Russ shot 39% and the rest of the Thunder shot 42%
Russ is a black hole
I don't blame KD for dipping now
Oladipo look like a good 2 way player with the Magic he get to the Thunder looks trash now
Kanter was a walking double double with the Jazz and looked like his old self when he gets involved and Russ don't stole rebounds from him so he stay stuff for another "triple double"
Gibson did work with the Bulls and Doug had his moments they look awful playing with the black hole
Adams was looking like Deandre Jordan when KD was around he was a good defensive player who rebound well and a little inside job KD left the black hole got bigger. Their bigs out here boxing out so Russell Westbrook can get the rebound for stat stuffing triple double. That stuff messes up their aggression because they not going up getting rebounds like bigs supposed to do.
If the black hole would stop playing heroball, his team plays better.
All the top NBA pass the ball around and play the game the right way. I'm tired of this dude getting a pass for playing bad basketball y'all can miss with that "oh his teammates" shyt too because nobody on this earth want to play with a ball hog
This shyt is a big reason why Durant left. It had been known for years that he wanted the team to move the ball more and they never fixed this issue as a team. Way too much isolation and hero ball, especially late in games.
This shyt is all completely on point.
This is why I been so bugged by Russ's game all year...because he makes basketball worse. These are NOT bad players.
Adams is an above-average center on both ends. He was crushing guys in the playoffs last year. And the Rockets suck at defense inside.
Gibson is an average power forward on offense and above-average on defense. He has a jumper and can score inside. And he had a mismatch all night.
Oladipo is a young 16-4-4 guy who shoots 36% from three and plays great defense. How many 2-guards are there like that in the whole nba? He's definitely above-average.
At the three, you can pick between Roberson for above-average defense or McDermott for above-average shooting.
And off the bench, Kanter is one of the top offensive bigs in the league, Sabonis is fine for a backup PF, Abrines can shoot, and Grant okay for a 10th-man.
Westbrook just makes them ALL worse. The OKC front line dominated last year against better defenses - Adams should be crushing guys inside, but Westbrook only goes to him when he padding assists. The two-man game with Kanter is there every possession he's on the floor. And Gibson could get way more touches, especially off drives.
Oladipo is a solid offensive player, but he and Russ should be playing a two-man game with movement. It's stupid and demoralizing for him to just stand in place waiting to see what Russ will do.
Big men don't work hard if they don't get to eat. Taking their rebounds and shot attempts all year some stupid shyt - Thunder could have THREE double-double guys in Adams Kanter Gibson. Shooters gotta shoot to have confidence - when you wide open and Russ still don't pass, you less likely to make the next one. And everyone's ball handing and ball movement skills gonna atrophy if Russ just pounds the ball for 35 min/game. Not to mention the resentment from having to constantly cover for him on D because he waiting under the hoop for rebounds.
Westbrook is the best player on the Thunder. The team sucks without him because they have no backup point. But his awful decisions make him worse, and they make everyone else worse.
Durant was an MVP swingman with an MVP candidate point guard and the best front line in basketball. And everyone on his team was under 27. And they'd been building chemistry for years. He left that to join a rival team that had to dump two bigs and relied on an injury-prone Curry who might decline fast, along with a fading Iggy, and who might lose either Klay or Draymond in coming years. Does anyone doubt anymore that being tired of Westbrook was one reason why?
