Adams cops flak after OKC’s first round exit
Steven Adams and the Oklahoma City Thunder have been knocked out of the NBA playoffs in heartbreaking fashion, courtesy of game-winning buzzer beater by Portland’s Damian Lillard.
Faced with a do-or-die situation in game five on Tuesday (Wednesday NZ time), the Thunder looked on track to keep the series alive after taking control midway through the fourth quarter in Portland.
However, they collapsed down the stretch, blowing a 15-point lead as Lillard delivered the final dagger with a stunning 37-foot three pointer to snatch a 118-115 victory. The result secured a 4-1 series win for the Trail Blazers, who will meet the winner of Denver Nuggets and San Antonio Spurs in the second round (the Nuggets lead the series 3-2).
For Oklahoma City, it was yet another disappointing end to a season as they suffered their third consecutive first round exit from by the playoffs.
The Kiwi centre contributed just four rebounds and 10 points in his 29 minutes playing time but didn’t take the court at all in the last quarter as OKC squandered a 15-point lead midway through the final stanza.
While some Thunder fans criticised coach Billy Donovan for leaving Adams benched again in crunch time, many felt the 25-year-old was a liability given his four-year $US100 million contract and was the most likely player to looked at as a major trade option in the off-season.
"Steven Adams gets paid $25m to get benched in a crucial playoff game," tweeted @RB_Juni0r.
"Can’t be paying Steven Adams 25 mil and have him on the bench in crunch time smh," posted @theycallmeMG.
"Steven Adams has to go, his game is prehistoric and he gets paid way too much to be a non factor in a playoff series," wrote a disgruntled @FroJSimpson.
"Steven Adams let me down more than anyone tho, dude was a complete non factor," tweeted @_washedlikemelo.
Adams also came under fire for being outplayed in game five by injured former friend and team-mate Enes Kanter, Portland’s backup centre who flourished in the absence of the injured Jusuf Nurkic.
On Twitter, @sbaidenjr wrote: "Let me also just say that Kanter flat out dominated Steven Adams. Straight up. That’s unacceptable." "We do need to talk about how Steven Adams basically disappeared that whole series tho," said @MJones916.
Sad to say, but it may be time to move on from Steven Adams. He makes too much money for what he’s giving you out there, and the only way to really improve the roster is by sending him out. He didn’t even play in crunch time because it was better to have Grant out there.
— Thunder Related (@ThunderRelated) April 24, 2019
"Sad to say, but it may be time to move on from Steven Adams. He makes too much money for what he’s giving you out there, and the only way to really improve the roster is by sending him out. He didn’t even play in crunch time because it was better to have Grant out there," tweeted @ThunderRelated.
Donovan also drew a heap of criticism for his line-ups.
"Can someone tell why they had grant playing center no Steven Adams down the stretch ? Could use both for rebounding got killed on boards can’t wait for offseason billy gotta go," wrote @ILOVECASH7.
@KrisBruner also wasn’t a fan of Donovan’s work. "Soon as @okcthunder put Noel in we started turning the ball over in fourth quarter. Why was Steven Adams not in the game?"– with