Aloha,
That was encouraging. Actually I was encouraged last game as well, playing the number 1 seed and battling without LeBron. Tonight it was the number 2 seed with the 4th ranked defense in league and we scored 129. OKC made a late run but that’s expected. They are really good. What is really scary about OKC is they have the assets to get any player they want that comes on the trade market. They have been reluctant to pay big bucks in the past, hopefully that continues.
The big line up was pretty good. They gave up a lot of 1st quarter points but OKC made a lot of really tough shots. You knew they could not keep that up.
What’s left to say about LeBron. He had his best game of the year when we needed it most. And efficient. 65% shooting and 3 for 5 from 3.
It must of been frustrating for OKC. They doubled and tripled AD every time he touched the ball and he still scored 26. And those doubles led to AD’s 7 assists and good shots all around.
Can we can please continue to give Rui more minutes. He was very good again tonight. 21 points and 3 for 5 from 3. And he also played some nice defense as well. It appears that he is finding his rhythm and maybe getting use to playing with that mask.
DLO was very good. 15 points in 17 minutes. With Him, Rui and Austin coming off the bench, it gave us a lot of fire power. 47 points to be exact.
We won the 3 point game tonight. 16 made to 13 but even more importantly 50%.
Cam and Vando didn’t score much but their defense was impressive. And Cam was a team high +13 and had 7 assists to boot. Still he will need to be better shooting the ball.
If we can play with this kind of energy we will beat the Celtics on Christmas.
What was so great about this game was almost every player who had minutes contributed, including Cam and Vando and DLo.
There is a damn good 8-man playoff rotation there.
Does the team need a superstar? Only if it’s Lauri.
Otherwise, go get a big like Gafford or Olynyk and a shooter like Rozier or Bogdanovic.
Maybe a backup point guard. But that’s all this team needs to be a legitimate contender this year imo.
There are games every season that you’re gonna win no matter what. This felt like one of them. I guess hovering barely above .500 beats having to scrape and claw back from well below it. Can this squad show up on Christmas? I’d hate to get clowned by one of the league’s true contenders on the real opening day, but it feels inevitable.
“If we can play with this kind of energy we will beat the Celtics on Christmas.” That is bold and very true!!