Didn't watch the game. Judging by the posts here and the box-score, Kaman and Blake were our bench. Barton and Robinson didn't play until garbage time. Our team won because we're more talented, played against 9 players, not because we played harder or looked like a team. We need a new coach
Interesting that you come up with a diagnosis and suggested treatment without having watched the game.
Let me rephrase my message, based on many games I did watch: -Robinson and Barton should play! -We win despite Stotts.
If we're built to beat a very injured Thunder team, we're fine with Stotts. If we wanna go deep in the playoffs (like I think we can) we need someone who would actually help our chances, Stotts does the opposite.
Let me put it in a different way: Who wins in a hypothetical 4-on-4: Blake, CJ, Leonard, Kaman vs. Blake, Barton, TRob, Kaman? Stotts thinks our 2nd unit should be the former. I think it should be the Latter. If you agree with me, a mere fan, we need another coach.
I disagree with a critique of the game from someone who didn't even follow it. Read the thread title next time or start a fire Stotts thread of your own.
If we play a 9 man rotation of our starters + Blake, Barton, TRob, Kaman, with the others being used situationally or in case of injuries, we're an elite team even with Stotts. If Robinson and Barton enter the game only in garbage time, we're just good, and what's more frustrating: not nearly as good as we can be.
The whole 9 player thing is a lame excuse. Most teams don't go more than 9 deep, except at garbage time anyway. How do you know what we looked like of you didn't watch the game? We had good ball movement throughout, but couldn't hit our open 3-pointers in the first half. Once Lillard, Batum and Matthews got in a rhythm and started making their 3-pointers, we blew them out. The 3-pointer is an integral part of our offense. With Aldridge and Kaman, we are not totally reliant on the 3-pointer, but when they are going in, it sure does make everything else a whole lot easier. We have some very good 3-point shooters, and sooner, or later, those shots will start falling. At the half, Lillard and Batum hadn't made a single 3-pointer between them and only had 4 total points (4 for Batum, 0 for Lillard). You knew that wouldn't last. It didn't and we won. End of story. It's a bit too early to be calling for the head of the coach that led this team to 54 wins and the second round last season, especially after a 17-point win. You might want to wait until we actually lose a game before you start your official petition to fire Stotts. BNM
Okay so here is my take. I will try and summarize everything I saw during the game. Damien Lillard I saw a very timid Dame vs. Westbrook. It wasn't even funny either. It seemed like Westbrook was bulldozing Dame on every possession. It was like Westbrook was egging Dame on to try and score. In order for Dame to take the next step to superstardom, he needs to step up to these types of challenges. He needs to punish players of Westbrook's caliber when they challenge him like that. I understand Dame got into foul trouble, but there were times when Dame had the ball and differed to another player. Only one time I saw Dame actually take it to Westbrook and it was a score and the foul. He needs to do more of that, so players won't attempt to do that ever again. LaMarcus Aldridge There is not much I can say that hasn't been said already. This cat has skills to pay the bills. It didn't matter who OKC put on him. Aldridge scored on any of their players at will. And I want to see more of that 3 point shooting. That's going to open the game up for so many players. I would suggest that he attempts more threes when Kaman is on the floor with him. I could see Kaman posting up, with Aldridge on the corner. Kaman would have a large target for a wide open 3. When Lopez is on the floor, I would have him post up more. Wesley Matthews Matthews is starting to understand his role on this team. He's posting up more and plays within the system. I don't see him forcing shots like he used to. He's also developing a double screen for the wide open three. I like that a lot! Defensively, he is becoming very elite. He's very good at keeping his guy in front of him, and extremely efficient at pulling back at the right time to avoid the foul. I love how he's boxing out and rebounding as well. Nic Batum This guy is something special. I used to talk about how tentative he is during games, but now I realize the role he has on this team. When we need scoring, he will score. When we need a defensive stopper, he is up for the challenge. When we need a distributor, he sets the offense up nicely. In this game, he wasn't much of a scorer up until the second half, but he was doing a wonderful job rebounding and setting up the offense. There were 3 assists that didn't count because his teammates either fumbled the ball or missed a wide open jay. His court vision is something to marvel! Defensively, he was the player of the game. His length and quickness really frustrated Westbrook to no end. He was the x-factor for our win... He gets the game ball, IMO. Robin Lopez The dude brought his lunch pal and hard hat once again. It's funny because you really don't notice him, yet he put up a pretty decent line. 11 points, 10 rebounds, and 2 blocks! What more can you ask for a center?!?! He is an offensive rebounding machine, getting 3 on one possession! Chris Kaman Hey Bill Simmons where are you?!?!?! Mr. 6th man is a beast!!!! The dude rebound the ball like an animal and his post up game was off the charts. I've preached all last season that we needed another post up player if our team wants to get to an elite status. We have found the guy for cheap!!! The way he controlled the paint offensively was a thing of beauty. I thought I was having flashback of 90's tough guy ball! His court vision was another thing of beauty, finding the open man almost every time. He did have that "Homer DOH moment" when he passed it right to an OKC player, but that was overshadowed by his massive post up scoring, boxing out and defense throughout the game. The Ugly CJ played like shit for most the night. It could have been the new court, or nerves or whatever; but this kid was in over his head. He needs to find a way to stop thinking and just letting the game come to him. He's a good player and definitely worthy of getting minutes. He needs to relax and stop overthinking. Lye-Lard, as hubie said, was not himself as well. He was getting beat on the defensive end and wasn't looking for his shot until late in the third. Small sample size, so I will over-look this right now. The thing of Beauty Quarters 2-4. Our defense in the first quarter was bad. I'm talking real bad; but things changed after that. We just man-handled OKC on the defensive end, making their shots all contested and taking away most of their fast break chances. I can't wait when they get their defensive timing down. They will be a tough defensive team.
I'm sick and tired of hearing OKC had only nine players. (Actually I was sick and tired of it before the end of the first quarter.) It's stupid. Who the hell plays more than nine players in a close game anyway? It's irrelevant. It IS relevant that OKC was without Durant and one other important contributor. That sucks for them. Just like it sucks for every other team in the league that doesn't have Durant on their team. Get my point? Like Stotts said, they had nine NBA players in uniform. That's plenty of players to play a basketball game. And you play the team you have. Some teams have better players than other teams. Every team that doesn't have Durant or Lebron doesn't get violin music and excuses for the entire fucking game. They play the game with the team they have and are judged by the results.
About Stotts: I don't like him, don't think he makes us better, but I'm not even against him staying if he would just make the obvious rotation decisions. I didn't watch the game but I did watch last year's playoffs when TRob and Barton in their 2nd year and in the biggest games of the season were our best bench players. I think we have incredible potential to be even better with Kaman and Blake added to the team but he should at least be able to put the best players on the floor.
As Durant quoted "TOUGH SHIT" Can we have all the excuses when our team was injury riddled years ago? Nah, they talked shit about our team being irrelevant. In other words, injuries are part of the game. OKC and the media better not give them some kind of pass because of Durant's injury.
Playing Robinson and Barton together on a regular basis would be a monumental mistake. They are both slashers that would just get in each other's way, with no outside shooting to space the floor. Will is a career .194 3-point shooter. If you insist on playing Robinson, you need a couple of good 3-point shooters on the floor to spread the defense and create opening for Robinson to attack the rim. BNM
BTW, I'm happy we got the win. But it's a different story this year. If we're taking the next step we need to think how we can improve even after wins.
