OKC Thunder Film Room: Breaking down game two loss
By Rylan Stiles
C.J. McCollum made some tough shots and played well
McCollum turned in 33 points on 54 percent from the floor and 42 percent from deep.
McCollum was really good, like really good last night. However, like Damian Lillard, some of his buckets were extremely fortunate ones, that might not be able to sustain throughout the postseason, especially as the series shifts to Oklahoma City.
This is a fall away mid-range jumper over
. While it is a beautiful highlight play, this is an extremely tough shot, one he has made in both games thus far. This is not a high percentage look, and eventually, you think the tides will turn. (and again, if the tides do not turn, you just tip your cap and say great series to the Blazers backcourt)
C.J. gets away with a bit of a push here, but George recovers quickly and closes out, but it matters not as McCollum drills another tough shot.
This is a broken play, that literally goes the Blazers way. When you lose the basketball and end up with a layup, it is certainly your night.
This crossover move does not create any separation from Steven Adams, and still, McCollum pulls up over the outstretched arms of the OKC Thunder center and drills it. That is a hard shot, and again, will this continue to fall? On the road? Maybe, but I doubt it.
However, like Dame, this drive from C.J. cannot be defended any better than this, and it is a great play.
In this clip, C.J. McCollum uses a beautiful stepback move on
to get just enough separation to drill a 3-point shot, still, Ferguson had a hand in his face. This is a hard shot to make.
This is one thing to concern the OKC Thunder, as the pick and roll defense was just bad here, and it allowed McCollum to burst to the rim and finish an easy layup early in the game.
Terrance Ferguson again had a poor night, scoring seven points on 33 percent from the floor. Ferguson shot just 20 percent from deep going one for five. He again saw himself get into foul trouble picking up four fouls in this game.
One good thing about Ferguson is despite his struggles he stayed locked in. That sounds silly to point out, but remember how young he is. On this stage, on the road, playing as bad as he has through two games, the pressure of losing last year in the first round and going down 0-2 it would be hard to always make the right basketball move.
On this play he does just that, featuring a great pass from Markieef Morris.
The shooting guard edge has absolutely gone to CJ McCollum so far this series, including game two.