‘Can’t play Kanter’ returns to playoffs, this time in favor of OKC Thunder
By Rylan Stiles
The OKC Thunder are extremely happy with their matchup in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. A round they have not escaped since Kevin Durant skipped town following the 2016 playoffs.
The OKC Thunder swept the regular season series against Portland four games to none, and now the Trail Blazers are without budding center Jusuf Nurkic who went down with a gruesome leg injury two weeks ago.
It is no secret that down the stretch Steven Adams has slowed down, literally and figuratively.
Adams has physically looked banged up since just before the All-Star break. That February time off did not get Adams right, though, in some games down the home stretch of the season, Adams has shown signs of his old self. The version of himself that was a borderline All-Star.
However, he has also missed critical “bunny” layups with little to no resistance from the defense.
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He will see a lot of those opportunities in this series and has to be able to capitalize. Zach Collins against the OKC Thunder held a -33 NET Rating with a 121 defensive rating, so even if Blazers head coach Terry Stotts agrees with Donovan that you can not play Kanter, his options are still limited without Nurkic.
The offensive glass will be key in this series. As a team, the Portland Trail Blazers rank second in offensive rebounding with almost 31 offensive rebounds per game, and the Thunder follows behind them in third place with almost 30 offensive rebounds.
Adams averages 4.9 offensive rebounds, while Enes Kanter in Portland averages 3.9 offensive rebounds in 23 games. The biggest difference in this series will be who controls the offensive glass.
Will Dame and C.J. get more second chance shots? Or can Adams provide more second-chance efforts to Paul George and Russell Westbrook?
If Steven Adams cannot dominate this series, with the Blazers throwing Collins and Kanter at him, his health is worse than we all thought, and the OKC Thunder are in trouble at the five spot.
Next. Kiwi Bible – An ultimate guide to Steven Adams. dark
The OKC Thunder and fans should enjoy Steven Adams returning to his borderline All-Star form this series. Huge thanks to Free Dawkins on Youtube.