Comments on: Heat 104, Thunder 98

By: Bill

Bill — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 18:58:51 +0000

Though Brooks and staff did not do anything as stupid as sitting KD and Russ for five minutes, they made a collection of head scratching choices that contributed to the Game 4 loss. Fish plays for 23 minutes and scores as much as a dead man (also no assists); Collison has a great first half, but does not enter until near end of 3rd and he played less minutes than Fish; keeps 6’10′ KD guarding Chalmers even thoough he scored 25 and it pulls KD so far away that he only gets 2 boards; keeps Harden trying to 1 on 1 guard LBJ when he is just getting abused (what did Mavs do when they could not guard LBJ? They went zone – we don’t even have a zone to go to); did not give Cook a 2 minute try (8 pts vs Spurs in that span – could have played some of Fish minutes, though I don’t blame him for sticking with Harden).
Scotty has a philosophy that is great for day-to-day, regular season success but that is not as conducive to a tough, unconventional matchup in a playoff series. In the article about Perk’s comment in the paper today, he said: “I don’t think the game comes down to who plays and who doesn’t play. It’s how we play.” NO, NO, NO. All players are not equal and some players bring different types of skills that can be useful in certain matchups and useless in others. Also, not every player brings the same degree of success each night (i.e. Fish, who you should ride if he is hot and bench if he is not – it doesn’t take 23 minutes to figure that out!). Without the overall philosophy of Brooks and trust in his team, they would not be here – but we did not get here playing an unconventional team 5x in a row. The playoffs are different. I think he has unknowingly hurt his team by making bonehead moves like in Game 3, which can contribute to the uncertainty and doubt that leads to poor play.
The playoffs, and especially the finals are a different animal. Scotty made some good post-game adjustments in these playoffs, but as long as he truly believes it is not who plays, but how they play, he will remain ill equipped to make the in-game adjustments necessary in the playoffs.

By: OKC Brasil

OKC Brasil — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 15:25:58 +0000

Darnell, why the refs call every fall against Thunder and no falls against the Heat? Ins’t it a case of small market and big market?

By: Wednesday Bolts – 6.20.12 | Daily Thunder.com

Wednesday Bolts – 6.20.12 | Daily Thunder.com — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 15:23:42 +0000

[...] Darnell Mayberry: “Unless something changes and changes in a hurry, James Harden is going to have nightmares about this series for a long, long time. Eight points on 2-for-10 shooting. It’s inexplicable at this point. He knows exactly how the Heat are playing him, yet he seems powerless to do anything about it. Definitely didn’t see him being next to a non-factor offensively in this series.” [...]

By: L

Wed, 20 Jun 2012 14:28:01 +0000

Not watching Thursday. *plays what hurts the most*

By: Zane

Zane — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 14:19:40 +0000

Sad. All of it.

By: Jr.

Jr. — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 13:32:33 +0000

I know what it is! The team just want to take baby steps for the championship. Every year we get to the next level of excitment and lose. Maybe next year!

Although this was not the Cinderella story (Mavs, Lakers, & Spurs) we were hoping for.

By: bertfan

bertfan — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 12:51:01 +0000

Sad to see some of the magic that had developed against the Spurs and looked so promising disappear. The old demons are back, Harden’s tentativeness, Durant’s inability to hit the xtra gear in the 4 th, 1on1 hero ball, and Brooks pathetic adjustments or lack thereof. The players are fighting hard but I don’t think coaching is ready for a title this year.

By: David

David — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 12:44:45 +0000

No. It’s over. I doubt most of Oklahoma tunes in for the coronation of King James that begins at 8:00 on Thursday night

By: M2C

M2C — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 11:52:09 +0000

Obviously the odds are very much against OKC but it’s hard to lose hope if there’s a chance.