Donovan planted Steven Adams 10 feet from the rim which was a situation Stotts should have addressed. I don't like OKC and this loss is especially painful.
Bad loss, but seeing Dame holding his kid after the game kinda made me feel the players dont feel the pain we are.
If I was making umpteen millions of dollars to play a game regardless of whether I won or lost... I might get over it pretty quick, too.
That might be you...and most NBA players. I don't think that's Dame and if he did get over it quick, I fully believe it isn't because he is saying to himself, who cares, I got paid....Its because he believes they can bounce back quickly. Dame is elite and wants to win, i'm sure he is his own worst critic like most successful people. Your post is not Dame. Sorry.
When you were that age and competitive you shake it off and wait tell next game. Remember, a good part of Dames success is mental as he's been against odds & haters his whole life. He knows that its menatl preparation and aspect for him gives him more controlled effort. Even in the pro's when guys lose it emotionally on or of the court they tend to regress in the production. I played ball with great competitors and players (when their head was straight) that when they had a hard loss or messed up on the field, they threw their little tantrum, tizzy fit and took themselves right out of game form, always.
It was not a fun game to lose but it doesn't make or break the season. Unfortunately such an important game comes after a 7 game road trip, that is just asking for a letdown. If this is a team that wants to go deep into the playoffs then more importantly then this loss is how they show up the next few games. Do we come out and underestimate PHX and lose or do we take care of business at PHX then come home and take care of the Clippers and NO.
What hurt was the feeling it was self inflicted. Blazers missed a lot of free throws, ar least seven not counting the hapless kid tapped to shoot for Nurk,and lost their cool. Could Nurk really think head butting would be missed or ignored? Get a rep as a guy who loses it and opposing players will bake from here to eternity.
It was a telling loss. The fact that we still can’t beat OKC, even after adding Hood and Kanter, is sobering. Even at home, with a great crowd and wanting to beat the Thunder at least once this year, we couldn’t do it. Even with Lillard scoring 51, we couldn’t do it.
You aren't given the players much credit. I would bet that majority of players play the game for the competition. It's how athletes are wired.
That loss didn’t cut deep to me at all. It was a hard fought game and either team could’ve won. I don’t come out of that game thinking we can’t compete with them in the playoffs. All the games were close. It’s doubtful they’ll beat us 8 times. The good news is that they have no answer for Dame and that is bad news for them in the playoffs. Also- run the article past a proofreader. There’s a random parentheses in the first paragraph and you say advance instead of advantage. Relax. 17 more games plus playoffs. Long way to go. This game will be meaningless next month. Did it matter that we beat Pelicans in reg season last year? No. OKC sweeping us means nothing come playoff time.
I haven't really feared the Thunder in years. Perimeter oriented team whose best player is more stud athlete than stud basketball player. But Paul George is a different player this year attacking the paint, and I think he's usurped the best player on the team title from Westbrook. They're different than the past few years, when we could count on Westbrook or even Durant chucking highly contested 20 footers to close games. They get a lot shots in the paint now and, to me, that's largely Paul George's doing. I hate to say it, but they've definitely closed the gap on us and make a strong case to being better than us. Can't help but wonder what we'd look like if Olshey had acquired him. He's pretty much exactly what we need.
Almost impossible to get to that level without an ultimate competitive edge that provides the drive to be the best. Yes some get paid and cash out mentally, but not Dame.
Thanks for your opinion. I agree we can compete with them. Beating them in a series is going to be tough. George wasn't at his best with his injury. Though the Blazers weren't at their best either. Good point with Dame. That haven't been able to stop him. A good sign. If we face them in the playoffs we will have to see how they adjust to that. Im gonna be really relaxed after the Blazers destroy Phoenix tonight. I almost feel bad for them.
