Friday, November 2, 2012

League Pass Diaries: 11/1/12

Oklahoma City vs. San Antonio - For the first three quarters it looked like OKCs first game together and SAs second game together.  Both teams looked out of sync, but the Spurs were a little bit better.  Tim Duncan is still a beast.  Since he's never been athletic, I'm not sure he's lost much from a few years ago except stamina and durability.  He's still one of the best post help and one on one defenders in the league.  He still finishes inside better than 95% of the big men in the league, and you can still throw him the ball in the post and expect him to make a play.  The game picked up in the 4th when both teams went small.  Maynor/Westbrook/Martin/Durant/Ibaka has potential.  I think the number one thing OKC will miss with Harden is his decision making.  I'm not a Westbrook hater, I think he is who he is, but Russ made a lot more sense when he was splitting ball handling duties in the 4th with Harden.  What you have now is Westbrook taking on more responsibilities when it matters, and his questionable decisions become more of an issue.  He's going to win OKC a lot of games, but he may cost them some games too.  Also, of the three studs OKC had last year, Harden was the one guy who got other guys involved.  Durant can get buckets, but he's no creator, and the same can be said for Russ, but it was Harden who got Ibaka, Collison, and Perkins easy buckets.  Those big guys combined for 12 points last night.  I thought the combination of Kevin Martin and Maynor would make up for Harden, and they do a little bit.  I liked Kevin Martin out there with Durant and Westbrook.  He didn't have to force anything and his baskets come easy.  Maynor is a pass first guard, but he doesn't present the same problems Harden did.  He's not a threat to finish at the rim and he's not getting to any spot on the floor like Harden did.  Reggie Miller usually annoys me but he brought up a good point......."Who checks Ginobili when he's back?"

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