There are couple of *twilight zone music comes on* unexplainable, supernatural things in the NBA routinely observed in these games, and I witnessed both of them(again) tonight: 1) Broadcaster comments on how well the player has been shooting from the line, player misses the free throw. 2) I am convinced that in some games, rims are smaller at one end of the court than at the other.
Blazers got PLENTY of open looks, but they shot horribly in the first half. Thunder were shooting red hot, especially Durant. After the half, trend was damn near reversed. No, Blazers didn't get red hot, but they starting making shots in volume. Thunder, C-O-L-D. How many times have you seen this in NBA games? Team shooting performance totally reverse after half? Wait, I had one of those you start tuning into your team's game, then they start playing horribly, too. Game was tied 22-22 when I tuned in!
Kidding aside, like I said when Westbrook went down, I felt bad for him. He's a hotheaded super passionate player & I love that competitive quality about him, but I was so happy that it'll hurt OKC.
I think it was our third game in four nights? We effing stole this game in OKC, and I couldn't have smiled any bigger after Durant missed that routine jumper in the final seconds.
I still say OKC is the team to beat in the West, but I don't think they could beat Miami or Indiana in a series, I really don't. Scoring power is one thing, but not many team can make the key execution plays(to be fair, Pacers are in this boat as well), which can be critical in a tight series. They are still young though, and I don't know, it's not like I've seen them play a lot. *shrug*
Blazers, while I still don't see them as contenders, in my eyes, this team is an upgrade over Brandon Roy's Blazers. This team know how to shoot(most nights), and move the ball looking for an opening. While I'm a huge defense oriented basketball fan, I realize that offense of this level is just as hard to come by.
Most years being a Blazer fan, we expected to make the Playoffs. However, we also had low expectations due to many first round exists. This season, health permitting, we may feel some confidence going into the post season....... Post season, not Conference Finals.
Scary thoughts. It's also worth mentioning, when Miami visits Atlanta they're cheered like the home crowd.
