I say this quite a bit, he shoots too much at times, sure, but as you said, who else is gonna shoot besides KD/James?Originally Posted by cjthunder
I say this quite a bit, he shoots too much at times, sure, but as you said, who else is gonna shoot besides KD/James?
KD should be shooting in the fourth instead of a contested pull up leaner. KD needs to start demanding the ball from Russ. He needs to be more aggressive. But I do agree with the spurs fan. Brooks does not have a system that Russ can play great in. Brooks just lets the players play without any punishment. He just allows his players to do what they want.
Agreed. We have some great screen setters too, so no reason why KD shouldn't be able to get the ball.
First off, I want to WELCOME new posters like Volcodc to the board - we're glad to have you, and we hope you'll stay around after the season and in the future.
But those of us who have watching EVERY Thunder game for FOUR YEARS of RW0's career know the deal. You can say the Thunder have no offensive identity, but I would say the Thunder's offensive identity is to get stops on defense and RUN and to PENETRATE in the half court. Again, the BOTTOM LINE is the bottom line, and the OKC Thunder is the second highest scoring team in the NBA. Kevin Durant has won three straight NBA scoring championships with Russell Westbrook at point guard.
But we also know where these two guys are strong and where they are weaker. KD is a great shooter off curls and pulling up in transition. He is NOT great at getting open when the opponent has one or two good defenders denying him the ball. The Thunder (Brooks') problem in late game situations, as I see it from having watched about 300 games over the last four years is NOT that the Thunder fails to try to get KD the ball. It is that the defense KNOWS that the Thunder is trying to get KD the ball and they deny him, and he can't get open (there are only 3-4 guys in the NBA who can get open when the defense is committing 2 or more players to denying him the ball).
The Thunder has plays in their arsenal where KD is used a decoy in the post, and I think they should use them more. Brooks' (Westbrook's) problem is NOT that he doesn't try to get the ball to KD in late game situations - the problem is that he DOES. Watch more games. You'll see Westbrook dribbling the ball for 10-15 seconds, looking for KD and THEN forcing up a shot. The ball is in his hands. The play call is NOT for RW to shoot, but he has to. What we should do is set up KD in the post on the opposite side of the court of where Westbrook is, with Harden on the same side as Westbrook. The defense will continue to double team Durant to deny him the ball, and then Westbrook will have wide open driving lanes and/or Harden will have a wide open shot.
I don't know whether to say thanks or uh?
What it sounded like you said: "Welcome to the forums, but don't talk cause I am making a straight assumption that you haven't watched OKC for 4 years like me."
Maybe I just interpreted it wrong.
Anyway, I think KD just gets in his own head too much sometimes. He is a young growing athlete, so it's pretty typical. With experience he will learn when he needs to take command and when to step back.
It's been four years and Brooks hasnt found a way to get the ball to KD in the fourth. I know hes the scoring champ and I know he gets his points. But KD can create for himself if given time. When Russ brings up the ball make KD run off a screen and get open or just make Russ do a dribble and hand it off to KD. There should be no reason that it takes Russ 15 seconds to deliver the ball to KD and if he doesnt it just puts him in a bad spot because he will have to jack up a shot with a few seconds left. I have been following KD pretty closely since he left college so I have also watched my fair share of Thunder games. I love Russ and KD and I dont blame them at all. Brooks needs to come up with some better offensive sets rather then let them go out there with the freedom to do whatever. Its pathetic that we have the scoring champ and cant get him the ball in the fourth.
Nah, that ain't what I meant. I want you to talk and if I think you are making assumptions on less of a sample of watching KD than me.....screw me!
My point is just that where RW0 takes shots, particularly late in games, I don't think it's for lack of trying to get the ball to KD. It's just that EVERYONE KNOWS he's trying to get the ball to KD, and the defense doesn't let KD get the ball. Michael Jordan could get open in those situations, or Michael Jordan could take a pass 45 feet from the basket and go 1 on 4 and still get a good shot off. That's not KD's game. When he tries to do that, he turns the ball over as often as not.
Our best chance to score in the half court is with the ball in Westbrook's hands or Harden's hands late in the game. Durant is our best scorer, but he isn't our best creator. OKC's offense works, but it doesn't work the way a lot of folks who haven't seen it for years think it should.
"You can't roller skate in a buffalo herd, but you can be happy if you've a mind to".
Spurs fan just told me Russ is Allen Iverson 2.0
Alright, well then Thanks :P
Nah, that ain't what I meant. I want you to talk and if I think you are making assumptions on less of a sample of watching KD than me.....screw me!
My point is just that where RW0 takes shots, particularly late in games, I don't think it's for lack of trying to get the ball to KD. It's just that EVERYONE KNOWS he's trying to get the ball to KD, and the defense doesn't let KD get the ball. Michael Jordan could get open in those situations, or Michael Jordan could take a pass 45 feet from the basket and go 1 on 4 and still get a good shot off. That's not KD's game. When he tries to do that, he turns the ball over as often as not.
Our best chance to score in the half court is with the ball in Westbrook's hands or Harden's hands late in the game. Durant is our best scorer, but he isn't our best creator. OKC's offense works, but it doesn't work the way a lot of folks who haven't seen it for years think it should.
I understand your point and where you are coming from, but this is the case in every single game.
Every team that we face has a goal to try and defend KD to the max, just like every team has a goal to defend Kobe or Lebron or Wade to the max.
It's definitely something that can be worked on by getting more appropriate screens, dribble penetration to get the D off and pass back out, or just KD using those thin legs he has haha.
RW is still a beast no matter what. Still haven't seen anyone able to defend his 'stop on a dime' jump shots.
Spurs fan hasn't been watching Russell as long as we have. And Alan Iverson didn't have Kevin Durant.
had a great game tonight. Drove in multiple times and created great shots for our team. He had a few bad possessions in the beginning but he made up for it with his defense. Russ needs to continue playing like this and we have a serious chance of tying this up at 2-2
Ever notice that Westbrook has his best games, and most assists when the other 4 guys are actually setting off-ball screens and moving, as opposed to just standing there?
Aside from early in the game, i thought RW was better, in control, made some good passes.
Baby steps.
Interesting how that works....huh?
No more questions for you bro........troll....
When RW plays lime that the thunder are by far the best team in the league. I feel like he could do this every game. Just not sure why it doesn't happen.
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