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KENDRICK PERKINS
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A couple of days ago people weren’t only starting to jump off the Thunder bandwagon some of them were probably thinking of jumping off the Devon Tower…no more.
Thunder fans have renewed hope that this will indeed be the long series most envisioned rather than a quick sweep like some had started to fear after the first two games.
Thunder players and coaches knew this was coming, play harder and play better and good things will happen.
Center Kendrick Perkins, as prideful an individual as you will ever find, found himself digging deep to bring everything he had for Game 3 because he felt he didn’t do that for Game 2.
“I was just disappointed in my Game 2 performance as far as pick-and-roll defense and just being the defensive anchor that I’ve been all season so I just wanted to go out there and do what I needed to do, just try to stop they pick-and-roll.”
Stop it he did. The defensive effort brought by Perk and his teammates was outstanding, constantly pestering Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan.
Speaking of pestering, no bigger pest for the Spurs than Thabo Sefolosha, who when he wasn’t picking off passes and blocking shots he was draining 3-pointers on his way to a 19-point, six steal night.
SCOTT BROOKS
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“I couldn’t feel better right now,” he told a throng of reporters after Thunder practice today. Was it ther best game he’s played?
“It’s up there definitely,” but Sefolosha knows yesterday’s success can be fleeting, now it’a all about tomorrow night and that’s what today’s practice focused in on.
“Just seeing what we did well, what worked for us and what we can improve on.”
SERGE IBAKA
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The Thunder attacked the pick-and-roll vigorously and switched up frequently on defense. Some of it was by design and some of it was dictated by how far the shot clock had ticked down but the switching was almost always called as an audible by the big guys, Perkins, or Ibaka or Collison.
DEREK FISHER
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“We let the big call it,” Sefolosha said, “whenever they felt like switching would be an option they called it and they did a great job.”
Perkins switched onto both Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili at times and relished the challenge.
“I was just in the flow of the game, I can’t do it all the time (switching onto a guard) but one or two possessions a game, I don’t think they like that matchup.”
Thunder head coach Scott Brooks plays down any tweaks to the OKC game plan, whether it was playing Sefolosha on Tony Parker more than usual or switching up other defensive assignments more often. He explains last night’s win very simply.
“We just played well,” he said, “I don’t know we played hard, we played defense. We switched some but we stuck with a lot of our coverages and we’ll see what it does tomorrow.”
Whether that means Brooks will go with a similar game plan, or not, he wouldn’t say, “not sure what we’re gonna do at the moment but obviously we have all this in our pocket.”
THABO SEFOLOSHA
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Brooks then pointed out what has become evident during the playoffs.
“We have a team that can play different ways, we can play big, small, we can play fast, we can play slow, we can play many ways.”
But no matter what strategies are used a couple of things have to be constant and above all else have to be there every single time.
“We have to play hard and we have to play well,” the coach said.
His team accomplished both Thursday night and now the challenge is to do the same thing Saturday night so that all the positives from Game 3 don’t get erased by the end of Game 4.
Teams Looking to Trade First-Round Picks: Over the next few weeks, don’t be surprised if a large number of teams outside of the lottery try to trade their first-round pick.
Multiple sources have told HOOPSWORLD that a lot of teams are trying to get rid their pick, which could make for an interesting draft night.
“Almost everyone wants to get out of their pick in this draft,” said one Western Conference executive. “For some teams, it’s hard to take on money for multiple years in this economic climate, especially if the player would not make an impact and help the team win immediately.”
That means contending teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder or Chicago Bulls may opt to trade their late first-round pick rather than draft a rookie who won’t really contribute (just like Reggie Jackson and Jimmy Butler this season). Expect plenty of trade rumors over the next several weeks. :(
@Lost Ones
I'm not buying that. The rookie contract is about the most valuable thing in the NBA. The Thunder needs that pick and won't be looking to get rid of it. Here is a list of guys who've been drafted in the mid to late 20's:
Gerald Wallace
Tony Parker
Tayshaun Prince
Kendrick Perkins
Josh Howard
Delonte West
Tony Allen
Kevin Martin
David Lee
Aaron Brooks
Aaron Afflalo
Serge Ibaka
Nicolas Batum
George Hill
Taj Gibson
Just to name a few. For a team like the Thunder, whose payroll is going to be at or near luxury tax, you've really got no choice but to roll the dice with this pick and hope you get a really good player for cheap.
@FF_pickups @Lost Ones I would look at it the other way, actually. If a bunch of teams are looking to trade out, that would be prime time for the Thunder to trade up or pick up an extra pick. Unlike most every other team in the league, the Thunder don't have short term holes in need of filling. They can afford to develop players for use or replacement down the line.
@FF_pickups @Keith00 @Lost Ones think collison is locked up for awhile front loaded style. G
@Keith00 @Lost Ones
Not only can they afford it, they have no choice. Guys like Maynor, Cook, Sefolosha, Nazr and Collison are going to be difficult to retain on their next contract thanks to the amount of money that the big 4 are going to command. We have to get those guys replacements ready and the best way is through the draft.
http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/7997203/report-phil-jackson-bows-consideration-orlando-magic-front-office-job
"It drew some interest from Phil," Vincent told the paper. "But in the end, Phil decided to go with another opportunity."
Could it be?
http://www.cbssports.com/nba/story/19226959/flops-beneath-durant-shows-strategys-embarrassing-to-nba
@ThunderWins An article about flopping ... and a series involving the Spurs ...without mentioning Ginobili? For shame!
I'm still waiting for Serge to really break through in this series. He has a decent point total last game, but he still missed a lot of bunnies and several of his 18 footers. If he could start shooting a better percentage it could be huge for OKC.
Old Man--dude--you called it. I'll buy you a couple of beers for that one. What a performance by Serge!
@Old Man Game
Tim Duncan is allowed to foul constantly due to his superstardom. That's just life, I know that but the reason I bring it up is that I expect Serge to miss more bunnies than normal in this series because of this.
i love the article on the front page of nba.com saying no love *charity* for dwade. and they talk about how its odd for someone like d wade whos an ATTACKER of the rim to not get any calls or go to the line..hmmmmm ....dont i know some other super aggressive, honey badger like man whom does that as well and doesnt get any respect......nah :P
I'm sooo bored its not even funny..
@ElMexiThunder Read a book?
@todayisbananas @ElMexiThunder Its sitting on my bookshelf as i waste time here.
I hope the rain doesn't scary any of you, and everyone stays safe during the storm.
Thunder Your Butss Off!!! Thunder Your Butss Off!!! Thunder Your Butss Off!!! Thunder Your Butss Off!!! Thunder Your Butss Off!!! Thunder Your Butss Off!!!
I think i need to start taking sleeping pills because i never sleep.
i love listening to Derek Fisher.. his time in the league and overall basketball IQ are just beyond compare, and some of the remarks he made are dead on.. when asked how he felt about Thabo contributing 19 for a career playoff high "well its really difficult to score 19 on 3 shot attempts, we just have to maintain ball movement and allow everyone to contribute".. which is completely correct, and as he continued to point out, there is no reason that our "Big 3" should have to combine for 80+ to win a basketball game if they are distributing and sharing the ball like they should (Spur's basketball so to speak).. Durant, Westbrook and Harden should without a doubt see the majority of our offensive possessions, but stretching the floor and allowing guys like Thabo, Fisher and Ibaka to contribute at least 7-10 shots a game is very doable and will only add to their confidence and energy off the ball.. lets get this done in game 4 and make the Spur's sweat going home, Thunder Up!.
@ChilamBilam12
Yep, plus it will make the looks that the Big 3 gets much easier.
I still have the game on DVR and decided to go back and watch Fisher to see if he's really as bad as everyone is saying. I've watched the entire first half and he's given up 2 points to his man in 11 minutes while drawing two offensive fouls. Please tell me where his D was so bad.
@FF_pickups That's kinda how I felt. I might not have the greatest lateral speed and would be a poor choice to guard most of the league's starting PG's, but he is fine coming off the bench. He's crafty. He contributes. He always seem to make his shots when we really need them. He's not great. But, he's not as bad as everyone seems to think he is.
@BRY BRY
Absolutely. I want someone to specifically point out his horrible play because I am not seeing it. Crafty is the word. Here's what he is doing:
On offense he tries to always stay on the weakside for 3 pointers and tries to give good angles for the person with the ball to move it to him. His spacing is FANTASTIC. If he gets it, he either shoots if he's open or he dribble drive kicks and starts over. As soon as a shot goes up, he's back like lightning. He's helping to stop those fast breaks.
On D: It seems like the Spurs are trying to iso him a little but he's holding his own. When they aren't iso'ing him, he's on the weakside. He's not going for rebounds that often but instead goes in and faceblocks a bigger Spur. He's not getting the rebound but he's making sure a better Spur rebounder doesn't either. Also, he's showing very good communication on the defensive end.
His play is like watching a clinic. His talent level is below average but his IQ makes him crafty and really helps.
It is what it is with Tremel...Mark Twain on acid. I cut him slack only because he once used a reference from Terms of Endearment in something he wrote, plus he liked Gran Torino. They've got it all wrong at that paper. Tremel should be doing the movie reviews and Little Miss Sunshine should be doing community/human interest stories. I figure Tremel must have some sexually incriminating photos of someone in the Gaylord family. That can be the only logical assumption. I wonder if he liked Pulp Fiction or Fargo?
@Old Man Game Tell him the Boomers are the Australian national team -- and their head coach and point guard are with the Spurs at present (Brett Brown, Patty Mills).
@ElMexiThunder
Please give me some examples where he's getting beaten worse off of screens than the other players. I just watched it and they weren't screening Fisher that much (they iso'd him a decent amount) but when they did screen him, it was with Tiago Splitter and KD (who was guarding Splitter) would immediately switch. That's how Fisher ended up getting those fouls on Splitter, he had switched off of a PnR. On the few where Fisher didn't switch, he was VERY good at getting through the screens due to his strength. That's also how he drew one of the offensive fouls on the Spurs was by going through the screen and selling the contact. I still have the game so just give me the times where he does a bad job. Because I only saw one play in 16 minutes of non-garbage time where he got beat.
@FF_pickups Trammel irritates me for a lot of reasons but none more than this insistence on calling the Thunder players "Boomers," his pet nickname for the team. If I ever see this guy out in public I'm going to have to say something about it. It drives me up the wall.
@El Prez I was lucky to be around Abe at OCU from 1963 to 1966. I have never laughed so hard or so often since.
@FF_pickups @El Prez Its not that Fisher is a bad defender litterally. When a quick guard goes one on one with him, due to Fishers old age, at the top of the key, they'll always get by him. Especially in a PnR(lately i bet you'll notce Fish has actually been telling the guys when to help if he gets screened. ) He does a good job not getting blown by on the high arcs, or corners. Fisher use to be a solid defender. Nothing to great but he was ok back in the day. Its just father time is unbeaten.
@El Prez
You're NOT sleeping!
Abe Lemons was absolute gold. Funniest guy I ever talked to. By sheer accident--I got to talk to Abe for about an hour once in his front lawn while he was wearing his bathrobe and trying to fix the hose on his wiper spray on his car. I could write a book from that hour.Why can't more coaches be like Abe Lemons? I better get back to my REM sleep.
@El Prez Pop is like Abe Lemons. Google it.
@El Prez
I may be dating myself but I remember as a 8 year old kid living in Norman and Tramel gets promoted to the main guy at the Norman Transcript sports page. I loved that paper and he ruined it. OU was awesome in Football and Basketball at the time and the day after a big game, his article would be about the women's softball team. I was so mad that I stopped reading it and started reading the Oklahoman instead. And then he gets hired there...
Sigh...yes, I did observe that one as well. I swear--every time I either read newsoksports.com or listen to the Sport Animal--it's like a daily reinforcement of the existence of The Peter Principle...no shit. I say we get rid or either Tremel or Blevins and EliMexi his big shot at stardom. I mean...honestly--what could it hurt? I better go to bed before I get myself in trouble. Game 4 REM sleep starts now.
@El Prez
Popovich was trying to be nice but Blevins' question was so absurdly bad that there was virtually no way to answer it in a nice way. Did you see the presser vs. the Lakers when Blevins kept asking the question about the KD intentionally missed Free Throw with 0.1 seconds left in the game. Everyone was like, "There's basically no time left, the game is over, who cares about that."
He strikes me as being too competitive to be happy just being a commentator. Actually--it looked like he was coachig our team the other night during those timeouts. I like Jeff Van Gundy as an analyst, but he's too young to give up coaching. On another note--I wonder if Dean Blevins is still sitting in the prees room trying to formulate a follow up to Pop's comment last night. Even Tremel took note of the diss this morning in his piece -- he put the whole Pop response in his piece. Pop's got a little of Bob Dole from Kansas in him if you ask me.
@El Prez He'll be a head coach and a very good one, no question about it. I think he would also be a great commentator, too.
He'll be a very good coach at some point.
I just woke up from this crazy dream I had about the Thunder. It was coach Brooks telling me to "play hard, and play well" over and over... I know... crazy right??
@GAP
@GAP SLEEP HARDER!
@Lost Ones @GAP ....and with your heart!
Over/under on how many Backdoor cuts S.A attempts tomorrow night ? We've been aggressive playing the passing lanes so we know they're gonna do it
@LPCes99 It won't just be backdoor cuts. They will use them, but they will also use them to create open 3's and drives to the lane.
During Game 3, they also didn't use our aggressive closeouts against us by driving/dishing.
I doubt we can hold them below 90 pts two games in a row but I hope I'm wrong.
I also expect to see Blair if things get out of hand.
@LPCes99 A lot seriously its gonna be alot they know it we know it
@Lost Ones @LPCes99 Yes, as Bob Dole pointed out in a debate several years ago, "You know it, I know it, the American people know it!"
" I know it, you know it, and the people here tonight know it...the American people know it, we all know it...Bob Dole, Republican canidate is going to be the next President of the United States! So why don't you just go back home to your summer home in Maine, your automatic garage door opener, your electric steak knife, and run around Kennebunkport in your powerboat, while I take care of the real issues in the White House!"
"I don't believe my good friend George Bush -- he's lying, he knows it, you know it, I know it, the people at home know it, the American people know it, we all know it. Now, it's one thing to attack an opponent's record in the heat of a campaign, but when you come after an opponent's wife, well, to me, that's another thing. Now, my wife, Elizabeth Dole, ran the buses of this country for three years, so it's not fair! Maybe if you have a wife of privilege, like George Bush, you don't know that! You see, Bob Dole grew up in Kansas in a small farm town, he didn't have the prep school education, or the sterling silverware, or the bumper pool table in the basement...didn't have the shower and massage with five-way adjustable heads... or the sit down lawnmower. Bob Dole didn't have these things."
I thought it was Dan Aykroyd who said that originally. I loved Bob Dole from Kansas. Wicked sense of dry humor. He was on Letterman after he got routed by Clinton and stole the show from Dave.
I'm not sure what Spo was thinking fronting Garnett. Yeah, he's bigger than your defenders, but his strength isn't there anymore and he'd much rather take a mid range jump shot. He's been pretending to back you down a bit and then taking a jumper. That's more preferable for Haslem and the other Heat bigs than gift wrapping shots in the restricted area.
65 percent of Garnett's shots this postseason have been mid range jumpers. He shoots 45 percent on those. Let him take those. Don't let him take 11 shots in the restricted area because you are fronting him. Sheesh.