Kiwi Steve in the NBA #14: Sensibility
BOX SCORES
vs MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES (W 114-102):
44 MINS | 16 PTS (7/13 FG, 2/6 FT) | 13 REB | 2 AST | 1 STL | 2 BLK | 3 TO | 4 PF
vs PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS (W 105-99):
38 MINS | 7 PTS (3/11 FG, 1/4 FT) | 13 REB | 1 AST | 2 STL | 2 TO | 2 PF
at INDIANA PACERS (L 93-90):
37 MINS | 15 PTS (6/13 FG, 3/4 FT) | 9 REB | 2 AST | 1 BLK | 3 TO | 3 PF
NEXT WEEK
vs CLEVELAND CAVALIERS, Friday 2.00pm (NZT)
vs GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS, Sunday 2.30pm (NZT)
at WASHINGTON WIZARDS, Tuesday 2.00pm (NZT)
vs MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES (W 114-102)
It’s known that Stevie’s made a few enemies in his NBA career. Not every set of fans checks in on every hilarious and self-deprecating quote the lad drops, not every set of fans appreciates seeing a dude giving it a hunnid at every opportunity, scrapping for loose balls and setting ever-so-slightly illegal screens… not when it’s against their own team. As it happens, the Grizzlies fans are high on the list. They were the OG haters, going way back to when Zach Randolph got ejected from a playoff game when Steve was a rookie for elbowing him.
Adams loves the physical stuff, so do Z-Bo and his MVP-outsider buddy Marc Gasol, hence it’s always a heavyweight clash down low when this lot meets. Oh and Adams had to do it without Enes Kanter here as well, which led to him playing some seriously long minutes here – 44 of them even. 44:06 to be completely precise. He hadn’t even played 40 in a game yet this season, just as he never played more than 37:37 in a game last season.
No shocker that 44:06 is a career high… and it shatters his previous high of 41:41 back in 2014-15 in a win over the Phoenix Suns. They really worked him into the ground on this one. Not only did he play more minutes than Russell Westbrook but it wasn’t even close (Russ played 37:39, Marc Gasol was on the floor for 41:32). And this was with Joff Lauvergne logging almost 29 mins off the bench. They didn’t have the Stache Bros to fall back on so they manufactured size in other places.
Which doesn’t happen unless you’re doing some fine work on the court so you already know that Kiwi Steve put in a big one here. It went all back and forth in small margins as neither team could wrestle an advantage and it didn’t help that Adams missed back to back free throws at one stage. Still, he dropped a couple hoops elsewhere and made sure he stayed physical, though that meant he was at risk of fouls. Sure enough…
A first quarter in which the Thunder shot over 50% from the field was mostly offset by eight turnovers and so they hit the second down 23-21. However against a defensively superb team (at least that’s the multi-year reputation of the Grizz), OKC exploded in the second, draining threes all over the show on their way to a 58-48 lead at the big break. 37 points in the second, matey. Naturally it was Russ that did the bulk of the damage, sharing it around for a few dimes and getting involved in all the stat lines. A triple from Russ and a triple from Anthony Morrow (assisted by Russ) accounted for the hefty lead and bingo.
But this team doesn’t do things the easy way and the turnovers came back in the 3Q. Not only that but despite a couple of triples to keep the score ticking, the frame was more about the grit and grind that the Grizzlies love. Marc Gasol got to work with 10 points there, which meant that Steve was getting worked over some. Gasol has range to his shooting and the size to scrap with anyone. No walk in the park there, Jerry, because tell you what, it ain’t easy to guard a seven footer who can shoot from anywhere or post up when he also does a bit of this too:
Which was when Russ took over. Having plugged away in some orange jordans for the first three quarters, Westbrook switched to a blue pair for the fourth (“Yeah man, that shit was rubbing my toe”) and proceeded to double his points tally, scoring 19 in the final frame. It was incredible, with the game at 102-99 to the Grizz and 2:50 left on the clock following a Zach Randolph layup, he simply went mental. Fouled on a triple by Tony Allen, he made all three FTs to tie things. Then made a pair of trebles for the lead. More free throws ensued and when Steven Adams hauled in the final rebound to ease off the last few seconds the Thunder had won by 12 with Westbrook scoring the final 15 points of the game ALL BY HIMSELF.
ESPN/Royce Young: “It's something to say Westbrook played one of his best games, because the portfolio is so full of them, but Friday's against the Memphis Grizzlies is up there. The final line was 38 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists -- his 25th triple-double of the season -- but it really was more about the "how" than the "what." It was the defensive rebound he snared in front of two Grizzlies late in the fourth. It was the two dagger 3s he hit in the final two minutes. It was the incredible steal he made that sealed the victory.”
More ESPN: “Gasol went 3 for 9 and scored eight points in the first half. He was 11 of 15 for 23 points in the second half. "Second half, he came out more aggressive and he was just making shots," Adams said. "Good player like that is going to make those. Just going to have to live with those."”
Crazy thing is for a centre, Adams had 13 rebounds… not so strange there, except that 11 of them were offensive boards. Just 2 on the defensive end while his point guard had opposite numbers, 11 defs and 2 offs. That’s how this team plays though and the 11 off boards are a new franchise record since the team moved to Oklahoma City, beating Enes Kanter’s 10 in a 2015 game against the Rockets. Xavier McDaniel and Michael Cage both had 12 offensive rebounds in games for the Seattle Supersonics, each before Steven Adams was even born. Here’s the full list if you’re that keen on the minutia.
Daily Thunder: “Steven Adams played a monster game. He played 44 minutes, and hauled in 11 offensive rebounds. There wasn’t much he could do at times with Marc Gasol, who was simply brilliant, but Adams was physical, tough and important. Mate. (I just thought of this: Did anyone use the headline “Check. Mate.” when Adams got his extension?)”
vs PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS (W 105-99)
Now, this is a smart man right here. Enes Kanter’s injury was a complete fluke and you can’t really blame him when other dudes are slapping out all over the show (the bills for locker room damage are surely immense) but the risk of two flukes on one team in the space of two weeks ain’t worth it, bro.
And ha! You thought that 11 offensive rebounds in that last game was impressive, well Kiwi Steve was all about that life as the Thunder hosted Portland as he picked up four boards on the first possession of the game. Yes, you read that correctly and here is proof:
Clearly that pace didn’t last. Notably he was playing without the brace on his hand for the first time in ages since he injured it. But… maybe that messed with his rhythm because he had a pretty poor offensive game missing eight field goals.
Then again, he kept on hauling in those rebounds, on his way to another 13 of them, as the Thunder owned a huge advantage on the boards here: 71 to 48 overall. Mason Plumlee had a couple of moments as a scorer but couldn’t hang with Steve in the box-out with Oladipo and Roberson also reaping rewards there, each with double-doubles.
Call this cashing in.
Daily Thunder: “Adams was grabbing offensive rebounds for lunch today. He had 9 offensive rebounds. That’s invaluable. He didn’t really need to do much on the offensive end, but he did the necessary dirty work.”
Westbrook not so much, he only had 4 rebounds which is a season low and he stood with 8 assists as well… though he scored 42 points so don’t panic. He was a big part in OKC edging in front in the opening quarter as he pushed the pace against Damian Lillard and company.
Up as many as eight in the 1Q, it coulda been more had Stevie hit his free throws. All four of his attempts came in the first quarter and he only made a single of them. Andre Roberson was here to play though, he made sure that the Okies had a 24-16 lead after one.
Having come back in at the start of the second, Adams only went and missed four field goals (most of them from offensive regathers) and was subbed out within three minutes having seen Allan Crabbe and CJ McCollum reel this thing all the way back. Coach Donovan was mixing things up here with his big men, Lauvergne, Sabonis and Adams all mixing and matching in the absence of Enes Kanter. Gotta find a way to keep that bench floating (they were still without Alex Abrines too, who’d return next game).
The second was a stinker and Portland overturned the whole game with a 36-22 frame for a 53-46 HT lead. Westbrook brought it in the second half though, he was magic. Attacking his markers, especially around the screens, and playing at breakneck pace. Then there was one easy finish too, a nice lil steal from Steve and then the overhead feed like he’s Kevin Love to find Russ all alone in the frontcourt.
A Mo Harkless shot at the buzzer meant that the Blazers held a two points advantage after three but that only seemed to fire Westbrook up further.
Yup, Russ scored 19 points in the fourth quarter and was ably helped by Oladipo on his way to 24 for the game. Lillard had 29 and McCollum 19 but that wasn’t enough to kick it and the Thunder won it by six. Westbrook pretty much closed it out with a boomer of a three with 73 seconds left, his first triple of the night after five bricks. That’s a showman’s timing right there. That’s consecutive games with 19 4Q points for Russ too.
Daily Thunder: “On Friday against the Grizzlies, Adams nabbed a career high 11 offensive rebounds, helping the Thunder score 25 second-chance points. Adams followed up his career effort by grabbing 9 offensive rebounds on Sunday against the Portland Trailblazers, the second most in his career in a single game. Coincidentally, Adam’s previous offensive rebound career high (8) was also against the Grizzlies back on December 29, 2016.”
at INDIANA PACERS (L 93-90)
The Pacers haven’t been the best this season but under the wing of Paul George they’ve turned a corner lately (like a few other teams have as well). PG is one of the superstars of the NBA and he’s sliding under the radar lately as his team lingers in the middle of the Eastern Conference. And Indiana had a message for the sleepers here in this game.
Look, it started well enough. OKC got on the board with a Steven Adams two-for having seen Vic Oladipo miss his first two bangers and Adams added a dunk to keep things rolling. Having been 0-5 down, they soon got into the grind and a few timely buckets towards the end of the quarter from a couple bench lads coupled with some strong defence from the starters meant that Oklahoma City led by five at the end of the first and they kept it going into quarter #2, shooting well and extending that advantage. Adams had 8 pts in the opening qtr.
It’d be nice to say that Adams was a major factor, but his first three contributions to the scorers in the 2Q were an out of bounds turnover, a miss from 9-feet and a shot blocked at the rim by Kevin Seraphin. He did make a couple buckets later on though, as well as a handy block of Myles Turner from 4-feet out. Also he mighta been stiffed on the out of bounds call. Thunder up 52-41 at the half. 11 rebounds for Westbrook in the first two quarters too, that’s insane.
On the wrong end of a back to back, the first half effort had been really commendable for the Thunder. That soon changed. Third quarters have been a worry for them all season and from that 11-point HT lead it took them less than half of the third before they’d given it all up and after the Pacers had orchestrated a 12-4 run to push clear of a couple shots ahead the winning lead had been established. Indiana won the third by a score of 32-18, leading 73-70 at the buzzer #3.
Welcome to Loud City: “Starting in the 3rd, the Pacers began to switch the long-armed Paul George onto Westbrook, and the lane closed up. Undeterred, Westbrook continued to force the action and had some success setting up Adams and Joffrey Lauvergne in the middle, but the refs permitted some aggressive play by the Pacers’ big men. The result was physical contests at the rim, only 2 trips to the free throw line in the 3rd, a very frustrated offense, and 32-18 collapse in the quarter that led to OKC facing a deficit entering the 4th.”
To be honest the way in which the Pacers had begun shooting (they started 4/21 from the field) was never going to last. More of a shame is that the Thunder’s own poppers capitulated. With 5:16 remaining in the game, the Pacers were 10 points in ascent and looking good. That was about when the comeback began. Oladipo made a three and Adams was able to get to the line where he made one of two. Westbrook made a three and a layup plus Oladipo cashed in from the charity stripe. Suddenly an 89-79 game had become a 91-90 game and Westbrook had the ball in his hands for the potential lead.
Nope, and Adams missed the tip in. Paul George would sink one from 15 feet and then in the final 61 seconds Westbrook, Oladipo and then Westbrook again all missed from three for the possible tie and that was game over, rover.
Daily Thunder: “The defense looked solid in the final few possessions with Adams blocking Paul George at the rim, Roberson stealing the ball from Paul George with less than a minute in regulation and Jerami Grant grabbing an offensive rebound to give Westbrook a second chance to send it to overtime–but the Thunder didn’t score in the final two minutes of the game.”
Also, the pump faked free throw attempt maybe isn’t one to stick with long term. Both teams got called for lane violations here. They never had a chance…
Strangely the Thunder won the rebounding duel 61 to 37, an enormous difference there. On most days you outboard the other jokers by 24 and you win comfortably but then of course you need to make your shots for that to happen. The shooting stats were also remarkable in that the Thunder shot 46.7% in the first half while the Pacers shot 30.4% only for the Thunder to shoot 30.2% in the second half while the Pacers shot 46.3%. Spooky.
Nothing especially great about Adams’ +/- of 64 but it’s notable that his sub King Joffrey (unfortunate nickname, but there really isn’t an alternative with a handle like that, is there?) was a -13 in his 20 mins on the court, worst of any Thunder player by a small distance.
So close but still an L, Stevo with 15 & 9 (and probably wishing he’d been just a liiiitle more efficient in an otherwise solid outing) while Westbrook was one assist shy of a TD, 27p/18r/9a… though he shot a tacky 10 of 27 from the field. Andre Roberson built on his hot game with 11p/11r and Oladipo scored 13 though shot even worse than Russ with 4 of 16 missing all six of this threes. Paul George topped for Indy with 21 points and he played some stellar defence too.
Bit of a blip after two good wins... they'll need to be better next week as they've got an absolutely killer schedule across the next three, with a game against the Cavs at home, defending champs and all, one away to the surging Wizards who are brutally good at home and sandwiched in between is the small order of Kevin Durant's return to Oklahoma City.
In the voice of Monty Burns: Excellent...
ODDS & ENDS
ESPN Insider’s top 25 under 25: “Adams’ contributions may not be eye-popping when observed during the ebbs and flow of game play but are absolutely pivotal in terms of impact. A throwback big, Adams defends very well in space and in the post; offensively, he’s a constant presence on the boards and has developed a rudimentary post game to keep defenses honest. Perhaps his best trait is the most unheralded of all basketball actions: Adams might be one of the best screeners in the NBA. Nothing he does is flashy, but it’s all the necessary things that need to be done.”