Kiwi Steve in the NBA – Western Conference Finals, Games 1 & 2
There is no greater rivalry than that between a Kiwi and an Aussie. Okay… that might not strictly be true but Steven Adams vs Andrew Bogut carries a lot of weight all the same. The former top overall pick Bogut has been flying the flag for years now but Adams, coming in hot all of a sudden, is poised to take his throne as Australasia’s finest. And what do you know, they’re playing each other right now in the Conference Finals.
Correction, that should read ‘Australasian’, not ‘Sneaky Dirty’. But the sentiment holds. Before the season Adams was another battling underdog, much like Australians such as Joe Ingles, Aron Baynes and Matt Dellavedova. Even Paddy Mills might fall into that category. Bogut just came off a title though. He may not play the minutes he once did nor is he quite the same player after all those injuries but he was the guy from this part of the world. Anyone who has watched the last few weeks of the playoffs is holding that idea in serious doubt now, however.
As such, the trash talking started nice and early. Like when Bogie was asked about Adams being drafted as high as he was back in 2012:
Andrew Bogut: “I couldn't really care. He's not from Australia. That's like asking if it's good a Canadian got drafted for America.”
Semi strong words there. Semi strong words that lose all strength when you read them in context. Who the hell asks an Aussie if it’s good to see an NZer drafted? What bloody relevance is that? The interviewer also seemed surprised that they’d never played each other in a game before the NBA, to which Bogut replied: “No, he's younger than me. I'm 31 and he's, what, 22?”
So yeah, maybe the rivalry is a little overblown. Especially since Bogut has been nursing an injury recently and his output just isn’t what it could be. But also because it’s a forgone conclusion that Steven Adams is a better player now. Hey, at least Bogie still has the cricket:
Box Scores
at GSW, G1 (W 108-102): 37 MINS, 16 PTS (5/8 FG, 6/9 FT), 12 REB, 2 BLK, 1 TO, 2 PF (+19)
at GSW, G2 (L 118-91): 36 MINS, 9 PTS (4/6 FG, 1/2 FT), 10 REB, 2 PF (-25)
GAME ONE
Okay now this is what happened. Klay Thompson eventually got into his rhythm – he scored 19 points in the first half. Steph Curry certainly didn’t look like he was feeling that injury too much, this would be his 45th consecutive playoff game with a made three. However things were slow going early on for both teams as the Thunder were maybe a little too eager to make a statement, not running through sets and whiffing on a few shots.
OKC stuck with the Dubs for most of the quarter but there was a feeling that they were clinging on there, that the Warriors were getting their buckets a little easier. There was one occasion where Adams was caught defending in the high post and Draymond Green just blew past him for a layup before Steve even had the chance to move his feet. As good as the Spurs are, that was not an option in their offensive scheme. The Warriors can get so hot it’s just impossible and that’s when Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook will need to go crazy to stay in touch. After the first quarter it was 27-21 to GSW. That lead grew into the second, Adams was getting no part of this beneath a Draymond deep pick:
And look, sometimes in this game you do all that you can and some dude nine inches shorter than you still manages to flip one of these up:
Worst of all was the turnovers that Oklahoma City were leaking. When Durant is out there with four TOs and 2 FGs, you have trouble.
But the Warriors weren’t quite running away with it. OKC weren’t making it easy on themselves but at least they were focussed. Ibaka and Adams started quite well, on the whole, with Durant always a good option for the jumper. Nothing wrong with a bit of this either.
Adams was already playing with strapping on his hand, probably after straining his thumb in game six vs SAS (not a new injury either). He copped a hit on the wrist from Klay Thompson at the top of the key mid-second that aggravated that a little (he stayed in) but nothing compared to his facial decorations here. Let’s face it, you could snap his leg in half and he’d probably still stay in to shoot the free throws at least (remember that time he hurt his hand and then made 1 of 2 FTs left-handed last season?):
It’d be decent if the Thunder could keep Draymond Green off of Steven Adams in future games. His ability to go hard to the rim and dunk has been the standout growth of this season but up against the runner-up defensive player of the year that doesn’t always work. This is what you call rim protection.
Steve on guarding Draymond: “It's tough, man. You've got to understand what you want to let them have. So they've just got to go on with their game plan. Just because obviously he's a smaller guy, quicker, a lot more skill than like pretty much all the bigs, you just have to kind of give one, take one.”
Hmm but the Warriors finally did pull away in the second. Runs of 8-0 for each team swung things like a pendulum until GSW went on a 14-2 run to close the half. Right at the buzzer Curry slid off Andre Roberson’s coverage and flipped in a buzzer beating three to make it 60-47.
A cheeky 6 points and 8 boards for Steve in that half but rebounding was a big issue team-wide. This needs to be one area that they can take for granted as they did against the Spurs but just 2 offensive boards in the first half showed how well the Warriors were limiting that. Not like there weren’t misses to go up and get either, Russ was 1 of 8 (granted with 8 assists).
Rebounds improved as the third quarter began. Steve had a tip-in as part of an early run and then Russ got hot with a three. He’d make a few in a row after that, as well as getting to the line, and while his mano y mano with Klay Thompson had until then seen him outshone, now Russ was clawing them back by himself and OKC closed within range.
Part of the rebounding issue was probably down to decreased minutes for Enes Kanter. Why would he see his minutes decreased? Well, not closing out Steph Curry from deep isn’t an ideal way to play basketball. Serge Ibaka picked up a lot of that load as expected, he played some average ball during the season but his defence in the Spurs series was huge. As a shooter, Serge will play a key role here too. However nobody on the Thunder rebounds as well as Enes Kanter. He struggled playing against the Warriors’ small ball lineup – though did some decent stuff otherwise.
You have to wonder how much that Adams thumb injury is affecting his free throw shooting (or if at all), he seemed to grip at it after missing a FT late in the third to have him at 0/3 for the game. And yet straight away after that he went and made his next four, including two after a foul on a loose ball that saw him limping away from contact with a pained ankle. The Warriors hacked him to the line and he made them pay.
By the end of the third the Thunder had got it to a three point game, 88-85. Credit that to a 38-28 3Q, Thompson, Curry and Green were all slaying but they were the only Dubs in double figures while the Thunder were getting more help from all over. Adams 12 and Ibaka 11, most of all. Westbrook scored 19 third quarter points.
Kevin Durant then began the final quarter with a three to tie the game. You know who’s been playing super well recently? Dion Waiters. He put the Thunder up as he kept on his recent form. Dude plays good defence too.
4:25 left and the Thunder led 101-93, but eight straight misses all from Durant or Westbrook allowed the Warriors to close it to 101-100. The final miss came with just over 60 seconds to go but Adams hustled for the board and drew a foul as he stormed towards the basket like a charging bloody rhino. Despite being a 63% FT shooter, he stepped up and made them both. Ice in the veins, boy. After a miss at the other end KD went and drained a mid-ranger to make it 105-100 with 31 secs on the clock.
Steven Adams on his FTs: "I'm just proud of the discipline. Usually I get frustrated, try to change things up and then I miss pretty much all of them. But I made a little adjustment, just found it and stuck to it."
Andre Iguodala then got Steve off his feet to beat him and score before Westbrook was able to take a time out under some pressure taking the ball over the midcourt. Steve Kerr was right there and was incensed that a travel wasn’t called first. Another call that’s gone the Thunder’s way late in games but they made it count. Russ converted on 3/4 free throws and OKC closed this sucker out at 108-102. A brilliant second half and some top class closing out too.
The Warriors were 1/10 from three in the fourth quarter. The Thunder only had 2 turnovers in the second half. They thoroughly out-boarded the Dubs in that second half just as they needed to do and behind Westbrook’s 27p/12a/6r/7s… behind Kevin Durant’s 26p/10r… was Steven Adams with 16 points and 12 rebounds.
You know you played a good game when you’re sought after for the post-match comments (even if it is from Chris Broussard). After playing it with a straight bat about sticking to gameplans and all that, Steve pulled out a typically lighthearted soundbite for the global audience:
Of course, being 2016 there were a few misconstrued takes on that particular quote. Not that anybody could have been offended by what was clearly a playful jibe rather than anything remotely racial but some people seemed to get offended at the thought that others might be offended. Surrogate offence. Adams apologised profusely when he was told how that line might have been taken:
Thing is, given America’s history, certain racial sensitivities can be fairly raw so quickly apologising for it all was definitely the best course of action. While it was clear to any NZer that he only meant that as a way of describing the hustle and bustle of Steph and Klay, the way that a child might be endearingly labelled a monkey, it obviously was a poor choice of words all the same simply for opening the conversation. Howard Cosell once famously used the phrase “little monkey” to describe NFL player Alvin Garrett, which caused all sorts of controversy despite being used in a similar way and despite Cosell actually having a significant history of civil rights support – particularly with Muhammad Ali’s career. Ultimately if there are less loaded metaphors to use, it’s best to go with that and he knows this now. More than that he now knows the way that the highly focussed NBA Playoffs media will take a non-story and churn it out for all worth.
What was weird about the whole thing was the way Adams’ nationality was brought into the whole thing. “Oh, he’s from New Zealand, he doesn’t know”, sort of thing. Of course people in NZ know that comparing a demographic to apes can be offensive if meant in a derogatory way, the point is that it wasn’t anticipated that people would take it that way if that wasn’t the intention. Monkeys are also animals, ya dig? Plus it’s a fairly common, light-hearted term in these parts. ‘Cheeky monkey’ and all that. Skip Bayless on ESPN’s First Take (a show even named for its lack of considered opinions) even went as far as suggesting that the pause might have been malicious. What it actually looked like was that he paused to say something less offensive, like he was gonna drop a swear but censored himself. Whoops, that backfired. Oh, by the way, Steven Adams once called out Warriors guard Andre Iguodala on twitter for making fun of the Tall Blacks’ haka, which we can safely assume did not make it onto First Take’s agenda.
Americans don’t really do global perspective very well, so respecting the fact that words can mean different things in different environments only really works one way there. A valuable lesson learned by all… sort of. Now we can get back to discussing the fact that Adams has been fair dominating on the court where it matters.
USA Today: “Adams is no longer the clumsy big launching his elbows into people. He’s become a refined defender and excellent rebounder, as well as an underrated finisher around the hoop. On Monday night against the Warriors, Adams went for 16 points and 12 rebounds, a line every center in the league would be proud of. But that doesn’t tell the whole story: Westbrook and Durant each had a plus-minus of +8 for their team when on the floor. Adams’ plus-minus was +19. He was the difference maker. Time and time again, especially in the fourth quarter, Adams’ length and mobility mucked up the Warriors offense. He closed out on shooters. When the Warriors went to their killer small lineup, he guarded Andre Iguodala, somehow managing to both protect the paint and close out on Iguodala when the ball was sent to him on the perimeter. His unique quickness and length means the Thunder can play him against smaller lineups. All this isn’t to mention the final minute of the game, when Adams nailed two clutch free throws to put the game to bed.”
Russell Westbrook: “Steven's been great all season long. Just his growth and his maturity especially at the center position. His ability to be able to switch out and guard his position, his athleticism. I think now he's grown with his mind and doing a spectacular job, especially this postseason. He's constantly getting better and better and learning different things from different series.”
Heeeeaps of interesting analysis here on Steve and the Thunder’s game one.
Zach Lowe/ESPN: “Adams has been awesome in these playoffs, and if you watched the Thunder all season, you could see it coming.”
Coach Billy Donovan: "I just think his game is growing as he gains experience. He's young, he only played one year of college and he hasn't been in the league that long. He's just evolving as a player, getting better. I think he's starting to see a lot of the things that he's capable of doing, and the best part of his game is that he plays with great energy and enthusiasm. Because of his talent level, when you do that, you put yourself in good position to be pretty successful in games."
Thunder Digest: “Adams is dominating in these playoffs. Teams aren’t able to guard him, and they can’t attack him on either side of the ball because of his basketball awareness and intelligence. Adams play has become a huge key for the Thunder, and the success of the team now also rests on his shoulders.”
Benjamin Hoffman/New York Times: “It can sometimes be hard to see Adams’s contribution to the offense, but he is an extreme case of a player who understands his role and the limits of his abilities, and he works within those constraints remarkably well. In this, his third N.B.A. season, he set a career high with a .613 field-goal percentage, with 72.1 percent of his shots coming from inside three feet. He had 101 dunks and no attempts from 3-point range, and 76.2 percent of his field goals were assisted. It all led to a career-high offensive rating, a statistic that estimates he helped produce a whopping 123 points per 100 possessions.”
Welcome to Loud City: “Steven Adams scored on Festus Ezeli with the Thunder down 13, then blocked a Livingston layup attempt on the other end. Also, Adams managed to do this while cotton was sticking out of his nose!”
WTLC: “Steven Adams. Perhaps he was never earmarked this way, and certainly not at this phase of his career, but how is he not a legitimate top-5 center in the NBA right now? He gives OKC everything they need on a night to night basis and doing it both in the official box score and the Nick Collison box score.”
Michael Lee/The Vertical: “Steven Adams, the key remaining piece general manager Sam Presti acquired from the much-maligned and overly critiqued James Harden trade in 2012, is coming into his own as a brute, physical force. In the previous series against San Antonio, he made Tim Duncan, a future Hall of Famer, an afterthought. He is now doing his part to block off driving lanes and disrupt a Warriors offense that no team has figured out.”
Steven Adams: "Just got to maintain humility, mate. It's a series. I mean, we came away with a win but we've just got to be ready. We can't be satisfied. That's all it is, mate."
GAME TWO
Steve found out bright and early in the following game, however, that there was no coasting on that first win. Draymond Green was a bit rubbish the other day shooting from deep but he drilled his first one right over a guarding Kiwi Steve and mate… he let him know about it. Draymond is one of the NBA’s top trash talkers. There was no shutting him up.
Adams got his own back with a couple of nice plays, like this one from the Westbrook feed, as the Thunder quickly fought back from a 6-0 deficit to begin proceedings.
Yet midway through the first we had a scary moment. Up went Adams for a defensive rebound, he hauled it in easy enough but Festus Ezeli came crashing down onto his lower back and the Big Funaki was slow to get up, clearly in pain. He’d make his was cautiously off the court and into the locker room, leaving Thunder fans a little reticent given the ways that injuries have ruined basically every playoff series of theirs since the Finals in 2012. Adams was back on the bench a few minute later though.
As for Enes Kanter, well…
In the end Adams was back in with 2:32 left in the first, only out for a couple of mins. Pretty soon he was all the way back into the physical stuff, crashing and bashing with Anderson Varejao off the ball. But while the talk of game one had been the Stache Brothers, it was the Slash Brothers that got it going here. After the first, GSW led 27-20 and Curry and Thompson had 19 points between them. Curry did get banged up falling into the crowd on a loose play but he stuck it out. This is what the MVP does to mismatches:
Adams copped another hit in the second quarter, taking a knee from Draymond Green right about where he would least like to take a knee from Draymond Green.
Obviously Green came out with a motive to be as tough as he could. The dude is seriously intense and he can’t have liked seeing his team bullied in the second half of the first game. Adams, as the Thunder’s biggest and toughest target, was in the middle of that to the detriment of his own health. Plus they really went at him with their guards, keeping him on his toes as they breezed by. Not where they want to see him caught. Somehow though, despite a kick in the nuts and a human anvil to the lower back (not to mention his already bruised hand)… he still played 22 minutes in that first half.
Luckily Kevin Durant was striking fire. He shot 7/8 for the second quarter as he finished the half with 23 points, doing it all himself at times. It took until just under two minutes left in the half but a Dion Waiters rainbow gave the Thunder their first lead of the night. They lost it next play when Serge Ibaka fouled Andre Iguodala on a three. Iggy made them pay again a minute later with an incredible and-one layup coming off a Russ turnover. He missed the FT though it still marked a 6-0 run. He flipped in another following a Westbrook air-ball and the Warriors led 57-49.
A costly Durant foul in the third gave Steph Curry four points from the free throw line with a tech included. Steph laid low for a while there but then went absolutely, fully, ridiculously mental with a 15-2 Warriors run coming entirely of Curry points. No kidding, he scored 15 in less than two minutes of game clock. 1:58 to be specific. He finally missed one with the lead up to 21 points.
At one point, Draymond Green straight up robbed Russ, poking the ball out as he stormed full-speed down the court. That never happens (turnovers on Russ drives, sure, but not usually until he’s caught his dribble). When Steph sat with a short stretch left in the third he’d outscored the Thunder all alone that quarter. OKC down 88-68 after three, the Warriors looking very much like levelling this series.
90 seconds later the Warriors had scored the first seven points of the fourth and the lead was up to 27 points. Maybe an underrated factor leading into this game was that the Warriors were 11-0 averaging 121.3 points per game following a loss this season. Adams checked out for good with 7:03 remaining, one point short of a double-double. But of course he only gets those when they win. Which they did not, the Warriors winning 118-91.
Billy Donovan: “The truth and reality right now is the series is 1-1. That's where it's at. Okay? Both teams have got a few days to get prepared for Game 3. There are things that we need to do better on offense, there are things that we're going to need to do better on defense. We'll have to make some adjustments to some things.”
Kevin Durant had 25 points in the first half and only 4 in the second. He didn’t play most of the fourth but could only get up a handful of attempts in the third while Curry was out there balling. Once that cooled off and the second units started playing, it became clear how much GSW was winning the battle off the bench. No Thunder bench player topped Dion Waiters’ 7 while the Warriors had three subs in double figures. They also out-rebounded the Thunder by nine and shot notably better. Durant’s 29 points led all scorers and yet he also had 8 turnovers. Curry scored 28.
The Warriors Death Ball Unit was countered in the first game by the Stache Bros combo, the Thunder using their size to stay super big against the super small but hyper versatile Dubs squad. Kanter didn’t play a lot in the first half of G1 but when he and Steve were on the court it was bad. 3Q and it was still bad. But then… fourth quarter and it all suddenly clicked. There wasn’t really a reason for that but here’s Berry Tramel of NewsOK trying to figure it out. In G2 the Warriors mostly countered that trend by avoiding going small at all and giving extra minutes to Ezeli, Barnes and Varejao – that trio scoring 29 combined points off the bench. As well as that, the Thunder’s big men were always gonna be outmanoeuvred with the Warriors coming in with a much bigger emphasis on ball movement.
Plus, umm, while the game was within range of a comeback right up until Steph’s Onslaught… the Thunder were playing from behind almost the entire game. This is pretty telling right here:
Welcome to Loud City: “The Warriors adjusted their offense to minimize Enes Kanter, and it had big effect as he only played 15 minutes. Kanter's contribution in the post and on rebounds are a big reason why OKC's system works. Unless Donovan can get something out of him in game 3, the bench's struggles are going to once again be a hindrance to winning.”
Daily Thunder: “Steven Adams basically decides he’s not hurt. He got his back wrenched by Festus Ezeli, then took a Draymond Green knee to the gonads. All on top of his hand being beat up.”
Steven Adams: “They were just the aggressors tonight, man. They came out more aggressive than us, obviously that led to them getting more boards and all that sort of stuff. It could be a lot of things, man. It could be thinking too much. Obviously our focus was shifted somewhere else. I think we're thinking too much instead of just coming out swinging. So that's probably what we're going to look into, just coming out with more intensity and more focus on the basics of what made us win the first game.”
OTHER STUFF
NBA Big Man solidarity:
When Super Bowl winners suddenly know your name/game:
