Kiwi Steve in the NBA #17: Time For A Break
BOX SCORES
at LOS ANGELES LAKERS (L 106-81):
33 MINS | 13 PTS (4/11 FG, 5/8 FT) | 9 REB | 1 AST | 1 PF
vs MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES (W 110-92):
30 MINS | 9 PTS (4/8 FG, 1/5 FT) | 9 REB | 1 AST | 1 STL | 1 BLK | 1 TO | 5 PF
vs CLEVELAND CAVALIERS (L 120-112):
42 MINS | 22 PTS (8/12 FG, 6/10 FT) | 17 REB | 1 AST | 2 STL | 1 BLK | 1 TO | 3 PF
at MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES (W 121-114):
31 MINS | 11 PTS (4/9 FG, 3/5 FT) | 4 REB | 1 AST | 1 BLK | 2 TO | 5 PF
NEXT WEEK
All Star Weekend, baby. OKC plays next on Friday 23 Feb (NZT) against the Sacramento Kings, that one’s in Florida with a 4.00pm tip-off. Then a couple days later they get another dig at the Warriors.
at LOS ANGELES LAKERS
The NBA trade deadline passed a few hours before this game leaving the NBA world in a frenzy of reaction and conversation. The Thunder sat on their hands, Sam Presti having made his big moves before the season (although keep an eye out in the buyout market), but the Lakers were all up in it. In trading Larry Nance and Jordan Clarkson to the Cleveland Cavaliers, they not only banked Isaiah Thomas, Channing Frye and a first-round pick for 2018 but they also cleared the cap space to go after two max-deal free agents in the summer. Perfect business from LAL.
That also left the Thunder to play against an undermanned Lakers team, but any advantage they woulda gotten from the Lakers not yet having their new additions was spoiled by the recurring injuries to Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony that ruled them out of this contest. Not to mention that the Lakers are hot right now. Eight straight home wins coming in, 12 wins from 16 since early January (including against OKC less than a week earlier). Meanwhile the Thunder put out a starting five of: Felton, Heustis, George, Patterson & Adams. Yikes.
Initially the hope was that Steven Adams would go mental in the stats column. Gone are the two blokes that steal the most of his rebounds and without Russ & Melo’s scoring there would be pressure on Adams to chuck down some buckets. Only problem was you were also taking away the bloke who’s best at getting the ball in his hands.
Hence it ended up being more than five minutes into the contest before Kiwi Steve got a shot up and it was a put-back after Heustis had missed a layup. That score put them up 19-8 though, Paul George having logged 10 points already amidst a couple Ray Felton shots. Decent start, right? Sure it was. It was also about when things started to go wrong.
The Lakers closed the quarter on a 22-8 scoring run. Adams got blocked by old mate Brook Lopez and his shooting only got worse from there, having some struggles against a physical Lakers approach. They didn’t have to cover so many shooters so they were happy to collapse the defence and get at that offensive rebounding strength. Plus they didn’t have an issue with fouling Steve, given his free throw percentage versus his field goal percentage. Still had 7 offensive boards because there’s only so much you can do to limit the Funaki… but yeah. He got his shots, only they weren’t good ones.
NewsOK: “Life without Russell Westbrook isn't fun. Ask Steven Adams and the Thunder's offense. The Thunder had a tough enough time getting Adams clean looks against the Lakers earlier in the week at Chesapeake Energy Arena. It was even tougher with Westbrook sidelined for the first time this season Thursday with a sprained left ankle. The Thunder shot just 35.3 percent in the first half. George accounted for 22 of the Thunder's 46 points. Adams started just 2-of-9.”
Also, after the Andre Roberson injury and with OKC down two more starters here, the absolute last thing they needed was a Kiwi Steve knock. Thankfully he was back up and carried on after taking a second to recover himself following this instance:
When OKC didn’t make a sprint in the second, it quickly slipped away. Having gone into the half-time break down by six points they were then outscored 54-35 in the final two frames. Nick Collison got on the court in the third quarter, that’s all you need to know. The Lakers led by as many as 27 points in the fourth and cruised to a 106-81 victory.
29 points and 9 rebounds for Paul George, who shot 11/25 FG, but both Heustis and Patterson went scoreless, a combined 0/9. Alex Abrines was 1/6 from deep as well, the Thunder were 8/34 (23.5%) overall from 3pt range. Just a crap offensive night. On the other side, Kentavious Cladwell-Pope had 20 points, Julius Randle added 17, Brandon Ingram shot 8/11 for 19 points and Kyle Kuzma bagged 16 pts.
Thunderous Intentions Player Grades: STEVEN ADAMS (B-)
“This grade might seem a tad high, but “feed the big dog” should’ve been the mandate from the tip. For Adams not to get a shot until mid first quarter was ridiculous. His shot may not have been falling as much as Thunder fans would like but he still got to the line eight times, scored 13 points and snared nine rebounds (with 7 offensive boards). Scary moment at start of third quarter when Ingram fouled Adams under the basket and his leg buckled under him. Adams sat in the paint for close to 30 seconds with his teammates gathering around him to make sure he was okay. Thankfully he was able to carry on, but that was a hold your breath moment.”
vs MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES
Still no Russ or Melo. But Oklahoma City were at least back at home against another lottery team so time to make the necessary adjustments and all that coach-speak. Alex Abrines came in to start ahead of Josh Heustis and there you go.
Paul George was great against the Lakers but he had to do it all himself. He was again great against the Grizzlies and this time he had some help. Adams got the first shot of the game for OKC. He was blocked and then rebounded it and was blocked again. Next thing the Thunder are down 6-0 and scoreless for more than two and a half mins to begin this bugger. So Paul George went and made quick amends.
From 8-2 down, they went on a 33-10 run over the rest of the first - pretty much the opposite of the Lakers game. PG13 was setting the tone but Abrines and Felton made some shots as well, the Thunder constructing their plays in a way that better suited them without Russell Westbrook. You can get in bad habits when you’ve got a guy that can create offence in a flash and going hundies down the court after grabbing a defensive rebound. OKC only had 4 fast break points all game. However they also only turned the ball over 10 times in total.
The hoops didn’t stop in the second either. Jerami Grant got involved, as did Patrick Patterson. All the role players were stepping it up to cover for the missing MVP (and Melo too, don’t forget Melo). Not a lot of Steven Adams because the Thunder were drilling it from range and with Terrance Ferguson’s three pointer in the mid-fourth quarter, OKC tied their franchise record for triples in a game with 16… and then missed six in a row to close the thing. All goods, the damage was done.
Oklahoma City scored 74 points in the first half without two of their three top scorers. That’s insane. The Grizzlies obviously aren’t what they once were defensively but there are some solid players there still. None more so than Marc Gasol. Yet Gasol was a pretty unflattering 6/14 from the field for 18 point and 6 rebounds and he was still their best performer. Tyreke Evans, who’d been benched for all of February ahead of an expected traded that never happened, shot 3/11 for 12 points. JaMychal Green scored 14 points. Once the Thunder began the third quarter on a kick, the result was a foregone conclusion. 110-92 was the final.
Paul George had 33 points with five triples. Patterson had 14p/6r while Abrines made four threes for 16 points and Felton shot poorly but all the same ended with 14p/8a/6r. Only 9 points and 9 rebounds for Steven Adams. He had five fouls, so that limited him a bit, as well as missing four of his five free throws. But give him credit for his defensive work on Gasol. He was rough and relentless and did what the team needed him to do.
Just don’t try talk up Alex Abrines’ big game as a starter.
Right of response…
Thunderous Intentions Player Grades: STEVEN ADAMS (A-)
“I’m docking Adams because he fell one point and one rebound shy of a double-double. As usual, what he did doesn’t really show up in the boxscore. He rendered Marc Gasol pretty useless while providing his usual brand of bruiser basketball on the offensive end.”
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vs CLEVELAND CAVALIERS
Of course, it’s one thing to miss a couple games against non-playoff teams, it’s another to skip out on a clash with the reigning Eastern Conference champs. Westbrook and Anthony were good to go against the Cavs, ready to take a peek at what Koby Altman had done to this Cleveland roster at the trade deadline. Remember OKC annihilated these guys a couple weeks back, scoring 148 points just as the rot was setting in – this is almost a completely different team now. SIX players traded away!
It’s made the Cavs a whole lot better, don’t worry about that. Reinvigorated what had been a toxic environment… and reinvigorated The King as well. LeBron James made the most of that early with a few quick hoops after Steven Adams had made the first indentation on the scoreboard. Up against Tristan Thompson, a dude paid an exorbitant amount of money basically just to rebound, Adams was grabbing offensive boards left right and centre. Chuck another one of those and a free throw in there and Adams had half the Thunder’s points in a 10-7 lead.
At one point Adams missed a right-handed layup and then poked it in with his left before he’d even landed. Even the long floaters were sinking kindly. OKC had a 24-17 lead late-1Q and Steve had 11 of those points. Unfortunately they only made one more field goal that quarter and then JR Smith happened. Dude was 5/6 from deep in the first half, he ensured Cleveland got back in front, the lead getting up to 11 points in the second before Paul George went on a little run. At the half it was 52-47 to CLE, LeBron James with 16 points and Steven Adams with 15.
A little too close for comfort for LeBron because he then dropped a mean 17 points in the third (14 in the first five mins) to keep it all at arm’s length. Thing was, Westbrook came in kinda rusty. He and Anthony were dominating the shooting ahead of the form hand in George, although that levelled out in this second half a fair bit (final shot totals – CA 22, RW 19 & PG 19). Plus the role players that were so good against Memphis were anonymous here, Abrines, Patterson and Huestis combining for 0 points. Jerami Grant made some plays for his 14p/6r but that was all. Take out Paul George’s five trebles and the rest of the team was 6/22 from deep. The Cavs? Fourth straight game with at least 15 made triples – 16/36 all up. Hey but at least there was Steven Adams.
There was an incredible sequence mid-third when Adams tried to get inside on Thompson and drew the foul, sending him to the line. He’d made three outta four to begin and he made that fifth one… but missed the second. All goods, he offensively rebounded his own missed free throw. Set a screen or two and then got it back… fouled on the inlet pass. Back to the line where he made one and missed one with Anthony rebounding. He missed his shot but Adams rebounded it and was fouled again. Make the first, miss the second. Keep it up like that and the Cavs would never touch the ball again. Already it was part of a 14-5 run to close it right back up. But, alas, Melo tried to tip it in and it weren’t no good. JR Smith finally got his hands on the ball for the Cavs after four straight possessions.
Down 11 points with four minutes left it was gonna take a miracle. Paul George and Jerami Grant nearly made that miracle happen but not quite. A Melo three followed by a steal from Westbrook gave Abrines the chance to hit a three that’d make it a two-point difference with 15 seconds remaining… but he missed. And OKC lost. 120-112.
Adams put up some huge numbers but he wasn’t much of a factor in the fourth quarter. In his own words he “sucked” boxing out Larry Nance, who had six offensive boards in that final frame. Still, 22 points and 17 rebounds is a bloody big haul and it wasn’t his fault they were in the hole they found themselves in.
NewsOK: “Despite those shortcomings, Adams came up big for the Thunder. He had his ninth 20-point game of the season, and his rebounds were a season high. But Adams was 1 for 3 from the floor in the fourth quarter, and despite playing the entire period, he went without a fourth-quarter rebound.”
LeBron James ended up with 14/23 shooting for 37 points with 8 rebounds and 8 assists. Too good, mate. JR Smith added 18 points, new boys Rodney Hood and Josh Clarkson each had 14. The Cavs bench outscored OKC’s bench 51-20. There were 24 points for Melo but he needed 22 shots for them. Similar stories with the other two as PG shot 8/19 (25pts) and RW 7/19 (21pts).
Mate, but Steven Adams. How about them apples.
Daily Thunder: “Adams got off to a blistering start, scoring 11 points and grabbing 5 rebounds (all offensive) in the first quarter. He did so on 5/7 shooting and the Cavs looked completely incapable of slowing him down — a trend that continued all night. His 12 offensive rebounds is a new team-record and he was the best player on the floor tonight for OKC. The only problem? After scoring 15 points on 7/9 shooting in the first half, he only got three shots in the second half. Gotta keep feeding the big man”
Thunderous Intentions Player Grades: STEVEN ADAMS (A)
“Steven Adams was magnificent in this game. His blue-collar work ethic was unmatched and unquestionable. Adams consistently battled in the paint defensively and utilized the screen-and-roll offensively. Without Adams effort tonight, OKC wouldn’t have a chance in this game. The Big Kiwi scored 21 points and grabbed 17 rebounds (12 offensive). His game is evolving right before our eyes this season. He should be considered for the NBA’s most improved player award.”
at MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES
Oh look, these guys again. Last game before the All Star break. When Carmelo Anthony found out that Steven Adams had played 42 minutes the day before, he responded as thus:
“Damn. He played 42 minutes? Well, he’s got another 42 tomorrow. He’ll be all right. We’ve got a long break coming up, so he’ll be all right.”
That turned out to be off the money, but only because they didn’t need 42 minutes from him to earn the W against the Grizz. Given what happened a few days earlier when these teams played, given that Westbrook and Anthony didn’t play then but would here, you could say the blueprint was set: Three pointers and then more three pointers. For a quarter and a half the Grizzlies kept it close and then Paul George inspired the barrage, OKC suddenly up by 20 at HT after a 31-11 scoring run. PG13 was 5/6 from deep in the first half alone – which made it five games in a row with at least five triples.
George had 22 points at the main break but Westbrook also had 8 assists, so you know he was dishing it. When Russ is spreading the ball around then Steven Adams is gonna get his fair share of shots and while putting Adams up against Marc Gasol (a former NBA Defensive Player of the Year winner) is never going to be a better option for a shot than driving it in and kicking it out to an open Paul George or Carmelo Anthony, he still managed to match the 9 points he scored against Memphis last time within two quarters. That’s despite missing his first four shot attempts and turning the ball over twice in the opening nine minutes. He keeps splitting those free throws too, make one then miss one. But yeah, much better in the second – including an and-one dunk on Tyreke Evans… who never had a chance.
Oh and this sweet one too…
Funky moment early in the third, Adams flipped one up from a few feet only for the field goal to bounce back out… where Westbrook circled under the hoop and tipped it in on the rebound. Usually works the other way around between those two. Funaki didn’t play a lot in the third though, he was out of there with 8:40 yet to play after copping his fourth foul and Memphis began crawling back into it. Andrew Harrison was having a career night. Paul George finally disappeared on offence. But the Thunder seemed to have an answer to every little run. Like a thumping one-handed dunk from Russ, for example. Or a George steal and long pass to Patrick Patterson, sitting in at the five for Adams, for the layup.
Tell ya who was loving it?
Yup… Kyle Singler. (Sure, Steve too).
Except the Grizzlies didn’t go away. Along with Harrison’s treble threat, Tyreke Evans and Jarelle Martin were making hoops. Coming into the game on the wrong end of a back to back and with a big lead at the half, OKC got tired and, boom, Memphis were back within one. Luckily one point was as close as they could get. Threes for Ferguson and George helped ice it, then a massive triple for Melo with 25 seconds left did the rest (the 17th team triple – they finally broke that record!). OKC with juuuust enough scoring when it matted.
28 points for George with 6 reb & 4 ast. Westbrook packed the stats with 23p/15a/13r and Anthony had 19 points (7/18 shooting). 12’s each for Felton and Patterson off the bench as well. Kiwi Steve only had the 4 rebounds which is a rare low but then Marc Gasol only had 6 himself (with 10 points on 4/11 FG – but with 9 assists). Harrison scored 28 with a perfect 5/5 from deep and Evans scored 23 with 7 assists. Martin had 17 off the bench.
SLAM DUNKS
Shea Serrano/The Ringer: Disrespectful Dunk Index, Steven Adams on Jonas Valanciunas
“That’s Steven Adams letting Jonas Valanciunas know that New Zealand super does not fuck with Lithuania. Regarding the score of the Adams dunk, let’s go with 14/20 for Difficulty (he jumped from outside of the restricted zone and also he secretly dunked on DeMar DeRozan too), 19/20 for Dunker’s Reaction (he actually celebrated while headed up court, which is a thing that I didn’t even know Steven Adams knew how to do; it was like watching a buffalo play the harmonica), 10/20 for Defense (is anyone really afraid of Jonas Valanciunas?), 3/15 for Backstory (Steven Adams has no backstory with anyone or any place; he is a ghost of the wind), 5/5 for Dunk Cleanliness, and 15/20 for Reaction of Others. Total: The Steven Adams United Nations Dunk on Jonas Valanciunas was 66 percent disrespectful to Valanciunas.”
Larry Nance on Steven Adams: “He’s the strongest player in the league in my opinion, and it’s not close. With a guy like that, you just have to be active. It’s almost like a heavyweight, if he gets his hands on you, it’s a problem. But if you keep dancing around him you can do some damage, so all I was trying to do was dance around and be more active than him.”
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