Views from OKC: What we learned from last night’s loss

Views from OKC is a daily diary about the current state of the OKC Thunder. Today we take this loss as a lesson and move on.

Simply put, last night sucked. Other then Semaj Christon showing a little bit of toughness last night, there weren’t many positives from last night. So let’s talk about Semaj for a little bit.

https://twitter.com/DefPenHoops/status/843995449887539200

I absolutely love this. For the first time all season somebody from Oklahoma City stood up to the Man. Christon has always played with this toughness and edge, but as the rookie backup point guard to Russell Westbrook he hasn’t been in enough situations to prove himself. Now he has, and best believe Russ took note.

Russ needs guys who are going to go to battle with him come playoff time. Taj Gibson has been a godsend of toughness for this team, but he’s only been here 13 games. Steven Adams, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, isn’t as tough as we think.

MUST READ: The Kiwi Bible – The ultimate guide to Steven Adams

I love the Big Kiwi. And he certainly uses his strength to his advantage during the game. But look what Adams does when that little scuffle begins? He stands on the outskirts and helps pull Zaza and Steph back (okay so kinda admirable). Alas, a true tough guy like Gibson gets in the middle to break things up.

Here’s another question I have. Why hasn’t Adams tried to cheap shot Draymond yet? Dude…he kicked you in the cojones TWICE and you won’t do anything? Even when Adams gets in little scuffles he usually walks away once they start to escalate into something more.

Look, I’m not questioning the 23-year old’s toughness. I wouldn’t get in the Octagon with him for a minute. But this quote from a Brian Windhorst article is exactly what I don’t want to see from Adams:

"“It’s mostly because I wanted to listen to the coach,” Adams says. “My coach Scotty Brooks yelled at me early that I shouldn’t react because reacting hurts my team. So it hurts, but I don’t want to hurt my team.”"

The Thunder need Adams to revert to his rookie-year agitator self. They need him to be Kendrick Perkins. It’s great to see Semaj Christon out there scuffling with a two-time MVP, but the Big Kiwi is known as the Big Kiwi for a reason. He’s supposed to be the 7-foot 255 pound enforcer down low.

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I’m not asking for Adams to go out and maul people. But he has to take a a page from his frontcourt mate and play with a little more fire. The thing is, we’ve seen what Adams can be when he’s playing balls-to-wall. Look at last years playoffs.

The 23-year old had NBA fans salivating over his potential once they realized how much he had progressed in only three seasons. But this season we haven’t seen that extra gear.

Back to the reason for this post. We learned two things last night:

1. Semaj Christon will be a legend in Oklahoma City for years to come.
2. The OKC Thunder may not beat Golden State for a couple years.