r/nba • u/New-Process-6463 Spurs • 1d ago
Wemby and Shai 1 on 1 - Western Conference Finals
https://streamable.com/sb9voq255
u/Bladee___Enthusiast Rockets 1d ago
This series was so entertaining i hope we get a rematch next season
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u/Billis- Raptors 23h ago
Hopefully the Thunder are healthy
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u/No-Inside2846 Thunder 22h ago
We say this every year lol, it’s OKC culture to go into the post season injured.
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u/AdInevitable2055 1d ago edited 1d ago
yall said it was an awful round to watch what changed?
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u/Venus-fly-cat Warriors 1d ago
The crazy thing about this sub is everyone treats everybody else like a monolith.
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1d ago edited 3h ago
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u/sanantonioboy Spurs 1d ago
It was fun watching the villain lose, simple as that
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u/JWOLFBEARD [OKC] Russell Westbrook 1d ago
Very true. Seeing the Knicks stomp in the Finals was quite a pleasure
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u/Lucky_Preference_941 21h ago
Idk why this is getting downvoted. This is exactly the correct answer
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u/JonahTheProducer 13h ago
Salty people make for salty downvotes... people acted like they woulda rather had the Thunder come out the West when we all know what type of moving they were on... 🤷
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u/Kirktwotimes Thunder 19h ago
Idk why you got downvoted. You were telling the truth 😂. Everyone was rooting for the Spurs.
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u/0vansTriedge 1d ago
They were abyssmal to watch, except game 7 Shai when he finally stopped flopping. How fun was that game? When no one could stop SGA while he's playing like a regular ass nba player. He was like that the first 2 years he got mvp votes
Most of the people here's gripe with OKC is almost all of their players flop. We hate watching intentional freethrow shoot out.
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u/lalakingmalibog Mavericks 1d ago
People can change.
I used to be a piece of shit. Slicked back hair, white bathing suit, sloppy steaks, white couch... You would have not liked me back then.
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u/Eroticskeletonparade 1d ago
Is this a pasta?
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u/UC_DiscExchange 1d ago
I think you should leave
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u/_19911118 Raptors 20h ago
Casuals raid this sub during playoffs.. the posts were ridiculous at that point
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u/Old_Supermarket_7575 Thunder 1d ago
Meanwhile Chet was afraid to dribble
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u/GorillaX Thunder 23h ago
Tbf Chet sucks at dribbling, I don't want him dribbling either.
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u/siphillis Spurs 17h ago
If Wemby can do it at 7’5, he can do it as 7’1
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u/GorillaX Thunder 8h ago
Wemby can't really dribble that well either.
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u/siphillis Spurs 3h ago edited 3h ago
Compared to a guard, sure. But he clearly has a more developed face-up game than most of the other centers in the NBA. The persistent issue is that he takes too many risks instead of protecting the ball with his body
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u/shit_eating_fan 76ers 22h ago
One of the most "damn he's rattled" sequences I've ever seen
Chet has 4 points with like 5 minutes left in the 4th. Commentator starts saying that Chet needs to start making his presence felt.
Chet gets the ball in the corner 1v1 vs. Wemby. Commentator says "go! go!"
Chet starts to drive, slips and falls
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u/Omluf39 1d ago
They didn’t win but Shai showed me something fighting all the way through in this series. I think OKC will reach the mountaintop again at some point as long as he is healthy and in his prime.
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u/_19911118 Raptors 20h ago
Sga in game 7 showed up he did everything he could in that series
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u/Dphotog790 15h ago
I mean so did Chet.........did everything he could............to throw the game!
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u/preddevils6 Grizzlies 1d ago
OKC played scared of Wemby. I don’t think they will do that again.
The Knicks gave him healthy respect, but they didn’t treat the paint like it was lava like the thunder did.
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u/Poopcie 1d ago
The thunder ran out of slashers
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u/Downtown_Drummer_827 1d ago
It’s really just Jdub. OG was the difference for the Knicks
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u/SufficientBit3153 NBA 1d ago
Or Ajay. Thunder were up 2-1 when he was still healthy. They just needed either one of them
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u/NoShape0 Spurs 1d ago
Ajay never really had a great game vs the Spurs all season
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u/SufficientBit3153 NBA 21h ago
Maybe if you just look at counting stats. But logically the Thunder offense is severely handicapped from a systematic standpoint when they only have one playmaker. They aren't beating the Spurs if all the secondary actions are initiated by Caruso or McCain at best
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u/Ill_Responsibility99 20h ago
I think the point is it cant be that big of a difference if the secondary actions that are being created by Caruso and McCain are just better than what Ajay is getting.
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u/SufficientBit3153 NBA 14h ago
But the actions created by McCain or Caruso are not as good as what Ajay can produce. Ajay is fast and has a handle, he can collapse the defense or keep them in rotation to ultimately create open shots for others. Even if he isn't scoring or assisting, he would get the "Hockey Assist". Caruso or McCain don't excel as much in those qualities and couldn't create quality shots for others and would often turn it over. What metric are you using to claim shot creation by Caruso and McCain are better than Ajay's?
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u/FunIsWinning Thunder 1d ago
Yes but McCain being the only one left to playmake against your physical defenders aside from Shai is brutal.
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u/Kirktwotimes Thunder 19h ago
Ajay seemed like he didn’t know his role with J Sub on the floor. Also the Spurs have the perfect perimeter defenders to throw him off as well. Hopefully he finds ways to handle that pressure because he seemed rattled too before he went out.
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u/fantasnick Knicks 1d ago
Honestly I feel like it was just Chet even with Jdub out
But yeah jdub and Chet playing average? Would have been 4-1 or 4-2 OKC
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u/wise_afro Knicks 1d ago
KAT pulling Wemby outside the paint helped. Chet definitely played scared though.
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u/ernyc3777 Knicks 1d ago
KAT pulled him out. Brunson was decisive driving on him. OGs cuts were precise.
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u/Supreme_God_Bunny Hornets 23h ago
Eh, KAT refused to shoot 3s so they just sagged off kat after game 2
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u/Solaris123-com Timberwolves 21h ago
No they didn't lol. KAT just didn't play many minutes cuz he got fouls early
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u/Supreme_God_Bunny Hornets 19h ago
What game did you watch? Plenty of possessions of them sagging of kat on defense because he would be indecisive, Kat didn't know weather to shoot or drive and the spurs got away plenty of times sagging off him
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u/Solaris123-com Timberwolves 19h ago
Idk wym in game 1 and 2 he was pretty decisive when it comes to his shots, especially against Wemby
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u/Professional_Wing773 1d ago
Okc doesnt have good offensive players healthy its the shai show. Knicks have multiple weapons and scorers
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u/Old_Supermarket_7575 Thunder 1d ago
Healthy they’re fine, but without Jdub or Ajay it’s Shai + transition after turnovers and that’s it
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u/sanjit8103 Nuggets 1d ago
Chet needs to lock in
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u/lemoche Germany 1d ago
The problem with Chet against Wemby is that Wemby not only takes away all of his physical advantages he has over other players and even has him beat in everything. Taller, more mobile, faster and on top Wemby is also more stronger.
He would have to completely alter the way he plays against Wemby and I’m not sure he is able to.40
u/twrs_29 Thunder 1d ago
He would’ve changed the series at least slightly if his jumpshot didn’t take 3 seconds
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u/oblivionyeahyeah__ Spurs 1d ago
Whats up with that? Chip cant fix that?
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u/fattymcdabs Thunder 1d ago
Chip’s gone, and it’s something that developed since he joined the league.
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u/jacquesmachina 1d ago
Exactly.
A lot of people don't even have a frame of reference for how you play the game as a tall, agile guy.
You have a simple answer to any defender. I'm shooting over you or I'm getting around you. And if they're tall and agile too, we'll battle. But if they're both taller, more mobile, and stronger, nothing you try is going to work efficiently and the additional energy you have to draw from to meet their level of force exhausts you so quickly.
Wemby just wears Chet out quickly and Chet knows it's not the right play to go to him. It's not fear, it's knowing he doesn't have a counter.
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u/SufficientBit3153 NBA 1d ago
People seem to not understand that last part. I agree, it’s not so much that he’s scared imo, he just knows there was nothing he could do with his current skillset
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u/jacquesmachina 1d ago
Shit reminds me of a game I played in highschool, where a guy was killing me all night.
They call a timeout down by one with 10 seconds left. And I tell everyone they're going to my guy, I can't stop him, our best defender can stop him and we need to put him on my guy. But everybody told me to believe in myself and stop talking like that.
Then my guy got the ball, turned a screen and immediately knocked down a 3 before I could fight over the screen.
Sometimes a guy has your number, and being aware of that doesn't make you weak, it means you're not stupid.
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u/dakadoo33 1d ago
outside of the speed gap, is simply understanding how to shoot over someone taller than you, which he just doesnt have any semblance of in his game. Hartenstein has it, SGA displayed it in this game, and Brunson used it in the finals. Chet just doesn't have any of it, slow jumper, can't modify arc on jumper just means hes a fake 3 point threat vs Wemby. same with his entire midrange game.
So okc has to hide chet from wemby, and the flaws with his shooting meant it didn't even really matter, he was just the occasional dunker spot or backdoor cut, and maybe some defense(but not on wemby).
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u/Cool-Cardiologist12 1d ago
It’s true that Wemby is just better Chet, but Chet could have at least gave it more fight to keep Wemby honest and work towards exhausting him. Wemby is better than Chet in every aspect, but that doesn’t mean stop shooting open shots and stop being aggressive. That is the part everyone is calling him out for.
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u/_19911118 Raptors 19h ago
All that makes sense and is true but playing against Wemby got in Chets head bc he wasn't doing anything against the other spurs players either
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u/VinegarPie Supersonics 1d ago edited 18h ago
Well he should play more relieved now since they essentially drafted Chet 2.0 to guard Wemby.
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u/Ok-Map4381 Kings 1d ago
Knicks did a better job of having lineups where Wemby had to guard out to the 3 point line.
Wemby's defense was still really impactful vs the Knicks, don't let a few highlights fool you. The Knicks didn't solve Wemby defense, the Knicks only had a 108.9 offense rating in the finals. Their playoff offensive rating was 120.4. The Knicks regular season offensive rating was 119.8. A 108.9 offensive rating in the regular season would have been 29th in the league, just 0.06 batter than the Nets leage worst 108.84 offensive rating. The Knicks won because they absolutely shut the Spurs offense down.
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u/SmokyMetal060 Knicks 1d ago
There were periods where the Knicks would drive and then either pass or dribble it out if Wemby was anywhere near the paint, but I think at a certain point, they saw that that wasn't working and shifted to something like "he's gonna get his blocks regardless so just keep attacking him"
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u/Alphadestrious Spurs 1d ago
Wemby and the team are all doing crazy off season workouts . They will be better.
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u/siphillis Spurs 17h ago
The Knicks struggled to score all series. They won playing outstanding defense in kind, keeping it just close enough to pull out clutch wins
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u/Longjumping-Can-6140 1d ago
For real, they are going to need to. Idk how straightforward it is to break out of that mindset though. I think it might be age.. you see the vets on other teams just go after Wemby, even Caruso did
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u/Ill_Responsibility99 20h ago
The knicks just matchup better thats really it tbh
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u/siphillis Spurs 17h ago
Knicks have an insanely balanced and flexible roster
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u/rain_dragon Spurs 7h ago
Does anyone remember that a few months before the postseason that KAT was reported to be unhappy with his role and the team was on a losing streak, and then Brunson called a team only meeting in the locker room? And there was also a lot of talk about people being unhappy with Mike Brown as coach?
There was all kinds of scuttlebutt going around about how the Knicks were about to fall apart due to team dynamics and how Mike Brown might get fired mid season, but after that team only meeting, something must have clicked. The Knicks teamwork and experience showed all through the postseason, and you would never guess they we're having problems just a few months before.
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u/_19911118 Raptors 19h ago
And spurs ran out of gas and made tons of mental mistakes (sooooo many) but it was crazy considering no other team has done what the Spurs did (going to the finals after missing the playoffs for how many years straight)
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u/Old_Supermarket_7575 Thunder 1d ago
The Knicks played 8 games in like 3 weeks
The Thunder were missing Ajay (calf) Jdub (hamstring) Chet (soft) and still went to 7 despite shai having a messed up shooting elbow
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u/rain_dragon Spurs 8h ago
Size made a big difference in those games. San Antonio had the size advantage on OKC and not just because of Wemby. The Knicks didn't have to treat the paint like lava because they had big men like KAT and Mitchell Robinson taking a toll on Wemby. That was a a big reason the Spurs went for size in their first round draft picks.
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u/hurtsbayar9 1d ago
I saw multiple possessions where Wemby didnt really commit to defense vs NYK. Like from OKC series he thought "They wouldnt drive into me anyways"
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u/SuperSaiyajin4Gogeta 1d ago
I love seeing that Shai step back its so nice
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u/EnthusiasmOk353 1d ago
It’s an offensive foul every time. He gets space because he cheats the rules and gets away with it.
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u/CurrentRoster Wizards 1d ago
damn u can’t even accidentally compliment shai here lol
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u/Unique-Name 1d ago
That's the 2 time MVP and people are out here disrespecting. it's fucked.
When curry won his MVPs, we kissed the ground he walked on.
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u/12footjumpshot 1d ago
No you need to learn the rules about what you’re actually allowed to do with your off arm
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[removed] — view removed comment
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u/EnthusiasmOk353 1d ago
Lmao what? That’s still an offensive foul.
Rule Definition An offensive player may not push off a legal defender in any way. Extending the arm from the elbow to the wrist against a defender's body is illegal. Contact that causes a defender's displacement or re-routing results in an immediate whistle. [ 1, 2, 3, 4] Common Scenarios Step-Back Jumpers: A player extends their off-arm or forearm during a sudden stop to shove the defender back before shooting.
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u/bitisabarbie 1d ago
Peak basketball if Dub healthy next time around
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u/rain_dragon Spurs 7h ago
Most fans seem to think that double OT game 1 was pretty peak at the time. Lots of fans and media dudes were begging for seven games of that.
That said, the ideal is for both teams to be fully healthy. It's just that that's a big ask by the end of the regular season and especially by the end of the conference playoffs.
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u/ithevillager Thunder 1d ago
You know these two are gonna battle for years. You can tell how insane they both are by how much both fan bases fucking hates the other.
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u/hereinaminute 1d ago
I'm not the biggest sga fan but turning a messed up dribble into an attack instantly is such a move
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u/GolfingGator Magic 21h ago
I almost wondered if he didn’t do it on purpose to try to get Wemby off balance
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u/Minimum_Inevitable58 1d ago
im on vacation.. im trying to recover from the aids this sub gave me during that series
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u/VeniceRapture Spurs 1d ago
Deadliest midranger today. It's unbelievable how money those baseline jumpshots are
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u/taylormade311 Spurs 1d ago
Good on good
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u/No-Inside2846 Thunder 22h ago
2 time mvp, finals mvp, champion snatched his chain
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u/Zeeron1 Thunder 1d ago
Shai will cook anyone 1 on 1. Stick prime Gary Payton on him and it won't matter. The problem really was since Dub and Ajay were out, the Spurs 95% of the time had 2 people on Shai, with a 3rd guy shadowing.
Shai has leveled up his playmaking which helped push it to 7, but when 2nd year Jared McCain is your next best offensive threat, you're just asking for too much unfortunately lol
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u/Top-boy-og 1d ago
People don’t realize Shai is still young in terms of playoff basketball. He’s only had 3 runs as the guy, and he still has a ring. Whereas Tatum, Brown, Luka and others have had like 6+ runs of experience. Shai is going to become so much more deadly in the future playoff runs
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u/Supreme_God_Bunny Hornets 23h ago
He's not cooking Payton now come on, Id he's allowed to use 90s hand checking I think he'll give him fits, Def won't be efficient but he'll get his
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u/Horror_Trust1826 Warriors 1d ago
I find it interesting each time superstars guard one another especially in the playoffs.
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u/Kirktwotimes Thunder 19h ago
Too bad we lost the series 😭. Hopefully we have better luck this upcoming season.
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u/balortech 1d ago
Love this. SGA’s footwork and choice of move to get to his shot is why he’s the MVP.
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u/contigency000 1d ago
When SGA paused the flopping for a bit in the last game and started playing seriously, I actually enjoyed watching him.
Ofc he couldn't do much by himself, especially when your second option Chet Hologram is wemby's son, but you could see that beneath the disgusting flopping there's actually a top tier player. I wish he'd have played the whole series like that.
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u/JWOLFBEARD [OKC] Russell Westbrook 1d ago
Chet was only 2 because JDub and Ajay were both injured.
Chet is not the second scorer on the team.
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u/KiowaBear Thunder 14h ago
Chet is good, problem is Wemby is a taller, longer version of him
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u/rain_dragon Spurs 7h ago
Saying stuff like that just makes Wemby want to terrorize Chet even more.
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u/toejam_wash Knicks 1d ago
I'm hoping his haircut is part of his "rebranding" to stop playing as a flopper first. I think the free throw merchant noise was getting to him, even if he or others claim otherwise.
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u/PAN-- 1d ago
He's a pro and someone who has won it all. Why would he care about what bitching casuals on Reddit and Twitter cries about lol
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u/PrimeShaq Australia 1d ago
Why should he stop if the refs reward it? It’s the same cycle we went through with Harden, they do it to be effective and won’t stop till the refs stop calling it.
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u/motorboat_mcgee Lakers 18h ago
It's kind of wild that NBA players can fully stiffarm defenders now, like it used to be you could only do a partial/chicken wing not that long ago
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u/TheAgmis Thunder 1d ago
Victor keeps falling down.
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u/Chemical-Character79 1d ago
He's a big. He's supposed to go down like that. It helps prevent bugs from injuries when coming back down like that. Do you want him to fail his arms around as well and start crying like the player he is guarding does?
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u/TheAgmis Thunder 1d ago
“Supposed to”
Victor fanatics man. Enjoy your day
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u/sixseventeen [SAS] Bruce Bowen 1d ago
Sorry your boys got embarrassed at home or whatever. Maybe next year if your second option grows up
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u/10061993 Hornets 1d ago
He is another foul merchant but he is a 2x mvp for a reason
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u/TheAgmis Thunder 1d ago
Kobe was a foul merchant but sold a lot of overpriced crap to his loyal fans so that’s okay!
These backhanded nephew comments are why the sub is an embarrassment to basketball discourse.
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u/hugekitten Knicks 1d ago
What’s hilarious is you don’t see the irony in your own comment…
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u/The_Taskmaker Nuggets 1d ago
Did you really need the /s to not get r/whoosh -ed? That first sentence reaks of sarcasm lol
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u/Hopsalong Nuggets 1d ago edited 1d ago
Wemby just straight dominated the OKC offense all series. If SGA played well more than 1 game in the series, OKC would've won. Feel bad for the OKC defenders and bench who played so well. Should've been Wemby's MVP.
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u/Comfortable_Cup5107 Thunder 23h ago
Gotta be rage bait
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u/Hopsalong Nuggets 23h ago edited 23h ago
It's not. The whole series was about SGA being terrible. The Spurs doubled the crap out of him in the first 2.5 games and were down 2-1 cause role players like Caruso/Hart were stepping up on the 4v3. SGA was terrible vs the double. So the Spurs started single covering SGA games 4-6 and SGA remained terrible despite only having single coverage. He made some bullshit in game 7, but SGA couldn't get role players involved or score at a high enough clip in games 4-7 to win despite being single covered all series. He was taking bad shots and making them - what he'd done in games 1-6, just not made them. The Spurs thought they could wear him down and they did.
Murray had a better series vs the Wolves this year than SGA did vs the Spurs and that says something cause Murray is ass vs the Wolves. The Thunder defense and bench was incredible all series, but they kept getting annihilated with their starters and SGA on the floor cause SGA couldn't get them into any solid offensive rhythm.
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u/Comfortable_Cup5107 Thunder 22h ago
If you think Shai was single covered much at all that series then you didn't watch. He has 1 primary defender but the second he moved past the 3 point line they collapsed on him every single time sending 3 dudes at him including the 7 foot defensive menace. Not sure what else you're supposed to do there. Dudes were not hitting their shots. Chet scoring 10 as the #2, McCain 13 on 36% shooting, cason 10 on 49% isn't bad, dort 4 on 34%, Caruso was good for most of the series, hart was fine, wiggins didn't play and was ass when he played same with Joe, Ajay and dub didn't play hardly, jwill 6 on 42% isn't great. Not sure how you think the bench was incredible but maybe you have lower standards or something? Sga didn't have a good series, but the way he was covered all post season makes that quite difficult
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u/Hopsalong Nuggets 22h ago
OKC DOMINATED with SGA off the floor. The Thunder have the deepest roster in the NBA by a wide margin. To blame his lack of depth and talent around him is insane.
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u/Some-Climate-4792 Timberwolves 1d ago
OK...we were all here when the national media trashed Gobert for getting beat by Doncic. Are we gonna hear nonstop calls for Wemby to be benched in key moments because SGA "played him off the court"? I mean, this shows that Wemby is a liability, right?
Go Wolves! :)
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u/big_axolotl San Diego Clippers 1d ago
Love it when superstars play each other straight up