The top 6 in the West

[AussieWolf3]

Lots of folks will point to the back to back to diminish the quality of the win, but only one of OKCs starters played 30 minutes in their game against the clips.

The Thunder look much more vulnerable than they did a week ago, which is still not all that vulnerable, but Dort is having a down year and be the most negative player in their rotation and the Wolves have two games now where they have limited Chets impact. They just match up really well with him and can defend him in multiple ways.

I'm excited to see what the matchups against the other top 6 brings

[FNG]

Lots of folks will point to the back to back to diminish the quality of the win, but only one of OKCs starters played 30 minutes in their game against the clips.

The Thunder look much more vulnerable than they did a week ago, which is still not all that vulnerable, but Dort is having a down year and be the most negative player in their rotation and the Wolves have two games now where they have limited Chets impact. They just match up really well with him and can defend him in multiple ways.

I'm excited to see what the matchups against the other top 6 brings

Opponents love to see Lu Dort jacking up threes...any time a 30% shooter beyond the arc puts up 10 of them, you have a pretty good chance of beating them!

[AussieWolf3]

Lots of folks will point to the back to back to diminish the quality of the win, but only one of OKCs starters played 30 minutes in their game against the clips.

The Thunder look much more vulnerable than they did a week ago, which is still not all that vulnerable, but Dort is having a down year and be the most negative player in their rotation and the Wolves have two games now where they have limited Chets impact. They just match up really well with him and can defend him in multiple ways.

I'm excited to see what the matchups against the other top 6 brings

Opponents love to see Lu Dort jacking up threes...any time a 30% shooter beyond the arc puts up 10 of them, you have a pretty good chance of beating them!

But he has been worse overall this year. He is one of two, rotational players SGA being the other, who's defensive rating is worse than the team's overall rating

If he's not hitting 3s, he provides nothing on offense and he's not a good rebounder. I know thunder fans are starting to grumble

[Q-is-here]

Lots of folks will point to the back to back to diminish the quality of the win, but only one of OKCs starters played 30 minutes in their game against the clips.

The Thunder look much more vulnerable than they did a week ago, which is still not all that vulnerable, but Dort is having a down year and be the most negative player in their rotation and the Wolves have two games now where they have limited Chets impact. They just match up really well with him and can defend him in multiple ways.

I'm excited to see what the matchups against the other top 6 brings

Opponents love to see Lu Dort jacking up threes...any time a 30% shooter beyond the arc puts up 10 of them, you have a pretty good chance of beating them!

But he has been worse overall this year. He is one of two, rotational players SGA being the other, who's defensive rating is worse than the team's overall rating

If he's not hitting 3s, he provides nothing on offense and he's not a good rebounder. I know thunder fans are starting to grumble

It is interesting that Dort and Caruso attempted 16 3's last night, which is a LOT for two guys that aren't primary options. It reminds me of the Bucks defense a few years ago where they were allowing a ton of 3-pointers by opponents but it was very strategic. They were trying to create open looks for the opponent's worst shooters and actually encouraging those shots while trying to protect the paint and limit the best shooters' attempts by staying home on them.

[FNG]

The Rockets are starting to look much more vulnerable...they've lost 4 of their last 6, and 4 of those games have been against teams with losing records. Good thing, because we still have three games against them coming up.

I know it's premature to be so focused on the standings, but I can't help hoping we can finish second or third...being able to avoid OkC until the finals has to be our goal. Only 2 games out of 3rd!

[FNG]

Abe has done some excellent work documenting the Lakers' free throw advantage. So I'm guessing most here got a kick out of JJ Reddick's comments about inconsistency in refereeing after his team lost to the Clippers in a game where more fouls were called on the Clippers! I wonder if the reporters in the room had a difficult time keeping a straight face listening to him!

But I think there is another lesson in this. Most people invested in a team (coaches, fans, players) are unable to look at the game objectively when it comes to fouls. JJ has a smart basketball mind, but even he thinks his team is getting screwed...and it's the Lakers! Refereeing a game is a very difficult thing to do, and there are countless plays during a game which are challenging to rule on. Coaches, fans and players are naturally not objective, and are always going to see things different than the coaches, fans and players on the other team. We do it here in our GDTs...we complain about our players not getting calls, but very seldom mention anything when a questionable call goes our way. It's the same with every team, but I found JJ's comments quite ironic.

[AbeVigodaLive]

Abe has done some excellent work documenting the Lakers' free throw advantage. So I'm guessing most here got a kick out of JJ Reddick's comments about inconsistency in refereeing after his team lost to the Clippers in a game where more fouls were called on the Clippers! I wonder if the reporters in the room had a difficult time keeping a straight face listening to him!

But I think there is another lesson in this. Most people invested in a team (coaches, fans, players) are unable to look at the game objectively when it comes to fouls. JJ has a smart basketball mind, but even he thinks his team is getting screwed...and it's the Lakers! Refereeing a game is a very difficult thing to do, and there are countless plays during a game which are challenging to rule on. Coaches, fans and players are naturally not objective, and are always going to see things different than the coaches, fans and players on the other team. We do it here in our GDTs...we complain about our players not getting calls, but very seldom mention anything when a questionable call goes our way. It's the same with every team, but I found JJ's comments quite ironic.

To be fair, I think a lot of Redick's commentary had to do with the inconsistencies surrounding a specific type of review challenge.



[Note: But it was rich a couple of years ago... around the time of the infamous missed call vs. Boston right before the Lakers went on that historic run from the free throw line... James was complaining about all the missed calls late in games for the Lakers. Someone quickly posted a graphic from the NBA's Two Minute Report that showed the Lakers benefited the 2nd most in the league from bad calls late in games. Basically, I wouldn't trust players for anything officiating related. Heck, their constant whining is part of the equation.]

[FNG]

Very good night for our Wolves...they win, the Nuggets lose, and the Lakers are down 26. Let's see if the Clippers can take down the Rockets.

OkC continues to struggle against teams with winning records. If the Spurs hold on to their 15 point lead, that will be the third straight loss for the Thunder against winning teams. They beat up on bad teams, but they may not be the super team we all thought. On the other hand, the Spurs are scary.

[FNG]

Another day, and the same story: OkC loses to a winning team for the 4th consecutive time, and no longer looks invincible. Their losses were to the Wolves and the Spurs...perhaps the two best rim protecting teams in the Association. Force OkC into jacking up threes and they become much more vulnerable. But those Spurs though...

[FNG]

There is another reason OkC has come down to earth in the last couple weeks. SGA has not had a double digit free throw night in his last 7 games. Before that he had double digit attempts in 8 pf his previous 9 games...and nine in the one sub 10 game. It's pretty clear that there has been a sea change in how SGA is reffed. Either a memo came down from the league office saying don't fall for his grifting, or the refs have seen all the video of Shae flopping on social media and have made the change on their own. OkC is still a terrific defensive team, but they are no longer an offensive powerhouse if the refs don't give Shae so many FTAs.