Ben Golliver of CBSSports.com on OKC’s sweep: “Harden also proved he could be the solution to arguably the Thunder’s biggest weakness: an offense that is often overreliant on jumpers, especially late in games. Success on the perimeter is never going to draw comparisons to a “buzzsaw.” That only happens when the damage is inflicted right down the middle, piercing drives that make a team’s defense collapse, scramble and flail repeatedly. Harden — not Durant or Westbrook — brings that offensive element when he’s at his best, and that’s why the Thunder left Dallas on Saturday appearing to Carlisle as if a trophy could be in their near future.”
Rob Mahoney of The Two Man Game: “You know what they say: If you’re going to lose a winnable series in four games, at least go out in an exhibition for one of the game’s most fantastically understated players, supplying the wood for his buzzsaw in what one can ultimately assume will be a daunting display of razor-focused finesse and craftsmanship. James Harden (29 points, 11-16 FG, 3-4 3FG, five rebounds, five assists) gets a raw deal because the public’s attention span can only extend to two star teammates at a time, but he’s far too good to be relegated as some distant third, and far too lethal to be ignored, even for a second. Dallas tried a number of coverages from a variety of directions in the fourth quarter, but none of it mattered — Harden attacked from the same point on the floor at the same angle, repeatedly bludgeoning the Mavericks with his own unique grace. And, as an important extension: credit upon credit to Scott Brooks, who afforded Harden the opportunities he needed without the slightest interference.”
Berry Tramel on Derek Fisher: “But we forgot one thing. The Thunder didn’t sign Fisher to play against the Timberwolves in March or against the Kings in April. The Thunder signed Fisher for the playoffs. Signed Fisher for the games that are paramount. Signed Fisher for the series in which possessions are magnified, the series in which guts and guile rise in value. Old man? No fooling. Old man winner.”
KD and Russ talking about their relationship.
Andrew Rafner for TBJ on James Harden: “If there is one player in these NBA playoffs you should be watching their every move, it’s James Harden. He’s Andrew Toney meets Manu Ginobili. He’s unselfish and wild and different and weird and confusing. James Harden should be your favorite player and not just cause he wears a tiny jersey and has that really cool beard, but because he believes in the spirit and culture the Oklahoma City Thunder have cultivated as meticulously as Harden has his own look. Everyone’s talking about James Harden. You should be too.”
Get to know everyone’s favorite ref, Joey Crawford.
This First Take debate completely misses the point. Pun maybe intended. I’m not sure.
ESPN Stats and Info on Harden: “He’s the 1st player with 25-5-5 off the bench in a playoff game since Manu Ginobili in 2007 against the Suns. Harden is the only the 4th bench player in the last 15 seasons with a 25-5-5 game in the playoffs.”
More Golliver on OKC: “The Thunder now lay claim to “best first round performance of the 2012 playoffs” after they put the finishing touches on the defending champs. OKC showed a heck of a lot in this series. They executed late in games, they blew the Mavericks off the court in Game 3, they played solid team defense, they kept their composure through rough play, they won without their stars playing A+ basketball and they showed that James Harden can be a transformative offensive presence in the postseason with his ability to get to the basket and make the right reads. They did it all against a quality opponent. Other than more consistent shooting numbers from Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, I’m not sure what else you could ask for.”
Darnell Mayberry: “Remember the time when Thunder had no answer for Dirk Nowitzki? Remember when he thoroughly torched your team and there wasn’t a thing OKC could do about it? Remember how you watched Dirk demolish the Thunder and could only think about how bad you wanted a player like that? Well meet James Harden. The Thunder’s sixth man stuck it to Dallas again in the playoffs. This time he did it while delivering a win. When does Harden get his own “BIG” commercial, NBA? Because that’s what he was on this night, and it’s what he’s been all year.”
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Here comes Skip Wooden
Every time Skip Bayless opens his mouth...*facepalm*
http://www.dailythunder.com/2012/05/practice-report-perk-day-to-day-as-okc-moves-on/
Everyone knows after you sweep a team you are supposed to radically change your lineup and approach.
@ThunderUp12
Absolutely, we've got to mix it up. I think since the other team knows we want KD/Westbrook/Harden to use the ball more, we should run our offense through Perkins and Sefolosha. The Lakers will NEVER see that coming. The element of surprise!! It's so crazy that it just might work!
I'll tell you why we'll beat the Lakers in 5 games.To start off Kobe, yup Kobe. This is a guy who even though he's had to take 25 shots to make 25 pts the last 3 years, he at least use to play good D(The fact that he was even able to switch on Westbrook, and Rondo was great) but now, i can't count how many guys have gone off for 20+ pts against him. If you really stop and think about how Hardens match up against him, he's outperform him 4 times in the last 5 games, the 1 he didn't was because of a Metta World Piece of Sh't. Sessions is still not the answer they need against Westbrook, and Ebanks/Hill hasn't and won't play the way they did that last game. KD is still KD, Gasol/Bynum STILL CAN'T handle Serge/Collison/Perkins. Thabo, and Harden have succesfully time and time again wornout Kobe. Remember guys this team wasn't exactly built to beat the Lakers, but we have the blueprints in front of you that you'll need to do it. Series ends in 5, 4 if we really play complete games, 6 if the Lakers manage to win both 3 & 4.
they haven't shown the ability to beat us dating back to last season, they sure has hell won't come up with one during the playoffs in the last minute. Its all about match ups, and we are to the Lakers, what the Spurs are to us.
@ElMexiThunder I really think well lose game 1 or 2 and that's what scares me
Harden is a max contract, make no mistake about that. It's a stupid debate, to be honest. He's clearly a top 25 player in the league who's only getting better. Considering that the way the cap is set up, where each team can easily handle 2 max contracts and 3 isn't too hard and there is 30 NBA teams, he's EASILY a max contract. The question is more about Ibaka than Harden. Ibaka is going to be close to a max guy if not a max guy.
@FF_pickups I don't think Ibaka is max or even near max to be honest. He's an ok offensive player and a good, getting better defender. If someone gives him near max they are overpaying
Theres really no need to even talk about starting Harden at this point, Its obvious we need him coming off the bench, like i said, i was one for Harden starting, but him starting means our bnech is trully gone. Against teams like L.A. that has no bench, we will need Harden coming off the bench to out perform them, Against teams like San Antonio who has a deep bench, we need Harden coming off to be able to match them. The real question is should Harden run the point consistently to close out games?
@ElMexiThunder i think we need to readjust our roster in the offseason to move harden into the starting lineup...if we try to get him for slightly under max making him a starter would go a long way...i don't care if he says he's fine coming off the bench
as far as closing out games if he has it going like he did last night then let him go but i dont think every name we need to hand him the ball and say go make something happen james..we ran some pretty nice sets to in crunch time this year (not talking about last second shots) that work as well
@OBoymuzik @ElMexiThunder
I'm not sure why you want him starting, If I could guarantee the same number of minutes on the floor.
@FF_pickups @OBoymuzik If it came down to it, i'm all for trading Ibaka, if it mean't keeping Harden. The thing people need to understand is, i understand we all know what Harden's cielling is, a top 5 SG at best(he's been top 3 all season in my book), Ibaka in the other hand, is still a ?. i mean he polishes that mid range jumper, polishes the PnP, and learnny how to do some shimmy shots, and some hop stops, all of a sudden you got a guy who has the arsenal to be a top 10 PF in the league in his prime. Right now Ibaka is berly what i think a 15. Now the question is well he stay a 15, or make those improvements. I mean Ibaka learnin to catch the ball will easily give him 4 more points a game.
@OBoymuzik He's a restricted free agent. He's not going anywhere, guys. Worst case scenario, The Thunder will make a qualifying offer and match the max contract offers that are sure to come his way.
@FF_pickups @ElMexiThunder i'm fine with him coming off the bench...but i want him on this team for a loooonng time and making him a starter would help IMO..theres plenty of things we can do to make it work mainly rework the rotation and have one of Russ, KD, or James go to the bench with 7-8 min left in the first and then re-enter with the 2nd unit
@ElMexiThunder
Well said ElMexiThunder.
Skip Bayless reminds me of one of my favorite quotes:
"Disputes with men, pertinaciously obstinate in their principles, are, of all others, the most irksome; except, perhaps, those with persons †a entirely disingenuous, who really do not believe the opinions they defend, but engage in the controversy from affectation, from a spirit of opposition, or from a desire of showing wit and ingenuity superior to the rest of mankind. The same blind adherence to their own arguments is to be expected in both; the same contempt of their antagonists; and the same passionate vehemence, in inforcing sophistry and falsehood. And as reasoning is not the source, whence either disputant derives his tenets; it is in vain to expect, that any logic, which speaks not to the affections, will ever engage him to embrace sounder principles." -- David Hume
@BRY BRY Too long to read! Got anything from PJ O'Rourke?
@todayisbananas
I'll paraphrase...
Stubborn people suck. Stubborn people who only argue for the sake of argument suck even more.
@ThunderChick2010 @todayisbananas
Only a handful of those words are really necessary.... like pertinaciously obstinate, irksome or entirely disingenuous.... and maybe the bit about doing things in order to appear superior to the rest of mankind...... yeah... that's Skip
@BRY BRY @todayisbananas I understood the sentiment, but just had a hard time linking such robust vocabulary with anything remotely to do with SB.
@todayisbananas
.....and I will rejoice lol
@todayisbananas
Put another way....
One of these days, Stephen Smith is going to jump across that table and choke Skip so hard his head will pop off.
@BRY BRY Sweet! Now I'm smart enough to read David Hume!
@BRY BRY Maybe Charles Schultz?
I think there's a fine line between bringing up valid points about problems even in wins and being overly critical. We know the team struggles defensive rebounding and being stagnant offensively, in my opinion the two biggest problems. There's one thing to point out in a 3 point win in Minnesota in December..."hey they won but Love had 13 offensive rebounds alone, that's gonna be a problem against the Lakers in June"...I don't believe in all's well just because you win.
BUT
That's a big difference from beating us in the head with TS percentages and eFG stats on 4 game samples when they just swept the defending champs (admittedly not the same team). Just exhale sometimes and enjoy the wins, especially in the playoffs. Enjoy how good the filet mignon was instead of talking about how the steak knife was arranged in an improper place in relation to the fork.
Remember how bad you felt after game 4 last year. Take a breath, get some perspective.
@SB718 There's way more than a four game sample regarding many of the issues concerning the team... it was great to sweep the Mavs but it's only the start of the playoffs and there's work to do if they want to win it all (which should be the goal).
@justin_mia Ya don't say
@SB718
I think that the biggest problem with the team is guarding super speedy point guards who break down the D leading to wide open threes and offensive rebounds. We seemed to rebound just fine against the Lakers but were killed on the boards by teams like Denver, San Antonio and Minnesota.
@FF_pickups @SB718 Yeah, definitely. When ibaka has to come over and try to block a shot because of a defensive breakdown, he's out of position for offensive rebounds. If we can contain dribble penetration, i think that will go a long way to solving our offensive rebounding problems.
@FF_pickups I forgot perimeter D against smart, patient offenses. 3 weaknesses.
I just realized something. If you count the pre- and post-season games, Dallas finished the season 36-36. With 9 of those 36 losses (25%!) coming at the hands of our team, I think we can say the Thunder Congo-death-gripped the upper arm of the defending champs and helped render them a .500 team.
@ThunderChick2010 Speaking of Congo death grip, how will our guys "welcome" back ron detest since it's looking like he'll be eligible to play in game 1 or 2 of round 2?
@ThunderChick2010 Next question is how crazy angry loud will our crowd be? And will it be enough to set him off again?
@KellOne Much as we'd like to see him stepped on like a cockroach, I have a feeling Brooks & company are going to be sure our guys rein it in.
@ThunderChick2010 @KellOne *points at Lakers* Ant *points at Thunder* Boot.
@ThunderChick2010 So much for little brother syndrome now ehh... I don't hear Terry talking smack anymore.
@neo12 @ThunderChick2010
I wonder if Terry has learned his lesson
@BRY BRY @neo12 @ThunderChick2010 next will be terry wanting to play for us,lol.
@ThunderChick2010
Mike Dunleavy Jr. Style!
I'll give Brooks his due's, he did pretty good this series, We have the better roster of talent, he made sure we used that talent to outmatch that of our foe, Game 3 and 4 showcase just that. However Carlisle did do some pretty stupid things like call 1 to many timeouts, but like i said Brooks compared to last years WCF's showed big steps of improvement.
I don't understand why ppl want harden to start...don't they remember what happened when we played the clippers and started him?
@bmuelle2112 I think the sentiment has become more contingent on an offseason of integrating him. He has struggled as a starter before, but he's also been fantastic with Russ and KD in 4th quarters. Certainly there seems the ability to fit in, it's just the question of making it happen.
I have outgrown the argument in my own head. I think he can carry the offense when KD or Russ sit, and it's nice to never have a dropoff in game. But as these playoffs (and future playoffs) will show, you play your best players as much as possible. When Russ, Harden, and KD are all playing 40+ minutes per game, because they are that damn good, there aren't going to be a lot of minutes where Harden isn't playing with the "starters."
@bmuelle2112 that isnt enough data to say that he deserves to start or not, when he started against portland he had 23 points on 13fga and 5 rebs and 6 assists.
I think that the conversation that Harden and Brooks had a year or two ago that settled James into his sixth man spot was probably about reassuring Harden that it is not about "deserving" to start at all. Whether he plays well if he starts or not, right now the team is stronger with him as the super six.
He buys into that idea, and it seems to be playing out well. Who knows if things change next year, but if so, I don't think things will change to satisfy some hidden desire of Harden's, but because the team is better structured with him as a starter. We are just lucky he buys into the logic.
For all the crap given to Brooks, he has done a really great job of bringing his players along in their development. I think Harden is another great example.
@f5alcon @bmuelle2112 "that isnt enough data to say that he deserves to start or not, when he started against portland he had 23 points on 13fga and 5 rebs and 6 assists."
I don't think anyone is arguing that he won't put up numbers or that he isn't one of the 5 best players. We are arguing that the reserves can't score without him. If he's a starter, then from the 3 minute mark of the 1st/3rd quarter to the 9 minute mark of the 2nd/4th quarter, we will have trouble scoring. That's 12 minutes of the game or 25% of the game where we are going to struggle. Just move Harden to be out there during that time makes a world of difference without crushing the first 6 minutes of each half because of Westbrook and Durant's presence.
@bmuelle2112
And the first game against Portland, too!
I was one for starting Harden, however that was when we all thought Jackson would be a slow at first but sure to develope 8-10 pt bench player during the game(You can argue that no Training Camp, ect ect hurt him, but lets not go into that.), thats before Maynor was injured, that was when we thought Cook would be a consistent 3pt option. Even with Harden having one of the best seasons for a bench players in years. Our bench still is struggling, Is Harden the better passer? yes, does that make him the better playmaker? No, Should we close out games with Harden like we game 4? Hows about we run some plays and see how its goes, It should strictly be situational,. Russ and KD were having a difficult game, Brooks made the right choice going to Harden, If its a game the way Game 2 was for Russ, then lets see Russ go hero mode, if its a game where KD is bursting out let the MVP go to work.
@ElMexiThunder Yeah, agree it just depends on the situation and match ups. Don't get me worng, JH is a beast, but i think that 4th quarter domination was more a function of the set we were running. That set exposed Dallas defensive weaknesses, they weren't able to sit in their zone and hide their slow players.
@ElMexiThunder
But let's not start Harden, you would agree with that, right? We tried that twice this year and it really hurt our bench production as we went 0-2.
Thats the benifet of having 3 legit scoring options, if 1 or even 2 of them are having a bad game, you know the 3rd one will get something going.