[valentine]

 The guy really was kind of hated by the media and critics . but he’s got okc in the conf finals

[PicknPopPaulieParticipant]

 all business

[PicknPopPaulieParticipant]

 all business

[King CaluchaParticipant]

If OKC loses: Clearly, Donovan doesn’t know how to coach Durant and Westbrook.

If OKC wins: It’s time to give Donovan his props

wow…

 

 

 

 

[King CaluchaParticipant]

If OKC loses: Clearly, Donovan doesn’t know how to coach Durant and Westbrook.

If OKC wins: It’s time to give Donovan his props

wow…

 

 

 

 

[morestealsthanscoresParticipant]

 …you’re surprised a coach is being judged on results? By winning this series, Donovan just overachieved for the season…!

[morestealsthanscoresParticipant]

 …you’re surprised a coach is being judged on results? By winning this series, Donovan just overachieved for the season…!

[ChewyParticipant]

 that Scott Brooks ran no offense and just let Westbrook and Durant run iso. I felt like during this series it was pretty much iso ball again. But this time Westbrook and Durant made shots. I saw a stat that the duo scored or assisted on 88% of the points scored tonight.

So people who follow OKC more than I do, did you see something new in OKC’s offense this year? If so, what was it?

Side note: I think Adams is finally giving them the big they always hoped Perkins could be. A gritty tough big who is willing is set screens and rebound jumpshots.

[ChewyParticipant]

 that Scott Brooks ran no offense and just let Westbrook and Durant run iso. I felt like during this series it was pretty much iso ball again. But this time Westbrook and Durant made shots. I saw a stat that the duo scored or assisted on 88% of the points scored tonight.

So people who follow OKC more than I do, did you see something new in OKC’s offense this year? If so, what was it?

Side note: I think Adams is finally giving them the big they always hoped Perkins could be. A gritty tough big who is willing is set screens and rebound jumpshots.

[SubZeroParticipant]

It was definitely still the same iso ball, but I think the difference came by us finally (took us 3 years) figuring out our end-game lineup. Instead of trying to match teams bucket for bucket in the last 4 minutes like we usually do, we’ve been shutting teams down on defense so we don’t have to rely on getting a basket everytime down the court anymore, which probably takes a lot of stress off Russell and KD. I never thought I’d see the day when taking Ibaka off the floor improved everything about our game and was the key to us winning, but here we are.

Also, our offensive rebounding has definitely gotten us out of a lot of tight situations

[SubZeroParticipant]

It was definitely still the same iso ball, but I think the difference came by us finally (took us 3 years) figuring out our end-game lineup. Instead of trying to match teams bucket for bucket in the last 4 minutes like we usually do, we’ve been shutting teams down on defense so we don’t have to rely on getting a basket everytime down the court anymore, which probably takes a lot of stress off Russell and KD. I never thought I’d see the day when taking Ibaka off the floor improved everything about our game and was the key to us winning, but here we are.

Also, our offensive rebounding has definitely gotten us out of a lot of tight situations

[jacobkeyParticipant]

 They do still run a lot of iso but not as much. Their inbounds plays are WAY better than with Scott Brooks. Brooks also was very stubborn about the guys he played. I don’t think he would have relied on the Westbrook-Durant-Waiters-Kanter-Adams lineup that gave the Spurs the most problems. Brooks probably would have force fed more Roberson (who was admittedly good in game 6), Ibaka, and even someone like Kyle Singler. 

Billy Donovan seems to be a more thoughtful, intentional, and adaptive coach.

 

 

[jacobkeyParticipant]

 They do still run a lot of iso but not as much. Their inbounds plays are WAY better than with Scott Brooks. Brooks also was very stubborn about the guys he played. I don’t think he would have relied on the Westbrook-Durant-Waiters-Kanter-Adams lineup that gave the Spurs the most problems. Brooks probably would have force fed more Roberson (who was admittedly good in game 6), Ibaka, and even someone like Kyle Singler. 

Billy Donovan seems to be a more thoughtful, intentional, and adaptive coach.

 

 

[alex23Participant]

 They have definitely improved on defense from the regular season and is why some people felt they were stagnant during that time. Props to Donavon though for helping instill it against the Spurs, the offense isn’t nessecarily all that different. Steven Adams ran the floor and picked his spots well scoring against the spurs, very impressed with him.

[alex23Participant]

 They have definitely improved on defense from the regular season and is why some people felt they were stagnant during that time. Props to Donavon though for helping instill it against the Spurs, the offense isn’t nessecarily all that different. Steven Adams ran the floor and picked his spots well scoring against the spurs, very impressed with him.

[SeattleSuperChronicsParticipant]

 Steven Adam is a treat to watch

[SeattleSuperChronicsParticipant]

 Steven Adam is a treat to watch

[Andv1 WaitingParticipant]

Under Donovan: So far we have seen 

The bad:

Defense regressed during regular season compared to previous seasons.(It has picked back up in playoffs though with the odd lapse still which is promising)

The Iso ball/Buddy ball between K.D/Russ was/is still happening in crunch time and can be predictable after having good ball movement for parts…

The fourth quarter colapses(a little more than brooks but is that the coach or player effort at times)

Sticking with lineups that aren’t clearly working during regular season(unless that was part of his ploy not to show all of his cards for the playoffs and see what actually works).

Riding with singler for far to long instead of giving Josh huestis a shot for a reasonable amount of minutes.So we can see what he could do..

The good:

There seems like is a lot more ball movement/cleaner looks- especially when lineups are staggered/passing the ball,…Until players eventually revert back to iso(which Russ and K.D can be main culprits for when both on the court)

That Donovan is not afraid to try new things if the lineups aren’t working in game-more so than brooks who would just sit there looking befudled and tell the guys to dig deep/or try harder sort of speech rather than fix the issue and blow the game…

Donovan has had better late game execution than Brooks and usually can come up with more plays to get a bucket than I ever saw with Brooks in close games.

There seems like better player development/more buy in under donovan over the whole season

and the non controllable for Donovan:

K.D and Russ which is both good and bad.

 Due to brooks coaching the have developed to who they are which is allstars,however they have also been allowed to develop some bad overall habits:Not passing to open team mates who have better looks and forcing shots and occasional tunnell vision(don’t see anything bar that hoop-see russ 10/31 game and K.D’s 7/35 games this post season as examples when other coaches may sit players). This would be very hard for a rookie head coach to try ring in or improve their decision making especially at this point of their career.

It would  be very hard to sit them if they are playing bad, like you could with a younger player or someone who has had that leason taught to them(your playing bad you sit).

Donovan is also put in the hard spot of you have to keep both of them happy otherwise they may bolt in consectutive offseasons which for a rookie coach would be hard and a factor which could soon be outside of your control.

This is something Brooks never had to ever deal with his whole tenure also..As K.D and Russ were restricted free agents during his tenure vs Donovan who has K.D/Russ being unrestricted free agents at the end of consectutive offseasons.. 

 

 

 

 

[Andv1 WaitingParticipant]

Under Donovan: So far we have seen 

The bad:

Defense regressed during regular season compared to previous seasons.(It has picked back up in playoffs though with the odd lapse still which is promising)

The Iso ball/Buddy ball between K.D/Russ was/is still happening in crunch time and can be predictable after having good ball movement for parts…

The fourth quarter colapses(a little more than brooks but is that the coach or player effort at times)

Sticking with lineups that aren’t clearly working during regular season(unless that was part of his ploy not to show all of his cards for the playoffs and see what actually works).

Riding with singler for far to long instead of giving Josh huestis a shot for a reasonable amount of minutes.So we can see what he could do..

The good:

There seems like is a lot more ball movement/cleaner looks- especially when lineups are staggered/passing the ball,…Until players eventually revert back to iso(which Russ and K.D can be main culprits for when both on the court)

That Donovan is not afraid to try new things if the lineups aren’t working in game-more so than brooks who would just sit there looking befudled and tell the guys to dig deep/or try harder sort of speech rather than fix the issue and blow the game…

Donovan has had better late game execution than Brooks and usually can come up with more plays to get a bucket than I ever saw with Brooks in close games.

There seems like better player development/more buy in under donovan over the whole season

and the non controllable for Donovan:

K.D and Russ which is both good and bad.

 Due to brooks coaching the have developed to who they are which is allstars,however they have also been allowed to develop some bad overall habits:Not passing to open team mates who have better looks and forcing shots and occasional tunnell vision(don’t see anything bar that hoop-see russ 10/31 game and K.D’s 7/35 games this post season as examples when other coaches may sit players). This would be very hard for a rookie head coach to try ring in or improve their decision making especially at this point of their career.

It would  be very hard to sit them if they are playing bad, like you could with a younger player or someone who has had that leason taught to them(your playing bad you sit).

Donovan is also put in the hard spot of you have to keep both of them happy otherwise they may bolt in consectutive offseasons which for a rookie coach would be hard and a factor which could soon be outside of your control.

This is something Brooks never had to ever deal with his whole tenure also..As K.D and Russ were restricted free agents during his tenure vs Donovan who has K.D/Russ being unrestricted free agents at the end of consectutive offseasons.. 

 

 

 

 

[ExumInfernoParticipant]

 He has shown he was a good choice for OKC.

Better than many other coaches, he has picked a traditional 8-man playoff rotation and is sticking to it and it works.  Hopefully he stays smart, other teams go small and the Golden State small unit is much better and beats them, so if OKC stay big with Adams and Ibaka, or some Kanter minutes, it will give them a possible advantage.

40 minutes for Adams, few teams will do that.  Bogut plays half that a lot of the time.

Westbrook versus Curry, what everyone wants to see.  Will either coach let that happen, maybe Roberson gets Curry.  Maybe Curry gets a rest on defense by playing on Roberson and Klay gets the Westbrook assignment.

Will Donavon stick with Adams and Ibaka, or Kanter, when the Warriors finish with Green and Barnes, that will be something to see.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ExumInfernoParticipant]

 He has shown he was a good choice for OKC.

Better than many other coaches, he has picked a traditional 8-man playoff rotation and is sticking to it and it works.  Hopefully he stays smart, other teams go small and the Golden State small unit is much better and beats them, so if OKC stay big with Adams and Ibaka, or some Kanter minutes, it will give them a possible advantage.

40 minutes for Adams, few teams will do that.  Bogut plays half that a lot of the time.

Westbrook versus Curry, what everyone wants to see.  Will either coach let that happen, maybe Roberson gets Curry.  Maybe Curry gets a rest on defense by playing on Roberson and Klay gets the Westbrook assignment.

Will Donavon stick with Adams and Ibaka, or Kanter, when the Warriors finish with Green and Barnes, that will be something to see.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[DolanCareParticipant]

 It was a tough matchup for San Antonio. Which is too bad for hoop fans because OKC doesn’t have a chance against the Warriors. 

Mark my words, the Thunder will get murdered if they trot out the Adams and Kanter backcourt duo against Golden State. Absolute carnage. Kanter can pass on defense when he’s guarding midrange players, he’ll get toasted if he’s expected to chase people off the 3-point line. 

 

[llperez]

If okc won, they were the better team. Why do you think hoops fans lose out? Because in your mind you already decided the Spurs are better? I prefer results over speculation thanks Also your logic doesn’t even make sense, the spurs are older and slower then the thunder. So because Kanter can’t guard the perimeter, Aldridge, Duncan, west and Diaw can?

[DolanCareParticipant]

 Yes. Besides Duncan who’s looking awful this series (and I say this sorrowfully), Aldridge and Diaw are better defenders than Kanter. Kanter had a good series, but unless you’re ready to ignore a career of him being a comatose defender than its not a stretch to say that the Warriors will exploit him. 

And this isn’t just me talking, the Spurs have been an historically good defensive team this season. The Thunder have not. The Thunder do have a Russell Westbook who will look like Adebisi from Oz when Tony Parker or Patty Mills are assigned to guard him. 

The Thunder won. Props, not undeserved they stepped up. But it’s not heresy to say that the Spurs match up with the Warriors better than the OKC. Afterall, they actually beat the Warriors once this season. But hey, that’s just ‘my speculation’. 

 

 

 

 

[DolanCareParticipant]

 Yes. Besides Duncan who’s looking awful this series (and I say this sorrowfully), Aldridge and Diaw are better defenders than Kanter. Kanter had a good series, but unless you’re ready to ignore a career of him being a comatose defender than its not a stretch to say that the Warriors will exploit him. 

And this isn’t just me talking, the Spurs have been an historically good defensive team this season. The Thunder have not. The Thunder do have a Russell Westbook who will look like Adebisi from Oz when Tony Parker or Patty Mills are assigned to guard him. 

The Thunder won. Props, not undeserved they stepped up. But it’s not heresy to say that the Spurs match up with the Warriors better than the OKC. Afterall, they actually beat the Warriors once this season. But hey, that’s just ‘my speculation’. 

 

 

 

 

[llperez]

If okc won, they were the better team. Why do you think hoops fans lose out? Because in your mind you already decided the Spurs are better? I prefer results over speculation thanks Also your logic doesn’t even make sense, the spurs are older and slower then the thunder. So because Kanter can’t guard the perimeter, Aldridge, Duncan, west and Diaw can?

[SubZeroParticipant]

Lol, the last 2 games we were winning until the last 2 minutes of each game, and barring a KD foul/legendary shot in OT, we win the game. You say we can’t guard them on the 3 point line (although Adams has shown he can), I say they can’t get a rebound over us

[SubZeroParticipant]

Lol, the last 2 games we were winning until the last 2 minutes of each game, and barring a KD foul/legendary shot in OT, we win the game. You say we can’t guard them on the 3 point line (although Adams has shown he can), I say they can’t get a rebound over us

[DolanCareParticipant]

 Your right man! The Thunder should focus on their edge with rebounding against Golden State. Why didn’t Cleveland think of that? They had far bigger players with Thompson and Mozgov on the roster, you would think that the Cavs would have killed the Warriors with that rebounding advantage! 

[DolanCareParticipant]

 Your right man! The Thunder should focus on their edge with rebounding against Golden State. Why didn’t Cleveland think of that? They had far bigger players with Thompson and Mozgov on the roster, you would think that the Cavs would have killed the Warriors with that rebounding advantage! 

[DolanCareParticipant]

 It was a tough matchup for San Antonio. Which is too bad for hoop fans because OKC doesn’t have a chance against the Warriors. 

Mark my words, the Thunder will get murdered if they trot out the Adams and Kanter backcourt duo against Golden State. Absolute carnage. Kanter can pass on defense when he’s guarding midrange players, he’ll get toasted if he’s expected to chase people off the 3-point line. 

 

[HitsterParticipant]

 He’s done better than expected in the play offs, masybe all the hype being about a GSW vs Spurs potential WCF and the winners vs the Cavs in the Finals has let the Thunder slip under the radar. Or maybe it has driven the Thunder on to better things. I don’t know what sort of motivation Billy is using but it is obviously working plus with KD out of contract maybe the roster is really stepping up to try to make him stay.

If Billy Donovan outcoached Gregg Poppovich he is obviously doing something right.

Maybe he has taken a line from another famous flat-top haircut Gene Kranz who said "Failure is not an option".

 

 

[HitsterParticipant]

 He’s done better than expected in the play offs, masybe all the hype being about a GSW vs Spurs potential WCF and the winners vs the Cavs in the Finals has let the Thunder slip under the radar. Or maybe it has driven the Thunder on to better things. I don’t know what sort of motivation Billy is using but it is obviously working plus with KD out of contract maybe the roster is really stepping up to try to make him stay.

If Billy Donovan outcoached Gregg Poppovich he is obviously doing something right.

Maybe he has taken a line from another famous flat-top haircut Gene Kranz who said "Failure is not an option".

 

 

[Author]

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