Porks first Game thread to 55 wins

[Logo [enjin:17474297]]

I did not get to watch the game but listen to the 4th quarter and saw videos on twitter. The play that stood out for me was Wiggins put back slam off Kat's miss in the last minute or two. That was huge and not something, I have seen Wiggins go that hard for before. That was a big hustle play not just a scorer taking another shot.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

If anyone is to "blame" for Westbrook's late game heroics, it's Kat. Teague was not involved at all -- Butler was picking up Westbrook every time. But they would run a high pick and roll with Adams, and KAT never showed hard, not once.

Tim, I'm not so sure. Westbrook is not a great 3-point shooter and Butler was close to getting through those screens and contesting. They were just ridiculous shots he made. I would much prefer him taking those versus slashing to the rim or hitting an open roll man for an easy dunk.

[kekgeek]

If anyone is to "blame" for Westbrook's late game heroics, it's Kat. Teague was not involved at all -- Butler was picking up Westbrook every time. But they would run a high pick and roll with Adams, and KAT never showed hard, not once.

I more for credit Westbrook making damn tough shots. Even if they lost last night, I would be upset but I world be more credit to the thunder

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Oh, and Westbrook, Melo and George all played 37 minutes. I don't have any problem with our guys playing 39 this game...

Agreed. This is a division rival. Some games you gotta ride your horses. What pissed me off last year was that sometimes we were in blowouts and Thibs would unnecessarily keep his starters in longer than necessary.

[SameOldNudityDrew]

If anyone is to "blame" for Westbrook's late game heroics, it's Kat. Teague was not involved at all -- Butler was picking up Westbrook every time. But they would run a high pick and roll with Adams, and KAT never showed hard, not once.

If anyone is to "blame" for Westbrook's late game heroics, it's Kat. Teague was not involved at all -- Butler was picking up Westbrook every time. But they would run a high pick and roll with Adams, and KAT never showed hard, not once.

It's tough to criticize a guy who just went for 27 and 12, but KAT's defensive weaknesses are a real concern. I'm a little sympathetic because at the end there, he could have made Westbrook's life a little more difficult, but a lot of that was just Westbrook being Westbrook. What drove me totally crazy though was watching him ball-watching on rebounds throughout the game and basically letting Steven Adams eat his fucking lunch on the glass. Adams is a beast, but Towns was playing like boxing out was illegal. The contrast between Towns' technique and Gibson's is so stark. If Towns rebounded as intensely as Gibson, he'd lead the league for sure.

There was another moment early in the game when Adams set a pick to spring Westbrook for a three and Towns not only didn't show (it was kind of a tough place along the sideline, so again, I'm a little sympathetic), but he didn't give any kind of vocal warning about the coming pick to the guy defending Westbrook (I think it was Butler). All Towns had to say was "Pick, left!" and Butler could have made life tougher for Westbrook. You could tell Thibs was livid.

Again, Towns is so good. Despite Wiggins' heroics in the fourth, KAT is most likely to be the cornerstone of the franchise. But somebody needs to get through to that guy because he can't continue to play such poor defense, especially in the paint. It's just inexcusable for a guy so big and mobile and so skilled offensively not to carry out basic defensive tasks like talking on D and boxing out.

EDIT: Let me also say, that was such a nice win tonight. It was a bit of a relief because we really let them back into it in the fourth, which was giving me nightmarish flashbacks to last year. And that last Wiggins shot was kinda lucky. So we could very easily be talking about another big fourth quarter lead blown. Thank god we're not, and it's especially a relief on the road against such a talented team, but giving up that lead in the 4th is still a cause for concern for me. I hope the guys take some constructive lessons out of this game.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

I agree Drew. The good news is that it's hard to fathom the upside of a guy that goes for an efficient 27 and 12 and it's almost as if he had a bad game. But yeah, the defensive misses will hold him back from being truly elite until he cleans that shit up.

The other (positive) thing no one is talking about is that the second to last shot we made to go up 112 to 110 was a REALLY tough mid-range runner by KAT. I don't think people remember it as much because it was sandwiched between a couple of spectacular Wiggins baskets. KAT has such a soft touch.

[thedoper]

KAT is far and away the unique wildcard that separates our talent from other teams. He gets huge offensive numbers in a seemingly effortless manor. I hope he isn't forcing 3s and I hope his d comes around. But he plays with intensity and passion. I see him overreacting on D, but he can do some great things out there already. I think his passion overrides his awareness still. But I don't think he's that far off.

[Duke13]

I agree with everything said about Kat's Defense and his lapses.

What scares me the most is his potential frustration not being the focal point of the offense at times. I think Jim Pete illustrated it well during the telecast. If he just calms down and let's the game come to him, it's scary how good he and this team can be. I will say he passed the ball really well last night also, especially by his usual standards.

Loved that play late in the game where Wig made a entry pass to Kat, Kat took his time, Wig made a nice cut and Kat hit him in the lane for a basket, very simple but nice play. The kind of play usually eludes this team, especially in crunch time.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

I did not get to watch the game but listen to the 4th quarter and saw videos on twitter. The play that stood out for me was Wiggins put back slam off Kat's miss in the last minute or two. That was huge and not something, I have seen Wiggins go that hard for before. That was a big hustle play not just a scorer taking another shot.

Great observation, Logo...I also saw that as a significant moment. With his athleticism, I've always thought Wig could be a much better offensive rebounder than he is, and what he did on that play is indicative of what he could do. Maybe that dunk will turn the light bulb on, and Wig will start attacking the offensive glass more. After three games, we have seen glimpses of improvement by Wig in 3-point shooting and rebounding...good to see.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

Teague had a terrific all-around game, but Thibs did him a disservice by not resting him during the game...he was clealry gassed the last five minutes of the game, and that allowed Russ to completely dominate the game

Not to say that Teague being tired late didn't contribute, but I doubt it had as much impact as suggested. Throughout the entire game I kept waiting for Russ to don his cape. His play until about halfway through the fourth quarter to me looked like a guy who was, if not deferring to George and Carmelo, he was more focused on getting them involved and building the chemistry they're going to need to challenge GS. The Westbrook of the last 8 minutes of the 4th was the Westbrook of all of last season, an unstoppable monster. If Teague, Butler, and Wiggins had sat for an additional 5 minutes or so earlier I just don't it makes a difference in terms of slowing down Westbrook at the end.

IMO it was Westbrook that kept Westbrook under control most of the game, not the Wolves.

Yeah, I had the same feeling, SP. Westbrook held himself back for the first 2 7/8 games of the season, trying to allow George and Melo to carry the scoring load. Halfway through the 4th, it looked like he said "enough of this...I'm going back to being the Russ of last year". And he was unstoppable the last 8 minutes. I have to agree with you that OkC's effective offense the last 8 minutes had a lot more to do with Russ deciding to be Russ than our defense being tired. The guy is unbelievable, and it's even more impressive that we held on to win with him playing like that on his home court.