Quick Reaction: Thunder 119, Raptors 100

Raptors get destroyed by Thunder.

Oklahoma City119Final
Recap | Box Score
100Toronto
L. Scola 15 MIN | 0-3 FG | 0-1 3FG | 0-0 FT | 2 REB | 1 AST | 2 STL | 1 BLK | 1 TO | 0 PTS | -17 +/-

Take the slowest guy you ever known, shackle their legs together and attach a 90 pound rock on their back, then ask them to make a rotation. That’s what Scola looked like today against Ibaka and the ever-so-agile Adams. Didn’t help that his coach is about an hour late in recognizing that this isn’t the game for him. My favorite moment was when Westbrook blasted by him as he tried to defend in transition.

J. Valanciunas 27 MIN | 5-13 FG | 0-0 3FG | 0-0 FT | 10 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 10 PTS | -19 +/-

They went to him early against Adams and he was indecisive as ever, opting to hesitate, execute what looked like a dribble and then throw a pass back out to the wing which barely trickled through because he was going backward while passing. He did fare better on the offensive glass but who really gives a shit in a blowout.

K. Lowry 36 MIN | 4-14 FG | 2-8 3FG | 4-8 FT | 2 REB | 4 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 4 TO | 14 PTS | -19 +/-

Yeah, he’s nowhere close to Westbrook-level. Lowry looks slow, tried, and his legs aren’t in his shots, yet despite all that he remained our best option for points because he’s the only one who can generate something out of nothing, and we had nothing going on. Still played 36 minutes in a blowout. We just don’t learn.

D. DeRozan 34 MIN | 8-22 FG | 0-0 3FG | 3-3 FT | 2 REB | 5 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 19 PTS | -26 +/-

Do you enjoy DeRozan running into four defenders and throwing an awkward pass back out to Biyombo? If so, this game was for you. They iced him on the screens, didn’t concede fouls by keeping their arms straight on his pump-fakes, and cut off all passing lanes (which is easy in an offense that doesn’t move without the ball). They sagged off of him and since he doesn’t have a three, he played right into their hands trying to do too much and failed.

N. Powell 28 MIN | 7-13 FG | 4-7 3FG | 0-0 FT | 4 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 2 BLK | 0 TO | 18 PTS | -22 +/-

The Thunder had no problem leaving him open, and when they did, he knocked down a couple threes and missed a lot more. Worst of all, the spacing on the floor was so poor that even when he drove he was running into his own teammates (since he receives the ball off of a half-ass drive and that player stays put after the pass killing the spacing). Some nice shots, though. When’s Carroll coming back?

J. Thompson 4 MIN | 1-1 FG | 0-0 3FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 0 TO | 2 PTS | +4 +/-

Could’ve used him much earlier when Scola was getting crushed.

J. Johnson 16 MIN | 3-6 FG | 0-2 3FG | 0-0 FT | 5 REB | 4 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 6 PTS | +5 +/-

Threw a terrible pass in the backcourt which was picked off much to the disbelief of even the Thunder. The Thunder didn’t come within 8 feet of him on the perimeter and with good reason. Defensively, he’s not nearly as active as a man of his limited talents should be, and I dare say he’s got a touch of laziness about him while being apathetic of his status with the team since he’s off in the summer.

P. Patterson 29 MIN | 4-6 FG | 2-4 3FG | 3-3 FT | 3 REB | 1 AST | 1 STL | 2 BLK | 1 TO | 13 PTS | -6 +/-

I dig the threes, but he’s got to do more. With Ross out and our starting frontline rendered useless, you needed some help from your best scorer off the bench and he didn’t contribute nearly enough. His drive game reminds me of a YouTube video that’s heavily buffering.

L. Nogueira 3 MIN | 0-1 FG | 0-0 3FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 0 PTS | +4 +/-

We found Waldo.

B. Biyombo 18 MIN | 2-4 FG | 0-0 3FG | 3-5 FT | 7 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 0 TO | 7 PTS | -4 +/-

Only one to play any defense on the night and got rewarded with a couple blocks (had a lot of contests), and was the key reason of our good play in the second quarter. Unfortunately, by the time Casey put him back in the third, the game was out of reach.

D. Wright 3 MIN | 1-1 FG | 0-0 3FG | 2-3 FT | 0 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 4 PTS | +4 +/-

He couldn’t have been any worse than Lowry or Joseph checking Westbrook, guess we’ll never know.

C. Joseph 26 MIN | 3-9 FG | 0-2 3FG | 1-1 FT | 3 REB | 4 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 7 PTS | +1 +/-

Much like he did against Schroeder a couple weeks ago, tried to play aggressive against Westbrook who burned him with ease. His pick ‘n roll partners weren’t cutting it tonight, and the Thunder blocking all passing lanes effectively meant that when he did drive, he just pulled it back out, chewing up more time off the clock before passing it to DeRozan for a painful drive.

Dwane Casey

Horrible game management regarding Scola/JV. It became apparent early that they weren’t meant for this game, yet he chose to stick with them for way too long in the third, while OKC pulled away. It’s this sort of late reaction to in-game situations that scares the hell out of me. Even if you accept that the Thunder are the more talented team, they still move the ball, space the court, and are in greater sync with each other than the Raptors. Our offense looked laborious and our defense had no answer to their quick thinking and early shot-clock attacks. Also, way to log minutes for your two All-Stars in a blowout.

Four Things We Saw

  1. This is definitely not how you wanted to end the season. DeRozan and Lowry can’t get their offense going, with both looking lethargic and frustrated against defenses that know what to expect. At least Lowry has the step-back three as a get-out-of-jail card, not sure what DeRozan’s got (especially when the refs swallow the whistle).
  2. We need to start experimenting with starting lineup changes because if we face Indiana and Casey trots out JV and Scola, and keeps them out there for 6 minutes to start the game, we’ll be in a hole early. I really don’t get why we’re not “practicing” for some of the matchups we know we’ll see in the playoffs. I just want to face the Pistons because that way Casey doesn’t have to do much thinking in terms of matchups.
  3. Got out-assisted 29-19, which is to be expected given how we play, but the more concerning fact is DeRozan getting to the line only three times despite trying very hard to get fouled. This is more the type of whistle and defensive focus he’ll find in the playoffs, which makes me wonder how he’ll be able to generate efficient offense come the post-season.
  4. Any sensible defense will back off Luis Scola, James Johnson, Cory Joseph, and Norman Powell under any situation. This creates a real logjam in the middle, essentially creating a situation where the defense is playing zone while having excellent rebounding position.