Some 12 hours later, I’m still stunned. I feel like we just watched a performance for the ages. Kevin Durant has always been amazing and he’s done this sort of thing before in regular season games, but in that moment last night with his team up against a wall, he came to the rescue.
Again, if you forgot: Durant had 16 of the Thunder’s final 20, including nine in the last two minutes. The pull-up 3. The and-1. The pretty step-back jumper over Afflalo. All so, so good. None bigger or better than his backdoor cut on Wilson Chandler and jumper over Nene with 15 seconds left. And then of course for good measure, he blocked J.R. Smith’s attempt on the other end. Amazing.
(One thing I didn’t mention last night but deserves to be: How about that timeout by Scott Brooks to even give the Thunder that opportunity? The team was a complete mess with the shot clock winding down. Russell Westbrook nearly threw the ball away, James Harden was trapped and a horrible shot was about to happen. But Brooks kept his head and called a terrific timeout. That’s what even gave Durant a chance to close it. And this block from Serge Ibaka which was entirely ridiculous.)
One question though: Who’s team is it KD? Oh that’s right. It’s his mother$%#@#% team.
Great mother$&#*%& column, Royce.
baskedball :
It seems most reasonable to me that KD said, “this is my ‘Fing’ time!”
Since he mentioned the guys telling him that.
Just a thought.
"town" makes a lot of sense, and "time" makes even more sense.. Good point.
Time, team, or town, any of those makes it an awesome moment, and I bet KD would definitely mean it in the most positive way no matter which word he used.
You're all wrong. KD said "THIS.IS.SPARTAAAAA!!!!"
It seems most reasonable to me that KD said, "this is my 'Fing' time!"
Since he mentioned the guys telling him that.
Just a thought.
Yea I think he was letting Denver know that this is our building.
Definitely said "This is my motherfucking town, let's go."
Unrelated to any of this...
But complete props to the girl sitting in front of me in section 320. She was there by herself, completely focused on the game, and intensely so.
As much as I love going to games, I find myself always bringing along *someone* for the ride.
Awesome that she was there to support the team.
Whats he doing when he's yelling? Holding his jersey out- Oklahoma City = town
@Floppy Punch!
I felt that way too a little bit. In retrospect though, I think we have to remember that this isn't a fairy tale world we are living in (even if it feels that way sometimes) nor is it a remake of HOOSIERS or even Glory Road or Blue Chips. This is the real world, and in the real world, the underdog usually loses (I'm looking at you Grizzlies,) the last second Hail-Mary usually doesn't fall (unless shot by KD or Manu Ginobilli,) and two strong-willed, ferociously competitive, insanely gifted individuals may have some chafing in the harness together. White Fang ate every other lead dog they put in his way, and even if he looks like a Durantula, KD is a wolf.
I believe KD and Westbrook are going to have a long and successful marriage, but I have no doubt there will be some dishes smashed in the meantime, and as often as I feel a maternal pride for these young players, what I really felt last night was like a scared kid watching my parents fight. It isn't going to be all rainbows and unicorns for the Thunder, and we might not hang the NBA Championship banner in the OKC arena this year, but WE WILL hang one with KD and Westbrook, and it will be SOON.
@Smokey
hahaha love me some canadians!
I think it's awesome he said "team". Why? He's a superstar that just won a playoff series almost single-handedly. Most superstars would bring attention to themselves or say something to brag on themselves. But in a moment of pure, unadulterated passion, KD's instinct is to make a comment about his TEAM. Not himself. His team. There's no faking when it comes to KD: in his heart of hearts, it's not about him, it's about his team. When he says "team" it's like he's saying these are my boys, these are my brothers, these are my fans, this is who we are. KD arrived last night. He proved that he can and will shine on the biggest stage. Look out, NBA.
Yeah surely KD wasnt calling out Russ, he stuck up for him after game 4 when he would have been more pissed. Who knows what he was thinking in those moments. Ice cold.
@walrusmuse
Agreed. Gotta love Tas. More Hedo than Hedo.
How can you hate this guy?
http://blogs.thescore.com/tbj/2010/03/31/the-jones-hedo-turkoglu-party-machine/
I do love how KD said that the crowd really helped them. Made me really happy to be a part of the yelling mob :D
@Floppy Punch!
I haven't looked at it that closely, but regarding publicly calling out Westbrook, I think you're dead on.
I don't think Durant even THINKS like that. Too much of a team player, and I think (hope?) that the team is too tight for any alpha dog battles.
If he *did* say town -- awesome.
One thing i forgot to mention: Perk's dunk! It still lives!
Floppy Punch! :
Okay, after watching it a few dozen times at various speeds I’m convinced said town. You can clearly see his mouth make an O shape. It makes more sense, too. You’d have to believe he was publicly calling out Westbrook, which would be out of character.
I agree. I've watched it over and over and it definitely looks like town to me.
Floppy Punch! :Okay, after watching it a few dozen times at various speeds I’m convinced said town. You can clearly see his mouth make an O shape. It makes more sense, too. You’d have to believe he was publicly calling out Westbrook, which would be out of character.
Oh great! Now the Mayor's going to be pissed! :|
lol
as crazy as the FT disparities were, it really seemed like there was plenty they did not call on Denver throughout. And at the end of the game, Denver would simply drive into the lane with Ty or Felton and draw a foul, just sorta trying to make a shot. It was Russesque for sure, but when it came to crunch time, the refs did not seem to show some favoritism, if anything, they showed surprising willingness to blow the whistle. It seems Tas from TBJ is going to give this series to the refs not the Thunder. I love TBJ, which is why I dont hesitate to rag Tas or Skeets when I disagree.
Okay, after watching it a few dozen times at various speeds I'm convinced said town. You can clearly see his mouth make an O shape. It makes more sense, too. You'd have to believe he was publicly calling out Westbrook, which would be out of character.
Haha... was scanning through some Nuggets comments and one guy said they should make a run at Jeff Green.
http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs/2011/insider/columns/story?columnist=hollinger_john&page=PERDiem-110428
Biggest surprises of the playoff so far:
Serge Ibaka, Oklahoma City
While Wednesday night wasn't a great showcase of Ibaka's offensive skills -- he had five turnovers despite hardly touching the ball -- the series as a whole was a spectacular display of his talents. "I-block-a" sent back an estimated 12.4 percent of the 2-point attempts by the Nuggets in the series, according to Basketball-Reference.com, turning aside 24 shots in five games. None were bigger than his two at-the-basket denials when the Thunder led by nine with fewer than four minutes left on Wednesday. Take those away, and it's game over; no amount of Durant heroics would have mattered.
And for the series, Ibaka played some decent offense, too. He made 17 of his 20 free throws, hit enough midrange J's to keep defenders honest and finished with a respectable 10 points a game. Throw in his domination on the glass (a spectacular 19.3 rebound rate) and he was a huge reason the Thunder can chill out for a few days waiting on the winner of the San Antonio-Memphis series.
Serge Ibaka has 24 blocks already this postseason. Joakim Noah is second with 13. The league average for TEAM blocks is 25. Serge, by himself, would be tied with the Memphis Grizzlies for 9th most blocks in the postseason. Monster.
This BP Premium article is great: http://www.basketballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=1678
Worth clicking through for the free tidbit, even if you don't have a subscription.
For what its worth, in regards to free throw disparities:
http://espn.go.com/nba/statistics/team/_/stat/offense-per-game/sort/avgFreeThrowsAttempted
I did not know we were the only play off team that is averaging over 100 a game
Watch this one again everybody...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWPj_Pvr6nY
It IS his mother %*&#@in' team!
My heart wants him to have said town.
Boy did I love that sequence. I was at my gf's brothers and nobody cared about teh game but me and I didnt really know anyone there, but when he bloked that shot, I jumped and yelled at the screen, "Fuck you!!!" Why?? Man, was I pumped. I said at the beginning of this series, that KD's defense would be one of the bigger stories. Hes had some slip ups, but when it is his absolute focus, hes astounding on the defensive end as well.
With 3 minutes left, I thought the game was over. Wow, mind = Boggled
I love you Russel. You will bounce back. See what Harden can do when you kick it out to him, which he is most often open?
@Floppy Punch!
It was definitely one of the two. I consulted like 10 different opinions and the majority went with team.
I don't have sound here. Does KD say "This is my ^%$#$# team!" as I've read or "This is my %$#%^ town!"
Well Royce, on top of your media cred, that last line you wrote qualifies you for street cred. :)
"This is my mf'in team!"
A few thoughts:
1. Imma watch this video almost every day.
2. I'm glad to see Denver gone. We are a better team than them. Anyone who says otherwise is nuts. They are very good, and played us close across the season. But we closed. Everytime except 1. It's not a debate.
3. Glad to see Denver gone. They hacked, hugged, and smacked our guys all night long, and not in a way of basketball toughness, but in a thug way. Things Perk would have been ejected for were not even called as fouls, much less the hard ones they were. Good riddance to a team who is still not convinced we beat them 6 times of 7 in one month.
4. It can easily be lost in KD's marvelous work, but earlier in the game Russ had an incredible feat of will moment of Honey Badger Russ where he fought for a steal and rebounds like a madman. He willed himself 2 points. It was fun to watch.
5. I told my buddy outside the arena via text that Harden's 3 would be the winner if we could finish off. I couldn't imagine what KD and Ibaka did after that, but I stand by it: Harden is almost as clutch as KD in this one.
6. Perk had a great game, even offensively. His FTs were huger than you'd think.
7. The crowd was great in this game, but this game was weird. The Thunder felt weird for 44 minutes. Something was off. And everyone knew it. The moments of fatigue from the crowd werent because we didnt care, it's because we care A LOT. I was actually physically ill at the 4 minute mark down 9 points. When KD, JH, Russ, Ibaka, Perk made their plays down the stretch-my first reaction was to stand up and I couldnt choke a sound out I was hoping against hope so bad.
From KD's first 3 (us down 6) to the end the crowd was deafening.
7. Go freaking Thunder. Love this team. Let's rest up-and then focus hard on the next round-whoever it might be.
For the series in the 4th quarter, I'd like to know what KD's shooting percentage was. I honestly would not be surprised if it was about 70%. Cold blooded.