Grades v. Thunder 11/10/09
- Thread starter Bricklayer
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Besides winning, what I enjoyed watching most tonight was their crisp passing and motion offense. I clearly remember one sequence where Casspi, Evens and Nocioni were continuously cutting and weaving through the paint from side-to-side while Thompson was looking to pass to someone. On top of that, they didn't look disappointed when the ball wasn't thrown to them. I got goose bumps watching that. 
The emotions you get watching Jason Thompson are very similar in a lot of ways to the emotional roller coaster ride you took every time you watched another Jason...Jason Williams.
He can dazzle you with brilliance and then whack you right between the eyes with a play that is so beyond stupid that you're left wondering if he was temporarily taken over by aliens from the planet Dumbass.
It's not knowing which Jason will appear or reappear at any given moment that keeps you on the edge of your seat.
He can dazzle you with brilliance and then whack you right between the eyes with a play that is so beyond stupid that you're left wondering if he was temporarily taken over by aliens from the planet Dumbass.
It's not knowing which Jason will appear or reappear at any given moment that keeps you on the edge of your seat.
JT is like the ultimate blue collar lunchpail player. Kinda inept but still manages to beast.
If he knew how to finish he'd be averaging 20/10. As of now he's averaging a paltry 13/10/3...Pfff. The Kid is still the best PF we've had since Webber by a country mile though (sorry SAR, you never did it for me).
Dude has a motor and good work ethic , even if this is as good as he gets he's still SOLID. And I doubt that this is as good as we'll get from JT.
Reke the freak. His crap night equals 20/8/8. As one of the first to mention him in our "with the #1 pick thread" (I thought we could get him with 23, this was early on in the NCAA season ) I am swelling with an almost fatherly pride.
If he knew how to finish he'd be averaging 20/10. As of now he's averaging a paltry 13/10/3...Pfff. The Kid is still the best PF we've had since Webber by a country mile though (sorry SAR, you never did it for me).
Dude has a motor and good work ethic , even if this is as good as he gets he's still SOLID. And I doubt that this is as good as we'll get from JT.
Reke the freak. His crap night equals 20/8/8. As one of the first to mention him in our "with the #1 pick thread" (I thought we could get him with 23, this was early on in the NCAA season
) I am swelling with an almost fatherly pride.
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Did you forget about the shot to the face? From what I heard from someone at the game, it was pretty gnarly. They could hear it from their seats and they really thought he'd come up with an injury like a broken cheekbone or something. I think that had to have an impact on the rest of his game. If nothing else, I can imagine him having a bit of double vision or at least a killer faceache.
Wow are team is really coming together like previously stated would like to see more out of Hawes and JT needs to start doing lay up drills in practice or just slam it gosh if Hawes could just stop trying to be a guard and get his hands dirty down low he would really help us turn the corner every time i see him floating around three point land(unless to set a screen)I cringe he is Brad Miller 2.0 haha
I think hawes should revert back to shooting his 3s without jumping. Last season I believe early in the season there was something about how he was trying to find which form suited him best. If I remember correctly last year when he was making a bunch of 3s he'd shoot them with both feet on the ground and more arc on the shot. This season his shots from long range are mostly short due to the lack of arc on the shot, which I have a feeling is due to his jumping (thus shooting it down more instead of arcing it more)
Wow, that is a pretty negative poll on what I thought was a great game. There were many imperfections, but the ability to win ugly gets me excited. We have had more guys hit the floor in the past 3 games than I have seen in about the previous 5 years combined (minus Artests hustle).
It has been 3 years since we were .500. But more than that, how long has it been since we played a game with so many notable errors and still manage to win the game?
Maybe a secondary poll should be "who was the hustle man of the game?"
It has been 3 years since we were .500. But more than that, how long has it been since we played a game with so many notable errors and still manage to win the game?
Maybe a secondary poll should be "who was the hustle man of the game?"
It's all in good fun... I don't think Brick meant to make it as a shot against the team, just pointing out the obvious. Trust me, other than VF you won't find many others happier with the team effort than Brick. We can be happy and excited while being realists. Facts like Tyreke still learning the PG position and not forcing, JT looking and playing like he's on speed and not having anybody to cover Durant are just plain facts... not hating the team but you don't solve anything by overlooking it
I agree with you on the rollercoaster emotion. Here's how I look at it though. He scored 21 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, and yet, everyone can see that he can play better than he did. He's only in his second year. When he starts removing his mistakes, he could become scarey.
By the way, did anyone notice the smile on coachie's face last night?
By the way, did anyone notice the smile on coachie's face last night?
K
I saw that smile. He was proud of these guys. I am too.
JT has some great hands. I think he is almost in the same mold as Webb. I think Petrie drafted JT to be the next Webb, with a smaller ego and higher work ethic, just not as polished coming into the league. In JT's 5th year in the league he is going to be pushing All Star status. I guess the bigger question is who will make it first, Martin, Reke or JT? That sounds like a good poll. Who will the next All Star be? Because it will be someone from this squad, bank that noise.
JT has some great hands. I think he is almost in the same mold as Webb. I think Petrie drafted JT to be the next Webb, with a smaller ego and higher work ethic, just not as polished coming into the league. In JT's 5th year in the league he is going to be pushing All Star status. I guess the bigger question is who will make it first, Martin, Reke or JT? That sounds like a good poll. Who will the next All Star be? Because it will be someone from this squad, bank that noise.
K
BTW, Westphal gets a freaking A+++++. His timeouts are pearl, Adelman would always wait to try to let his guys come out of the funk until he called a timeout and usually it was too late when he did. As SOON as the other team starts showing some sort of momentum Westphal cuts that noise with a timeout to regroup his guys. His timeouts are ****ing PEARL.
I really didn't take it as negative. Overly objective maybe, but still pointing out that we won despite some very bad play at times. Call it a backhanded compliment if you will. Or, look at it as, think how much better we can be. I actually detect a lot of enthusiasm in Bricky.. And it takes a lot to get him enthused..
Evans ( B+ ) -- another tough grade, because you know what? I think if you asked the kid he would tell you he didn't play that well tonight (or not, having just seen his post game remarks ). And truth be told I have a sneaking suspicion that as things go along we're going to find out that's true, that this is his B game, or even B- game. But the last King to be able to put up 20-8-8 and get B- type grades was a near HOFer with a big smile and a supermodel for a girlfriend, and Reke isn't quite there yet. Yet. Was turned into a spectator in the early going by the Beno express and took his first break with almost no numbers of any kind. But upon returning and being given the greenlight with the ball it was a whole different story -- a recurring pattern actually. Wonder if he is a guy who just feels his way into games and then cranks it up after getting comfortable? Of course being guarded by Kevin Ollie for a brief stint helped -- immediately established good post position and went at him, but blew the layup -- would be a gamelong pattern as the finishing problems reemerged for the evening. Then just killed Ollie off the dribble and chased him from the game. Grabbed a defensive board and made the running fullcourt pass to Greene for the big dunk and it was that same tantalizing package of do everything skills on display out there. But this time out it was always mixed with a bit of slop, and the game felt more like the game of a talented rooke than the polished gem he threw at Deron. Turned it over to close the first when he thought it was a foul up top and hit the ground. Hit a nifty jumper against the clock, but Harden drew an offensive foul on him a few plays later when he got out of control on the speed break. Came back to just knife through the defense again for the layup and force a Thunder timeout. One good play, one force for much of the night. Got a breather then came back in for a third stint in the second quarter and immediately racked up three assists to Noc, Jason, and Spencer and looked as sharp in the PG skills areas as he has all season. Pulled the Kobe at the end of the second quarter, waving Hawes out of his way in the post so he could iso and blow by Sefalosha (after struggling a bit against Sefalosha's size in the early going -- another clue to the appropriate Reke backcourt partner -- somebody fullsized as an OG so the opponent can't just hide their PG on our "OG" like they did tonight. Ideally you want the opposing PG to have to guard Reke so he can pummel them. Tonight they hid Westbrook on Beno.) Got a little one on one selfish in the early third, missed some layups, and forced some things right into the teeth of the defense. Along the way Sefalaosha was the first guy thus far this season who looked like he could harass him, and came up with 3 steals and 4 blocks (which might be career highs -- Thabo is a defensive specialist, but he's never been a dominant defender and this might have been his career defensive game). When Reke returned for the 4th both Thompson and Donte were unable to convert on his passes, and then critically he picked up a quick 5th foul forcing us to rely on Beno down the stretch. Tried too hard to work the post in the final minutes of the 4th -- kept resulting in forced shots. But he was hustling on the glass and defensively -- especially loves to hit the defensive glass along the baseline and then race up fullcourt with the ball -- and all the offensive pressure was resulting in numerous trips to the line. Hit two clutch FTs with 3.5 seconds to go after Durant had hit a three to make the margin one, and while he still lacks the expereince and is forcing things, you can see already he has the potential to be one of those guys with absolutely no fear at the end of games.
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). And truth be told I have a sneaking suspicion that as things go along we're going to find out that's true, that this is his B game, or even B- game. But the last King to be able to put up 20-8-8 and get B- type grades was a near HOFer with a big smile and a supermodel for a girlfriend, and Reke isn't quite there yet. Yet. Was turned into a spectator in the early going by the Beno express and took his first break with almost no numbers of any kind. But upon returning and being given the greenlight with the ball it was a whole different story -- a recurring pattern actually. Wonder if he is a guy who just feels his way into games and then cranks it up after getting comfortable? Of course being guarded by Kevin Ollie for a brief stint helped -- immediately established good post position and went at him, but blew the layup -- would be a gamelong pattern as the finishing problems reemerged for the evening. Then just killed Ollie off the dribble and chased him from the game. Grabbed a defensive board and made the running fullcourt pass to Greene for the big dunk and it was that same tantalizing package of do everything skills on display out there. But this time out it was always mixed with a bit of slop, and the game felt more like the game of a talented rooke than the polished gem he threw at Deron. Turned it over to close the first when he thought it was a foul up top and hit the ground. Hit a nifty jumper against the clock, but Harden drew an offensive foul on him a few plays later when he got out of control on the speed break. Came back to just knife through the defense again for the layup and force a Thunder timeout. One good play, one force for much of the night. Got a breather then came back in for a third stint in the second quarter and immediately racked up three assists to Noc, Jason, and Spencer and looked as sharp in the PG skills areas as he has all season. Pulled the Kobe at the end of the second quarter, waving Hawes out of his way in the post so he could iso and blow by Sefalosha (after struggling a bit against Sefalosha's size in the early going -- another clue to the appropriate Reke backcourt partner -- somebody fullsized as an OG so the opponent can't just hide their PG on our "OG" like they did tonight. Ideally you want the opposing PG to have to guard Reke so he can pummel them. Tonight they hid Westbrook on Beno.) Got a little one on one selfish in the early third, missed some layups, and forced some things right into the teeth of the defense. Along the way Sefalaosha was the first guy thus far this season who looked like he could harass him, and came up with 3 steals and 4 blocks (which might be career highs -- Thabo is a defensive specialist, but he's never been a dominant defender and this might have been his career defensive game). When Reke returned for the 4th both Thompson and Donte were unable to convert on his passes, and then critically he picked up a quick 5th foul forcing us to rely on Beno down the stretch. Tried too hard to work the post in the final minutes of the 4th -- kept resulting in forced shots. But he was hustling on the glass and defensively -- especially loves to hit the defensive glass along the baseline and then race up fullcourt with the ball -- and all the offensive pressure was resulting in numerous trips to the line. Hit two clutch FTs with 3.5 seconds to go after Durant had hit a three to make the margin one, and while he still lacks the expereince and is forcing things, you can see already he has the potential to be one of those guys with absolutely no fear at the end of games.----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Evans ( B+ ) -- another tough grade, because you know what? I think if you asked the kid he would tell you he didn't play that well tonight (or not, having just seen his post game remarks ). And truth be told I have a sneaking suspicion that as things go along we're going to find out that's true, that this is his B game, or even B- game. But the last King to be able to put up 20-8-8 and get B- type grades was a near HOFer with a big smile and a supermodel for a girlfriend, and Reke isn't quite there yet. Yet. Was turned into a spectator in the early going by the Beno express and took his first break with almost no numbers of any kind. But upon returning and being given the greenlight with the ball it was a whole different story -- a recurring pattern actually. Wonder if he is a guy who just feels his way into games and then cranks it up after getting comfortable? Of course being guarded by Kevin Ollie for a brief stint helped -- immediately established good post position and went at him, but blew the layup -- would be a gamelong pattern as the finishing problems reemerged for the evening. Then just killed Ollie off the dribble and chased him from the game. Grabbed a defensive board and made the running fullcourt pass to Greene for the big dunk and it was that same tantalizing package of do everything skills on display out there. But this time out it was always mixed with a bit of slop, and the game felt more like the game of a talented rooke than the polished gem he threw at Deron. Turned it over to close the first when he thought it was a foul up top and hit the ground. Hit a nifty jumper against the clock, but Harden drew an offensive foul on him a few plays later when he got out of control on the speed break. Came back to just knife through the defense again for the layup and force a Thunder timeout. One good play, one force for much of the night. Got a breather then came back in for a third stint in the second quarter and immediately racked up three assists to Noc, Jason, and Spencer and looked as sharp in the PG skills areas as he has all season. Pulled the Kobe at the end of the second quarter, waving Hawes out of his way in the post so he could iso and blow by Sefalosha (after struggling a bit against Sefalosha's size in the early going -- another clue to the appropriate Reke backcourt partner -- somebody fullsized as an OG so the opponent can't just hide their PG on our "OG" like they did tonight. Ideally you want the opposing PG to have to guard Reke so he can pummel them. Tonight they hid Westbrook on Beno.) Got a little one on one selfish in the early third, missed some layups, and forced some things right into the teeth of the defense. Along the way Sefalaosha was the first guy thus far this season who looked like he could harass him, and came up with 3 steals and 4 blocks (which might be career highs -- Thabo is a defensive specialist, but he's never been a dominant defender and this might have been his career defensive game). When Reke returned for the 4th both Thompson and Donte were unable to convert on his passes, and then critically he picked up a quick 5th foul forcing us to rely on Beno down the stretch. Tried too hard to work the post in the final minutes of the 4th -- kept resulting in forced shots. But he was hustling on the glass and defensively -- especially loves to hit the defensive glass along the baseline and then race up fullcourt with the ball -- and all the offensive pressure was resulting in numerous trips to the line. Hit two clutch FTs with 3.5 seconds to go after Durant had hit a three to make the margin one, and while he still lacks the expereince and is forcing things, you can see already he has the potential to be one of those guys with absolutely no fear at the end of games.
). And truth be told I have a sneaking suspicion that as things go along we're going to find out that's true, that this is his B game, or even B- game. But the last King to be able to put up 20-8-8 and get B- type grades was a near HOFer with a big smile and a supermodel for a girlfriend, and Reke isn't quite there yet. Yet. Was turned into a spectator in the early going by the Beno express and took his first break with almost no numbers of any kind. But upon returning and being given the greenlight with the ball it was a whole different story -- a recurring pattern actually. Wonder if he is a guy who just feels his way into games and then cranks it up after getting comfortable? Of course being guarded by Kevin Ollie for a brief stint helped -- immediately established good post position and went at him, but blew the layup -- would be a gamelong pattern as the finishing problems reemerged for the evening. Then just killed Ollie off the dribble and chased him from the game. Grabbed a defensive board and made the running fullcourt pass to Greene for the big dunk and it was that same tantalizing package of do everything skills on display out there. But this time out it was always mixed with a bit of slop, and the game felt more like the game of a talented rooke than the polished gem he threw at Deron. Turned it over to close the first when he thought it was a foul up top and hit the ground. Hit a nifty jumper against the clock, but Harden drew an offensive foul on him a few plays later when he got out of control on the speed break. Came back to just knife through the defense again for the layup and force a Thunder timeout. One good play, one force for much of the night. Got a breather then came back in for a third stint in the second quarter and immediately racked up three assists to Noc, Jason, and Spencer and looked as sharp in the PG skills areas as he has all season. Pulled the Kobe at the end of the second quarter, waving Hawes out of his way in the post so he could iso and blow by Sefalosha (after struggling a bit against Sefalosha's size in the early going -- another clue to the appropriate Reke backcourt partner -- somebody fullsized as an OG so the opponent can't just hide their PG on our "OG" like they did tonight. Ideally you want the opposing PG to have to guard Reke so he can pummel them. Tonight they hid Westbrook on Beno.) Got a little one on one selfish in the early third, missed some layups, and forced some things right into the teeth of the defense. Along the way Sefalaosha was the first guy thus far this season who looked like he could harass him, and came up with 3 steals and 4 blocks (which might be career highs -- Thabo is a defensive specialist, but he's never been a dominant defender and this might have been his career defensive game). When Reke returned for the 4th both Thompson and Donte were unable to convert on his passes, and then critically he picked up a quick 5th foul forcing us to rely on Beno down the stretch. Tried too hard to work the post in the final minutes of the 4th -- kept resulting in forced shots. But he was hustling on the glass and defensively -- especially loves to hit the defensive glass along the baseline and then race up fullcourt with the ball -- and all the offensive pressure was resulting in numerous trips to the line. Hit two clutch FTs with 3.5 seconds to go after Durant had hit a three to make the margin one, and while he still lacks the expereince and is forcing things, you can see already he has the potential to be one of those guys with absolutely no fear at the end of games.
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