Kiwi Steve in the NBA #23: Rounding The Bend
BOX SCORES
at SAN ANTONIO SPURS (L 103-99):
37 MINS | 10 PTS (5/11 FG, 0/2 FT) | 13 REB | 1 AST | 2 TO | 3 PF
vs DENVER NUGGETS (L 126-125 OT):
34 MINS | 7 PTS (3/8 FG, 1/3 FT) | 10 REB | 5 AST | 4 STL | 1 PF
at NEW ORLEANS PELICANS (W 109-104):
36 MINS | 14 PTS (6/9 FG, 2/4 FT) | 10 REB | 1 AST | 1 BLK | 6 TO | 2 PF
vs GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS (L 111-107):
33 MINS | 7 PTS (3/6 FG, 1/6 FT) | 13 REB | 2 AST | 5 TO | 5 PF
NEXT WEEK
at HOUSTON ROCKETS, Sunday at 12.30pm (NZT)
at MIAMI HEAT, Tuesday at 11.30pm (NZT)
vs MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES, Thursday at 12..00pm (NZT)
at SAN ANTONIO SPURS
If you know the whereabouts of Kawhi Leonard then let the rest of the league know because that situation is murky as hell. In his prolonged absence the Spurs are in danger of potentially even missing the playoffs and ending one of the longest such streaks in sports. At least they still have LaMarcus Aldridge though, he played here despite hurting his knee in the previous game.
Very first possession of this one gave you a clue what we were in for. Paul George with the ball, looking for an opening, and it’s tipped from his grasp and before you know it the Spurs are down the floor for a Kyle Anderson dunk. There are limited options for San Antonio on offence and that’s only worse without Kawhi so the old ‘defence = offence’ strategy goes down well. The next bucket was another good inclination as LaMarcus Aldridge drilled a tough one over top of a tight challenge from Steven Adams. He’s a mechanical scorer, that bloke. This would be a difficult one.
Adams got on the board with a nice one-hander from a PG pass but then he missed a pair of free throws. Missed free throws are never his strong point but geez there were a few of them this week. Anyway, turnovers ensured the Thunder were always right in this, the Spurs getting sloppy with the ball, and it was 29-24 to OKC after one. No other points for Steve, who missed one hook shot that was tipped in by Russ and left the floor with two fouls. Quite like a bit of this, though…
The old fellas Tony Parker and Pau Gasol then helped SAS open the second on a 7-0 run and San Antonio led the rest of the way into the half. Adams only shot 1/4 in the frame while the Spurs dropped 35 on them. However the tables turned in the third, the Thunder outscoring them by seven to take the lead. This was definitely one of those defensive war of attritions and it seemed like Oklahoma City, getting some quality from George and Westbrook, had the firepower to make the decisive shots and run away with it.
But when it mattered most the Thunder could only shoot 27% for 18 points in the fourth quarter. Stifled instead of soaring. Steven Adams was pants with the ball in hand for large portions so lucky that’s not all he offers to this team and his rebounding was top shelf. Same with some of that defence, although you have to give credit to Aldridge when he made some hard ones. Nah, the Thunder just didn’t have the shooters on this day. Paul George was all over the highlights, with a bunch of plays coming directly from his supreme defence… until a steal and a fastbreak was spoiled at the rim when Danny Green chased him down with a magical block in the third quarter. Before that moment he’d been at 5/13 from the field. After he made just one of his next six.
Still, it was PG who made three huge free throws to get the Thunder back within one after Adams had dunked on the follow-up from a Westbrook miss to reduce the deficit. Aldridge responded with his own dunk, bouncing off Stevie’s body check and gliding past him to the rim, and then Russ turned it over. Adams hauled in a massive rebound from an LA brick only for Russ to airball a three with 14 seconds left. Paul George’s 27-footer with 8.7 on the clock was cancelled out by a pair of Manu Ginobili FTs, as if he was ever going to miss. Spurs won 103-99.
Steven Adams: “They sell out on the paint, this team. The big man is back so they’re already one step in between me and one step to the ball. They’ve always played like that. Tim Duncan was really good at that. These guys do the same, playing right in that sweet spot in between. The weakside on their part was pretty on point.”
Paul George had one of his better ones shooting 9/20 for 26 points with 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals. Good for him. Westbrook scored 19 points and had 11 rebounds but also 7 turnovers. A shell-shocked Carmelo Anthony, after last week’s struggles, only took six shots on his way to 9 points. Adams had 10p & 13r. Elsewhere LaMarcus Aldridge’s 26 points and 11 rebounds were probably the top of the pops as the Spurs had many helping hands on deck with smaller contributions.
Thunderous Intentions Player Grades: STEVEN ADAMS (MEH)
“Uh-oh, could not help myself. I suppose you could also call this “Meh” grade a “C” or so. Adams had his usual double-double while shooting a solid percentage. He also seemed a step slow on defense. Maybe the Thunder are just tired right now? Not great timing with another playoff-hopeful opponent on deck. Adams had an ugly turnover late, but balanced it out with a nice hustle series with under two minutes to go. Adams was not bad in this one, but not good either. He will have his hands full again in the next one against Nikola Jokic.”
vs DENVER NUGGETS
It’s been an odd season for the Denver Nuggets. Living on the fringes of the playoffs when Paul Millsap returned from the wrist injury that cost him half the season… only for Millsap to kinda make them worse. Especially defensively, where this team just capitulated. That makes no sense at all if you know what Paul Millsap is like as a player but it turned out that was only a minor blip. A process of reintegration. It’s gotten easier as Millsap and Nikola Jokic have played more minutes together. Last time they played OKC it was a thriller won by a Gary Harris triple at the buzzer. Harris didn’t play this one… but Millsap did.
So did Jokic and he made himself known with a block on Steven Adams’ first shot attempt (he also missed the put-back) but Steve chucked one down at the rim next time up and when Melo made it rain on the pull-up soon after the Thunder were up 9-0 barely two minutes into this thing.
This was a weird game from Adams. After Millsap got himself on the board, Adams drew a foul on Jokic but missed both free throws. Then Millsap made a triple. Then Adams missed from 7-feet. Brewer and Millsap traded twos and then Adams was blocked again by The Joker. For whatever reason he just wasn’t effective on offence. Still a presence off the ball, of course, as you’d see when he pickpocketed Devin Harris for a steal, leading to a jump ball which he very obviously won against the veteran guard… but that’s 1/5 shooting and 0/2 from the line for one of the most clinical finishers in the league. Denver closed the quarter on a 6-0 run to be down only 28-27 after 1Q.
This was about when the game turned to arse for the Thunder, whose defence disappeared to allow the Nuggets to score 65 points in the middle two quarters. Lots of things to moan about. Adams wasn’t playing very well and OKC were out-boarded 58-50 in the game. The Nuggets were getting good looks and sinking shots. But the Thunder kept up with them until just before half-time, hitting their three pointers, and it wasn’t until a sloppy start to the third that it slipped away from them. Jokic and Millsap scored Denver’s first 13 points of the 3Q and Denver had a double-digit lead. Probably not the best sign that Denver outscored OKC 68-40 in the paint in this game.
Adams sat with Oklahoma City down 15 points. When we next saw him out there they were up three. What changed? The bench, mate. Jerami Grant was superb and Ray Felton was making plays. Add in some staggered Westbrook and George and the Thunder began the fourth by scoring the first 10 points on the way to a 25-7 run. It was one thing to see Adams held out for the benefit of the hot hands but Carmelo Anthony, poor beleaguered Carmelo Anthony with his questionable clutch shooting lately, didn’t see the floor in the entire fourth quarter. It later emerged that he’d offered to sit it out with Grant doing what he was doing. Adams had the same tendency, less surprisingly.
A three from Grant had OKC up by six with two minutes left. Westbrook had his fingerprints all over this game with a huge stat line… but his shooting was dead average and two missed FGs and it was 110-all. Steven Adams got to the line and made one of two for the lead, the second rebounded by Paul George and leading to a Westbrook bucket and a three point lead with 25.4 seconds remaining. Gotta clinch it from there… nope. George missed a free throw and Will Barton tied it up with 9.0 on the clock. Westbrook missed a triple at the end and we were off to overtime.
Both these teams needed this win for seedings but the Nuggets needed it a little more. Melo and Adams played the bulk of OT but the Thunder found themselves on the wrong end of a close one, missing a few looks that might have given them control of it. Most notably was Mason Plumlee’s block on Jerami Grant’s layup with 6.7 seconds left, Grant shooting for the lead. Instead Millsap made free throws for a three-point lead and Paul George was fouled. He made the first, missed the second on purpose… but jumped early for a lane violation. Alex Abrines hit a triple at the buzzer but it was too late, Nuggets win 126-125.
It was a season-high 36 points for Millsap, who also had 9 rebounds and shot at 13 of 18 from the field. Ably assisted by Nik Jokic and his 23p/16r/6a. Will Barton also scored 18 as DEN shot 52.1% for the game. OKC actually shot better from deep (20/44) than they did overall, with Anthony hitting 5/10 3pt and Westbrook 4/9. Russ ended up with 33p-9r-13a but shot a mere 12/32. Melo scored 23 points and Grant added 16. Paul George shot 4/12 for 13 points and Adams 3/8 for 7 points.
Thunderous Intentions Player Grades: STEVEN ADAMS (C-)
“This one hurts. Adams (7-10-5, 4 steals) was not himself in this game. If I didn’t know any better, and I do not, I would think he’s struggling with some sort of core injury. He showed little explosiveness around the basket, getting his shot blocked multiple times by the ground-bound but long-armed Jokic. He dropped several passes, and he shot 3-8 from the field and 1-4 from the line. Adams is either the Thunder’s second or third best player. While he was still solid on defense, they will not win games when he plays like this on offense.”
at NEW ORLEANS PELICANS
Okay, three losses in a row at this pressurised time of the season doesn’t look good. Especially with a playoffs spot far from assured. So when Anthony Davis and his Pelicans hosted the Oklahoma City Thunder there were some sweaty palms.
Doubt that Steven Adams noticed any of that, he was too busy trying to do his job. Then again, gotta keep it one hundy here and admit that he was far from immune as a cause. Two poor games in a row by his standard, failing to step it up when they needed him. LaMarcus Aldridge and Nikola Jokic are bloody tough tasks but he’s done it before and he’ll need to do it again if OKC are gonna do anything in the playoffs. Hey and Anthony Davis doesn’t exactly mean for a day off either.
So boom, how about that!? Getting up there to block Davis’ shot on the first play of the game, an immediate impact on this game. The Great Funaki then went on to score the first five points for Oklahoma City – even converting an and-one! He made a free throw! Lovely stuff. Melo and PG then jumped in on the fun and it was 15-9 to the Thunder bright and early.
What you then don’t want is a complete six minute stretch without a point yet that’s what the Thunder got. It was only some late Paul George action that had them down 28-20 at the quarter, the whole game fallen off its axis all of a sudden. Shout out to that Paul George guy though, he burst out of the gates with 11 points in the first two minutes of the 2Q and she was all on again. Up by six when Adams came back in and he added a couple points at the end of the half to pad the lead back to 53-50.
The Thunder’s led evaporated mid-third thanks to E'Twaun Moore and the game was locked at 63-all. It was the closest the Pellies got to the lead again. OKC got the next nine points, including another Adams three-point play, and – fast-forward – when Adams scored with 4:22 left in the game they were up by 10. Anthony Davis made sure the Pelicans kept it interesting but New Orleans couldn’t make the big shots in the final minute and went down 109-104. How about that for a professional win for Oklahoma City? Just what the doctor ordered.
Easily the best game that Adams played this week, although the six turnovers weren’t ideal. Elsewhere George added 27 and Westbrook 26 (after going scoreless in the 1Q), Rusty also completing another triple-double. Anthony Davis scored 25 points with 11 rebounds however he had to do a bit of that damage at the free throw line. Decent work on him defensively from Adams – Davis had scored at least 36 in his last three games vs OKC.
Daily Thunder: “Steven Adams notched his 28th double-double of the season against the Pelicans, scoring 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting. While he was effective on the offensive end, his biggest contribution was making life difficult for Anthony Davis. He fought through screens, played physical, and had Davis off of his game enough for OKC to take advantage.”
Thunderous Intentions Player Grades: STEVEN ADAMS (A-)
“The Big Kiwi had one of the toughest assignments he gets all season tonight in a matchup against Anthony Davis, holding him to 25 points and 11 rebounds. Is it strange to use the verbiage “held to” in my previous sentence? Sure, but as any NBA fan knows, Davis is capable of ripping you up for a lot more, and any time you hold him to less than his averages, you breathe a sigh of relief. He also kept him off the offensive glass, holding him to three offensive rebounds while also recording a double-double of his own. I’d say that relatively speaking and in the context of his All-NBA competitor, that was a great night for the big guy.”
vs GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS
The Thunder have a solid record against the Warriors this season, making that seventh seed a little sexier than it has any right to be. Already beaten them twice and Steph Curry is out until probably the second round of the playoffs. That’s relevant for two reasons. One being this game here, going up against a weakened Dubs side at home, and two being a ruthless last dozen games for OKC which had already seen them go 2-5 before the Warriors came to town and with trips to Houston and then Miami to follow (then a sitter at home against tanking Memphis to close). Seeding in the West is so close and the Thunder could still realistically finish anywhere between fourth and ninth.
As well as Steph Curry being out, the Warriors were also missing Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston, Kevon Looney, Patrick McCaw and Omri Casspi. Lots of injuries leaving a vulnerable team behind them but one dude who wasn’t missing was Kevin Durant. Up against his old team in that familiar arena… and hey check it, he’s been chatting about Steven Adams.
Kevin Durant: “The long hair and the beard and all of that stuff didn’t show up until later, but the physicality and the bruiser was there since Day One. The look kind of grew with his play a little bit. Definitely looks the part now and plays the part.”
Daaaaaay Onez.
In case you’ve forgotten, Russell Westbrook hates the Warriors. Like, hates them with all his heart. And he came out early chucking in eurosteps and driving hard to the hoop, looking to make a statement. Which he did, OKC going up 7-0 on a sharp run. The third bucket was a slick triple from Paul George after Adams had comfortably rebounded a Melo miss. Wasn’t a bugger within arm’s length to challenge him. Steve Kerr started Zaza Pachulia specifically for the matchup with Steve but Adams was easily winning the physical battles against a team he’s averaged 14.0 pts and 9.7 rebs while shooting 65.4% against in three games this season.
The Thunder led the whole way through the first but never pulled away. Kevin Durant was able to keep it ticking over by getting to the line while JaVale McGee came in and scored a couple strong ones from close range (like Zaza wasn’t able to do). Don’t worry, Steve got him back bad (check the end of the paragraph). Billy Donovan wasn’t taking chances and he left Westbrook in there for ten minutes before he had a break and Adams and Anthony didn’t grab a towel until 1:37 to play in the first (on an Adams loose ball foul). 27-24 to OKC after 1Q. 10 points for PG13 in the frame and 15 for KD.
Weakened though the Warriors may have been, that bench still has some firepower and they started the second on a 10-1 run to take their first lead of the contest. It was 37-31 to GSW when Adams returned to the court. Not a lot from him either, possibly a little gassed after a long spell in the first, plus he was battling not to concede that third personal… which eventually he did, an offensive foul and he sat out the last 32 seconds of the half. One nice bucket from old mate Russ’ assist but he missed a couple attempts as well. Meanwhile that bastard Kevin Durant went boom, bop, bam at the end of the half to make it 57-47 at the break, KD with 24 points now – Russ with 18p & 8r. That’s the difference between a team that’s shooting 54% and a team that’s shooting 33%.
Steve gave up a tech for arguing a travel call, the second travel he’d been called for in a few minutes although it didn’t really look like he’d said anything aggressive. Maybe it was the accent. Anyway, into that dangerous third quarter against the Dubs it was a 12-point deficit when the Thunder sparked off a sweet little run, largely down to Westbrook, and we were all tied up at 76-all. Not much sign of Steven Adams adding to that points tally but when Westbrook’s going off like this it’s best to let him keep shooting his shot. A pull-up three took him up to 35 points already and OKC had their first lead since the start of the second quarter, up 81-80. He had 17 in the 3Q alone.
Tell you what Stevie did do was he took a mean hit from McGee which left him on the ground looking noticeably pained. That hip again, although not the same one he hurt the other week. He missed two more free throws and then got called for a foul at the other end. He went back into the locker room after that… although he was out loosening up on the bike as the fourth quarter began, OKC down 84-81.
The Warriors defence, especially late in games, is about as good as it gets but that wasn’t what did the Thunder in here. Oklahoma City played quite well, moving the ball around nicely and getting good shots up… they simply missed too many of them. Coupled with the other end where they couldn’t get the clamps on the Warriors and they never quite managed to catch them.
Steven Adams came back in for the last five minutes and was a rebounding machine. Problem was he’d already missed five of his six free throws. Paul George, who had started so well, only ended up with 20 points on 5/19 shooting. Carmelo Anthony shot 4/16 for 12 points. Just 14 points off the bench. Hell, if it wasn’t for Russell Westbrook scoring 44 points on 15/26 shooting with 16 points and 6 assists (would’ve been much more than 6 with better shooting from his buddies), OKC might not have even gotten close. As it was they dropped this one 111-107 and were left panicking about other results. Westbrook deserved better from every one of his teammates after that effort.
Durant scored 24 points and Klay Thompson 20 points. Neither shot especially well but each did more than enough. Draymond Green didn’t make a field goal and only scored 5 pints but he had 8 assists. All five GSW subs made at least three field goals. Oh well.
The Playoff Picture
On the same day as the Thunder dropped that game to the Warriors, dropping to 45-34 on the season, the Utah Jazz also beat the Indiana Pacers to jump above OKC and knock them down to sixth in the West. They were boosted by the San Antonio Spurs falling to the LA Clippers but then at the same time that keeps the Clippers in the race too, same with the Nuggets who won again.
It leaves the Thunder with a best-case scenario of 48-34 and a worst-case of 45-37. The Trail Blazers might have lost to the Mavericks on the same day but that doesn’t matter because they swept the series against the Thunder so OKC can now finish, at best, in the fourth seed. It’s unlikely that the Clippers can win all of their final four games but the Nuggets can still get to 47 wins, which’d make things very nervous for OKC. The Thunder should beat the Grizzlies. We’ll see how they go against Houston and Miami.
The good news is that the Timberwolves and Nuggets play twice so they can’t both win those games. The Spurs have now lost a twenty year streak of 50+ win seasons but should still make the playoffs. It’s all pretty complicated when there’s three wins between fourth and tenth.
Steven Adams: “Everyone is just trying to win. Everyone is trying to make the right play to win. In that moment, whatever that play is what it is. You have to live with that.”
SLAM DUNKS
Tulsa World: “This season, Adams is paid $22.5 million. He is one of 33 NBA players to be at or beyond that level of salary, and he now seems a lot more worthy of that big contract. In advance of Thursday’s assignment at San Antonio, Adams again has career-high averages of 14.1 points and 9.0 rebounds. Beyond the numbers, his toughness has been a constant during a Thunder season defined mostly by underachievement.”
Dime Magazine/Uproxx.com: “As for Adams, there aren’t many players who score as frequently and as efficiently as he does on rolls to the basket. Those possessions make up 24.1 percent of his scoring opportunities on the season and he ranks in the 75.9 percentile with 1.23 points per pick-and-roll possession. Even though he isn’t a threat to score outside of the paint, the Thunder have enough shooting to open up the basket for him to be the dunking machine he was in Kevin Durant’s last season in Oklahoma City. Adams also added a floater to his game last season for when defenders clog the paint, giving him the versatility he needs to score against almost any coverage.”
NBA.com: “Adams is not quite in the elite rim protector category but he has allowed opponents to shoot just 55.1 percent when he is the closest defender inside of six feet from the rim, against a league average of over 60 percent. In terms of anchoring Oklahoma City’s defence by securing possessions, he’s very effective at creating disruptive events. He’s fourth among all centers in loose balls recovered, deflections, and steals per game.”
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