Good, bad of small-ball lineup
SALT LAKE CITY — One small-ball lineup worked until it didn’t for the Thunder on Saturday. Patrick Patterson was the first substitution of the night for coach Billy Donovan with eight minutes left in the first quarter. But it wasn’t for Carmelo Anthony, but Steven Adams, with Donovan opting to stagger Adams’ minutes so he could get him on the floor with one of the Jazz’s big men
Rudy Gobert or Derrick Favors.
After a rocky minuteand-a-half, the lineup with Patterson at center and five players on the perimeter on offense tied the game 20-20 on some quality ball movement and a 4-of-4 shooting stretch.
The lineup of Anthony, Corey Brewer, Paul George, Patterson and Russell Westbrook played 10 minutes, the most of any Thunder lineup on Saturday.
It was eventually outscored by 47.8 points per 100 possessions and only pulled down 28.6 percent of available rebounds. The rebounding sacrifice was a given considering the fiveout strategy.
The problem wasn’t from 3-point range (3-of-8), with Patterson hitting threes on consecutive possessions, but turnovers. The small-ball lineup had four turnovers in 10 minutes together.
“We did some different things with Patrick out there,” Donovan said. “I wish he would have taken a few more shots. But again, I think when it comes to a shooter you’ve gotta kind of respect and trust when a guy feels like he’s in rhythm and ready to shoot the ball.
“You know it was good for us. We did some good things out of it. We’ll have to get better. We probably went to it a little bit too long, but I think some of that was a primary reason because of Steven’s foul trouble.”
Foul problems for Adams
Adams jokingly said he doesn’t like any foul call against him.
Adams has accumulated 10 fouls in his last two games, which has limited him to just 48 combined minutes in Games 2 and 3. Adams is committing a team-high 28.9 percent of the Thunder’s fouls when he’s on the floor.
“They’re calling it, and it’s a valid call,” Adams said. “If they call it, it’s just, that’s what it is. But it’s one of the ones where you can’t ease up the aggressiveness, so I haven’t done that.”
Adams only fouled out once in 76 regular season games, and it took him playing into triple overtime against the Sixers. He never had consecutive games all season in which he combined for 10 or more fouls.
Donovan went about as far as he could Sunday without saying Adams was getting a raw deal.
“There’s never been two games in a row that Steven Adams has been in foul trouble,” Donovan said. “That’s never happened. Obviously, it’s a physical game. The officials have got a hard job in terms of trying to draw a line of what’s successive and what’s not. And he’s been, to be quite honest, on a difficult end the last two games with some of those fouls.
“Again, I’m not saying they’re not fouls ... they’re probably fouls that could have been left alone or gone either way, but we have to adjust to that and he has to adjust to that. We haven’t had two games this year where we’ve had to battle foul trouble with him like we’ve had to in Games 2 and 3.”
Must-win game?
The Thunder is in a 2-1 hole, but is it a must-win game?
According to fivethirtyeight.com, with a Game 3 win, the Jazz’s chances of making the Western Conference semifinals improved to 73 percent. The Thunder’s win probability in Game 4 is 28 percent.
When asked if Monday’s game was a must-win, all Adams did was nod “yes” about three times.
Anthony went a little more in-depth.
“I think we have to have that mentality,” Anthony said. “I don’t wanna put that emphasis on this game being do-or-die. But we want to win this game, and we’re going out there to try to win this game.”
Rubio matches Stockton
How monumental was Jazz point guard Ricky
Rubio’s Game 3 against the Thunder on Saturday night? It was Utah’s first playoff triple double since
John Stockton 17 years ago against Dallas.
“Having my name next to him is an honor,” Rubio said. “I don’t know what else to say. It’s huge. I have huge respect for him, and playing here was great because I know how big of a point guard he was for this franchise.”
Rubio had 26 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists against the Thunder.
Jazz dominating boards
The Thunder outrebounded the Jazz 46-42 in Game 1. But since then, Utah has outrebounded OKC 104-79 and outscored the Thunder 39-17 in secondchance points. Adams had no offensive rebounds in Game 3.
“It’s been a big point for us,” said Jazz forward Jonas
Jererbko. “We know they live off the offensive rebounds and putbacks and stuff like that. So It’s been a big focal point for us, and I think we’ve been doing a great job. He had zero offensive rebounds. It’s a collective effort.”
Both Utah big men have more offensive rebounds in the series than does Adams, who has nine. Rudy Gobert has 14 and Derrick Favors 12.
“It’s a team concept,” Gobert said. “We try to rebound as a team. And my teammates have done a great job getting on the boards and getting those long rebounds.”