BuzzerBeater Forums

OK, I'll just agree that the NBA is about as much a joke as baseball is a sport. And we can agree there?

Your personal attack aside:

Did you not want to continue a logical argument?
You agreed that the tool from the link you used could be cherry picked from. I also agree. as I see a team that went 73-9 that was 5th worse (barely.) practically top 5 in most points allowed in the paint by an opponents team. Let's not forget too, GS was 73-9 and often won by large margins. When you are up big, your opponents points in the paint go down, because now they are trying to hit 3s to come back more. The evidence of the increased jump shots they saw from other teams is the fact that GS had the most defensive rebounds per game of any team, despite not exactly having a Dwight Howard, Trsitan Thompson, Kenneth Faried, or any other super-rebounder You can think of or name. (I guess Varejo, if they bothered to use him for that). GS alsop in the bottom 10 in points off 2nd chance, despite being the best defensive rebounding team in the NBA---that's quite interesting is it not? Golden state was also in the bottom 10 (7th worst) In Fast Break points allowed. Now, this I feel is not so much due to their defense, it contributes, but this is a combination of them being a jump-shot team (longer rebounds) and not being as great defensively as you want to think.

You and I and everyone in the world can look at stats all we want. However, its not "stats" that tells the stroy, it's the "tape". As they say "They tape don't lie".

Maybe you and I are seeing different tape (somehow) when we watch GS. But I do not see the same defensive powerhouse you are suggesting. But yes. I can agree with you on the quoted segment here. And sir, keep the personal attacks at bay if you want to have an intelligent conversation with someone, or if you want someone to treat you with respect or as being an intelligent being, and not a petulant child that is throwing a temper tantrum because someone disagrees with you, or like your teacher says your fabricated story of a dragon flying down and pushing a kid when you pushed him is clearly not true.

:-)

Looking at the tape and not the stats. I saw a OKC team that buckled under the pressure vs golden state. Not because golden state was defending them well or anything, but because Golden State had better mental toughness than the thunder. I saw Westbrook and Durant forcing up bad shots, rather than taking time to find better shots, because on GS's offense, They kept hitting 3 after 3 after 3 after 3. And the pressure built up inside OKC that they needed to start hitting 3s as well.

Its unfair to say that GS is a bad defensive team. There are games when they loose focus and other teams light them up, but that happens to every team. Watch their defense in crunch time, when they need to get stops. They almost always get the stops they need. That's why they rarely loose close games. They actually had the best close-game record in the league. Watch their first regular season game against Clevaland or their road win against San Antonio. GS doesn't just win high scoring shootouts, they can win ugly, physical games and play excellent defense.

When OKC had them on the hooks, GS put the clamps on them. You say Westbrook and Durant were forcing up bad shots, which is true, but alot of that has to do with GS defense making it difficult for OKC to settle into their offense. And it wasn't just Westbrook and Durant, GS was shutting down the role players who had been killing them in the early part of the series. Guys like Adams, Roberson Waiters, who came up big in OKC's wins, were shut down in Game 7. GS held OKC to under 90 pts in Game 7, which was 20 below their season average.

I agree that these last two games, their defense has been poor, but you also have to remember that they're up against one of the greatest players of all time having maybe the best finals performances ever. I expect GS to bring their A game defensively in Game 7, but with Lebron playing this well, he could still light them up.

Very true... But at the same time. You mentioned Andre Roberson *had* lit them up.

Roberson should not be lighting up anyone... Roberson in college was a rebounder and defender, and in the NBA he doesn't even have as much going on for him in those regards as he did in college. Robersons not a guy who'd score 20+ that often.

I'd equate it to a Ben Wallace 20+ point game, sure it can happen, but its an outlier, and if it does happen its because you screwed up somewhere.

The "team defense" concept of GS is "let's get so far ahead from our shooting 3s, that we force other teams to change their gameplan".

That was my comment regarding their defense unless I am mistaken?

Does this say GS is a bad defense? no.
Does it say GS is a good defense? no.

It says, that their team concept of defense, is more revolved around the "pace of play" and "playing with the lead". I believe that the tape of their play supports this.