Haven't found any chat about this- but this is HUGE
surely this would be like if Chris Wood had actually cemented his place at West Brom and achieved some things...except that OKC is a top team, not merely a mid-table side...
anyway- clips, links, comments, times games are on from people what know please...
Hey, something where I may actually be the most knowledgeable on the forums about - basketball!
It is a pretty huge accomplish for Adams, and he's become a hit on Twitter with his antics, and the fact that he's foreign, and plays for such a good team in the Thunder. If he had been drafted by say the 76ers or the Jazz, there'd be a lot less interest about him right now, but he's fallen into a great spot, in part because of the offensive incompetence of the other centres around him.
He's certainly been exceeding my expectations so far, as well as pretty much everybody elses, with some nice offensive disaplys. At this point, hsi greatest attribute is his offensive positioning and awareness, leading to lots of offensive boards and tip-backs.
Tegal - he went pretty well, some dodgy moments on D but overall, a very solid, and historical outing.
Martinb - I may be a shameless promoter by saying this - but nzhoops.co.nz is where you want to be to find out about Adams, there's some really good coverage there, regular coverage too.
Ibaka got tossed as well. With Perkins missing for the funeral, he will keep with a couple of starts at least. I see they gave Thabeet some time.
The thing that I don't see with Adams is his aggression. He is a gentle giant off the floor and he carries a lot of it onto the floor. He got popped by Vince Carter and was all like 'Whats going on' after Carter got ejected. I don't really see him bang for position. He has the size and ready made body, he just needs to assert himself more.
He would not get the love at Jazz or 76ers because they are not sides everyone is talking about. OKC are getting coverage in part because they are up against Miami again really for the title, Westbrook is just coming back from the injury that borked him in the playoff as well.
OKC still don't have the head coach I would have in place but then I see in terms of games coached of active coaches, he sits 5th so what do I know.
(I like to take a challenge your most knowledgeble call as well he he he)
Grumpy old bastard alert
I bow to your historical knowledge JV, but I'm such a basketball geek that we are at least tied in terms of current knowledge about the league.
I'll be honest - I didn't think Adams was going to play much this year, I didn't think he had the offence in him needed to push out the defensive specialists, but I've been proven wrong already. I also thought that Brooks (who I don't rate much either tbh) wouldn't progress him, much like Jeremy Lamb, Reggie Jackson, Cole Aldrich and Perry Jones all didn't get much court time in their rookie years.
I actually think he does have the aggression needed, he was bumping bodies with Rudy Gobert like they were bumper cars when he played the Jazz on debut (wrote a bit about that game here). What I do believe, is that if he played with any talented big men at all, he wouldn't be getting these minutes or opportunities, and nobody would be gushing about his play - in comparison to Perk though, he's the new Dirk.
Having said that, maybe that doesn't matter - he certainly seems to be the future in OKC, and they are pretty loyal to their guys once they establish themselves.
Yeah I agree with that. He is lucky to be in the right place in the right time. I hope he goes to Hawaii over the summer and works the big man camp there.
I am surprised that OKC kept a hold of Perkins to be honest. He really fell away in the playoffs from what I remember and he has not really set the world on fire to start this season. Its actually the right place for him for sure.
I remember that Lamb was the laughed at centrepiece of the Harden trade but he is starting to show some potential this year now he is getting some minutes (not much but better than he had) Martin was always going to walk because in the OKC system, they had the scorer and thats all Martin has ever been, a 1 dimensional low percentage shooter (especially with his height too)
The thing is, I look at other coaches and barring the obvious, the only other one that I look at thats not really in a seat and would be an automatic upgrade is George Karl. Players coach, offensive innovator and while not known for his defensive coaching, there are players there that will do it for him.
Grumpy old bastard alert
They really stuffed that one.
They have a problem right now and I don't really think the problem is one that is a quick fix or as obvious as everyone thinks.
For me, the team is not geared right. The real problem for me is Pledger. I think he is a complete fucking
donkey. He has zero foot work and no elevation. I think the Breakers as
an organisation really made the wrong choice a year ago putting their eggs
in his basket. I know they had to make choices because of the points cap
but Pledger is not a game changer or a guy that will win you games or
take over a game - Webster will do that more times than Pledger. To be honest, it never looks like he is interested. If they are looking at him to develop, well at 26, he hasn't got any real development left. He has plateaued and for me he is a case of what might have been because he is an inconsistent big man whom rarely impresses himself on the game. You always take height but the height at the expense of Wilkinson? Wrong call.
Johnson is not the right recruit for me either but its early days for him and he really needs coaching into what the Breakers need and I think Vickerman is not doing a good job of that. He is not a selfless PG and likes to call his own number. He has talent but for this team, Jackson passed the sugar around and called his number last. They needed a guy that could do that because they have shooters in Corletto, Webster and Bruton. Abercrombie is deluded if he thinks he has an NBA gig on his radar. Lacks pace off the mark and while extremely athletic, his jumper needs rebuilt because its awkward and an easy pick off for a defender with any clue.
Vukona gets his despite his limited offensive capability but you should always look to his points as a bonus, not the mainstay. When you look at downlow points, there is not really anything there because it all comes from Corletto, Bruton, Webster, (Jackson now Johnson) Abercrombie. They are a range side and live and die by that. Even Wilkinson is a emotional shooter whom prefers to stretch to the 3.
I don't see this getting better any time soon.
Grumpy old bastard alert
I don't think Pledger is a donkey, he has some attributes, but certainly he isn't as good as a lot of people are saying he is, he isn't one of the premier defenders in the league - for an NBA comp, he's not Roy Hibbert or Marc Gasol, he's more like Brook Lopez, a lot of shot blocking but nothing else really of substance.
I think Johnson will be the right recruit over time, I think he needs to work in the halfcourt but he's deadly in transition, and although he's not as good a passer as Cedric, he is a slightly different player, he almost does need to call his own shot occasionally as he's one of our few players who can create off the dribble.
Now, I really rate Vickerman as a coach, and he's a good defensive coach, but these interpretations, coupled with the defensive talent he's working with, it is really not ideal at all. Johnson, Webster, and glaringly, Wilkinson, are all well below-par defensively, with Wilkinson especially being a real minus on that end, which does strand Pledger a little bit at times, Pledger works well with Vukona, and another other PF really (Give Salt some minutes!), but defensively, him and Gary are not a good tandem.
Strangely, I still think we can make the playoffs, but four in a row is clearly not happening, and nor should we expect it to, it's been a superb run.
Let's keep Breaker's chat in here: http://www.yellowfever.co.nz/categories/off-topic/topics/nz-breakers-fever-basketball-thread/page/8
And keep this thread for Steve Adams chat.
surely this would be like if Chris Wood had actually cemented his place at West Brom and achieved some things
Three for me, and two for them.
Might as well use this thread for good - Did some forecasting, with the help of twitter, for a look at what player comparisons are worthwhile when scouting Steven Adams' potential: http://nzhoops.co.nz/steven-adams-future/
His minutes have really been dying up recently. Think the honeymoon period is over, and he's into the hard yards of working through a few issues. Which is still not too say that he's not a million miles further along than anyone expected pre draft!
Nah. He has hit the rookie wall. Most of them do this around 40 games into the season. Very common
Grumpy old bastard alert
Good luck to him, living the dream.
Had a nice alley-oop finish too. think they will get up and win game 7 on sunday too.
Best thing Adams has accomplished is that he's a ninth man averaging three points and four boards a game, yet all of basketball media is talking about him, for one reason or another.
Best thing Adams has accomplished is that he's a ninth man averaging three points and four boards a game, yet all of basketball media is talking about him, for one reason or another.
Grumpy old bastard alert
Nice punch in the throat. DOH. Still the offender gets to sit out the next game. Adams had a great game. Blocking 5 shots. He seems to have a natural ability and good luck to him. He's doing it the hard way and holding his own in a very tough League.
They love the fact he is tough, but doesn't retaliate to any of these punches / elbows etc. His expression just doesn't change.
Article below re most recent exchange with another player, with links at bottom to all of his other recent problems with getting fouled.
http://nba.si.com/2014/05/02/zach-randolph-suspended-game-7-punch-steven-adams-grizzlies-thunder/
And he gets big raps frim a player of the year and took it humbly which will endear him even more.
surely this would be like if Chris Wood had actually cemented his place at West Brom and achieved some things
Err, Winston Reid?
And Rojas in Germany.
Except that Wood wasn't picked up by Citeh, Chelski, 'pool, Arse, or even a mid table team like ManEwe or the Spuds.
and
I really don't think there's a valid comparison between any kiwi footballer in recent times and Adams. The whole pathway to professionalism and the culture around the top leagues and the way they are structured in both sports are just too different.
What Adams is doing is awesome though
People like Coldplay and voted for the Nazis. You can't trust people.
Except that Wood wasn't picked up by Citeh, Chelski, 'pool, Arse, or even a mid table team like ManEwe or the Spuds.
Back to Adams. Massive choke by okc yesterday. Had the chance to be 3-1 up but now back to 2-2 with a huge momentum shift. Not sure they're going to get out of this series. Clips play really well with their back to the wall.
This is why playoffs are awesome.
Just got his career high in rebounds, just got his 11th. 2 points away from a double-double.
40 playoff minutes and a double double. Impressive for a rookie.
Not looking good for the Thunder. 2-0 down.
Interestingly Adams got the most minutes for the Thunder in game 2. 8 points 9 rebounds.
Very big game today. If the thunder can beat SA on homecourt I think they'll take it at home in game 6. Lose, and I don't like their chances in game 7...
Yep, my thinking too. will either be OKC in 6, or Spurs in 7.
Bit of a bad time for Adams to be injured at the moment with Kanter racking up some impressive numbers for OKC. Will struggle to get back his starting spot.
I think he'll certainly be starting, because Kanter is one of the worst big man defenders in the league and Scott Brooks has shown to a fault that he'll stick with players throughout the whole season (eg Perkins last year).
But there's certainly some doubt whether Steve will lose some minutes to Kanter, I could see 3/4 MPG being chipped away if Kanter manages to keep this up.