As the OKC Thunder prepare for round three against the Dubs In the news dives into the role change of Carmelo Anthony and the big game on tap.
In the news February 24, focuses on the OKC Thunder preparing for round three against the team Sam Presti designed this squad to compete against. Moreover, today’s column looks at an amazing article which details Carmelo Anthony’s evolution in OKC and the role change which ironically he spearheaded.
Examining the role change of Carmelo Anthony:
In a must read article by ESPN scribe Tim Keown examines the path of Carmelo Anthony from being the main primary to his current redesigned role in OKC. More specifically Keown details how it was Melo who initiated his own role change.
"By Dec. 1, it was clear you be you wasn’t working. The Thunder were 8-12 and ranked 24th in the NBA in offense. This grand and unexpected experiment — the trades for George from Indiana and Anthony from New York to team with the NBA MVP Westbrook — was in danger of collapsing under the weight of everyone being themselves. You be you meant nobody was really anybody, and it was obvious that somebody needed to be someone else."
TI Scribes spouted the same theory all season:
Several times this season the Thunderous Intentions scribes noted for the OK3 to work one of them would need to accept a role change. As it turns out the easiest answer to that dilemma was always going to be Anthony. As Keown points out this was partially due to the old school iso ball type game Anthony is a master of. But, perhaps more importantly it was tied to who his cohorts were.
Clearly, the speed of Russell Westbrook was always going to be a asset the big three needed to capitalize on. Paul George perhaps said it best when he noted he was aware the West played at a quicker pace, but that Westbrook has “his own even faster pace”. Couple that with the obvious fact Paul George works best with the ball moving which allows him to either be in a position to share ball handling with Westbrook (when the ball and players move) or be in a position to at times, be the primary scorer. For that to work iso ball had to end.
Learning it was Anthony who went to Donovan speaks to his commitment to winning. This article however shares many more unknown facts about where Anthony’s head was at the end in New York and how he feels about Oklahoma. Again, the above article is a must read.
Skip Bayless opines OKC Thunder are Warriors biggest threat:
It’s no secret Skip Bayless is a big OKC Thunder supporter. So, learning this is his opinion isn’t that surprising. Still, Bayless makes some valid points in his discussion with Shannon Sharpe,. The podcast features points on why OKC offer the greatest test for the Warriors.
Heading into round three Thunder Nation is likely to witness a very focused and motivated Warriors squad. Much is at stake with the Warriors never losing a regular season series in the Steve Kerr tenure.
Fox Sports has a written copy of the Bayless – Sharpe Undisputed podcast for those who don’t have direct access. As for the game, without Andre Roberson to guard Klay Thompson or Steph Curry’s the task becomes more difficult. That said, another victory by the OKC Thunder at Oracle and the Bayless’ argument will garner a lot more merit.
From this scribe’s perspective the role of Steven Adams to me is the major x-factor. Notably, Kevin Durant doesn’t like being played physically. Therefore, hopefully Billy Donovan elects to stay big. With Adams either making Draymond Green less productive or giving Durant fits it plays to the Thunder’s benefit. And, if Donovan can see his way to use Patrick Patterson more it only serves to make the Thunder lengthier, better defensively and again offer more physicality to address the real problem in Golden State – Kevin Durant.
Get Ready for Gameday:
As per above, the OKC Thunder head into Oracle knowing fully well GSW will be motivated to take this game. Alex Mcewen gets you fully prepared for the match in her gameday preview.
"This season for the Thunder Steven Adams has emerged as the third best and on some nights the second best player on the team.His shot attempts do not correlate with his level of play. Adams has attempted 523 shots this season. Yet, only 73 of Adams shot attempts have occurred in the fourth quarter. Only 193 have occurred in the second half. Those numbers are low, very low."
Read Alex’s full preview here.
That wraps up OKC Thunder In the news for Saturday February 24. Catch our post game roundup and player grades following the game and interact with us on twitter.