OKC Thunder Film Room: Game 1 ‘Can play Kanter’ arrives, Lillard feasts, room to improve
By Rylan Stiles
Terrance Ferguson was not very good tonight.
Ferguson knocked down one triple and got a steal, but outside of that, he was not very good. On the defensive end, he got two early fouls, plus a double technical foul when he started jawing at C.J. McCollum. He finished the night with four fouls.
There was only one play that was huge for Terrance Ferguson. On this play, Russell Westbrook forces the defense to pay attention to him as he drives to the basket, sag off Terrance Ferguson in the corner, Westbrook fires it over to Ferguson and he knocks down a three.
If Ferguson can knock these down, the pressure is off Russell Westbrook, allowing him to have easier drives. If Ferguson cannot hit these shots, the defense will respect him even less, packing the paint and making Russell Westbrook’s life miserable.
Due to foul trouble, Ferguson was only on the floor for 16 minutes, so he was not even a factor on the defensive end to make up for his lack of offensive production.
C.J. McCollum was awesome.
When previewing this matchup, I said that Terrance Ferguson and the OKC Thunder had to make McCollum work. They had to force him to test out the knee the same way the Blazers forced Paul George to work inside early and put pressure on that shoulder.
The OKC Thunder made CJ work, and run around the floor offensive, but it did not matter. He was awesome on that end of the floor.
This play shows him working, CJ McCollum seeing Dame driving, and instead of ball watching and seeing if his All-Star point guard can make a play at the rim, he runs over and finds a window, a pocket of separation for Dame to hit him for three.
Lastly, just look at this drive, and finish around the rim. CJ and Dame played out of their minds tonight.
CJ McCollum posted 24 points featuring a trio of threes, with six rebounds. A very impressive performance considering he is not 100 percent health.