Playoffs West Conf Round 1: OKC Thunder vs Utah Jazz Series Discussion Thread

[dunksby]

VS

[B]

[BANE?]

Jazz in 6 or 7, outside of the warriors games this okc team has been a complete disappointment

[dunksby]

It's going to be a bloody series, as ridiculous as it may sound, it is going to be decided mostly upon how well Melo plays. Westbrook and George are going to dominate - well hopefully - but that won't be enough if Melo continues to stink it up like he has been doing all season.

[Xiao Yao You]

It's going to be a bloody series, as ridiculous as it may sound, it is going to be decided mostly upon how well Melo plays. Westbrook and George are going to dominate - well hopefully - but that won't be enough if Melo continues to stink it up like he has been doing all season.

Looks good for the Jazz then. Westbrook should have his way with the Matador defending him but George will have to work for it. Adams is a tough match-up for Gobert.

[Im Still Ballin]

This has Jazz Clippers 7 games 2017 written all over it

Jazz stun them in g7 @ OKC

[BlakFrankWhite]

gm1: okc
gm2: okc
gm3: jazz
gm4: okc
gm5: okc

GOATbrook averages a 30ppg triple double for the series

[dbugz]

Those kids in Utah will not be able to handle the playoffs pressure.

Give me experience on this one. OKC in 5

[Xiao Yao You]

Those kids in Utah will not be able to handle the playoffs pressure.

Give me experience on this one. OKC in 5

Many of them have handled it fine before. Their problem will be shooting as it has been since Hayward and Hill left town.

[KOBEtherealKing]

Thunder in 6

[ImKobe]

Jazz have the better defense but are below-average on offense, their best offensive player would be a 3rd option on this OKC team (and he's a rookie BTW). It might go 7 games due to OKC's ineptitude though. They got destroyed without Gobert, so keeping him out of foul trouble will be key. They beat OKC at home and had another close loss on the road, were blown out in the two other match-ups without Gobert. He was in foul trouble in both match-ups though and Adams did drop 20 on 90% in one of those games.

[Thunder_Up]

Jazz have the better defense but are below-average on offense, their best offensive player would be a 3rd option on this OKC team (and he's a rookie BTW). It might go 7 games due to OKC's ineptitude though. They got destroyed without Gobert, so keeping him out of foul trouble will be key. They beat OKC at home and had another close loss on the road, were blown out in the two other match-ups without Gobert. He was in foul trouble in both match-ups though and Adams did drop 20 on 90% in one of those games.

Agree with this, even though most of the focus will be on Westbrook\George\Melo I think each game will be decided by the battle between Adams and Gobert. Will be exciting to watch.

[Lakers Legend#32]

Match up of the most sh!thole villages in the NBA.

[Naero]

Expecting this to be a close-fought defensive slugfest.

The Jazz have forceful momentum moving into the playoffs, having won 17 of of their last 21 games, and an even more blaring home court than OKC, but they'll be too outpaced by the Thunder on the offensive end—even when combated by the Jazz's monolithic defense.

Rudy Gobert will need to control the paint relentlessly to be the much-needed equalizer. I don't doubt that he'll be the best rim-protector of the series by far; however, he's negatable enough if Steven Adams & co. continue to execute their pick'n'roll and move the ball well, as many mismatches are arrangeable in the Thunder's favor given their firepower.

Billy Donovan will need to manage his lineups better than he's done for much of the season and last playoffs; otherwise, OKC will probably suffer potentially fatal ruts on the offensive end. Now isn't the time to appease all his bench fodder as he likes to do; this is the playoffs where rotations must be winnowed down to the best 7-8 players of the team, and his lineup is too top-heavy to not stagger his big three/four throughout the game.

OKC's complementary stars will need to know when to defer to Westbrook when/if the games boil down to crunch time. They've been a boon in the sense that they've disburdened Westbrook from playing balls-to-the-wall for all, meaning he should have much fresher legs down the stretch, but they can be just as disadvantageous if they all clash when push comes to shove—something we've seen too often in the fourth quarter for this team earlier in the season.

I'm leaning towards the Thunder, but it should be an invaluable experience for the Jazz—especially for rookie revelation Donovan Mitchell—and a fun series overall.

Bottom-line prediction: Thunder in 7.

[Xiao Yao You]

Match up of the most sh!thole villages in the NBA.

Salt Lake is one of the most beautiful cities in the country.

[tpols]

Paul George usually plays better in playoffs, and thunder just flat out have more experienced star power talent. Maybe they give up a little in teamwork, but i dont think it will be enough for utah to win. Thunder in 6.