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SCOTT BROOKS
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The defending NBA Champion Dallas Mavericks couldn’t quite walk-the-walk Saturday night against the Thunder but that hasn’t stopped them from talking-the-talk ever since.
“Oh we know we can beat them, there’s no doubt in my mind,” Mavs guard Jason Terry said after Dallas practiced on Sunday. And he kept going even after someone asked him about that lock down defense Russell Westbrook tied him up with in the fourth quarter, “I don’t care who’s on me, it doesn’t matter,” said the Jet.
It must be part of that, “we’ll come out with all our guns blazing,” philosophy Dallas head coach Rick Carlisle talked about in his postgame news conference Saturday night which also included some heavy whining about the whistle blowers not taking better care of Dirk Nowitzki.
“He’s getting grabbed and held and they call a foul on him,” Carlisle griped about a call just before halftime, “if you back off of him at 22 feet he’s gonna hit the shot so people grab him and hold him.”
Scott Brooks, the Thunder head coach and former Carlisle roomie during the old CBA days, urged reporters not to buy any of the uh natural fertilizer Carlisle was spreading around.
“You might as well just go back to your quotes from 2011, he said the same thing then,” Scotty pointed out and then added, “you guys can’t get sucked into that, that’s what he (Carlisle) does.”
Of course we in the media buying in or not doesn’t matter. Is the Thunder coach concerned the guys in the grey shirts will get the message and put the big German on the free throw line more than they should?
“No,” was Brooks’ straight to-the-point answer.
It’s all part of the newest Red River Rivalry…Dallas and Oklahoma City, ‘little brother,’ as Jason Terry has referred to the Thunder.
After yesterday’s practice and today’s shoot-around Thunder players refused to rise to the bait.
“Those guys, man, they’re a mentally tough team,” complimented Thunder star Kevin Durant, “they come at you in so many different ways. I don’t think we got their best shot (Saturday night) we just have to keep playing, do the best we can and see what happens.”
Brooks said his players and coaches accomplished what they needed to during today’s shoot-around.
“We had a good film session and our focus was good when we got out on the court,” he said, “we just went over some of the things we need to improve on and just talked about the things we did well and maybe just try to do them a little bit better.”
Steady as she goes for the good ship Thunder. Just avoid any Jason Terry torpedoes and hopefully sail into Dallas with a 2-0 lead.
Randy Renner has covered Oklahoma sports for 30 years and contributes to NBA.com.
whats up with the forums. its not updating
we have to make the most buzzer beaters of any team in the league
Yo, so sick and tired about hearing about the Clippers....the Grizz are so much better IMO and will take these guys.
Good points on how James Harden is the most efficient scorer in the NBA this year. His FG% + FT% = best True Shooting percentage. Had no idea:
http://chasing23.com/2012-nba-6th-man-of-the-year-award/
@workhorse23
It's funny. During his rookie year he couldn't even finish at the rim. Now he's automatic once he splits the defense.
What are the chances Marion or Terry shoot like they did in game 1? What are the chances KD shoots like he did and Collison, Perk, Cook and Fisher combine for 0. I think we win game 2 by 5-10. Won't be easy but I'm guessing we won't be trailing the entire game either.
@okcjim I do think we tend to over-positive things like this. I pointed it out in the game thread a little. Yes, Terry and Marion shot well above average and KD well below. But by the same token Dirk was a little below average, Russ had a great game, Serge was well above average, Harden had a great game as well, and we were +1 in the turnover department. I wouldn't be so quick to say, "Well KD won't shoot that bad again, everything will be roses and butterflies", when so many other factors went our way. I'd say all things considered, everything played relatively close to the mean and we should expect another tough one tonight.
@okcjim I wouldn't be surprised if Terry shot the ball well again, but I don't see Marion doing the same. They need to do a better job of contesting Marion's shots though, and not leaving him WIDE open.
@KoolKeith3000 @okcjim
Marion usually plays well against OKC. Durant tends to leave his man too often, either rotating in for help defense or cheating in for rebounds (which has been a focus). I mean, how many times was he left wide open Saturday night while Durant watched and waited for the rebound?
@BRY BRY @okcjim Agreed 100%, Durant needs to improve his overall team defense. This has become a common theme, where he leaves his man open on the 3-point line. He needs to play smarter in that regard.
http://www.dailythunder.com/2012/04/mavericks-vs-thunder-game-2-pregame-primer/
I think this is another one of those great opportunities for Brooks to grow as a coach. Look, we can't pretend that referees aren't influence by outside events. Saying Dirk is getting grabbed so much isn't about whining, it's about influencing future calls. And it works. Phil was a master of this.
I think Brooks should take it like a champ, but be a little more cutting as well. "I guess Rick [Carlisle] thinks Dirk needs calls in order to be effective. I trust Kevin will play well even with Marion mauling him every possession."
I'm interested to see how the bench plays tonight. Harden played well offensively in the last game (minus his turnovers) and Collison gave a good defensive effort, but Cook, Fish, and Collison all combined for a total of 0 points. All three of those players average 5 points per game, and the team is that much more difficult to beat when the bench gets rolling, especially when Cook is hitting shots. Fish played really poorly on Saturday, but I thought Cook was also pretty awful. He was getting torched by Carter on the defensive end, as well as missing all his shots. I'm hoping the bench as a unit performs better tonight. Also, Dallas fans point to Ibaka not being able to duplicate that offensive performance, but the same can be said about Marion. He had some wide open threes is the game, but the guy is shooting only 29.4% from long distance this year.
Does anyone know where the shirts are sold that are grey with orangish vintage style lettering and the image of the fist holding 2 lightning bolts?
Re: Jordan Hill
Mike Bresnahan: I've been told that Jordan Hill *must* appear in person Tuesday at a Houston court at 9:30 a.m. CT. The Lakers play host to DEN at 7:30 p.m.
@ou_sas he will make it to the game then, that is plenty of time to fly to LA
@f5alcon Depends on how long the court appearance is. Those initial hearings could take hours.
@f5alcon @ou_sas If they let him.
It takes a special kind of fanbase to produce this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N806wOuatPY
Reading some Bulls fans is kind of sad. They have been really defensive, saying things like "Well Miami hasn't been very good so we'll be fine" and "We're going to be able to get by the Heat" and all that stuff, and all I think is "It's so cute/sad you think you're going to get the chance to play Miami."
@Jooseppi How sad would a Philly/ Atlanta 2nd round series be?
@kfmsooner Hey, it is what it is...the East was weak anyways...no Dwight, Rose, Allen, and now Rhondo for a game....Pacers losing to a depleted Magic...Knicks best wing defender hurt....the West is where it's at...hey it's Miami's time by default which puts so much pressure on them now because there is no excuse....
@kfmsooner The NBA would commit seppuku.
@Jooseppi @kfmsooner Well, at least we'd know who the East's representative would be.
@Jooseppi they still might, boston/atlanta didnt look very impressive
@f5alcon Magic sweeping Pacers is more likely than the Bulls making it past Boston or Atlanta.
Playoff basketball is different. Teams have time to gameplan for Cj Watson and John Lucas. They don't in the regular season, when you are on to another team the next night. There's a reason they are role players. Beating up on Charlotte and Washington with Rose out shouldn't impress anybody.
@Jooseppi @f5alcon What happened to Rose was just tragic, but remember they did pretty well without Rose on the lineup this season and against tough teams at that. So yeah I believe they'll still get to ECF.
serge needs to go for the block record tonight, bynum tied it last game with 10.
@f5alcon JET 0/11. All Serge blocks.
Anyone else seen the Brooklyn "Raiders" Nets logo? Talk about minimalism.
@Arent I love it man, however I am also a big fan of minimalism. I'd love for us to go for a more minimalist approche if/when we redesign our logo, because as it stands right now, it looks like an amateur arena football league logo.
@Arent That basketball wearing a flat bill logo is so awesomely cheesy. "Guys, look, a rapper owns 1% of our team, WE'VE GOT STREET CRED. TURN THAT HAT SIDEWAYS.'
@duhsweetness @Arent It seems JayZ had a part in designing it.
@Arent They managed to come off contrived with the minimalism. No small feat.
@Arent I like it.
@ElevatorFlatulence I like it, but at the same time don't like it. It's strange. I think it looks better than ours, though.
@Arent @ElevatorFlatulence A circle in a square would look better than ours.
Rick Carlisle is doing his best Phil Jackson impersonation
I think it really will boost Ibaka's confidence that Scotty gave him 39 minutes in the first playoff game. Hope he keeps impressing.
@dancassidy35 I think ibaka didnt get as much minutes in the regular season is because he didnt defend the pick and roll well. This series he's done a nice job on dirk and thats why he got 39 minutes
Put Harden in the starting lineup. Bring Thabo in to cover the jet. Bring in Aldrich and tell him to manhandle Dirk, who cares if he fouls out. Lets send a message tonight.
@PowerSerge Yes. Let's give Dirk 35 FTAs tonight.
@ElevatorFlatulence He is going to make most of his shots anyway, I was just trying to think of a way to get in his big ugly head.
@PowerSerge I think Jet is a little too small for Thabo. And a big no to harden in the starting lineup. Don't want to mess with that kind of stuff now.
@dancassidy35 @PowerSerge I say bring in Jim Carrey and let him sit besides Carlisle just to throw him off.
@duhsweetness @Astro @dancassidy35 Hey Carlisle, want to hear the most annoying sound in the world? lol
@Astro @dancassidy35 @PowerSerge More specifically, let's bring in Lloyd Christmas and see what happens.
All I can hope for is that Scottie Brooks figures out that playing Fisher more minutes is not always a good thing. All I kept thinking Saturday was, "WHY IS FISH STILL IN!?!" It was a bit frustrating considering I felt he wasn't really contributing much at all.
@CTizzle4Rizzle Think he's played 20 games for us. I'm guessing after about 13 of those we were all saying "well surely Brooks gets it now, right?"
Sooo.....
@CTizzle4Rizzle I wouldn't be surprised if that was trending on twitter