Game Thread PLAYOFFS: ROUND 1, GAME 3: BLAZERS @ THUNDER - APRIL 19, 2019, FRIDAY, 6:30 PM , ESPN & NBCSNW

To me they kind figure out OKC in the 2nd half and I believe we have better 1st half Sunday to me I a predicting a win and we go home 3-1.

 

The problem is role players always do really well at home. Ferguson and Grant will be on fire at home. Offense rebounds is killing us as well. I’m thinking game 3 was our best shot with how unconscious Lillard was and how giving okc seemed.

I’m thinking all home games will be won by the home teams and Blazers will have to wait till game 7 to take this

 

put the shirt on and look unified in color. If i had a beef with fans is they don't put the damn shirt on!!!

 

Snap out of it.
OKC won because of 2 things:
1.They shot really well which is uncharacteristic. they shot historically bad in previous games.
2.This was a classic "referee game". It's a miracle we were only down 6 in the middle of the 4th.

Those 2 conditions might happen again once, but we shouldn't be too pessimistic too early about them returning just yet.
Just think about their previous showings in previous playoffs: Russ will be a hero for a game or two and non-shooters might make some shots for a game or two, but they play DUMB for the most part.

This game might work in our favor. OKC will be STUNNED if they won't get those calls and if those shots won't fall again even though they are playing at home again.

 

So PG pulled a Tony Parker huh? Pretty lame imo. I guess it’s hard to find girls these days when you’re young, famous, and rich.

 

No. Dame might think he can do it but the eye test says he needs to get off the court. At least for a short break.
Now can he play more minutes? To that i would say yes. PG is consistently playing 40+ minutes a game. Dame has played just over 36 minutes that last two games and he did get 38 minutes in game one.
Stotts could try an adjustment there and he just might. Changing up the rotation a tiny bit and making them keep George on the court during the few minutes he does sit could have an effect. They relied pretty heavy on either Seth or Hood combined with CJ to continue to make some shots at home. Didn't happen in game 3 but it very well could have.

My biggest take from game three was that the shots were in fact there. Also if the Blazers did not sub out at the end the Thunder would have been held to 115 or so? The Blazers very well could have taken that game. I purposely am not going to blame refs or their effect as it will be the same in game 4. Maybe they can draw Scott Foster for a game 4 on the road? We are not the only home venue that does not like him and the way Westbrook taunts and baits he is the kind of player that Mr. Foster loves to stymie.

 

Also no one should be surprised we lost last night, ESPN told the world we were losing one of these road games when they announced the upcoming schedule. They had times set for the first FIVE games and never once said “if necessary”, you think the networks make more money on sweeps? Lol

 

Yep a short break would not hurt but giving him a few more probably would make sense. Did you happen to notice if Stotts left a time out on the board? I'm betting he did. Probably more so because it wasn't close enough at the end to use it but that would just make the point. Being in a very close game with no time outs is better than being in a game out of reach with two on the board right?

 

Lets just put it this way - If burning a timeout helps Dame play an extra 2 minutes in the 4th, I'd do it.

 

Seems the narrative is Timeouts are purely to stem the run of the opponent or to do playmaking/defensive adjustments.

Why cant timeouts simply be used for the guys on the court to take a breath and regroup?

I totally agree with you guys.

 

I really had problems with just one ref and I don't know his name but he T up Stotts and he the one that Dame said something to at end of game. His attitude was just bad towards the Blazers last night.

 

I remember when I was about 14 we had a real sick team and went undefeated all season. We were killing the other teams so most of our timeouts were "take a break" timeouts lol

 

I can actually see both arguments. When I posted the question I was kind of mulling over how I felt about it.

Obviously you dont want to burn him out and having a guy out there that is in need of a break is a recipe for losing. To be fair even having him on the bench they finished closing the gap. The problem was when he came back in, his feel for the game never returned.

 

That's the problem; he usually makes the shot and the NBA has this thing where they don't like to call a foul on a made shot unless you really gt clobbered.

 

Grant had 1 less point than Aminu, Harkless, Hood and Turner COMBINED....on 7 shots versus 24. There is your ball game. Turner has been MIA this whole series and Hood not much better. Stotts refuses to play Layman so that is what we are stuck with in games when one of their forwards shows up.

 

BTW, I still think Stotts should have left Hood in after he made a three, even though he then picked up his fourth foul. Would be very unconventional, but we need a confident Hood in this series. That was the first time in the series I saw Hood shoot a three with no hesitation.

 

N

I think we get the next 2games.