OKC Thunder 2013 - 2014

[AFCM]

Thanks for the info everyone. I don't get TNT at my work.


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[ljbab728]

Serge was 100% the difference. Durant and Westbrook were turnover machines with no offence in the first quarter, while Ibaka was nailing down jumpers, rebounding, blocking shots, and getting lose balls. At one point RW was 1-8 and Ibaka was 5-5.

I'm certainly not downplaying the impact of Serge but he was not 100% of the difference. There are a few other players on the team besides KD and Russell that stepped up big time tonight.

[soonerguru]

I'm certainly not downplaying the impact of Serge but he was not 100% of the difference. There are a few other players on the team besides KD and Russell that stepped up big time tonight.

OK, so he was probably 87.4% of the difference.

[Just the facts]

...and all those 'other' players were in the previous 2 games as well.

[ljbab728]

...and all those 'other' players were in the previous 2 games as well.

What is your point, Kerry? That has nothing to do with what I said. And I'm not the only person who appreciates Serge and don't think he was the only reason they won.

Serge Ibaka's heroics complemented by Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook | News OK

Yet on a night that Ibaka was the headliner, the Thunder wouldn’t have defeated the Spurs 106-97 and breathed life back into its playoff hopes without its superstars.

[dankrutka]

Reggie and Adams both played great games also. But, yes, Serge was fantastic.

[Easy180]

I was unable to watch the game. Was Ibaka really the difference, or did the Spurs just happen to have an off-night (or the Thunder just happen to have an on-night) while Serge was on the court?


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Too lazy to Google it but I think we are now 5-0 against the Spurs this year with Ibaka and 0-2 without.

[Urbanized]

I'm probably as big a Serge fan as you will find. Within a few weeks of his arrival in OKC, I was telling people he would eventually be a star (and received blank stares for my effort), and for some time now I have professed that he is my favorite player on the team.

That said, although he probably had the most individual impact last night, the biggest overall change went virtually unnoticed by casual fans in all of the Serge hubbub. The biggest difference was the fact that Sefalosha never saw the floor. Brooks started Jackson in place of Sef and put in Lamb for meaningful minutes in which he shined.

Brooks sold out defensive ability for offensive threats (and of course Serge's return helped on both ends), spread the floor and gave Russ and KD more to work with offensively. Even as they struggled there were other scorers to pick up the slack. The team stepped up by showing more defensive intensity AND by moving without the ball. He did a similar thing - substituting Caron for Thabo - during the Grizzlies series with the same success. Why it took him so long to do it in this series is troubling. It was fundamental change that a Pee Wee coach should have seen the need to make two games ago.

[Jim Kyle]

...and all those 'other' players were in the previous 2 games as well.

They were? I don't remember seeing Jeremy Lamb on the floor in either game down Texas way, but he certainly had some impact last night...

[Laramie]

Scott Brooks really put this game in the hands of the whole team; my compliments to the coaching staff for their trust in the players. The players for their team effort and hustle which showed.

Ibaka is the Spurs' Kryptonite.

It was refreshing to see our Oklahoma City Thunder disrupt the Spurs' confidence, then take them to task.

Duplicate our efforts for the next home game, we can take this back to San Antonio and the Spurs will be thinking 'Déjà vu' from 2012.

Manu Ginobili had a stellar game for the Spurs.

"Oklahoma City looks oh-so pretty... ...as I get my kicks on Route 66." --Nat King Cole.

[OSUMom]

Serge had a huge impact, but I do have to say in the first two games, and especially that stinker of a game 2, the rest of the team just gave up. And not giving up going down the stretch, they gave up, in game 2 at least, in the 2nd quarter. The play that stands out to me, and made my mind almost explode, was at one point Thabo stole the ball. Ran down the court and ended up all by himself with the entire spurs team. Then the camera panned over just a bit to where our team was coming. Walking. WALKING. Some were maybe jogging. Thabo had no one to pass to so he finally tried to get to the basket by himself. Didn't work. That wasn't Ibaka not being there that caused that. It was them not trying. I call BS on the thought that the rest of the team (including the MVP) can't work up the energy to run on a fast break unless Ibaka is there. If they TRY we got a chance to win this series, even though they dug themselves this hole. If they had TRIED maybe we could have eked out a steal of one of the first games.

[Mel]

I have been reading up a bit on Ibaka's background. The man knows how to overcome adversity. The Spurs have a little bit of a jinx at the 'peake too. The crowd looked great in those blur t-shirts and the energy from the arena flowed through the broadcast. I know my Wife and I screamed and jumped and fist bumped through the whole thing.

[Anonymous.]

Just got back to internet and TV world.

Sounds like Brooks made some adjustments and Ibaka's return was obviously huge. The feel is very 2012-esque. We have to take care of business tonight, though. Spurs will be on the ropes in game 5 if we take this 2-2.

Thunder UP!

[DavidD_NorthOKC]

Best line of Game 4 so far - "We needed slow motion to see what Westbrook did" (TNT announcer after one of Russ' steals)

[jn1780]

Tied up! Whole new series now! Amazing how one man coming back can rejuvenate the whole team.

[Laramie]

Tied up! Whole new series now! Amazing how one man coming back can rejuvenate the whole team.

Great overall team effort by the Thunder.

San Antonio Spurs vs. Oklahoma City Thunder - Box Score - May 27, 2014 - ESPN

Good mix combination of players to counter the Spurs by Scott Brooks and coaches. Outstanding defensive play by the Thunder on the veteran Spurs. Wish Reggie Jackson a speedy recovery. Now with Ibaka back in the line-up; we can shake the Spurs for game 5 in San Antonio.

"Oklahoma City looks oh-so pretty... ...as I get my kicks on Route 66." --Nat King Cole.

[AFCM]

How cool is this photo? The clouds are so ominous, and the top of Devon slightly fades into them. Coming down from the clouds is the word "Thunder." I love it.

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[Just the facts]

One thing we know for sure, having 2 bigs protecting the paint is a huge problem for the Spurs. It takes away their threat to drive for an easy basket or kick it out for a 3. With protection in the paint the other defenders can guard against the 3.

I also wasn't happy to see a 27 point lead evaporate with the Spurs bench vs. the OKC starters.

[SoonerDave]

One thing we know for sure, having 2 bigs protecting the paint is a huge problem for the Spurs. It takes away their threat to drive for an easy basket or kick it out for a 3. With protection in the paint the other defenders can guard against the 3.

I also wasn't happy to see a 27 point lead evaporate with the Spurs bench vs. the OKC starters.

Agreed, it was even more tense-making sitting there watching it happen. I mean, not "oh, no, we're going to lose," but more of "uhm, they're getting a little bit close, guys..."

That said, however, the Thunder were playing at this incredible level that you just knew they couldn't possibly maintain. When Popovich put in the bench, I think that led to an inevitable "relaxation" on the part of the Thunder who saw it as a white flag of sorts. What I did like, however, was that even when those bench guys made the run, and even when you could tell the Thunder offense was just about out of gas late in the 4th, they still executed a pretty decent half-court offense, kept things under control without going dormant, and never let SA get closer than 12 while RW hit his freethrows. Late going, there, you could tell KD's shot just had almost nothing on it.

Gotta *love* their chances going into SA Thursday night. if they pull that out, the Peake will be rockin' and rollin' Saturday night with a chance to win the series. Amazing.

Great game. No huge basketball expert here, but that game last night was something to behold. When Westbrook is on, he is an amazing athlete. SA had nothing even remotely resembling an answer for him offensively or defensively.

[betts]

Tied up! Whole new series now! Amazing how one man coming back can rejuvenate the whole team.

It's not only what he brings to the team but the psychic lift it gave the players I believe.

[SoonerDave]

When SA's bench came in and caught the Thunder coming off that huge roll, cutting the lead to 12, the guy sitting next to me pointed out it would be a great time for Popovich to put his starters back in. Think there's a decent case to be made it would have been worth a try - a rested SA bench might have come in and really pushed the issue down the stretch. Thankful he didn't

[Pete]

Cool shot from last night from Bellaboo:

[Laramie]

When SA's bench came in and caught the Thunder coming off that huge roll, cutting the lead to 12, the guy sitting next to me pointed out it would be a great time for Popovich to put his starters back in. Think there's a decent case to be made it would have been worth a try - a rested SA bench might have come in and really pushed the issue down the stretch. Thankful he didn't

Coach Popovich is methodical; he knew it wasn't worth the risk. His starters did not have the energy to finish off the Thunder; once he sets them, they are through for the night. Pops knew that if he attempted to take this game with reinserting his starters that he would be taking a risk--a failed attempt would doom their chances of a win in game five.

Give Coach Popovich credit; he knows his team's weaknesses and limitations.

The Thunder have the Spurs on the ropes; let's finish them off and put them down...

"Oklahoma City looks oh-so pretty... ...as I get my kicks on Route 66." --Nat King Cole.

[SoonerDave]

Coach Popovich is methodical; he knew it wasn't worth the risk. His starters did not have the energy to finish off the Thunder; once he sets them, they are through for the night. Pops knew that if he attempted to take this game with reinserting his starters that he would be taking a risk--a failed attempt would doom their chances of a win in game five.

Give Coach Popovich credit; he knows his team's weaknesses and limitations.

The Thunder have the Spurs on the ropes; let's finish them off and put them down...

Oh, yeah, I figured that was the "mental calculation" he was making - if he put them back in, and the Thunder got a second wind and won anyway (which, in all honesty, was pretty likely), you've taken that many minutes off the tank for Thursday. Think it also goes to show, as you point out, how he knows his team's limits. And it also, to an extent, shows just how "on the edge" SA is as a team in terms of living beyond its age - they have to rely on their system, their discipline, their ball movement, all of that, so as not to allow issues of fatigue and comparative athleticism to become an issue unless they can control that tempo.

The normally controlled Duncan getting into it with Popovich was really telling. It was like, "okay, coach, we hear you, but it isn't working." Kinda like he had as much of the "coaching" he could take under the circumstances and he'd just had enough.

Thunder have an awesome opportunity to get a win down there Thursday. If they get that done, I have to believe they close it out Sat.

[Stan Silliman]

Oh, yeah, I figured that was the "mental calculation" he was making - if he put them back in, and the Thunder got a second wind and won anyway (which, in all honesty, was pretty likely), you've taken that many minutes off the tank for Thursday. Think it also goes to show, as you point out, how he knows his team's limits. And it also, to an extent, shows just how "on the edge" SA is as a team in terms of living beyond its age - they have to rely on their system, their discipline, their ball movement, all of that, so as not to allow issues of fatigue and comparative athleticism to become an issue unless they can control that tempo.

The normally controlled Duncan getting into it with Popovich was really telling. It was like, "okay, coach, we hear you, but it isn't working." Kinda like he had as much of the "coaching" he could take under the circumstances and he'd just had enough.

Very cool Popovich story from the NY Times:

Spurs-leader-remembers-his-california-roots