Kiwi Steve in the NBA #12: Comeback
BOX SCORES
at UTAH JAZZ (W 97-95):
37 MINS | 9 PTS (4/10 FG, 1/2 FT) | 6 REB | 1 AST | 4 BLK | 2 TO | 2 PF
NEXT WEEK
at NEW ORLEANS PELICANS, Thursday 2.00pm (NZT)
vs DALLAS MAVERICKS, Friday 2.00pm (NZT)
at CLEVELAND CAVALIERS, Monday 9.30am (NZT)
at SAN ANTONIO SPURS, Wednesday 2.30pm (NZT)
at UTAH JAZZ (W 97-95)
“My anticipation is that he will travel, provided it’s not putting him in any kind of position where he’s uncomfortable.”
That was Billy Donovan after Thunder practice on Saturday their time. After Adams was concussed in a game against the Sacramento Kings, he missed road trips to the Los Angeles Clippers and then the Golden State Warriors, with OKC losing handily in each, but following that they had a good old rest for four days – the longest feet-up stretch of their season excluding the All Star break… by the way, Russell Westbrook missed out on the starting five of the Western All Stars because of the fan vote. Shame on us all!
So a conveniently placed rest given Adams’ situation and also given that it comes in the middle of a six-game road trip. For the month of January the Thunder have three home games and 12 away games (it levels out in February, no worries).
Billy Donovan: “I’m sure he’ll [Adams] come packed and ready to go and it’s a situation as he gets into the protocol and starts to do more things, if they find that, ‘OK, this guy’s really gonna have a hard time playing in the game,’ then maybe he wouldn’t [play].”
That’s a ridiculously confusing sentence there from the coach, the morale of the story though is that even a day out from travelling for Utah, the team weren’t sure on Adams’ condition – although he had taken part in some on-court drills that day.
As it happens, he was good to go and not a moment too soon against a team that beat them by 20 points last time they played. Adams missed games against two top teams and you could see the difference his absence made. The Jazz aren’t a team that get as much credit as they deserve but they’ve been superb this season and up against Rudy ‘The French Rejection’ Gobert, Kiwi Steve was going to have his work cut out for him after a week out.
But it wasn’t only the first game back for Steve, it was also another trip to play his old team for Enes Kanter and, most important of all, it was Russell Westbrook’s first game since getting snubbed as an All Star starter. It doesn’t really matter since he’ll be the first name on the reserve list but one more reason to feel the NBA world is against him sounds like something the Thunder wouldn’t mind channelling.
It didn’t take long for Adams to settle back in, setting a nice high screen which Victor Oladipo wheeled around and pulled up for the first points of the game (after Adams had missed a nine-footer on the opening possession). A minute later he was thumping one through the hoop with that big right hand off a close pass from Domantis Sabonis and there was another slick one soon after, an underhanded layup in some traffic which drew some bench cheers.
OKC got up by as many as 8 points in the first quarter, thanks in part to some top quality vision from Russ, though that didn’t last. What we then got was a pretty even affair, at least until a three point barrage towards the end of the half shot OKC out clear. It coudla been even better had Westbrook nailed this dunk on Gobert (one of the best defensive players in the league and a few notches out of his weight class) but alas the rim!
Still, Russ had 14 points in the second and 22 at the half. He wouldn’t score a point in the third quarter and Steven Adams wouldn’t do much better with a lone free throw his only contribution to the score in that quarter. The Thunder were held to only 11 points in the frame and thus left nursing a five point deficit after three.
Hey, that’s what superstars are for. Westbrook went mental in the final quarter with 11 of the Thunder’s last 13 points. He’d end with 38 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for yet another triple-double. Enes Kanter scored 14 points, he tied things up at 84-all with 4:31 to play. It was a matter of someone making that massive play now, getting that crucial stop or that killer bucket. Steven Adams, having flashed his blocking ability already in this game, went and did both:
Although that wasn’t the decisive play, it’s be pretty silly to say it was. Just an absolute badass one is all. Rudy Gobert grabbed an offie and turned that into two more points before Westbrook missed a long two… but Adams hustled hard for the rebound, finally grabbing it between both hands as he rolled over on the floor. Quick terrainian chest pass to Russ and he was fouled. Both FTs good, Thunder up three with 12.9 seconds to play. Gordon Hayward went and pinged a three pointer to tie it up but then Russ had the last laugh with this sucker punch:
With Adams guarding the inbounds with as much pressure as he could, the Jazz were able to slip the ball to Alec Burks in the corner but his last ditch effort was no good. Jazz break a six game win streak and the Thunder add another one to the tally. Victor Oladipo also had 18 points while Hayward topped with 17 for Utah.
Steven Adams on the final play: “It was good, bro. I noticed my man was way back, the dude wasn’t looking so… go set a screen. Most guys they give him (Westbrook) a ton of space. He did a job of not jacking it straight away, really tried to use up the clock to make it a tougher shot for them. Use up the clock, come down there and make a big shot there. That was good recognition by him just to understand the time, awareness of that.”
Billy Donovan: “We had Steven setting the screen, and (Westbrook) was like, ‘I don’t want to get trapped.’ I just said, ‘Steven, if your man is not on you, set a flat pick-and-roll in the middle of the floor.’ Steven did, and it kinda broke some space for him.”
In the big man duel, Gobert twice blocked Adams around the rim which helped contribute to a 40% shooting night for Steve, off his usual standard, and his 9 points and 6 rebounds didn’t quite match the 12 and 9 that Gobert managed. Both of the lads had 4 blocks. Adams wasn’t likely to boss the game offensively anyway, regardless of his week off, though in context you’d say he did pretty well. Having started off showing a few signs of rust despite the early influence (6 points in the first quarter), he very clearly peaked in the fourth.
CBSSports: “The Stifle Tower met his match in one Steven Adams on Monday. Gobert's scoring total was his lowest over the last five games, and Monday's contest also served as his first with single-digit rebounds since Nov. 20.”
Norman Transcript/Fred Katz: “Opponents are shooting five percentage points worse inside the restricted area when Adams plays. And the Thunder defense is 8.8 points per 100 possessions better when he’s on the floor compared to when he’s not. It’s no coincidence that the Thunder gave up a porous 122.9 points per 100 possessions at the Clippers and 116.5 at the Warriors compared to a stingy 97.5 at the Jazz on Monday.”
And again from the above: “Adams was far from perfect Monday. He didn’t always cut off Rudy Gobert’s path to the hoop when the Utah center would roll to the rim. He found himself out of place for a few plays on defense. It was uncharacteristic, but it made sense in the context of the first two or three quarters. A player can’t practice when he’s in the league’s concussion protocol. So, Adams had to sit for eight days. He went through some non-contact drills near the end — light shooting, post moves without a defender — but that was it. And he didn’t learn he would play Monday until he was evaluated after morning shootaround.”
Also quoted in that same piece…
Russell Westbrook: “He played so well. Being able to help on the help side, run the floor, box out, get some key offensive rebounds. He did a lot of great things.”
Billy Donovan: “To expect him to go out there and play well would be really unfair but to Steven’s credit, he does a lot of other things that impact our team, and although he had some opportunities to score and missed some plays, and his pick-and-roll coverage wasn’t great, I give him credit. He stayed with it all the way through.”
Daily Thunder: “After missing two games due to a concussion, Steven Adams returned to lineup last night. Though his stats weren’t especially noteworthy (9 points, 6 rebounds, 4 blocks), Adams made a significant impact. In particular, Adams’s hustle in the final two minutes swung a potential defeat to an impressive road win. With the Thunder clinging to a 1 point lead with 1:07 to go, Adams stuffs Derrick Favors at the rim, adds two points on the offensive end, and then, after the Jazz again pulls within 1, Adams dives on the floor to recover an offensive rebound and feeds Westbrook, who is able to milk several seconds off the clock before getting fouled.”
Welcome to Loud City: “It was great to see Adams back on the court after going through concussion protocol. He was a bit rusty for most of the game, with his timing and ball handling clearly off against the long-armed Gobert and swarming Jazz defense. But with the game on the line, it was Adams going to the floor to grab key rebounds, blocking a shot, getting a fast break dunk, and screening for Westbrook to get the game winner.”
Thunderous Intentions: “The return of Adams can’t be understated. I can’t think of another player who has made more clutch defensive plays than Adams this year. He’s a game-changer for OKC and, maybe I’m stating the obvious here, but he’s really important to this team”
NBA.com/Nick Gallo: “The hero of the fourth quarter, however, was Steven Adams. After missing the previous two-and-a-half games with a concussion, Adams played 37 minutes and worked himself into a groove late when he dove on the floor for loose balls, blocked three second half shots, making a crucial fast break dunk after one of those rejections when Westbrook found him sprinting in the open floor.”
