If OKC can take out the crowd early, they can win

[3ball]

They need to be winning by 10+ halfway thru 1st quarter.

Durant has a chance to make history and show us arguably the greatest performance of all-time - only he is CAPABLE.

[InsanityKills]

OKC in 7.

[G-Funk]

Warrior are going to come out firing, they can blow out OKC or Thunder can stay within reach. But they won't take the crowd out of da game.

[3ball]

Warrior are going to come out firing, they can blow out OKC or Thunder can stay within reach. But they won't take the crowd out of da game.
You'll be able to hear a pin drop when OKC has a 10+ point lead with 5:56 left in the 1st quarter

[Straight_Ballin]

Either Durant comes out ballin off the cuff with no fade duckin' or we accept the fact that he's just another Melo.

[K Xerxes]

They need to be winning by 10+ halfway thru 1st quarter.

Durant has a chance to make history and show us arguably the greatest performance of all-time - only he is CAPABLE.

Durant, Westbrook, Curry and possibly Klay have the ability to put up a great performance. Durant, Curry and Klay just need to be on it with their jump shot. If Westbrook doesn't shoot like shit can put up a monster triple double type stat line.

[oarabbus]

3ball: "OKC can win if they score more points than the other team"

[Straight_Ballin]

All four players will be shooting out of their mind tonight at very high clips, each dropping at least 35ppg. Score will be 133 to 137 with no OT.

:roll:

[GrapeApe]

You'll be able to hear a pin drop when OKC has a 10+ point lead with 5:56 left in the 1st quarter

Yeah, in a game 7, barely halfway through the first quarter, the home crowd will shut it down and concede defeat. Makes sense.

[L.Kizzle]

It's game 7 in Oakland, crowd will be in the game. This isn't Miami.

[Genaro]

3ball made a post without mentioning Jordan. Are you ill or something, my friend?

[Mr. Jabbar]

They need to be winning by 10+ halfway thru 1st quarter.

Durant has a chance to make history and show us arguably the greatest performance of all-time - only he is CAPABLE.

i see what u did there

[3ball]

i see what u did there



Apparently, it kills you that Jordan was a far better jumpshooter than Curry inside 20 feet, on 6 times the volume:




.....................MJ 1997 (http://stats.nba.com/player/#!/893/stats/shooting/?Season=1996-97&SeasonType=Regular%20Season)...................Cur ry 2015 (http://stats.nba.com/player/#!/201939/stats/shooting/?Season=2014-15&SeasonType=Regular%20Season)............ Curry 2016 (http://stats.nba.com/player/#!/201939/stats/shooting/) <--- link to nba.com data

5-9 ft.......... 49.2%, 126 fga........... 40.3%, 72 fga.......... 48.6%, 72 fga

10-14 ft....... 51.5%, 466 fga........... 52.9%, 85 fga.......... 50.9%, 57 fga

15-19 ft....... 49.5%, 594 fga........... 43.9%, 132 fga........ 37.3%, 102 fga



Overall midrange % (all shots inside the 3-point line but outside the paint)

JORDAN 1997:. 49.3%, 1202 fga
CURRY.. 2015:. 41.1%, 285 fga
CURRY.. 2016:. 42.5%, 200 fga



Interestingly, good shooting isn't needed to be a top scorer in today's game - Lebron, Westbrook, Wade, Derozan and Butler all have poor midrange (http://www.insidehoops.com/forum/showpost.php?p=12389778&postcount=41) and 3-point efficiency, yet they're still top scorers because today's wide open spacing and hands-off defense allows athletic players easier access to the rim.

MJ's athleticism would benefit the same way, except he had the goat midrange efficiency shown above - this puts him in Curry's category as a goat shooter, and gives him a similarly massive advantage over non-shooters Lebron, Westbrick and company..

MJ had Lebron/Westbrook athleticism, with better midrange shooting than Steph Curry.

[inclinerator]

okc by blowout

[PP34Deuce]

One thing that's been consistent with refereeing in game 7's...

The away team always gets calls in the first quarter and beginning of second half. The home team gets calls middle of the 3rd as "momentum". It's so predictable.

If you're the away team, attack early because the refs will give you calls. Be prepared to force them to call the foul in the middle of the 3rd quarter because they will favor the home team more.

[BedroomBully]

They need to be winning by 10+ halfway thru 1st quarter.

Durant has a chance to make history and show us arguably the greatest performance of all-time - only he is CAPABLE.
Forget the 1st Q. They need to be up by atleast 12 going into the 4th. Most importantly, they NEED TO PLAY TEAM BALL!

[Smoke117]

Durant > Jordan

[diamenz]

curry's 3ball > mj's 3ball.

http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/2540973/howarddealwithit.gif

[3ball]

Durant > Jordan


It's interesting to look at how different players fall short of Jordan.

In this case, the reason Durant won't overcome the Warriors tonight by dominating, is specifically because he can't consistently make jumpshots with defenders draped all over like Jordan could (or Kobe) - he can't FORCE the issue like those guys.

Similarly, he can't score points by simply overpowering the defense, which prevents his ability to take over when he wants, like these types of drives:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1QJwQZHNc4&t=2m27s

[JohnnySic]

http://www.alijetha.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/21993_703534556329905_2074831532_n.jpg

[raprap]

The stage is set up for Durant. Let's see if he can step up and put on a legendary performance.