Kiwi Steve in the NBA – March 2
It’s been a while since we’ve had the opportunity to add to the Complete List of People Ejected for Hitting Steven Adams. Maybe players are smarter, maybe Adams has his reputation in place. Maybe he’s just less of a pest now that he’s a starter doing quality things every night. But, jeez, Boogie Cousins came close.
Ho.. Ho… HOLD ME BACK!!!
Ah, Boogie. He’s a notoriously temperamental dude who is continually getting questioned for that despite his immense talent and the fact that as the best player on the Sacramento Kings, he’s never exactly been in a stable position. If you were taking odds on the next player to try smack Adams, DeMarcus Cousins will have been high on the list. Things aren’t easy for him. The Kings are a team with a brutal habit of shooting themselves in the foot so shout out to Boogie for showing the nous and the instant decision making to change his mind midway into what would have been a colossal swing. Like, Adams can take a hit and he probably wouldn’t throw one back. But Cousins is a powerful dude. Think immovable object vs unstoppable force. We may have dodged a global catastrophe there.
The niggle won’t get any lighter either because next up the Thunder play the Clippers, the NBA’s leaders in flops and moaning. They also happen to be playing great basketball, even without the injured Blake Griffin.
Box Scores
- at DAL (W 116-103): 25 MINS, 15 PTS (7/9 FG 1/3 FT), 7 REB, 2 BLK, 5 PF
- at NOP (L 119-123): 20 MINS, 8 PTS (4/6 FG), 5 REB, 1 AST, 1 BLK, 2 TO, 4 PF
- vs GSW (L 121-118 OT): 28 MINS, 10 PTS (4/6 FG, 2/6 FT), 9 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL, 3 TO, 2 PF
- at SAC (W 131-116): 14 MINS, 4 PTS (2/4 FG), 3 REB, 1 TO, 5 PF
We’ll start at the beginning, always an appropriate place. A very physical game for Adams, up against the Mavericks and another international centre who also doesn’t give an inch. Here, see, proof:
This was a game in which the Thunder were the better team for… oh, say 45 of the 48 minutes. They blew out to a quick lead as Dallas didn’t seem able to make a shot, 15-3 to OKC to begin it. The Mavs had one unguardable weapon to use, though, and it was Dirk Nowitzki. Anytime he could get in single coverage he was money, Saint Dirk would score a season high 33 for him, not bad for a 37 year old. But the rest of the Mavs starters were defended so well. Chandler Parsons, who has been resurgent lately, scored just 6 points.
The Mavs pulled it back to 74-71 in the third but then shot 3 of their next 18 shots. While that was happening, Steven Adams went and had one of the biggest quarters of his career, scoring 11 points in the third. The Thunder took an 87-81 lead into the fourth, a quarter in which the Mavs wouldn’t score until a Deron Williams layup with 6:52 to play. By then the lead was at 21 points. It felt pretty much done and dusted but that layup sparked another Dallas run.
With 4:00 to play the score was suddenly 105-97, which is about when you want Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook to each hit a three and that’s what they did, the Russ one coming after an Adams offensive rebound. Westbrook might not be thanking him though, the next play he fouled Dirk on the perimeter, pushing Dirk into Russ who copped an elbow to the back of the head. Adams capped his game off with a powerful dunk through foul contact for 15 points – a season high and only two points off tying a career high. (He missed the free throw).
The star of the game was Russell Westbrook. 24 points, 7 rebounds and 13 assists. Kevin Durant added 24 points of his own too. Having Andre Roberson back and newly acquired Randy Foye with their defence was a boost as well.
“Steven Adams in the third quarter: 11 points on 4-4 shooting. Big D had no answer for Big Kiwi.”
“Steven Adams had 9 points [sic] in the third quarter, which was a season high. The scores were a couple of lobs from KD and Foye, along with an offensive rebound putback. The rest of it was the usual Westbrook pick and roll stuff. Defensively, Adams didn't give Pachulia anything other than the pick and pop. Pachulia was held to 6 points, four under his season average. Lastly, Adams rim protection was invaluable as always. Close call at the end with Adams racking up 5 fouls, but a lot of those were questionable calls on offensive screens.”
“Oklahoma City’s front collectively played a great game. Serge Ibaka, Steven Adams, and Enes Kanter provided a combined 42 points and 24 rebounds on 18-of-30 shooting. Adams, in particular, was borderline unstoppable in the third quarter, catching bullet passes and finishing with authority. He scored 11 of his 15 points in the third frame.”
“Adams just destroyed Zaza Pachulia tonight, especially in the third. Beasted him in every way, both on the offensive glass and on the defensive end.”
A fine win for the Thunder, coming after losses to Indiana and Cleveland. Next up they swung by New Orleans for the second game of a back-to-back. It’s been a tough season for the Pelicans, who got a few outside contender nominations in the media before the season only for a crippling raft of injuries (and the cutting of Corey Webster, aye NZers?) to condemn them to… well right now they’re at 23-34 and five games out of the playoffs. Not great, although they came into this game just four days removed from Anthony Davis’ incredible 59 point/20 rebound performance in Detroit.
After a testing game against the Mavs (maybe not on the scoreboard that much but definitely in the energy stakes), the Thunder had a big drop-off in the Big Easy. Offensively they were good. Durant and Westbrook were superb and while the bench was borderline awful the team still shot 54% from the field. What got them was lazy defence.
The first quarter saw the Pelicans score 35 points. Guys like Ryan Andersen, Norris Cole and Jrue Holiday all shot well but Anthony Davis was the biggest match-up problem. Not the least for Steven Adams, who was probably the most zoned in defender of the lot of them but had the hardest job. For the most part he was able to keep AD from scoring in the paint but Davis happens to have an elite jumper too and he was getting that out of the post whenever he wanted. And beyond, in fact.
A few fouls and Adams sat down and in came Enes Kanter. We said Adams wasn’t the least challenged by Davis, he also wasn’t the most. That would be Kanter who was awful here and couldn’t hardly score either – just 8 points despite being the dude meant to lead that second unit. (On that note, Coach Donovan has started staggering KD & Russ a bit more, which should help). The Pelicans led at the end of every quarter.
With three minutes left on the clock the Thunder trailed by 12. With 13 seconds left the Thunder trailed by two. Russ/KD went insane in the final few minutes to almost salvage this one despite the mess around them but it wouldn’t be enough. Anthony Davis made his free throws, the Pelicans won by 4.
“Steven Adams only played 20 minutes. I was pretty stunned it was that few. He didn’t do as well on Anthony Davis tonight, but 20 minutes doesn’t feel like enough.”
WTLC:
“Steven Adams primarily spent his time guarding Anthony Davis. When it came to protecting the rim, Adams succeeded every single time. But Davis was able to evade Adams for jumpshots more than half the time, due to his superior quickness. Still, Adams had a big effect on the overall game. I counted nine defensive stops due to a shot that Adams was guarding, and only two defensive plays where I felt like Adams messed up. Most of the stops were directly on AD, but Adams had a couple of nice rim protections on drives as well. Offensively, Adams had a couple of opportunistic baskets under the rim, as well as a long flip shot. Adams flip shot is seriously good.”
Might have to put the no-looker from the free throw line back in his locker though…
Russ would score 44 against the Pels and Durant 32p and 14p, however only Serge Ibaka (15) joined them in double figures. As ESPN Stats & Info point out, perhaps there’s a pattern emerging here:
The Thunder then hosted the champions Golden State Warriors. The far and away best team in the NBA (with all due respect to the Spurs who are as immaculate as always themselves) and the barrier that all Western teams are gonna have to get through. This was a big game for the Thunder to make a statement and the first quarter it was nearly perfect. Up 30-20 after one. Big effort and good rebounding, that’s a fine recipe.
Compared to last game, every OKC starter (plus Kanter on the bench) would make double figures. They were able to hold that lead steady into half time. The rebounding deficit was getting crazy, it would finish 62-32 in OKC’s line, that’s straight insanity. Plus the defence was back on track and there were contributions all around – including great nights, as always, from Westbrook and Durant. Heywhaddayaknow? It was enough for Draymond Green to let off a sweary, passionate tirade in the locker room at the break. Apparently he threatened not to bother shooting at all in the second half because of the way he wasn’t getting given shots in the first. Dunno what really happened, but he did apologise and would go on to log one of the weirder stat lines in a while:
- Green vs OKC: 2 PTS (0/8 FG), 14 REB, 14 AST, 6 STL, 4 BLK
Meanwhile Steph Curry’s three point shooting and Klay Thompson’s too were keeping the Warriors hovering around, as they always do. When you’ve only lost five games at this stage of the season, we all know you’re a tough team to beat. Steph just kept hitting threes.
Less than five minutes in the game and the Thunder were up by 11 points. But the Warriors were into their Death Ball Lineup, playing small and unguardable. Adams found himself playing crunch minutes against a team with Draymond at the 5, a player with the ability to defend every position and the offensive skills to play anywhere except maybe point guard. Maybe. Not that it matters against a physical centre like Adams. He put up a fine game against the champs but, well let’s let Anthony Slater of NewsOKC take this one:
“Of late, Adams has been great, providing a sturdy defensive back-line while finishing layups and dunks with more consistency. He had 10 points and nine rebounds in his 28 minutes on Saturday. But in his final 136 seconds, Adams was out of his element.
From the 4:37 mark of the fourth to the 2:21 mark, Donovan kept Adams and Ibaka in together against that small-ball unit. The Warriors quickly blasted off a 7-0 run to get back in the game. Adams was assigned Iguodala. The Warriors recognized it and attacked Adams with Curry and Iguodala in a pick-and-roll. Curry got the big man on a switch and hit the ninth of his 12 3s.
Right after, Donovan subbed in Dion Waiters for Adams, going small and ceding to the Warriors style.”
Yeah so things got messy against the best team in the league and on the back of Steph Curry they forced the game into a thrilling overtime. Durant had been so, so good but he turned it over stupidly with 20 seconds left and then fouled Andre Iguodala who tied it up at the line for OT. Durant would then foul out 38 seconds into the extra period. Instead of going big with Adams though, Donovan put in Kyle Singler. Hardly an inspiring choice but that’s the thing with the Warriors – you go big and they run and pass circles around you. You match them small and, well, you can’t match them small. They’re too good.
But Westbrook stepped up. He had them leading for most of OT even if he did commit a silly foul late on for an And-One that tied the game at 118. This wasn’t Westbrook’s fault though. Westbrook was brilliant, he had 26 points, 13 assists and 7 rebounds. Durant had 37 points and 12 rebounds.
Steph Curry? He had 46 points. That includes a NBA record-tying 12 three pointers, also breaking his own record for made threes in a season in the process. There’s a quarter of the season still to go, by the way. Nobody else in the NBA can do that. Nobody else in the NBA can do this:
Steph Curry for the win. OKC lose their fourth of five but they did show they can foot it with the best as they did, there’s confidence to be taken from that one. Steve, though, he only played nine seconds of overtime. Got a good view of that game-winner, granted.
By the way, this video is fake. But it’s also very funny.
WTLC:
“Steven Adams really faded into the background today, despite some nice moments. I remember clearly Adams hook over Andrew Bogut, his nice finish on the pick and roll, as well as his won overtime tip that got Westbrook to the rim. But Adams didn't get crunch time minutes, nor did he get overtime minutes. Curry was putting Adams in the pick and roll all game, and it really hurt the Thunder at times. I admire Adams for doing all he could to take away Curry's three, but ultimately Curry was too quick.”
Ha, but after that battle, Kiwi Steve got himself a good old fashioned battling matchup with a proper big man. Boogie vs Kiwi Steve, we know how this one went already. There were fireworks from the start.
Don’t take it out on DeMarcus though, he was playing hard just like Steve. Adams quickly got into foul trouble and in came Enes Kanter, which led to a barrage at both ends. Kanter got picked on a bit by Cousins, however he also bossed offensively. He’d make all 11 field goal attempts for 23 points, the most without a miss by any player this season. Great work by that guy.
Adams meanwhile would only get to play 14 minutes on account of the mounting fouls. The Kings are stretched on their roster though, so between Adams, Ibaka and a more-than-usually physical Kanter they were able to do what they needed to on Cousins – who left for four mins in the first Q with a sore ankle that maybe hindered him afterwards. Maybe that’s why he was so short tempered here:
That restrained right hook earned Boogie a delay of game foul. Adams obviously got called for a personal. Had it been a tech on Cousins than he’d have been ejected on account of already logging one of those bright and early in the game with a tussle between he and Durant:
And the Boogie/Steve/KD thing wasn’t the only bit of strange drama that game either. This from ESPN’s Royce Young:
“A bizarre moment before halftime of the Thunder and Kings game on Monday, with Rajon Rondo apparently refusing to take the ball from the referee with 1.5 seconds left on an inbound pass, not once, but twice, both resulting in delay of game technical fouls. Asked about it after the game, Rondo told reporters, "I can't comment. I might get fined by the NBA."
As far as the game went, the Thunder were clearly too good for most of the way. It got as close as seven points in the fourth but then the Thunder inflated that lead to 18 and cruised the rest of the way. Durant topped with 27, Westbrook had 20 and Waiters had 22. Yeah Dion Waiters with a wonderful game. No kidding. Boogie Cousins lead all scorers with 35 points but he needed 33 field goal attempts to get there.
WTLC:
“Steven Adams, due to foul trouble, only had 14 minutes tonight. Should the game have been close, adams would surely have gotten the crunch time minutes on Cousins. Unfortunately four of Adams five fouls were on Cousins, with the other one coming on a Rondo drive. Tough to call those on Adams, and frustrations clearly flared between Adams and Boogie.”
Here’s another angle:
Is Adams smirking there or is it just the video quality? BTW, Boogie has some form here:
WTLC ran a bit in their regular Plus/Minus column on Adams’ chances at getting a max contract. I mean, they gave one to Enes Kanter so you can’t say there isn’t a chance. Also if he does get that then it puts the Olympic thing in a different light (to repeat from last week: we’re not gonna win that tourney with or without Adams, we won’t be in Rio. It sucks but, like, we’re not good enough). Anyway, here’s what they wrote. (There’s more than this excerpt too. Check out the full thing, she’s a good read):
“It seems almost criminal to develop such a jaded attitude towards what Russell Westbrook has done since the All Star break, but Thunder fans aren’t the only ones who see these 8-foot one-handed jumpers that Steven Adams is converting at a high rate. According to Basketball-Reference.com, Adams is hitting 52.2% of shots from 3-10 feet, up from 40.8% a year ago. From 10-16 feet, Adams is hitting at a 50% clip, compared to last year’s 33.3%.
Let’s look at the full picture here: you have a 22 year old center with 18 playoff games under his belt. He has started for a contender for nearly two full seasons, and is posting 10 rebounds per 36 minutes for his career, while providing a statistically-positive impact on defense overall. Add all of this to his clearly burgeoning offensive game and tremendous catching ability and awareness in traffic, and you have an unmistakable max-salary center.”
As well as that, the same Thunder blog went and had a deeper dive into Kiwi Steve’s career numbers and how he’s starting to develop into something very valuable. Click the picture to follow the link.
This Week in Moustache Jokes:
Marksy Marks in Brooklyn
Bonus coverage for a kiwi General Manager! The first move that Sean Marks made as Brooklyn Nets GM was to waive Andrea Bargnani. Fair enough, he’s old and wasn’t doing much. The second major move was to waive Joe Johnson.
Now that was a talking point. Not one that got a huge amount of kickback but it was still a gutsy call, to buy out the contract of arguably the second (maybe third – we see ya Thad Young) most talented player on the roster. But Johnson is 34 and a rubbish defender these days. A great three point shooter and one of the most clutch players in the NBA, sure. It’s just that those characteristics aren’t so worthy on a team with 17 wins – they aren’t generally in range for that late triple to win the game. And with a hefty contract that ranked among the NBA’s biggest for 2015-16, they paid him off and cleared the cap space.
Johnson almost immediately wound up in Miami where he’s had a good start to things. 12 points on debut vs NYK and then a good 24 vs Chicago, both victories.
Sean Marks: "It shows Joe's serious about going to a contender. We wish him all the best. He's been part of some great Net memories."
Given that Johnson was sought out by the Cavaliers, the Heat are a curious choice. Playing time will have been a factor. Clearly Marks’ Nets are in no hurry. They probably wouldn’t have re-signed him next season (though Marks said it was still a possibility even now – meanwhile JJ says he wants to finish in Miami), so cutting him loose seems like a compassionate thing to do (he loses money is the only downside for him), showing that Sean Marks isn’t all business, which is pleasing to see in such a competitive world. It was the same kind of personal decision from the Spurs that allowed Marks to take the Nets job in the first place, remember.
The Nets also signed shooting guard Sean Kilpatrick to a ten day contract, filling that roster spot. Kilpatrick bounced around with the Nuggets for a spell this season while also competing with a certain Corey Webster for a Pelicans spot in pre-season. Six degrees of separation, aye?
And now here’s a mention of Marks within a giggly context from ESPN’s Zach Lowe:
When people call them the "New Jersey" Nets
Sean Marks, the Nets new GM, became the latest NBA heavyweight to let slip a "New Jersey" reference during his introductory press conference, and dammit if this subconscious intrusion of history doesn't make me giggle every time. The Nets have tried so hard to excise any evidence they ever played in the swamp, with a dumb fox mascot bouncing around empty arenas, but they cannot erase decades of mostly pitiful basketball. Pipe "BROOK-LYN" chants into your dead arena all you want. The Jersey stain will remain forever.