A pretty amazing story about the special unit that found and killed Osama bin Laden: “After bursts of fire over 40 minutes, 22 people were killed or captured. One of the dead was Osama bin Laden, done in by a double tap — boom, boom — to the left side of his face. His body was aboard the choppers that made the trip back.” U-S-A, U-S-A, amirite?
Terrific piece by Ben Golliver of CBSSports.com on how turnovers were a problem for the Thunder, but not how you think: “Bigger than Westbrook’s struggles with his ball-handling in Game 1 was the fact that the Grizzlies did an excellent job of taking care of the ball. As a team, Memphis turned the ball over just eight times, giving them a +10 differential against the Thunder in Game 1. That’s an excellent recipe for success: Memphis was 10-1 during the regular season when they committed fewer than 10 turnovers. Meanwhile, Oklahoma City was 5-9 in games in which they didn’t force at least 10 turnovers.”
John Hollinger of ESPN.com: “What stood out was not just what they did, but how they did it. The Grizzlies simply overwhelmed the home side with their rare combination of brute force, precision passing and scrambling defense, racing out to a double-digit lead in the first half and never suffering a serious threat thereafter. Much like the San Antonio series, there was nothing whatsoever about this game that felt like an upset.”
3 Shades of Blue: “Russell Westbrook, come on down. Yes, you get on the list even before ol’ #50. We all know this guy is absurdly athletic and very talented-but taking more shots than KD and failing to finish at the rim is a recipe for guess what, a Thunder loss. And the bad shot choices are not the extent of it-they’re a symptom of a larger decisionmaking issue”
Darnell Mayberry: “Let’s not overlook the performance from KD. Coming into this series, I think we’d all agree that Memphis’ duo of Allen and Battier could give Durant fits. Some of us thought that chess match was more of an advantage than the Grizzlies’ bigs versus the Thunder’s bigs. Boy, were we wrong. KD scored a team-high 33 points on 11 of 21 shooting with 11 rebounds, three assists and two blocks. He had three turnovers, but all of them came in the first half. If KD can keep this up I love the Thunder’s chances.”
Berry Tramel writes Scott Brooks has a problem with Serge Ibaka: “But now you see the dilemma. Collison’s defense on Randolph would come in handy, but Ibaka does so much more, he needs to play. One solution, Brooks might try an Ibaka/Collison more often. Put Ibaka on Grizzlies center Marc Gasol. Kendrick Perkins’ defense was supposed to help curtail Memphis’ paint points, but Gasol hurt the Thunder with 15-foot jumpers as much as anything. So who knows? But the Randolph dilemma comes down to this. The guy, Ibaka, who needs to cover Randolph can’t stop him, but Ibaka still needs to play.”
My column for CBSSports.com. It’s Grizz-centric.
Chris Mannix of SI.com: “The Thunder need the point guard, not the pure scorer. Durant (33 points) will continue to be Durant and it’s reasonable to assume an ineffective James Harden (five points) will bounce back in Game 2. Westbrook has a decided advantage against Conley, who can’t stay in front of him and isn’t strong enough to hold his ground behind him. Westbrook can draw defenses to him on dribble-drives and pull double-teams his way on post-ups. It’s his decision-making that must improve. There is no need to bull his way to the basket or launch an acrobatic shot at the rim. Not with Harden lurking on the perimeter or Durant hustling to find the open spot.”
Marc Spears of Yahoo! Sports: “After Randolph finished his postgame interviews on Sunday following the Grizzlies’ victory, he met some friends who had patiently waited for him near the court. In the process, he bumped into his old coach – Thunder assistant Maurice Cheeks, who was with Randolph for part of his stay in Portland. Cheeks put his arm around Randolph like a proud papa. “He was never short on talent,” Cheeks said. “…But he is just going to another level right now. I don’t want to see it now. I’m glad he’s doing what he’s supposed to do, but I told him to slow it down.”
@DJ 7
Thanks DJ 7
I agree completely. This team doesn't want to shoot the three, especially conley. They only three's i remember them making were Mayo's and Battier's both of which were very open looks. Russell has just got to work his tail off to contest the shot if conley pulls up, which i dont see happening often, or stick with his on the drive. If they give it back to gasol, i know he's been great from around the ft line, but he's not gona drive the ball from out there @james1
Well his name ain't Nazr Jones...
@mush9902
I wasn't upset. Just didn't understand where you were going. I've always thought that Republicans and Dems and everyone else can pretty much agree that Nazi's are bad. It doesn't seem particular to any state or political ideology. Thus, it was confusing.
@DJ 7
Next time as in next game. I see us winning one in Memphis is we play our cards right. Game 3 is the easiest to steal.
@Thunderman
74% of the teams that win Game 1 go on to win the series. 79% of the teams that win Game 1 on the road go on to win the series. As you saw though, New Orleans lost their series against L.A. and they won Game 1 on the road. Just gotta make adjustments, and try out best next time.
I meant 0-1 HOME deficit.
Anyone know % stat for teams that come back from 0-1 deficit in playoffs?
@mush9902
Haha it didn't bother Michael Jackson at all. He was just a little confused-- but he guessed correctly what you meant. Well, the Nazi part, not the Muhammed part. :)
@Grolgar
@TempBoy Brandon
Well if I have upset Frederick Douglass and Michael Jackson in one day, I know I have done something wrong. Not to make dailythunder a political blog, but I thought there was room for a joke that a Nazi and Muhammad could be considered the two most hated people in Oklahoma as Daniel rightly suspects. I withdraw the attempt. As to the possible grammatical error, considering my earlier typos, I defer to Mr. Douglass.
@John
That's kind of what the Grizzlies do, though. They really get into the passing lanes and have active hands. They WILL keep the Thunder over their usual TO numbers. The Thunder will have to generate more of their own TO's and do a better job on the boards. That should equal things out some.
...might help to make some shots, too.
@Bryan
Maybe you have a point. At least, run some more double teams at him from different directions, like you said, keep him off balance and create turnovers. Grant Long was with M. Pinto on the radio yesterday was calling for more doubleteams all game. I only noticed a few. I think Brooks missed the boat there. Seems like that might be something Thabo would be good for, seeing as he likes to help defend so much. His size and length might give Z-Bo problems on the double team.
How frustrating is it to check the NBA page on ESPN.com and see nothing but columns upon columns about DAL-LA and BOS-MIA? That's why I'm here. After reading "Beyond the Arc" and "3 Shades of Blue," I have to resort to going to our opponents' fan blog to find coverage of the Grizz. I understand it from a money/fan interest standpoint, but I'm completely over this big market bias for playoff coverage. Thanks for the links in this post to what others are saying about the OKC-MEM series...the only one I'm interested in. I know you OKC fans have to be just as frustrated with it.
In fact, if we were to equalize the TO's and points off of them:
Griz: 8/8
Thunder:18/23
-that's a 15 point swing right there. We would have won by 2. Such a shame. We must protect the ball!
@John
You could only do it with Gasol off the floor. But I think it would be a nice change-up to keep him off balance. The main goal would be to keep him from getting the ball at all, or to create a turnover.
DJ White was on my plane from Atlanta last night-big dude. His jaw is indeed large. He seemed really nice, friendly. Hope he's here to motivate his ex-teamates, cheer em on.
@Bryan
I don't think it's come to that. Randolph by himself isn't what killed us. He's good and he'll get his. We just can't have Gasol getting 20 as well. Oh yeah, I think 18 turns also had a big hand in our demise.
TempBoy Brandon :I can safely say that this was by far the most upsetting loss in our Thunder’s short history.P>
Yo, I feel you. Very disappointing indeed. The anxiety for Tuesday not is a beast in me right now.
Anyone think it would be worth trying a box-and-one on Randolph? You could set a 1-3 zone with Ibaka anchoring the middle, then keep Collison glued to Randolph's hip.
You could only do it while Gasol is resting, and probably only during key possessions, but it might be worth a try.
@John
Yesterday afternoon was really bad for me too. Melancholy is the perfect word to describe it. I know the players took it even worse though, and my hope is that is what will motivate them to not let that happen again. (Of course, I know Memphis has a say in this too, but still.)
@Bryan
Yeah, I know it's the worst for me cause a regular season loss doesn't sting nearly the same as a postseason loss (the worst regular season loss for me was the ridiculous Utah non-call last year), and we have such a small sample size of postseason losses that it's easy to see this is by far the worst.
That looks like a horrible run-on sentence.
@james1
Likewise. That was my favorite game by far this year. Kind of like the one at MSG last year. But I went back last night & watched some of the last game @ LAL. Russ is pressing, or so it seems to my eye. Where do you guys find these USG %stats? I would LOVE to know. He just needs to let his athleticism be an advantage for him & our team, not a detriment due to questionable decision making. Pass the ball to the 2 guard, Russ. As for our current setup, Russ should be getting about 25-30% of our shots, with KD being in 50% & up range, Harden filling in that 15% mark, with the rest of the team gobbling up the remaining. This is the postseason, so feed the beast. This is Durant's team. We have to set up KD off of screens, lobs, whatever for about 80% of HIS shots. I'm only comfortable giving him a little bit of iso due to turns but he also, as we all know, employs that rip move. We can't have Nazr going weak in the paint, or anyone for that matter. If you are within 5 feet of the basket, dunk the ball. We have to be aggressive. Hopefully we don't get impartial foul treatment when our bigs try to establish themselves on D early on in tomorrow's game. Post-trades this year, our frontcourt intensity was the backbone of the team in tandem with our big-time perimeter guys. So what's going on with Perk? He's the lynchpin, the anchor. Where's the intensity? I suspect we will see a completely different team next time out. We need to value the ball & execute an Offense, regardless if it's "our" offense. We just need to do something intellectually beyond Russell dribbling at the top of the key, waiting for Durant, waiting for Durant, waiting for Durant, oh he's not open, so I'll take the jumper. This is the playoffs. Value the ball. How did the team keep turning the ball over when we see the Grizz valuing it so dearly, with Allen making plays to keep the possesion alive and throwing it back out to repost Randolph. We gotta get a GREAT shot opportunity every time down the court with our team set up how it is, with no real reliable, interior scoring. But this is further chronicling the Westy-Durant relationship in this league, so we'll see what they do tomorrow night. I personally am so anxious for this next game. Like many have said above me, it presents an opportunity. And you don't wanna waste any of those. Sorry for the rant. I'm done. Just had to get it out of me. Thanks.
Because of how they work their rotations, the Grizzlies plays about 20 mins per game with only one of Randolph or Gasol on the floor. But one of the two is always on the court.
Also, one of Tony Allen or Shane Battier is always on the court to check Durant.
The Thunder need to make Memphis pay every time Gasol or Randolph rests by going small and stretching the court. Or they could go opposite, and play Nazr and Perk under the basket to get all the offensive boards.
@TempBoy Brandon
Agree. I was particularly melencholy yesterday afternoon. At this stage, I'm not sure what to expect. The way I feel now we could just as easily lose Tuesday on our way to a 3-1 or 4-0 series loss as we could win and go on to win the series. It will be interesting to see how they respond.
I was looking at the game flows at http://popcornmachine.net/cgi-bin/gameflow.cgi?date=20110501&game=MEMOKC and found it interesting that the Thunder made its biggest run of the game while playing a little small ball.
Brooks went with Ibaka, Durant, Cook, Harden and Maynor (then subbed in Westbrook for Maynor) against Mayo, Arthur, Battier, Conley and Randolph (then Allen subbed for Arthur). .
As soon as Perkins checked in for Cook and Gasol checked in for Mayo, the run was over. To close out the game, Memphis alternated Mayo and Allen the rest of the way.
@TempBoy Brandon
Yeah, I really can't recall a loss stinging quite as much as that one. Hats off Grizzlies. Played a great game. Now lay over and kindly die a quiet death....lol
@Daniel
I think so too-- our team really does seem to respond when faced with adversity. At least that's what I keep telling myself. :)
I honestly won't feel better until we hear the first few notes of that Black Eyed Pea song and Rumble is driving around on his little Segway on Tuesday night.
@TempBoy Brandon
I agree with this but I think some adversity will be a good thing, depending on how we respond.
@TempBoy Brandon
I took it to mean it was ironic because Oklahoma has a reputation on being a very conservative, bible belt state.
Grolgar :
mush9902 :Nazr not Nazi…my mistake. Always think it’s his name is hilarious, especially for playing in Oklahoma. And thinking about that led me to the typo. My apologies.
Why is it especially have a guy named Nazr playing for OKC? Are there an inordinate number of Nazi’s in Oklahoma? Weird comment.
I thought that was weird too.
I can safely say that this was by far the most upsetting loss in our Thunder's short history. The Lakers series last year was just gravy, so losing to them, while upsetting, didn't depress me. The one Nuggets loss wasn't a biggie cause we were still up 3-1. But losing the first game at home when I feel like we really have a great shot to make something special happen this postseason is so upsetting. I was in a bad mood all day yesterday, and I'm still in a bit of a funk today. I just need Tuesday night to hurry up and get here and for us to get a win. I think I'll be anxious, worried and down in the dumps until we're celebrating a Game 2 win. If we can, I'll feel much better about stealing one in Memphis and getting homecourt back. It's the first time in my Thunder fan experience that I've felt something as depressing as a Dallas Cowboys playoff loss or a Sooners national championship loss. That's how much I felt this one.
I just watched some of the Heat game when we best them at their place. One thing I noticed is that we were playing much more relaxed. We were playing intense but were having fun. It looks like we're forcing things a little on both ends the last few games. We need to just play ball. Play hard defense, share the ball on offense and take it to them on both ends. Protect the basket, force turnovers and get out and go. Westbrook and Harden in particular. Go get em. We won't win playing tentative on either end. Go make things happen.
*especially hilarious
mush9902 :Nazr not Nazi…my mistake. Always think it’s his name is hilarious, especially for playing in Oklahoma. And thinking about that led me to the typo. My apologies.
Why is it especially have a guy named Nazr playing for OKC? Are there an inordinate number of Nazi's in Oklahoma? Weird comment.
@Daniel
@walrusmuse
I agree with this. Only I believe KD's defense was abysmal, not lackluster. We must have more effort from him and the rest of the team on the defensive end
@Daniel
This is right on. Big 2 games coming up for the Thunder: can we win on the back foot tomorrow (how frigging long are the next 2 days going to be!?) and can we steal one in highly hostile Memphis (hostile in the loud fan kind of way)? After that, we then have to stay intense to finish, but it is going to be very telling on tuesday and Game 3. Here's where we see how our coaching will respond, and if they will respond at all.
Memphis scores across the board like Denver does, except they seem a little more consistent. And obviously having a tandem in the paint is a major issue. But who here thought before game 1 that Ibaka and Perk wouldnt at least be somewhat of a challenge for Gasol/Zbo? I'm flummoxed at the paint defense in game 1.
Also-KD's big game is an important factor, he apparently wasnt too intimidated by the vaunted Battier/Allen combo, though his D was lackluster.
It's hard to wait for Tuesday night.
This is about how bad do we want to win.Our players have to match their intensity on both ends of the court.110per evry play,only 8 teams left it's not going to be easy.This is where you make your contract.Playoffs is where money is made.
I won't say that this loss was a good thing (it's never a good thing to be down in a playoff series), but I do think it gives our team an opportunity for something great. For the first time all year, our backs are against the wall. Now we'll get to see the true character of our team. Are we front-runners who crumble as soon as they get behind? Or will we show resiliency and battle back to come away with a 2-2 lead after Game 4? If this team is going to go anywhere, it needs to show some resolve and backbone (or risk becoming Dallas of the last decade- always good, never great chokers in the playoffs).
We can't hang our heads over this. Many of the recent past champions battled back from early series deficits. The Lakers of '09 lost Game 1 to Houston in the 2nd round and were 1 stolen pass away from possibly losing both Games 1 and 2 against Denver in the next round. In last year's finals, LA dropped Game 2 at home to Boston. In all 3 of these series, LA persevered and ended up winning Game 3 on the road. If we want to be in the same class as them, we have do this also.
Really liked nick colison's quote about how it comes down to individual pride... Could to see for the most part each player is kind of letting this turn into a chip on their shoulder instead of thinking the are the weaker team... That's what championship teams do I have realized... You don't win every game but how do you respond when you do lose and your back is against the wall... I expect to see a hunger in each and ever player on that floor tomorrow night... I don't want to just win either.. I want us to attack and keep the lead throughout just like Memphis in game 1... I want to see some discomfort in the other teams face after tomorrow night... Start making them second guess if last night was a fluke... Westbrook is do an all around good game... Just needs to play his game... I also want to see the durant form the fourth quarter of the last game in the 1st series... Thunderup we got this!!
james1 :Ibaka didn’t play poorly on Randolph. He’s the guy that needs to cover him and Perkins does fine on Gasol if he’s not out at the 3 point line trying to guard Conley on a pick and roll. Go under the screen if you have to Russ.
I think that should be our strategy. Our pick and roll defense is terrible. We should at least try going under the high screen and make Connelly beat us rather than Gasol/Randolph. I agree that Serge did alright guarding Z-Bo. I thought the foul calling in the post was way to ticky tacky for the playoffs and limited what our bigs could do against them. If officiating stays this way, we will have problems.
mush9902 :@james1Really? I assure you this is not from statistical analysis, but it seemed like every time Ibaka was on him, he got a j splashed in his face…
At the first of game he did but that's the shot you want him shooting. He did one of those on Collison too then he started missing them in the 2nd half. You can't do anything about his fall away 18 footer. If he's going to hit that you can't do anything about it. Ibaka did pretty well when he tried to back him down. He got called for a couple ticky tack fouls late. Other than that he challenged his shots and blocked him out, for the most part, about as well as you can.
@Jimbo Slice
Agree with the analysis, I just always want to side with the guy that seems to do "more with less".
@james1
Really? I assure you this is not from statistical analysis, but it seemed like every time Ibaka was on him, he got a j splashed in his face...
I no noone wants to hear this but give Mullens a chance at Gasol,let him foul out but he has the most length on the team.Gasol killed us on lil jumpers in the lane.I can't believe I said it,but we got all these big guys sitting on the bench.I say we use every hard foul that we have,they had it way to easy in the paint.
@mush9902
He'd be a legitemate candidate, but it's hard to argue with what Tom Thibadeau (and Ron Adams.. *tear*) did in Chicago this season. Even if you actually thought Derrick Rose was the best pg in the game and MVP, you still would have to give that guy credit for coaching them to the NBA's best record, #1 defense, and #1 rebounding in his first season as a head coach.
Ibaka didn't play poorly on Randolph. He's the guy that needs to cover him and Perkins does fine on Gasol if he's not out at the 3 point line trying to guard Conley on a pick and roll. Go under the screen if you have to Russ.
Forget it; I either make typos or..more typos.
That got really jumbled. If you look at the gameflows on http://popcornmachine.net/cgi-bin/gameflow.cgi?date=20110501&game=MEMOKC you will see what I'm getting at.
Whenever Gasol is out, Collision should be on Randolph and Ibaka should be on the other big. But when Gasol comes back in, you have to have Perkins or Mohammed in there... maybe even both for short stretches.
Nazr not Nazi...my mistake. Always think it's his name is hilarious, especially for playing in Oklahoma. And thinking about that led me to the typo. My apologies.
mush9902 :
Thabo has little to no value in this series, and, once again, we’re getting crushed inside!
Couldn't agree more...#2 should play about 5-10 minutes when one of their guards is hot from the outside.
I was frustrated with the lack of rebounding and also the inability or Russell to finish shots. Sure, he ended up with a bunch of points but his efficiency was again poor and his handles were awful as well.
Perkins needs to show why we signed him to an extension in a big way over the next few games. Needs to shut down one of the bigs and grab about 18-20 boards. Make it happen Perk.