned out in game 2 he seemed to be managing things the same way and Kobe had taken over the last few minutes of that game and helped the Lakers win. this time the Thunder close the deal with Durant helping force the ball out of Kobe's hands.

Maybe the fan is right but you have to rest Kobe at some point. Players don't have unlimited energy and fouls. If you play them 48 minutes it mans they are coasting at some point and not fouling when they need to. In a close game you want your best players on the floor especially tams who rely constantly on the same player to finish off games for them.

Justin is right about Gasol, maybe he should take over at the end of a game instead of passing out but the Lakers are so used to letting Kobe control the game in crunch time that when he isn't on or his options are effectively taken away (not easy to do) others aren't as ready to step up.

Crow

Nick's next contract decision may have significant trade-offs between money, minutes, wins and personal preferences. Don't know how that will turn out. I hope he gets a reasonable offer to stay.

Thanks Marc.

I used to think that Nick was headed out the door fairly quickly. But the fact that he is still here and in the rotation and other factors make me feel that it is pretty likely he finishes his current contract in OKC. Maybe he might move this summer or at the trade deadline if they got a really good offer for a pretty elite big but I don't think such a deal is likely to get finished.

And even though I went on a tear in another thread about what small samples might suggest and how they can coincide from regular season into the playoffs and might be of some value and better than going against them or ignoring them, the general point about their relative weakness is still a fair point to consider as well.

Though there are two sides of the issue, you convinced me Marc that caution about the fouls for those two is quite important and I would probably at least be more cautious than I would have been on my own, prior to your comments.

@Crow

I totally appreciate your analysis on this point... like I said I was trying to figure out why Brooks didn't put them in sooner too. Things worked out but if he uses them sooner maybe we go into the half ahead.

I hope we keep Collison... the more I see him play the more I think he embodies what Presti and Co. are trying to build here. I don't always agree with hard fouls but the way he fouled Bynum on that 4th period dunk just really sends a message to everyone... saying man you better be ready to pay the price if you're gonna step in my kitchen! I think his willingness to take a beating just makes everyone else on the team feel like they can't back down if Nick is going to give himself up so much.

If getting every last million as fast as possible where a primary concern the Thunder might be able to go to a maximum first season signing bonus whereas NY and Miami, Toronto and others might face more difficulty with that.

And they can pay the player the entire salary before the season thing if they want.

Miami will play the no income tax card, Toronto perhaps the exchange rate. OKC could play the relative cost of building a mansion there card, if he plans on building ...

There are lots of factors. Whether Bosh wants to stay in the east, which is probably easier for a big and in general vs going west and playing tougher assignments might be a significant consideration. Being #1 vs #2... I don't know how he will sort it out...

If Bosh wants Miami or New York he should be able to get that. If he doesn't get exactly what he wants from them he can stay in Toronto or go to Chicago or deal with almost any other team. I don't think him coming to OKC has more than a modest chance but they should at least show interest and see what he and his agent say.

You may be right and again in the regular season it might be a non-issue but I think that against the Lakers with their talented bigs it is critical to be able to have our bigs finish the game and the potential for fouls is much higher than when playing a team that doesn't have such daunting low post threats.

Anyhow that is the reflection I had when I wondered why the coach didn't play Serge and Nick sooner when it seems clear that they give us the most effective combo of bigs against the Lakers.

When I thought about it, sure you don't want to go down by 20 points but at the same time chances are for us to beat LA after the way the games went down in LA I figured that the game would come down to the last 5 or 6 minutes. Again if I were the coach I would want Ibaka playing without foul trouble to close the game.

Bosh "could" work sign n trade. It starts with Bosh and is mainly his decision but it goes sign n trade he can't totally control his fate. The teams will make offers and unknown who will offer Toronto their preferred package or one they will ultimately accept. Bosh can say no to a specific deal but Toronto could say no to certain deals and the longer the negotiations go on, the other options start to fall away to those grabbing them and it can change the power situation and the salary numbers and the sign n trade offers.

I agree that it is a significant consideration Marc and it does affect play beyond the fouling out issue. I just went into the data to see what can seen and what "experts" / folks might be seeing or missing and share for what it may be worth to you and others, and I guess I also talked out the other side of the coin- not to negate what you said, but to add to it. Seeing / considering both sides is my general preference.

Pau Gasol is great but he passes out too much and doesn't seem to attack our bigs enough. He's put up great numbers but it always seems he isn't getting enough shots.

girlballer

@j-mo

The numbers guys will be coming after you, telling you how it can't work. But I think they are WRONG. It will mean letting Green go, because "this town (i.e. salary budget and log-jam @ the 4 position)just ain't big enough for the two of them!"but I don't really see that as the big problem lots of others do.

Sure Green and KD are friends, but at the end of the day Sam Presti makes the hard decisions, and he is one coolly calculating cat. Anyone else remember him not budging a mere million or so to keep Desmond Mason around just for sentimentality sake? I bet Desmond does, and the thing is, I bet Presti had Mason and his agent agreeing with him by the time the negotiations were over LOL! It was probably all, "good of the organization-this" and "we're trying to build something sustainable-that."

Green with have to go, and possibly someone else (Collison or Krstic maybe--definitely DJ or Weaver are prime trade deal combos) but Bosh could be in Thunder blue before the wheat come in!! Yipee!

Coaches tend to overdo the conserving a player thing, in my opinion. Collison got to 4+ actual fouls only 40% of the time in the regular season. Ibaka about 30%. They are role players and it would be rarer for both be in deep trouble.

I am not sure if that is why he didn't put them in after the 10-0 start. I was just saying it is one of the many factors he has to consider which might be lost on the average fan.

Your projections are very interesting, nice work, but the importance of the match isn't factored in... I mean in the regular season it might not be as big a deal to have Collison or Serge foul out... but in this series it can have major implications.

With those 2 guys and the impact they have they can't play safe, Serge who can't go up for a block because he might foul out isn't like KD playing with 5 fouls, KD will still be able to score and rebound etc. Nick has to be able to set screens and take charges and take hard fouls but if he has 4 before the 4th quarter I think it changes his game a lot.

I know our fans like to poke fun at Gasol but man he is so skilled for a big man, it really is amazing to me that we were able to find a way to defend the post with our undersized bigs and team defensive strategies and at the same time keep Kobe from killing us.

j-mo

Did anyone see this today on ESPN?

The Toronto Star has a story on Toronto Raptors free agent forward Chris Bosh and his options during the upcoming free agency period, and one intriguing possibility that is mentioned is Bosh signing with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The article notes that one incentive for Bosh is that OKC is close to his Dallas home. But there's more reason than that. Anyone who saw the Thunder knock off the Lakers in Game 3 last night would have to be excited about the possibility of playing with Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden for the next few years, and Bosh would fill a real need for the Thunder as a post scorer. From a talent and roster perspective, OKC is a much more attractive option than either the Chicago Bulls or the Miami Heat, and with several of the top Western Conference teams getting to be on the older side, the Thunder is poised to be a threat in the West for years to come. We're just speculating on all of this, but given all these reasons and the fact that the organization will have plenty of cap space this summer, you'd think Bosh would have to start giving the team some serious consideration.

Chad Ford
If Bosh wants a title, OKC could be the place

"I think they'll have a compelling case. They're close to his home. Offer two young superstar quality talents to put him with. Have a great owner, GM and fan base. If I was Bosh, I'd play for them over any team out there short of some sort of Dream Team hook up with LeBron James and Dwyane Wade in Miami. I don't know what Bosh will do ... Chicago and Miami will both be tempting. NY too if LeBron came. But if he values winning a championship, I think he should run to OKC."

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/features/rumors/_/date/20100423#15766

For the regular season Ibaka and Collison fouled at the same rate per minute but the issue did become bigger with Ibaka in March and April.

At their current playoff foul rates Ibaka could play the entire game without fouling out, Collison about 30 minutes. Collison did foul out once.

MarcUpNorth is correct that if you want Collison and Ibaka for the end of game you might tend to be conservative with their time earlier in the game. I don't have an issue with that in principle but the need to conserve them will vary and it doesn't look like playing them more would cause much of an issue that much of the time.

It is a good topic but there is a difference between "foul trouble" and fouling out.

In 75 games Collison fouled out of 4. He was at 5 fouls and in serious jeopardy 10 times. If he had played 30 minutes every game and fouled at his season average rate during the extra time he would have fouled out about 40% of the time.

In 73 games Ibaka fouled out of 3. He was at 5 fouls and in serious jeopardy 6 times. If he had played 30 minutes every game and fouled at his season average rate during the extra time he would have fouled out about 25% of the time.

Boots :@girlballer

He isn’t currently dominating at basketball, and he’s not wearing a thunder jersey. I am definitely going to puss out and not say anything to him.

I have seen him up close too, and he is a striking individual to say the least. It would be hard (ok probably impossible) not to stare at him, Thunder player or not. I think a big smile and a thumbs up if he looks your way is always a good way to go! I had the opportunity this season to be in the same room with many of them before their game in Boston, and I went with the ear to ear grin and cheezy double thumbs up, and got several smiles and nods from many of them, although the highlight was a wink and a "hey there" from Harden!

@Vahagn
Welcome frenemy! I totally agree that Kobe will make adjustments and also realize that we have yet to see a "good Kobe" game in these first 3 match-ups. However, you guys have yet to see the best that Durant/Green/Sefolosha/Krstic and even Ibaka or Harden have!! I specifically leave Westbrook off that list because truly, I cannot IMAGINE that young man playing better than he did in game 1 and 3. But I don't rule out the possibility either!! (prove me wrong Russ--find another 10 points/assists/or rebounds tomorrow and I build a statue on I-40 with my bare hands...)

The Lakers have seen really good defense out of Durant, but he hasn't even had a decent shooting night yet, let ALONE the mind-blowing, hyper-fluid genius he is capable of, not by a LONG SHOT! (see what I did there)

He took over Thabo's job shutting down Kobe, and if he just has a "good" offensive game tomorrow, and Thabo picks back up the defensive gauntlet, then the Lake-Show is in serious trouble for this series.

Good insights Jay.

It would be nice to get off to a better start in game four but I suspect it'd require a change in the starting lineup. Brooks has lossened up his rotations a bit, but I don't think he'll go that far.

Todd

Funny, I was talking earlier with a friend who isn't normally a big basketball fan, but loves to follow the Thunder. We got talking about the Lakers 31 3-point attempts, and I asked her why she thought they did that when they have those big giants inside. Her two-word answer: "Seventeen blocks."

It will be interesting to see what sort of adjustments both teams make for game four. It's one of the best things about the playoffs - watching the ongoing chess matches.

As another poster pointed out, this was the first time all year we've won a game when trailing after the 3rd quarter. There is reason to be upset when the Thunder fall behind because, most of the time, that's the end of the game.

Brooks is becoming more flexible but his inflexibility might have cost us a few games here or there. It was good to see him step out of the box some, bench Jeff Green for being ineffective, and resist the urge to plug Thabo back in when James Harden was performing well.

Boots

@girlballer

He isn't currently dominating at basketball, and he's not wearing a thunder jersey. I am definitely going to puss out and not say anything to him.

@Boots

Ha, still pretty cool that you noticed!

Royce, glad you gave some props to Brooks. He gets a lot of "Brooks u suck!" and "You idiot Brooks" during a game thread but I think he must be doing something right.

To get any team to compete on a consistent basis and to consistently fight back in games when they go down by double digits is fairly rare. To do it with as many young players is practically unheard of.

The natives were restless here (as usual when the Thunder fall behind) and people were clamoring for Serge and Nick... I bet Brooks was tempted too but if he gets those guys in too early maybe they're in foul trouble before the fourth. It could have backfired and we could have been too far behind in the fourth but it didn't...

Of course our experts wont notice this (or remember it) but managing our bigs' time and fouls is really crucial because in crunch time you don't want your best defenders sitting on the bench.

There are probably many adjustments made that most of us wont notice and claim that Brooks never changes things but there is a fine line between making subtle adjustments and over adjusting to where the team is lost on the floor.

Pushing the pace every time Durant got a defensive rebound by him bringing the ball up was another adjustment that made a big difference even if he seemed to rush too much for much of the game. It made KD look bad but I think it was in order for him to give Artest less time to set up and obviously to beat LA's bigs down the floor. It was playing to the Thunder's strengths and exploiting mismatches!

How could ANYONE not recognize Serge Ibaka??

@marc

Air congo hasn't swatted anyone yet, I don't think anyone else recognizes him. Its a pretty low-key place. They're with a group just chillin having a few beers and eating food. No babes or shots to be seen.

How many LA fans has Serge swatted away since he got there?

Cool that they go out the night before a game... as long as they don't stay out all night... then again as long as Air Congo is cleared for take off at the Ford tomorrow everything should be all right!

Vahagn

Great Thoughts.

I'd be scared if I was you guys though :(. The last 6 times the Lakers have had a 2-0 lead in a series they've lost game 3 and won game 4 and both almost all the time Kobe had a bad game in game 3 and a Great game in game 4. We did it TWO TIMES last post-season alone (Against the Magic and the Jazz)

Durant on Kobe COMPLETELY messed him up and as he admitted today in shoot-arounds, it surprised him and he wasn't ready for it. I don't know how we're going to free up our bigs, but my guess is Phil will use a lot more high-low action in the blow and the FT line and also space the floor a lot better. Spacing the floor doesn't help though when you guys can willingly sag off the entry-passer as you do ALL GAME just daring Fish, Farmar, Brown, Odom, and Artest to shoot that open 3. So our guys have to start hitting some 3's. I feel like you guys did after game 1 when Kobe would shade to Durant and you guys desperately wanted some offense from Harden and Thabo lol

Serge ibaka just walked into the bar I'm at. And I think dj white. Why didn't I bring my thunder shirt with me.

Thunder tim

My big no no no, yes yes yes was when Russ shot 3 pointer

Prince

@f5alcon
I prefer to have our big first quarter in LA....

donuteyes

durant on kobe was the ultimate "no, no, no, YES, YES, YES!" moment...

f5alcon

@dork
yeah we cant lose the first quarter every game, we are bound to have one great start, i hope the next game we blow them out a nice double digit victory going back to la would give us some momentum.

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The Friday Fan: Why Game 2 made Game 3 possible | Daily Thunder.com - ferus.pl says:

April 23, 2010 at 11:37 pm

[...] original post here: The Friday Fan: Why Game 2 made Game 3 possible | Daily Thunder.com Tags: a-great-idea, big-lineup, big-moment-guy, brooks, great-idea, premier, the-4th, [...]

The Friday Fan: Why Game 2 made Game 3 possible

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