Thunder Need Miracle To Defeat Jazz In This Series
SteemSports Presenter:@mateonav53
SteemSports Editor:@scottybuckets
The Utah Jazz have plain and simple looked like the superior team over the Oklahoma City Thunder. Utah will have a chance to advance to the second round of the NBA Playoffs if they win Game 5 on Wednesday night in Oklahoma City. If the Thunder's backs weren't already against the wall enough in Game 4, they're practically cemented into the surface for Game 5. Luckily, they'll be playing in front of their exuberant home crowd who can be just as boisterous as Utah. If the Thunder want to pull a miracle on us they'll have to win Game 5 at home, then once more in Utah and again in OKC to advance to the next phase.
The question that everyone's been asking is: where the hell is Russell Westbrook? After getting cooked by Ricky Rubio in Game 3, Westbrook started off Game 4 by defending the Spaniard the full length of the court in the opening possessions. His anxiousness to dominate played right into Rubio's hand, as Ricky tacked four fouls onto Westbrook by the end of the first half alone. That threw off his game for the rest of the contest. I think Russell learned his foul trouble lesson though. He definitely knows he has to bring the intensity on defense but he's got to play smarter in these do or die circumstances. Expect him to play with greater caution on anyone he's defending in Game 5.
The Thunder as a team still appear to be unsure of how to get buckets off the Jazz. They tried narrowing the deficit on Monday night by jacking up a barrage of three's, but it only led to bricks and transition opportunities for the Jazz. The obvious suggestion would be to move the ball more so you can get open looks! Preferably closer to the basket.
The problem is when you look down in the paint, you always see Steven Adams there by his lonesome getting harassed by Rudy Gobert and Derrick Favors. The Thunder won Game 1 thanks to Paul George's hot shooting from beyond the arc. Maybe that's why they stuck to that game plan in Game 4. But they're clearly not hitting shots as a unit anymore, and George is slightly ailing from a hip injury. Sometimes one hot shooting game can change a teams morale for the better though. That seems to be what they're banking on.
After they figure out their own plan of attack, they're tasked with stopping the Jazz's suddenly potent offense. They left Joe Ingles wide open so many times in Games 3 and 4, and he's the last person on the team that you want having a free look. Donovan Mitchell has been their other sharpshooter this series, but on top of that he's even killing them in the paint by driving to the rim like a young Dwyane Wade! It has been a struggle for Oklahoma to contain the sensational rookie, but maybe their best bet will be to neutralize all the weapons around Mitchell (Rubio, Gobert, Ingles, Favors) instead. When the Jazz feel cornered they rely on Mitchell too often for hoops. It worked just enough in Game 1, where no one other than Mitchell scored over 15 points and the Thunder won by 8, 116-108.
If tomorrow goes how many expect it to go, the Thunder offseason will be populated by Paul George free agency speculation. And if Melo keeps bricking open looks and underperforming like he has been, questions will arise on what to do with him too. The Jazz, on the other hand, will be sitting pretty. Already seen as an overachieving team that gelled surprisingly well led by one of the top younger coaches in the league in Quin Snyder. For the sake of experiencing a memorable NBA postseason, I hope Russell Westbrook comes alive and pushes this series to a Game 7. I wouldn't bet much on it though.
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