![]() The Thunder allowed 2.6 fewer points per 100 possessions with him on the bench rather than on the court, which was the third-highest mark among OKC rotation players behind only Corey Brewer (8.9) and rookie wing Terrance Ferguson (7.0).ĭuring his rookie season with the Philadelphia 76ers in 2014-15, Noel almost single-handedly helped an otherwise G League-caliber roster finish with a league-average defense. He ranked 73rd among 84 power forwards last season in ’s defensive real plus-minus, which put him behind the likes of Julius Randle, Dragan Bender and Trey Lyles. Before last season, he typically outweighed his faults on defense with his offensive contributions, making him an overall net positive. In OKC, however, his offense likewise tanked as he struggled to adjust to his new role, which sent him plummeting to a career-worst year.Īs Yahoo Sports’ Dan Devine noted in early March, Anthony was a glaringly obvious target for opponents to attack, which threatened to upend the Thunder’s already-flimsy defense sans Roberson. With two MVPs on the team to serve as one heck of an insurance policy, the Warriors will be tough to defeat down the stretch.Anthony has long been ambivalent toward the point-preventing end of the court, as he has never posted a positive mark in defensive box plus-minus in his 15 NBA seasons. Meanwhile, Curry and Durant continued to show why they are arguably the greatest duo in the history of the NBA. With Draymond Green still not up to par in terms of conditioning, it’s also important that Looney take a bit of pressure and load off of Green. But Looney will be there to provide quality back up minutes, and maybe even quality minutes during the final stretches of games. Damian Jones - who did a reasonably good job as the starting center against the Thunder - will continue to be the starting center for the next couple of games. Looney certainly proved that he is a high-quality role player for the Warriors, and he will continue to be of high quality as the season progresses. Most importantly, of those 10 rebounds, 8 were on the offensive glass - a category that he managed to beat Steven Adams in, who only had 4 offensive rebounds. He posted a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds, with 2 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks. While Curry finished with 32 points, 8 rebounds, 9 assists, and a plus/minus of +15 - and Durant finished with 27 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, and a plus/minus of +14 - it was actually Looney who led the team in the plus/minus category, with a +23 for the night. Adams shifts over to contest, but Durant’s floater finds its way into the basket, with Durant’s reward being an opening night victory for his team, as well as an incoming sore shoulder the next morning. Grant missed both of his free throws, and Kevin Durant proceeded to bring the ball down:ĭurant receives the ball and immediately beats Schröder off the dribble. Stephen Curry was subbed back in during the fourth quarter during a Jerami Grant free throw, with the Warriors leading by two. Luckily, the Warriors had two MVPs on their team to save the day for them in the fourth quarter, in addition to a role player who played his role exquisitely. It seemed like the Warriors were ready to succumb to their usual opening night form - they were crushed by the San Antonio Spurs in 2016 by a score of 129-100, and lost by a hair to the Houston Rockets last season, 122-121. ![]() In the first five minutes of the third quarter, the Thunder outscored the Golden State Warriors 22-9, before the Warriors mitigated the damage and came out of the third quarter with a four-point lead. However, they themselves almost got ruined by a depleted Oklahoma City Thunder team, courtesy of a lackluster third quarter, a period which they usually dominate. The defending champions are ready to ruin the league for a fifth season in a row.
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