Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Worst of the 2012 WCFs: Game 2
By Basketbawful at 10:34 AM
43 comments







bonner
I don't think this is what Gregg Popovich meant when he said he wanted some nasty.

The Oklahoma City Thunder: After the Spurs imposed their will on the Thunder in Game 1 -- especially over the final 12 minutes -- Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks was shelled by bloggers and media experts for not giving Serge Ibaka enough fourth quarter burn. Well, Serge logged a fat 39 minutes last night, and the Thunder looked even more helplessly overmatched by a Spurs team that apparently has no flaws. Unless you count Tiago Splitter's haircut. And you should.

Despite Tim Duncan's off shooting night (2-for-11 from the field), the Spurs converted 55.1 percent of their field goal attempts and finished with 120 points despite bricking 12 free throws and committing 18 turnovers. Remember: In one of those Mic'd up segments in Game 1, Brook screamed at his troops: "We're a defensive team." I wonder what he said after rookie Kawhi Leonard lit 'em up for 18 points on 7-for-12 shooting. Of course, the Thunder finished the regular season ranked 11th in Defensive Rating and currently rank ninth out of 16 playoff teams. So I'm not sure they're really the "defensive team" Brooks seems to think they are.
 




Speaking of Brooks, he unveiled the Hack-a-Splitter strategy with 2:31 left in the third quarter and the Thunder trailing 83-66. After about a grueling minute of that "action," Splitter had gone 5-for-10 from the line and OKC was down 88-72. Which was...good...I guess. They made up one point of their deficit anyway.

According to Brooks, though, he was just trying to change the pace of the game: "It changed the tempo a little bit. They (the Spurs) were fast tonight. That ball was just all over the floor with quick passes, passes that were right in their shooting pockets, and it kind of threw their rhythm out a little bit. He stepped up and made six of them (including another trip to the line that was not away from the ball). He did better than his playoff percentage. But if on occasion we have an opportunity to do it again, we will."

Can't wait!

Reggie Miller, quote machine: "This is a surgical clinic by Gregg Popovich and the San Antonio Spurs."

Bonus stat: The Thunder had been giving up an average of 92.9 PPG in the playoffs. The Spurs had 92 at the end of the third quarter.

Gregg Popovich, quote machine: Regarding the Hack-a-Splitter plan: "No, I’ve never done that before. I think it's a lousy thing to do. It's unsportsmanlike." Pop then added: "No, it's a a good move. If there's a reason to do it and they felt there was a reason to do it, they did it. It's a good move."

Serge Ibaka, poster boy: Tim Duncan says: STUFF THIS, IBAKA.
 




I guess Timmy gave Pop what he wanted.
 



Kendrick Perkins: Yikes. 3 points, 1-for-5, 5 rebounds, 4 turnovers, 3 fouls, and a game-worst plus-minus of -14 in 24 minutes. Sam Smith of Bulls.com recently called Perkins a "fraud," and I'm starting to think he may have a point.

Charles Barkley, quote machine: "I gotta call out my boy Scott Brooks tonight. It took him over three quarters to see you can't play those two big guys [Kendrick Perkins and Serge Ibaka] together."

Derek Fisher: Remember how he almost saved the Thunder in Game 1 with his near-perfect shooting? I guess he used up all his makes, because last night he went 2-for-11, including 0-for-6 inside the arc. Oddly, he had a team-best plus-minus score of +9. Must be all the veteran savvy.

Russell Westbrook: His line looked pretty strong -- 27 points, 8 assists, 7 rebounds, 0 turnovers -- but Tony Parker (game-high 34 points on 16-for-21 shooting plus 8 dimes) made Westbrook his bitch. How on fire was TP? According to Tim Griffin of the San Antonio Express-News:
Tony Parker had a shooting game for the ages Tuesday night. It didn't matter where he was aiming from. He hit 5 of 6 shots from inside 10 feet, misfiring only on a twisting first-quarter layup. He was 7 for 9 from 10 to 20 feet. And he hit 4 of 6 from 20 feet and beyond to finish off a 34-point effort that was the biggest playoff scoring binge by a Spurs player since his 43-point effort against Dallas in 2009. Parker's 16-for-21 shooting effort Tuesday night ended up as the best shooting game by a true guard with at least 20 shots in the playoffs since Vinnie Johnson notched a similar 16-for-21 game against Boston in 1985. And it was the biggest reason why the Spurs cruised to a 120-111 victory over the Thunder, claiming a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. Parker might have out Microwaved “the Microwave” with his clutch shooting down the stretch, hitting 7 of his 8 2-point attempts and one of his two 3-pointers in the second half. It finished off a memorable night that he was at a loss to explain afterwards. "I don't know," Parker said. "It was just one of those nights. I felt in a good rhythm early on. I was making my shots and just trying to be aggressive."
What's more, there were a few times when you could tell Russell wanted to pay Parker back, which resulted in some of those awful dribble-dribble-dribble-dribble-dribble-shoot possessions that may be the fatal flaw that prevents Westbrook from becoming a true superstar. Speaking of which...

Steve Kerr, quote machine: "Dribble. Dribble. Dribble. Got to start moving the ball. There's too much dribbling. You can't beat a good defense by overdribbling."


Thabo Sefolosha: I know he really starts only so James Harden can win Sixth Man of the Year awards, but damn: 2 points, 1-for-4 shooting, 1 rebound and a -10 in 15 minutes.


Nazr Mohammed and Daequan Cook: In a combined 10 minutes off the bench, Mohammed and Cook each contributed...1 personal foul. That's it. Not a point. Not a rebound. Not even a turnover. Thanks for coming, fellas.


Kawhi Leonard's shoe-tying abilities: Try a double knot, Kawhi.





Tony Parker, quote machine, Part 1: Regarding his 8 assists: "It's always been a battle my whole career, when you're a scoring point guard and Pop wants you to score, then he wants you to pass, and he wants you to score, and he wants you to pass. You go back and forth. It's always been the biggest room for me to improve, to find a happy middle between scoring and passing, and find that good balance. I think, over the years, I got better at it."

Tony Parker, quote machine, Part 2: On getting blistered by a Popovich rant in the second half: "He's screamed at me for 11 years. We weren't getting our plays. We were playing sloppy."

Tony Parker, quote machine, Part 3: "When you have Coach Pop screaming at you every day, that will make you pass the ball. He's always big on, 'Find a better shot.' That's the way we play."

Kevin Durant, quote machine: "There are no moral victories for us. We were down. We dug ourselves a hole. We did what we normally do, which is fight all game, and we lost."

Scott Brooks, quote machine: On why the Spurs spanked his team: "They were making shots. I mean, they were spraying them all over the floor and knocking them in. I thought (Kawhi) Leonard was making the shots. (Manu) Ginobili made a lot of tough shots tonight. (Tony) Parker was on fire."

Labels: , , , ,

Thursday, November 29, 2007
Worst of the Night: November 28, 2007
By Basketbawful at 8:19 AM
14 comments


Ouch
"Yeeeeaaaaaarrrrrrgggghh!!"

Kyle Korver: The hero of the 76ers' big road win against the Bucks became the goat in the team's homecourt flameout against the Jazz. After scoring 20 points (8-13) on Tuesday night, Korver scored only 4 points (1-9) against the Jazz. He was also limited to 21 minutes thanks to his 5 personal fouls. Of course, the real villain of the game was the 76ers' defense, which allowed the Jazz to shoot 55 percent from the field. Said coach Maurice Cheeks: "We talked before the game about eliminating layups and they (Jazz) had 20-plus layups. That's something I'm trying to stop." Better luck next time, coach Cheeks.

Fun fact: Carlos Boozer, who scored 26 points (12-17), is shooting 71 percent (44-62) over his last four games. He's currently fourth in the league in scoring (25.4), seventh in field goal percentage (57.7), and ninth in rebounding (11.2). With all due respect to Dirk Nowitzki and Tim Duncan, I think Boozer may be the best power forward in the Western Conference right now. Of course, we all know that Duncan will be the best PF come playoff time.

Memphis Grizzlies: The game was pretty much decided in the second quarter, during which the scary bears were outscored 30-10. I know the Raptors are a top-ten defensive team this season, but a 10-point quarter? You'd think a professional basketball team could score 10 points by accident.

Fun fact: Did you know that Brian Cardinal is making almost $6 million this season? Or that he'll be making over $6 million next season, and almost $7 million the season after that? His season totals -- not averages, but totals -- are: 17 points (on six field goals), 15 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, zero blocks, and one hilarious picture of him getting knocked on his ass by Jeff Green. Also, check out Cardinal's arms. Those look like my grandpa's arms.

Milwuakee Bucks: Hey, Bobby Simmons was back! Unfortunately, his 5 points (1-4) couldn't prevent a 96-80 spanking from the Hawks (6-8). After this loss, construction of the Bucks Bandwagon has been halted until further notice. The Bucks committed 19 turnovers, clanked away from three-point range (3-17), and Charlie Bell -- the guy they wouldn't let bolt for Miami last summer -- contributed zero points (0-4), 3 rebounds, zero assists, zero steals, zero blocks, and 1 personal foul. I can see why they wanted to keep him.

Fun fact: Andrew Bogut is a talker, and he had a few choice things to say about his team after they lost to Atlanta. Basically, he thinks the Bucks suck against bad teams. "Without giving anyone bulletin board material or calling guys out or anything, it's just a problem that we're having with the franchise since I've been here." And hey, you can't say that Bogut didn't do his part: 18 points (7-12), 11 rebounds, 4 blocked shots.

Lebron James' supporting cast: James sprained his left index finger in the second quarter and didn't return to the game. What ensued was a ruthless thrashing of the Cavaliers by an undermanned Pistons team. The Cavs scored only 31 points in the second half, and even if they'd doubled that number, they still would have lost by four points. Yes, it was that bad.

Fun fact: According to basketball-reference.com, Donyell Marshall has earned almost $60 million in salary over his career. So why does it look like he bought his clothes off the clearance rack at Sears?

Matt Bonner: He notched a one trillion during the Spurs' relatively merciful drubbing of the Wizards. Yet he was still shown up by Dominic McGuire, who managed the even more rare two trillion. Even in a battle of futility, Bonner comes out the loser.

Fun fact(s): Matt Bonner might be a lousy NBA player, but he still leads a rich and complex life. To whit: Bonner received only one B in his scholastic career after failing a chemistry exam in late 2002. Among Bonner's favorite food is a Mr. Sub smoked turkey breast submarine sandwich with mayo and mustard on whole wheat. Bonner bought his car, a white Pontiac Grand Prix, in New Hampshire to avoid paying sales tax. He chose it because it had good leg room and decent gas mileage. [From Wikipedia]

The Dallas defense: Okay, maybe the Mavs' problem isn't ball movement after all. They strugged mightily to "limit" the lowly Timberwolves (2-11) to 103 points -- almost 10 points above their season average -- on 50 percent shooting. Here's the sad thing: The Mavs had to shake up their rotation, moving Jason Terry and Erick Dampier back to the starting lineup, just to barely end a three-game losing streak against the worst team in the league. Yikes. As a sidenote, the Mavs shot 1-10 from three-point range.

Fun fact: Turns out that Al Jefferson kid is just as good as projected: 20.7 PPG (on 52 percent shooting), 11.2 RPG, and 10 double-doubles in 13 games. This guy is Kevin McHale's one last flickering chance at redemption as a GM. But don't worry: I'm sure he'll screw this up too.

Starang: A few days ago, loyal reader and Suns fan Starang left the following comment on our blog: "Do you hear that clicking noise? Yeah, that one...it's the Suns' chemistry...we are about to rattle off 19 in a row...of the next 13 games, we play Spurs and Mav's 12th and 13th with no one in between, except maybe Utah, but that still should be a win." Congratulations, Starang: You successfully stat cursed the Suns, who have now lost two in a row since your bold and foolhardy prediction. I sincerely hope you've learned your lesson.

Jermaine O'Neal: The Pacers are now 6-1 without you this season. Jamaal Tinsley and Mike Dunleavy Jr. both play like All-Stars when you're not around. Do you get it? Without you clogging the lanes and fattening your stat line on a steady diet of contested 15 to 20-foot jumpers, the other Pacers can actually drive to the hoop and move the ball around for open shots. It's amazing. I wish you could be a part of it, but I know your titanic ego -- which insists you're almost as good as Kevin Garnett -- won't allow you to adjust your game to help the team. Look, we'll welcome you back with open arms, but only if you show up prepared to rebound, play defense, and settle into your new role as the third or fourth option on offense. Oh, and when you do get the ball, we'll expect you to take it strong to the hoop. No more fading away from the basket. Be a man. Signed -- Larry Bird.

Fun fact: Hey, we had a Raef LaFrentz sighting last night...only the fifth one of this young season. He's now amassed 16 points, 6 rebounds, and 1 assist for the season. Can you believe this dude is still on the books for $11 million this year and $12 million the next? Also: Portland has lost seven of its last eight games.

Seattle Supersonics: They held the Magic to 43 percent shooting and still lost by 16 points at home? How is that possible? Oh, they shot 35 percent themselves, thanks primarily to Kevin Durant and Wally Szczerbiak, who combined to hit only 12 of 41 shots. P.S. I think I'm falling into man love with Dwight Howard. If he gets any better, his game will cure cancer by 2014.

Fun fact: Rashard Lewis grabbed 10 rebounds last night, his first double-figure rebound game of the season! Did I mention he's 6'10"? Oh well. Kevin Durant still hasn't had a double-figure rebounding game.

Labels: , , , , , , , , , ,