NBA 2015/16 thread
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<p>It was the OKC small ball 5 that did the business with Ibaka (who was huge) at C and KD at PF. The crowd was bloody loud too - they have the best supporters in the NBA.</p>
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<p>OKC needs to keep the foot on the throat for game 5. The pressure is all on GSW to win and extend the series, so OKC can play with more freedom, but they won't want to come back home for a must-win game 6.</p> -
<p>Yeah from the website I was checking out Adams made some good plays on Curry - he's not a one man band but he's doing bloody well. Westbrook and Durant is such a mean combo, they are on fire atm</p>
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<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Hooroo" data-cid="582486" data-time="1464148297">
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<p>Can someone please explain to me what "OKCSmall ball 5" means?</p>
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<p>OKC brought in Waiters to play guard in place of Adams and moved Durant from small forward to power forward, and Ibaka from power forward to centre. That lineup gave them greater speed to guard the quick GSW players without sacrificing size and rebounding.</p>
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<p>OKC has a big lineup when Adams and Kanter play together as twin-centres and their small ball lineup.</p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Bovidae" data-cid="582497" data-time="1464149039">
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<p>OKC brought in Waiters to play guard in place of Adams and moved Durant from small forward to power forward, and Ibaka from power forward to centre. That lineup gave them greater speed to guard the quick little monkeys from GS without sacrificing size and rebounding.</p>
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<p>OKC has a big lineup when Adams and Kanter play together as twin-centres and their small ball lineup.</p>
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<p>Small edit.</p> -
Small ball is all the rage Hooroo. <br><br>
Cavs, OKC, Warriors all play it. Raptors have a version of it but they like one of Big V (when fit) or Biyombo on for the whole game with a mix of Patterson and Scola and others to support their All star guards -
<p>The wrinkle for OKC small ball is that they dont actually get that much smaller.... just change positions and change the mix of skillsets on the court.</p>
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I'm impressed by OKC to date. I expected them to play their usual Durant Westbrook iso ball but since that watershed moment in the Spurs series Westbrook and Durant are getting their team mates involved and everyone is doing their part to share the offensive load. Their match ups have been spot on, OKC finally look like the team with more weapons so coach Donovan should take a bow. Adams, Kanter, Waiters, Roberson along with the reliable Ibaka are playing great, and the three bigs are dominating GS in the paint and on the boards. Great to see Steven Adams of the Rotorua and Wellington massive kicking ass. They look like the team to beat to win it all right now.<br><br>
Oh and Draymond gets the Quade Cooper booing experience, says he thrives on it just like Quade, but the result is the same -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Hooroo" data-cid="582486" data-time="1464148297">
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<p>Can someone please explain to me what "OKCSmall ball 5" means? and also what the warriors Death squad or whatever it is, actually is?</p>
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<p>It has been heralded all year (and into last year) as being the best 5 man unit in the league - however Golden State hardly use it because they rarely need it and everyone has to play "up" a position which takes a massive toll on Draymond in particular. We've only caught flashes of it throughout the season - but it has been largely unstoppable in those rare outings.</p>
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<p>There are actually a few similarities between the Death line up and the 2007 All Blacks side without rotation. It was often talked about, much heralded, supposed to be unstoppable but we barely saw it. May not make the finals either.</p>
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<p>I would say it has been fair to say most NBA pundits have believed that the Death Line Up was a switch that Golden State could hit at any time at their leisure. An extra gear, that in all likelihood they wouldn't need anyway. Turns out OKC was is a very bad match up for almost every rotation GSW have.</p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Baron Silas Greenback" data-cid="582626" data-time="1464164374">
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<p>The wrinkle for OKC small ball is that they dont actually get that much smaller.... just change positions and change the mix of skillsets on the court.</p>
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<p>Good point. OKC's small ball unit provides spacing at the offensive end so KD and Westbrook can drive to the hoop, and another ball handler in Waiters. Roberson plays as the post player so needs to be guarded rather than be ignored on the perimeter. That means GSW can't double-team KD or Westbrook. At the moment, Donovan is outcoaching Kerr.</p> -
<p>This assist from Adams was pretty amazing:</p>
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<p><a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='https://vine.co/v/i9berhWFHEO'>https://vine.co/v/i9berhWFHEO</a></p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Hooroo" data-cid="582741" data-time="1464215293">
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<p>Is that the one where he "Threw the balls out of that pass"?</p>
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<p>Yes</p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Tim" data-cid="582739" data-time="1464215194">
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<p>This assist from Adams was pretty amazing:</p>
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<p><a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='https://vine.co/v/i9berhWFHEO'>https://vine.co/v/i9berhWFHEO</a></p>
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<p>Tom Brady would be proud to call that his own</p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Bovidae" data-cid="582714" data-time="1464208949">
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<p>Good point. OKC's small ball unit provides spacing at the offensive end so KD and Westbrook can drive to the hoop, and another ball handler in Waiters. Roberson plays as the post player so needs to be guarded rather than be ignored on the perimeter. That means GSW can't double-team KD or Westbrook. At the moment, <strong>Donovan is outcoaching Kerr.</strong></p>
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<p>Easy to outcoach the other guy when you have the better team of players. What Donovan is doing is getting them to play to their potential as a team, something that Brooks could not</p> -
<p>Donovan has 3 distinct line ups now.<br><br>
Small ball - KD and Ibaka as his fowards with Westbrook, Roberson and Waiters. - Fast as fuck. Great ball movement and 5 3pt shooters.<br><br>
Big - Adams and Ibaka with KD, Westbrook and Roberson/Waiters. - Standard starting line up. Fantastic in side outside defence set up around KD/Westbrook offence.<br><br>
Long - Kanter and Adams with KD, Westbrook and Roberson. - Muscle line up. Very hard for opposing bigs to handle. Adams becomes a real threat in this specific set up but hes becoming a threat regardless.<br><br>
Brooks was not able to capitalise on the talent he had after a good wicket in charge. Donovan has let them play a bit more and trusted the role players to find their way. He played Singler a whole lot more than he should have and a very good player in Morrow has been left in the locker room for almost the entire season. But thats about all i can fault him on. 3 line ups unearthed and he seems to know exactly when to use them.</p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="canefan" data-cid="582917" data-time="1464230780">
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<p>Easy to outcoach the other guy when you have the better team of players. </p>
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<p>Remember that this GSW team has the best NBA regular season record ever (73-9) and Kerr won coach of the year. What OKC definitely has is a bigger team and GSW is struggling with their length and athleticism, hence the steals and rebounding advantages.</p>
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<p>What Donovan is doing is getting them to play to their potential as a team, something that Brooks could not</p>
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<p>No argument there. Basketball is all about matchups and mis-matches and Donovan is not afraid to tinker with his rotations to find that edge.</p>
