Comments on: Thunder 101, Knicks 98

By: Matthew

Matthew — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 00:54:51 +0000

@Chuck: You are absolutely right in saying the play of Jeff Green has regressed badly, however you are absolutely wrong in saying he is not a promising young player or a lesser power foward in the league. He is simply not a 4, and after 2 and a half years of taking a pounding from bigger stronger guys yes there has been a cumulative effect. I believe Kevin’s game would also have regressed significantly if he had been playing at the 4. Why is everyone not crying to play Kevin at the 4. He is taller, with a longer wing span and within lbs of being the same weight. Is it because we intuitively know that it would hurt anyone’s confidence and game to be pounded on nightly by guys 40-50lbs bigger, or is it simply because we love and care about Kevin, but we don’t Jeff?
Of course if we want to hold his value on the market down, Thunder should continue to play Jeff at the 4, because as you said he is undersized at the 4 and if other teams don’t get to see how good Jeff can be playing at the 3, they will not risk taking a chance. I am sure Thunder won more games than they would have last year by playing Jeff at the 4, but it is time to stop the abuse and get Jeff playing his position banging with guys his own size because as you said Thunder is on the verge of ruining the future prospects of a young promising young player who has had the misfortune of being played in the wrong position for his entire career.
I am getting just a little ashamed of Oklahoma City in this.

By: Todd

Todd — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 03:43:33 +0000

“Wonder what Mike D’Antoni is thinking here?”

Probably thinking, “Nice job on stopping Durant there Dan….never mind.”

Looking at that picture though, it’s amazing how irrelevant Gallinari looks. Especially after doing such a good job on KD for five long seconds. But when Durant goes up, Gallinari only has enough time to get his hand about to chest-level on Durant. No wonder he got such a clean look. And he’s just so darn quick with his shot.

Outstanding photograph, by the way, for whoever took it.

By: Chuck

Chuck — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 21:27:32 +0000

Did you the Thunder hire a replacement for Adams, the defensive coach? They are definitely not playing like they did last year. Green has regressed badly, is undersized and can’t shoot well enough to make up for his shortcomings. He is no longer a promising young player but one of the lesser power forwards in the league. Darnell it’s time to quit defending him.

Thabo looks like he has lost his quickness. Krystic might score every now and then but can’t move on defense so the team is almost always down by the time the three of them come out and again in the third quarter.

But the biggest problem from having watched most of the games is their lack of offensive plays and their defense. Blame must fall on Brooks and the other coaches. It seems as though whoever has the ball takes the first shot or they make one pass and then dribble and shoot. Given their regression, the Thunder have played particularly poorly against the taller and better coached teams. I’m not at all sure that Brooks is the man to take them to the next level, nice guy and all.

By: Tweets that mention Thunder 101, Knicks 98 | Thunder Rumblings -- Topsy.com

Tweets that mention Thunder 101, Knicks 98 | Thunder Rumblings -- Topsy.com — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 06:39:56 +0000

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by OK City Thunder Buzz, Darnell Mayberry. Darnell Mayberry said: Notes from a thriller in OKC, where Kevin Durant hit his first buzzer-beating game-winner in a Thunder uniform — http://bit.ly/fxVj0a [...]

By: MartzMimic

MartzMimic — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 06:14:15 +0000

Nice notes. You’re exactly right. If there is such a thing as an ugly win, this would be it. Even the Thunder’s own blogger mentioned more than once that he didn’t think he had seen the Thunder run one single offensive set.

And someone else pointed out something: When Maynor and Harden are on the floor together, they only pass to one another. I had never noticed that before, but once it was mentioned…yep, that’s pretty much the way it is.