The NBA on TNT: NBA Playoffs: OKC vs GSW

May 17, 2016 5:49 AM - Season 27, Episode 4

The Western Conference Finals kicked off in Oakland last night (5/16/16). The underdog Oklahoma City Thunder took on the rolling, unstoppable, half-court draining Golden State Warriors on their way to an inevitab--WAIT WHAT? WHY DID I PASS OUT ON THE COUCH AT HALFTIME....Game 2 is on Wednesday 5/18 at 9pm.

Please recall as per discussions in NBA Club HQ in Secaucus NJ we will be watercoolering about this fiery inferno of a series in this thread only for the duration. See you on the other side.

posted by Potomac Avenue (21 comments total)

My prediction: rockabyebaby.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 5:56 AM on May 17, 2016

This Kevin Durant guy is really good at basketball.
posted by French Fry at 10:26 AM on May 17, 2016 [1 favorite]

OKC is having a heck of a run. After the game 1 disaster in the Spurs series, I honestly thought they were done for. I was pleasantly surprised that they can keep GSW at bay and make this an exciting series. I have been the most impressed with OKC's Adams in the paint. He has been a monster on defense and as long as Durant and Westbrook can stay focused (and not kill each other), I think they have a real chance this year. Defeating the Spurs, especially since this is probably Timmy's final year, was no easy feat.

I can't wait for game 2.
posted by Benway at 3:26 PM on May 17, 2016

If OKC somehow pulls this off (it will have to be in 6), do they actually become favored to beat Cleaveland?
posted by Potomac Avenue at 5:07 PM on May 17, 2016

My fear for this series is injuries. OKC is playing VERY physically, which I expected from Adams and Westbrook, but there is no benefit to either team getting wrecked by overly aggressive playing. Especially since Cleveland seems like they are walking to the finals.
posted by lkc at 11:52 PM on May 17, 2016

Well that was somewhat expected. The warriors thrive on chaos, and Russ plays right into that sometimes. This is going 7 and will be amazing.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 4:14 AM on May 19, 2016

Seeing Curry take a dive into the stands was pretty scary. My initial reaction was "Crap, there goes the season!". I don't think they could make it past OKC without him.
posted by lkc at 5:43 PM on May 19, 2016

A large blowout is rough for a team but in a way is easier to take as a loss than a close game. It's probably easier to forget everything that went wrong. If the Warriors miss easy shots like they did last night again, it's over. Tomorrow night determines who wins the Championship IMHO.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 6:11 AM on May 23, 2016

I dunno hombre, if Cavs can come out of the east I think they match up well with OKC (albeit their games were before the "Big Balls" OKC lineup).

No mention of a possible suspension for Green? Thats the biggest factor IMO. Suspending Dahntay Jones a day earlier for a less-intentional-looking foul puts them in a hard spot...
posted by yeahwhatever at 1:05 PM on May 23, 2016 [1 favorite]

No suspension for Green. per Woj.
posted by lkc at 4:25 PM on May 23, 2016

Cavs looked very smushable last night. And the coaching was a bit panicky. Meanwhile DDR is having the series of his career with ugly hero ball. Let's see how the Warriors respond. I'm done predicting literally any outcome seems possible tonight.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 2:40 PM on May 24, 2016

Wow. OKC looks pretty good but the offense for GSW is just limp. They look broken. Did Russ break the man that broke the game?
posted by Potomac Avenue at 4:40 AM on May 25, 2016

Whats mostly surprising to me is their defense to be honest. I feel like the narrative around GSW has been a bit backwards -- sure they make it rain threes like crazy and run the score up, but that all seemed to start from good D. They were, for lack of a better term, lowkey a defensive team in the sense that people focused on their offense mostly. (Note: this is based on the all knowing 'eye test', if you have good articles with actual numbers and science that confirm/deny/other would love to read them).

In this series their defense is just... absent. They can't buy a rebound to save their life because OKC is so much bigger, and every time they try RWB just punishes them at a million miles an hour on the fast break. This leads to their O looking shitty because they can't get out in transition to get those easier buckets.

The player hater in me is absolutely loving it too. I'm happy to elaborate on what makes the schadenfreude so great, but it seems kinda mean and I'm not sure what levels of trash talk are considered friendly around here...

(meta: there's no team affiliation thing and I don't expect there to be, but it's still kinda weird not knowing where people are coming from...)
posted by yeahwhatever at 10:23 AM on May 25, 2016

I'm from DC, lived in NYC, I live in Boston and my favorite team is The West Coast.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 3:11 PM on May 25, 2016

Why is Steph guarding Russ?
posted by Potomac Avenue at 3:12 PM on May 25, 2016

If OKC goes on to win it all; it will be one of the most epic; come from nowhere championships. They would have beaten SA, GSW and Cle (with their full complement of stars hopefully). They would have had no Home Court advantage in all three series (meaning technically they are underdogs in all three series).

Is there any comparable NBA team for this? I can only think of Detroit in 2004; but that team had a mid-season trade that bolstered their team and although they were a third seed they had the 2nd best record in the Eastern Conference. And except for the final against the Lakers; they were never really that much of an underdog as OKC this year. After that first game against SA; people were talking as though OKC was toast!!

And as a Bulls fan; I am totally rooting for OKC or CLE to win it all!! :)
posted by indianbadger1 at 2:22 PM on May 26, 2016

Steph didn't guard Russ tonight. He was on Roberson, Klay took Russ, and Barnes/Iggy on Durant. Made a lot of sense. But they barely won, and OKC made em sweat a lot. I think Russ goes ham at home in this next game. Either he blows them out or let's them steal it. Whatever happens it's going to be nuts.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 9:26 PM on May 26, 2016

Russ on whether Steph is "underrated as a defender". Raw.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 8:41 AM on May 27, 2016

I have no ill will towards the fans of OKC, except for the ones that repeatedly (apparently) scream the N word at opposing teams mothers. So unless you aren't white, I have to assume you MIGHT be the fan that did that. So when GSW fans drink your tears for the next 24 hours, and maybe beyond, keep in mind that it is only for those racist folks in the arena, and you are probably nice, and we're sorry.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 8:11 AM on May 29, 2016 [1 favorite]

This was a thing.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 6:40 AM on May 31, 2016 [2 favorites]

I was pretty pessimistic about golden states chances, but really impressed they rallied together. Their bench is so deep that even games with all of their all stars sucking, they are still never out of the picture.
posted by lkc at 9:58 PM on June 2, 2016