2024 NBA Playoffs - West 1st Round: #1 Oklahoma City Thunder vs #8 New Orleans Pelicans (OKC SWEEPS 4-0)

[Wingy]

There was an offensive foul called on BI that looked pretty sus with only a few mins left, but I was watching on TNT OT, so no replay. Was it actually legit?

Looked like a flop but I was kinda rooting for the Pels.

Should have been a no call

Definitely made me raise an eyebrow and produce some of those conspiracy refs controlling outcomes feelings. Just too close of a back and forth game to call that one that late. Every possession was critical.

[Statlanta]

JV needs more burn and touches. Willie Green needs to take advantage of Holmgren's inexperience while it still remains

[The Servant]

OKC is young. I wouldn't be surprised if they lost in the first round like most young teams, this season has always been about developing the guys and testing the roster for next year.

Rebounding was obviously a huge issue and will continue to be as the roster is flawed. Need to ship Giddey and picks for a rebounding pf or try to move up and get one. Either way they held their composure and got their first playoff win with this core. Overall, I am thrilled. Expected a loss tbh because of nerves.

[Tempe]

There was an offensive foul called on BI that looked pretty sus with only a few mins left, but I was watching on TNT OT, so no replay. Was it actually legit?

Looked like a flop but I was kinda rooting for the Pels.

Should have been a no call

3 point play by SGA on the other end immediately after this was also very suspect to me


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[jbk1234]

Honestly I think this isn't the Pels' best chance to win a game this series. They played poorly, their best scorers were horrid. Will be overtime hours for the film guys and coaches but I'm sure they can tweak a few things. Wouldn't be surprised if the Pels stole the next one and go 1 and 1 at home.

I think it's going to be very difficult for Dort, and to a lesser extent SGA/JW, to manhandle the ball handler on the perimeter in N.O. the way they are at home. It's well beyond hand checking.

[slick_watts]

i don't think the thunder should be particularly worried, but they are fortunate to escape with the win. i feel about the same way as i did when they escaped game 1 against dallas in 2012, and they made the finals that season. mark daigneault and his 11-man playoff rotation is probably the most concerning thing.

okc has found ways to score against everyone all season.

[MoneyTalks41890]

Honestly I think this isn't the Pels' best chance to win a game this series. They played poorly, their best scorers were horrid. Will be overtime hours for the film guys and coaches but I'm sure they can tweak a few things. Wouldn't be surprised if the Pels stole the next one and go 1 and 1 at home.

I think it's going to be very difficult for Dort, and to a lesser extent SGA/JW, to manhandle the ball handler on the perimeter in N.O. the way they are at home. It's well beyond hand checking.

lol ok

There is an inordinate amount of whining and complaining ITT.

[Iwasawitness]

God I love playoff basketball.

You must've missed the 3 earlier games.

He just woke up out of a year long coma before tipoff, be easy on him

On the contrary, I did in fact watch all of those graves (seriously phone, you autocorrected games to graves??) The thing is, I expected those to be blowouts (well, not the Pacers/Bucks but it’s whatever). This I was hoping would be a tightly contested game and that’s what I got. And I’m thankful for it.

[jkvonny]

the lakers are the only team that won the season series against the thunder this year lol

Nuggets 1-3
Suns 1-3(no SGA in their win)
Mavs 1-3
Wolves 2-2
Clippers 1-2

No chance anyone but maaaaybe denver sweeps them.

That's why my playoff predictions was based on losing to NO (even purposely if necessary) then beat the next play-in team to face OKC otherwise they lose to Denver in a likely swept once again. I guess LAL want to lose embarrassingly in the first round Lol

LAL was 0-4 against Kings during the season - had they lost to NO, LeBron and AD would probably be in Cancun already.

Yes but no Monk and Huerter is pretty huge. Game in LA. I think the Lakers would be favorites but it's reasonable to call it a tossup. I think even with a 50/50 shot at making the playoffs the Lakers still have a better chance overall of advancing past the first round than they do by winning and playing Denver.

But obviously even if all that's true, you cannot tank a play-in game. It's just so bizarre that a team can be in a position to be playing for a far less favorable matchup. It won't happen but going forward it would be great if the play-in was amended such a 7 or 8 seed can't see their seeding change. They can only be eliminated. I don't think the 7 seed should be involved in the play-in at all, but that's another story.

LAL was 0-4 against Kings during the season - had they lost to NO, LeBron and AD would probably be in Cancun already.

Not only this season. The past few seasons. Sac owns LAL.
12-4 last 16 meetings.

[jkvonny]

That's why my playoff predictions was based on losing to NO (even purposely if necessary) then beat the next play-in team to face OKC otherwise they lose to Denver in a likely swept once again. I guess LAL want to lose embarrassingly in the first round Lol

LAL was 0-4 against Kings during the season - had they lost to NO, LeBron and AD would probably be in Cancun already.

They lost to Sactown more often than that which is nothing more than a mental thing of playing badly against them for whatever reason than a match up problem with the Nuggets regardless of their play. To put it bluntly, the Lakers can only win if Denver plays badly against them. If both Lakers and Kings plays to their potential, Kings would lose every time.

Once the game matters like in elimination games, Lakers would realized the urgency and destroy them by double digits, and the Kings knows it. Sorry but only those who can grasp fundamental match up between two teams would understand.

[RunOKC]

Honestly I think this isn't the Pels' best chance to win a game this series. They played poorly, their best scorers were horrid. Will be overtime hours for the film guys and coaches but I'm sure they can tweak a few things. Wouldn't be surprised if the Pels stole the next one and go 1 and 1 at home.

I think it's going to be very difficult for Dort, and to a lesser extent SGA/JW, to manhandle the ball handler on the perimeter in N.O. the way they are at home. It's well beyond hand checking.

Did you see what the Pelicans were doing all game? That was about as consistently officiated as you could get

[DudetheObscure]

That's why my playoff predictions was based on losing to NO (even purposely if necessary) then beat the next play-in team to face OKC otherwise they lose to Denver in a likely swept once again. I guess LAL want to lose embarrassingly in the first round Lol

LAL was 0-4 against Kings during the season - had they lost to NO, LeBron and AD would probably be in Cancun already.

They lost to Sactown more often than that which is nothing more than a mental thing of playing badly against them for whatever reason than a match up problem with the Nuggets regardless of their play. To put it bluntly, the Lakers can only win if Denver plays badly against them. If both Lakers and Kings plays to their potential, Kings would lose every time.

Once the game matters like in elimination games, Lakers would realized the urgency and destroy them by double digits, and the Kings knows it. Sorry but only those who can grasp fundamental match up between two teams would understand.

What is like to be so enlightened?

[sikma42]

Chet is great already and will get much better. OKC is in a great place with him as the cornerstone of their frontcourt.

But their ceiling for winning will always be capped as long as he's this skinny and the biggest player in their frontcourt. Nevermind whats even happening in this series. OKC will never sniff a title if they don't get significantly bigger.

Ironically Daniel Gafford would be a world of difference to them.

This is my big issue with OKC. I don’t know this works nearly as well if they need to move Chet to power forward and it looks like they will need to play a big besides him.

All this I t’s a trade off stuff is nice for a developing team but at the highest level the calculation has to make sense enough to win titles and I’m afraid it won’t.


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[jbk1234]

Honestly I think this isn't the Pels' best chance to win a game this series. They played poorly, their best scorers were horrid. Will be overtime hours for the film guys and coaches but I'm sure they can tweak a few things. Wouldn't be surprised if the Pels stole the next one and go 1 and 1 at home.

I think it's going to be very difficult for Dort, and to a lesser extent SGA/JW, to manhandle the ball handler on the perimeter in N.O. the way they are at home. It's well beyond hand checking.

lol ok

There is an inordinate amount of whining and complaining ITT.

I like both teams, I'm familiar with playoff basketball, but Dort was absolutely over the line with Ingram last night.

[ConSarnit]

Chet is great already and will get much better. OKC is in a great place with him as the cornerstone of their frontcourt.

But their ceiling for winning will always be capped as long as he's this skinny and the biggest player in their frontcourt. Nevermind whats even happening in this series. OKC will never sniff a title if they don't get significantly bigger.

Ironically Daniel Gafford would be a world of difference to them.

This is my big issue with OKC. I don’t know this works nearly as well if they need to move Chet to power forward and it looks like they will need to play a big besides him.

All this I t’s a trade off stuff is nice for a developing team but at the highest level the calculation has to make sense enough to win titles and I’m afraid it won’t.


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If I were them I would try and pry WCJ from ORL and I would overpay to do it. He can rebound, defend and spread the floor. Would ORL want to move him? If I were them I probably wouldn’t. He’s a perfect fit due to skillset, size and salary.

Another option could be based around Shai improving his 3pt shooting.

SGA
Dort (or Wallace)
JDub
Chet
Big with size

Could still work as long as 1-4 are all good 3pt shooters. The problem of course is that it compromises the way OKC wants to play.

If OKC is eliminated and a key reason is size I would try and bring in a more traditional C in the off-season (ideally cheap) as an experiment. If it works maybe you can upgrade with a better C through trade. If it doesn’t you go back to the drawing board but at least you’re not stuck with someone who doesn’t fit (like Jakob Poeltl or whoever).

Size looks like it’s going to factor for OKC. JDub and Chet might become so good it doesn’t matter but it seems like something teams can exploit. As for this series they might have to stop playing Giddey. JV was sagging off him (by a lot) a few times and that’s not going to help OKC’s rebounding (at least offensively) at all.

[Patches Perry]

Honestly I think this isn't the Pels' best chance to win a game this series. They played poorly, their best scorers were horrid. Will be overtime hours for the film guys and coaches but I'm sure they can tweak a few things. Wouldn't be surprised if the Pels stole the next one and go 1 and 1 at home.

I think it's going to be very difficult for Dort, and to a lesser extent SGA/JW, to manhandle the ball handler on the perimeter in N.O. the way they are at home. It's well beyond hand checking.

Did you see what the Pelicans were doing all game? That was about as consistently officiated as you could get

Right, if officials call it tighter on the perimeter, that would benefit OKC because Pelicans being physical with Shai and Dub were a part of why they didn't shoot well.

I imagine Pelicans are hoping the rest of the games are called like game 1.

[NyKnicks1714]

the lakers are the only team that won the season series against the thunder this year lol

Nuggets 1-3
Suns 1-3(no SGA in their win)
Mavs 1-3
Wolves 2-2
Clippers 1-2

No chance anyone but maaaaybe denver sweeps them.

That's why my playoff predictions was based on losing to NO (even purposely if necessary) then beat the next play-in team to face OKC otherwise they lose to Denver in a likely swept once again. I guess LAL want to lose embarrassingly in the first round Lol

LAL was 0-4 against Kings during the season - had they lost to NO, LeBron and AD would probably be in Cancun already.

Yes but no Monk and Huerter is pretty huge. Game in LA. I think the Lakers would be favorites but it's reasonable to call it a tossup. I think even with a 50/50 shot at making the playoffs the Lakers still have a better chance overall of advancing past the first round than they do by winning and playing Denver.

But obviously even if all that's true, you cannot tank a play-in game. It's just so bizarre that a team can be in a position to be playing for a far less favorable matchup. It won't happen but going forward it would be great if the play-in was amended such a 7 or 8 seed can't see their seeding change. They can only be eliminated. I don't think the 7 seed should be involved in the play-in at all, but that's another story.

[Mrakar]

I rewatched game again to focus more on plays and not the score and 2 biggest observation i have(outside of Willie not putting Jonas in last 3 minutes).
- Brandon Ingram has to go to basketball training camp and learn how to use a screen. He is always going 1m away from the screener which allows defender to sneak between them. That is why he couldnt even get inside 3pt line let alone get a good shot. You have to wait for screener and not go to early. If you go to early either screen is not effective or they will call an offensive foul. Someone has to point this to him.
- I am sorry for swearing but Wille Green is a cheap-ass-bitch. The fact that he didnt get a tehnical in this game after so many non-calls is amazing to me. And because of that they blew the whistle on that stupid Ingram offensive foul, and SGA got and1 in last minute with no contact at all. He needs to storm on the court after some of those otherwise it will keep happening.
- If you are going to play Jonas as pick-and-roll or pick-and-pop guy in this series, you might as well not play him. Pelicans generated some really good shots with Jonas post-ups. Guys didn't make a lot of them but they were quallity shots and those will start falling. Having Jonas running 2m away from 3pt line to set a screen for Brandon who doesn't know how to use it is high-school lvl of basketball.

Pels had to win this one, it was there and they didn't. Who knows if they get another opportunity...

[PaulKellerman]

Pels need to move way past CJ-He will never be a true lead guard and he's best served as a microwave scorer off the bench. He is holding the team back as is Willie Green's mediocre coaching

[Mrakar]

This will be either a sweep or gentelman's sweep. If we had Zion i would be looking forward to this matchup but right now im scared of watching it.
2 best OKC players play with such a composure, dont force the issue, take their time, get to their spots, get to FT line and play excellent defense.
2 best(most-payed, they are not the best) Pelicans players take though shots, turn the ball over, don't get to FT line.
Name of the game? Efficiency. If CJ and Ingram get 25 points each on 25 shots we might as well play Jordan Hawkins and Matt Ryan.

I will write some observations and what Pelicans need to do in order to make this lets say a 6 game series or at least competitive sweep(see what i did there Lakers fans):
- Every minute of SGA has to be covered with one of Herb/Dyson. That means don't play Herb and Dyson togther, but stagger their minutes(lets say Herb 30, Daniels 10).
- Try to force the issue with Jonas Valanciunas at least first 2 games and see how it goes. Pels don't have efficient offense without Zion and if CJ and BI just do their mid-range bull this will be blowout sweep. Try to force Thunder to double Jonas and work on that. All of Pelicans players and i mean ALL OF THEM(including BI and CJ) are better at catch-and-shoot 3pt shots then at pull-up. No way Holmgren can hold Jonas 1v1, Jonas should be able to carry him on his back for full lenght of the court.
I know Jonas is not Nikola Jokic, he is sloppy, he makes fouls, he loses the ball, but i still think this is a better chance for an efficient shot then anything else Pelicans play right now(against playoff defense).
If you sit Jonas, and play Nance for 38 minutes, then you are playing OKC game, and they are far and away better then Pels in that game.
- play "The Knife"!!! Naji Marshall has to be in the game at least 20-25 minutes. There is enough minutes for him to get that. That guy isnt great basketball player but he has that edge in him, thats why he has that nickname. He will fight, he will stand for his teammates, he will knock open 3's and even though he is not as good of a defender as Herb and Dyson he will play his ass off every play.
- play Jose!!! Same thing as above. If CJ shrinks as he did today, dont be afraid to bench him. Alvarado is not just energy guy(even though he is great at that), he is actually a good basketball player. Yes he is small and can be abused on the other end, but he will hold his ground better then CJ will.
- Be smart. I know im boring with this, but Willie is not great offensive coach, everyone who watches the games knows that. The small things at the end of the games can't happen in the playoffs. For example game vs Lakers. Pels are down 4, 3 posessions in a row. 50sec left(shot at 40), 15 sec left(shot at 11), 10 sec left(shot at 3). What would you say if i told you all these shots were 2 pointers? How can you be down 4 and shot a 2 pointer with 3 seconds left? Even that at 11 seconds is dumb, but at least i can get some reasoning behind it(quick 2, foul, hope for a miss), even though that is also dumb. Shot the **** 3 pointer even if it is from half court you have more chance of winning game then hitting 2pt shot... That is just a small preview how Pelicans lose close games. That can't happen in this series.

*****EDIT: and most important thing of all. Willie needs to get at least 4 Ts in this series and first one like latest 5 mins into the game after bull SGA flop.******


Advantages for OKC: Efficient top scores, coach
Advantages for Pels: Bench

Prediction: 4-1 OKC(3 blowouts).

We did something right from that list but not most of the things.
1. Dyson didnt get a run on SGA, Jonas did get his run but not enough, and most of his minutes he wasnt put into right situation as i wrote couple posts earlier.
2. Naji played and was good again.
3. Jose played but now after watching this game he is maybe not the answer for the Pelicans in this series. Im fine with him playing limited minutes.
4. We didn't play smart. Ingram though shots, CJ dumb pull-ups, Nance turnovers late,...

And most important thing of all, Willies cheap ass still didnt get a tehnical. Cmn list Zion as ready to play and let him storm the court after bull play, he has enough money if you dont want to do it. Just get a **** tehnical for god damn once.