Thunder Up! Rebuild in OKC [NBA 2k22]

[R1zzo23]

Re: Thunder Up! Rebuild in OKC [NBA 2k22]

[R1zzo23]

Re: Thunder Up! Rebuild in OKC [NBA 2k22]

Bridges Stays Red Hot, Leads Thunder to Game 2 W





Looking to bounce back from a tough outing in Game 1, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (25 pts, 4 reb, 10 ast, 1 stl) attacked from the get-go. On an early drive to the paint against Andre Drummond (10 pts, 10 reb, 2 stl, 1 blk), SGA adjusted midair, shifting the rock from right to left before flipping in a tough lay-in.



It wasn’t a full game of human highlights for Ja Morant (29 pts, 7 reb, 7 ast) en route to his game-high 29 points, but this reverse dunk around Chet Holmgren (17 pts, 19 reb, 1 stl, 2 blk) was something nobody expected to see tonight. But, when Morant takes the floor, you know there’s a chance of seeing something you’ve never seen before at a moment’s notice.



After getting a screen from Steven Adams (10 pts, 10 reb) on the wing, Caleb Love (7 pts, 2 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl) had his eyes on the rim as he dribbled around the arc. Seeing that Isaiah Roby (4 reb, 1 blk) dropping too far below the screen, Love elevated and knocked down a three.



Despite his game-high 10 turnovers, Josh Giddey (16 pts, 6 reb, 8 ast, 1 stl) was able to keep the offense moving whether he was dishing out dimes or hitting difficult mid-range jumpers like this one over De’Anthony Melton (5 pts, 3 reb, 5 ast, 1 stl) in the lane.



Keeping SGA going, Giddey was able to hit him with a weak-hand dart as his All Star guard came off a double screen across the lane, giving Shai all day to turn, set his feet and nail the mid-range deuce.



Relentless on the glass, Andre Drummond routinely was beating the Thunder to rebounds on the offensive end and finishing with authority. Crashing in from the corner, Drummond outworked Holmgren and Darius Bazley (8 pts, 6 reb, 1 blk) for the board and the putback slam.



Mikal Bridges (28 pts, 2 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk) continued his hot shooting as he drained eight more threes in this game as Tre Mann (5 pts, 2 reb, 2 ast) drew a double team on his drive to find Bridges wide open in the corner. Over the course of four possessions early in the 4th quarter, Bridges hit three three-pointers while Mann hit one of his own to give the Thunder a 12-0 run in the flash of an eye.



After Caleb Love was able to get by RJ Hampton (1 reb) on the perimeter, Bazley was there to bail his teammate out by swatting his floater in the lane as his hand seemingly reached 12 feet in the air



Morant kept attacking, though seemingly frustrated with Bridges’ on-ball defense. Mid-way through the 4th he was able to get off a smooth floater on the baseline for two as he attempted to keep the Grizzlies within striking distance.



Starting to utilize Holmgren away from the rim, the Rookie of the Year was able to blow by Drummond and finish with authority before the rotations were able to get in front of him.



Sealing the deal was Josh Giddey as he banged back-to-back triples to end the game and give the Thunder an eight point win, their first win of the series and, perhaps most important, home court advantage going into Game 3!

[studbucket]

Re: Thunder Up! Rebuild in OKC [NBA 2k22]

It seems like JJJ is slowing down Holmgren a bit, am I reading the box score correctly? Or is it Adams' strength?

[R1zzo23]

Re: Thunder Up! Rebuild in OKC [NBA 2k22]

It seems like JJJ is slowing down Holmgren a bit, am I reading the box score correctly? Or is it Adams' strength?

Both Drummond and Adams are making it difficult to get Holmgren into the post. Also a lot of Chet post ups the regular season resulted into switches from him setting a screen on a guard and him diving to the block. Against the Grizz, players like Morant, Bane, Melton and even Caleb Love are great at avoiding the screen and staying on-ball so Chet hasn’t had many opportunities to abuse little guys.


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[marshdaddy]

Re: Thunder Up! Rebuild in OKC [NBA 2k22]

Now that is a rough night from Giddey. 10 turnovers from him, and 17 overall is back-breaking.

[R1zzo23]

Re: Thunder Up! Rebuild in OKC [NBA 2k22]

Now that is a rough night from Giddey. 10 turnovers from him, and 17 overall is back-breaking.

Giddey was a bit erratic on his passes for sure but this Memphis defense is no joke. They poke out live dribbles like I’ve never seen before and are all over the passing lanes.

Speaking of defense, Bridges has been killing young Zaire Williams these first 2 games. Since I’m in 32 team control, I’m going to swap Williams and Desmond Bane in the starting lineup to ensure Bane now guards Bridges since it is an obvious coaching charge that would be made.


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[R1zzo23]

Re: Thunder Up! Rebuild in OKC [NBA 2k22]

[R1zzo23]

Re: Thunder Up! Rebuild in OKC [NBA 2k22]

Jaren Jackson Jr. and the Grizzlies Slip Past the Thunder on the Road





Though posting solid point totals, Chet Holmgren (22 pts, 21 reb, 2 blk) has struggled efficiency wise as he’s been battling the big men of the Grizzlies. To open this game, he tried to stretch the floor to open the lane for the Thunder guards, knocking down a long two from the corner.



Perhaps the fifth wheel of the starting lineup, Zaire Williams (22 pts, 2 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl) put his stamp on this game early as he drained this triple to give him 11 points in just the first seven minutes of the game. His consistent offense and timely shot making killed many Thunder runs throughout Game 3.



The Memphis Grizzlies made a defensive switch coming into this game and moved Desmond Bane (5 pts, 6 reb, 5 ast, 3 stl) on to Mikal Bridges (20 pts, 1 stl) to try to slow the hot-shooting Thunder wing down. That left Zaire Williams to guard Josh Giddey (22 pts, 8 reb, 6 ast, 2 stl, 2 blk) and the sophomore point-forward took that personally. He attacked Williams all game long as he poured in 22 efficient points while also stuffing the stat sheet everywhere else.



To try to deal with the beef of the Memphis front line, the Thunder dusted off little used Derrick Favors for 11 minutes to battle in the paint. While he didn’t record a single stat besides missing his two shot attempts, he was able to keep Andre Drummond (16 pts, 5 reb, 5 stl, 2 blk) off the glass effectively. He was also valuable on the offensive end with his strong screens, freeing up Max Christie (15 pts) for two of his five three-pointers.



While still putting his stamp on the game in a defensive manner, Jaren Jackson Jr. (6 pts, 16 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 3 blk) even showed some facilitation chops by isolating just off the elbow and finding a cutting Ja Morant (35 pts, 4 reb, 9 ast) for an easy layup.



Speaking of the electric Morant, his handles were on full display as he completely shakes and loses Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (13 pts, 2 reb, 7 ast, 2 stl) before stepping back for a wide open three from the top of the key.



Giddey was ready to compete on both ends of the floor as Morant tried to isolate him, but the taller, longer Thunder wing stuck with him, elevated and swatted the off-hand floater.



The Thunder were able to get Holmgren many more switches than we had seen in Games 1 and 2 so far this series and he took full advantage of them by finishing above the rim with regularity over smaller defenders like Gary Payton II (5 pts, 1 stl).



While Favors was trying to shade outside of the lane to be in good help position on a potential Morant drive, he wandered too far away from Andre Drummond, allowing Morant to toss up an easy lob that he flushed over the outstretched arms of SGA.



Morant was at it again as he got Holmgren on a switch, brought him on to the dance floor and twisted him up real well. Chet went flying one way, seemingly searching for Ja as he couldn’t find the guard setting his feet behind him for yet another open three ball. The shot found nothing but the net and put the Grizz up three with just over a minute left.



Memphis got a defensive stop and the ball back in Ja’s hands up three. The Thunder needed a stop and then a three down the other end to force overtime. Instead, the crowd got to witness yet another jaw-dropping aerial attack by Morant as he seemingly floated through the air, elevated past Holmgren and slammed home his final bucket of the game and secured a 2nd win of the series for his Grizzlies.

[Knickerbocker91]

Re: Thunder Up! Rebuild in OKC [NBA 2k22]

Big fan of Ja's thinking that snatching everyone's ankles is the best method to wrestle momentum in a 1-1 series. Curious to know what's worked against him and what hasn't

[R1zzo23]

Re: Thunder Up! Rebuild in OKC [NBA 2k22]

Big fan of Ja's thinking that snatching everyone's ankles is the best method to wrestle momentum in a 1-1 series. Curious to know what's worked against him and what hasn't

Can I say nothing? [emoji28]

Ja has been a real problem. His speed is just something else. We have realy been trying to sink the center guarding Drummond or Adams into the paint for help but he still gets to his spots or finishes over us. We may have to move Bridges on to him as our best defender but I fear he’s too slow.

We started doubling him early in G3 but Zaire started cooking us too.


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[LoSpecialOne]

Re: Thunder Up! Rebuild in OKC [NBA 2k22]

I would try to put them in trouble with the 2-3 zone when ja is on the pitch and see how they react since they have big men with poor shooting ability.


Giddey and Pokusevski if it's not already like that I'd let them off the bench.

[R1zzo23]

Re: Thunder Up! Rebuild in OKC [NBA 2k22]

I have yet to play zone in this game but I may have to give it a try. I also hate not gone into defensive gameplan at all so that may be the next frontier too.


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[R1zzo23]

Re: Thunder Up! Rebuild in OKC [NBA 2k22]

[R1zzo23]

Re: Thunder Up! Rebuild in OKC [NBA 2k22]

Holmgren, Thunder Reject Memphis’ Chance at Taking 3-1 Lead





With the Thunder trying anything to make Ja Morant’s(36 pts, 5 ast, 1 stl) life difficult on the offensive end, OKC went to a zone defense for the first time in over two full seasons of play. They first attempted to play a 2-3 zone with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (31 pts, 5 reb, 12 ast) and Josh Giddey (11 pts, 7 reb, 5 ast) playing at the top with their one and only task being to keep Ja out of the lane. While they were successful doing just that, Morant opened the game banging two triples from the top of the key.

The Thunder then swung Mikal Bridges (21 pts, 4 ast, 1 stl) to the wing and employed a 3-2 zone…only to see Morant hit a third three in just five minutes of play. The zone defense would not be seen again for the rest of the game.



While SGA has struggled with his scoring output throughout the series, Mikal Bridges has been red hot and absolutely torturing Desmon Bane (7 pts, 3 reb, 2 ast, 4 stl). Bane is a terrific on-ball defender but struggles to maneuver his wide, massive frame around screens on the run, allowing Bridges to get open looks on the wings which he has made count time and time again.



Manning the 2nd unit, Giddey’s assist totals really struggled as the shooters off the bench haven’t been able to find their groove on offense in this one. One bench player did come ready to play and that was trigger-happy Max Christie (8 pts, 1 ast) who is thinking shoot as soon as the ball touches his fingers. After coming off a baseline screen from Chet Holmgren (28 pts, 20 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 3 blk), Giddey fires a one-handed lefty pass on a rope for Christie to tickle the twine! This triple was brought to you by Sour Patch Kids!



Even at an advanced age, Andre Drummond (10 pts, 9 reb, 2 stl, 2 blk) continues to play his role to perfection as he has finished effectively at the rim and defended it just as well on the other end.



In a funk, this pull-up three on the break over Caleb Love (5 pts, 4 ast) from Tre Mann (7 pts, 2 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk) gave the microwave scorer a little hop in his step to get back into the series. While his shot struggled (3-9 FG, 1-7 3PT), he was able to add a little of everything on the floor.



Scoreless in the first half, the Grizzlies made sure to get the rock to Jaren Jackson Jr. (23 pts, 9 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl, 2 blk) in the 2nd half and he delivered with 23 points over the last 24 minutes of the game. He got the scoring going with a beautiful post spin on Aleksej Pokusevski (2 reb, 1 blk) for a loud reverse jam.



Holmgren used his athleticism and agility to abuse Drummond and Steven Adams (2 pts, 6 reb, 1 stl, 1 blk), but he caught Triple-J off guard, getting by the defensive stalwart and completing the old-fashioned three-point play.



After blowing a 14-point halftime lead to go into the 4th quarter down three, the teams traded blows over the final 12 minutes. Down the stretch, it was seemingly a three-point barrage on both ends with Ja Morant and Zaire Williams drilling threes for Memphis while SGA and Bridges doing the same for OKC. Late in the game, the Thunder went back to the well and got Bane chasing Bridges off the move. SGA had dominated scoring down the stretch but played the part of willing passer to find Bridges for the back-breaking three, his fifth of the game, to seal the 112-105 win, tying the series at two games each.

[Knickerbocker91]

Re: Thunder Up! Rebuild in OKC [NBA 2k22]

Nice win, looks like building an early lead to survive Memphis' 3rd quarter lineup might be the way to go. Looks like JJJ not doing squat in the first half could be something to focus on, he definitely went off in the 2nd half.

Not gonna lie, so funny to see Memphis immediately forced OKC out of the zone defense