SHANE STAY
  • Home
  • Blog
  • About the Author
  • Where to Buy
  • Press

how okc lost game 7, how the cavs can win

5/30/2016

 
To the rest of the world that loves basketball, the Oklahoma City Thunder loss, came as a shock to many, considering they were up in the series with three chances to close it out. Along with that, getting to this point, they beat the second best team in the league, the San Antonio Spurs, who, according to many experts, were the favorite to win the whole thing.
   The three fools (the TNT panel, of course), in all their wisdom, correctly noted how OKC got off to a 3-1 lead, acknowledging how they used a big line up versus going small ball. To their points, every other team, all season, went small against the Warriors, falling for their trap, so to speak. When OKC went big, they began to get all the rebounds, lifting them to a 3-1 advantage. The three wisemen also noted how Enes Kanter and Steven Adams were big guys that can play, versus big guys that are just out there bumbling around. They were getting all the loose boards, changing the series for OKC, giving Durant and Westbrook room to breath. The other factor was Waiters, getting rebounds, causing havoc on defense and providing a spark offensively. Then, as the Warriors came back it became clear that Ibaka was playing more, Roberson was playing more...Of course, the Warriors are going to hit their shots. The strategy up to game five was working well. Then, in Game 7, the bickering began on offense. It's okay to bicker on defense but never on offense. Once you have the ball you have to turn the switch and let everyones' idea be a "good idea." If it's not, then the coach will bicker with the player(s), correcting the hero ball, or what have you. So the bickering begins on the offensive side of the ball and this comes out of frustration from the spectacular shooting of the Warriors, and, to my estimation, a feeling among the players in regards to the stories of Durant leaving OKC, win or lose. It seems that Waiters, as good as he was playing, was looking for a promotion and saw an opportunity to take more of a leadership role within the team or with another franchise and he began to assert himself behind the scenes, causing friction. His agent must have told him, "Look, you're playing well, it's prime time coverage, against the defending champs, and you have an opportunity here to play a bigger role on this team, or another." I could be wrong, but he, Durant and Westbrook were going at it in the worst way possible during a Game 7, of all times. This caused the team's confidence to go down.
   All in all, the problem with OKC's loss came down to coaching decisions. For one, the coach needs to prohibit infighting and lay down the law: You can yell at each other on defense but on offense everyone's an artist. Then, line up issues kept them down. More bigs should've remained a strong part of the line up and Waiters should've been directed to full court press Curry at every given moment that Curry had the ball...particularly in all full court one v one situations. The idea is to get Curry tired. Sure, he's going to beat you on the dribble here and there, but once you wear out his legs, he'll become fatigued sooner and his shot will eventually suffer. (Watch any game pre-1999; there's a lot of one v one full court pressure.) It's better than allowing him three to five feet of a defensive gap every time he's on the ball. How does that help your cause? It doesn't, at all. This plays into the recent complaints of veteran players such as Isiah Thomas, proclaiming that "in his day Curry wouldn't have gotten away with all that," which is very true. The defense today is toned down so much compared to Thomas' era. There's too much room given to the star playmakers. Man them up, wear them out with an expendable player and work the boards. Never did the coach direct Waiters or Westbrook to full court press Curry one v one, on the dribble. The Cavs should learn really quickly to throw what's his name from Australia on Curry with a one v one full court press, and hope for the best. 

Comments are closed.

    Shane stay +   
    ​(archives)     

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014

    KEY
    (NS) refers to "Non-Soccer" related blog entries, stories and essays.

    Author

    Shane Stay, author of The Euro 2020, The World Cup 2018 Book, Why American Soccer Isn't There Yet.

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

    All Written Work Copyright 2014-2023 Shane Stay

Proudly powered by Weebly