Dirk's Historic Night Hides Disturbing Trend for Thunder

Don't get me wrong, the story here is Dirk. When you shoot 12-15 from the field, set a NBA record by going 24-24 from the free throw line and drop 48 points in game one of the Western Conference Finals, you should be the story. Today, the story is Dirk, his ranking on the all-time list, his hall of fame status, his comparisons to Larry Bird etc... But what are we missing? What is Dirk's historic night hiding?

"I bet the whole house Westbrook won't shoot 3 of 15 again," Kevin Durant said in his post game press conference. "Quote me."

KD35 may want to stay out of the real estate business. Westbrook has shot 28% (17-59) in four games against the Dallas Mavericks including last night's western conference final: (via hoopdata.com)

• 11/24: (4-13)



Facilitate young fella!

• 12/27: (5-15)
• 1/6: (5-16)
• Last night: (3-15)

Now let's take a look at shots by location in four total games against the Mavs: (via hoopdata.com)

• @ the rim: (10-22)
• from 3-9 feet: (1-12)
• from 10-15 feet: (2-7)
• from 16-23 feet: (4-15)
• from 3: (0-3)

Westbrook prides himself on putting his head down and getting to the rim. In the regular season, he shot 60% on shots at the rim. In four games against the Mavs, he is shooting only 45% (10-22). Tyson Chandler is more agile than most 7 footers in this league and his constant presence near the rim has affected Westbrook's performance. In four games, Westbrook is shooting  11-34 (32%) from 9 feet and in.

For a speedy, slashing type point guard like Westbrook, these types of numbers likey cause him to settle for outside shots. That is a win for the Mavs. From 10-23 feet, Westbrook is only 6-22 (27.2%).

There is obviously more to the Mavs win than just Dirk shot well and Westbrook did not. We all know Dirk is going to get his. Dirk can average 40 in this series and the Thunder can still win. It was not so much that Dirk dropped 48 on the Thunder, but the way in which he did it — high shooting percentage, getting to the line and staying inside the three point line.

The Thunder need to come up with a defensive game plan that gets Dirk out of his comfort zones. Have Serge meet Dirk at mid-court, push him to where you want him to shoot. Have the defense dictate the offense, not the other way around. If you are going to double, double hard and rotate fast because the Mavs have shooters at every turn.

If the Thunder bigs can't keep up with Dirk, I would focus my attention away from him and figure out a defensive strategy to stop J.J. Barea and Jason Terry from hurting you. Let Dirk get his. One man can't beat you. Even with Dirk's 48, the Mavs needed every one of J.J. Barea's 21. I don't expect 20 from Barea every night.

Now, Dirk can drop 40 a night and the Thunder can still prevail, but Westbrook can not shoot 28% for the series and expect his team to move on. Despite having the greatest scorer in the world at his side, Westbrook's mentality is score first. Shooting 28% while averaging 20 shots a night hurts your team. In four games against the Mavs, Westbrook's assist to turnover rario is 2.2/1. Good. Not great.

The bottom line is Dirk's stat line last night was so impressive, so rare, so beautiful, that it will likely overshadow today's story lines. Russell Westbrook may get a free pass from the media today, but not from this blogger!

Defending D'Antoni

In an interview with Stephen A. Smith, Charles Barkley said the New York Knicks "may be the worst defensive team in the history of basketball."

While I won't go that far, let's look at the stats:

• Last 5 games: giving up 113.8 points a game
• Rank 25th in defensive rebound rate
• Rank 25th in field goal percentage defense
• Rank 29th in team defense giving up 106 points a game
• Gave up a combined 59 points on 65% shooting to Tyler Hansbrough in back to back games, both losses.

Right now, it is easy to go after Mike D'Antoni's defensive schemes. Actually, it would be difficult to go after his schemes because they are nonexistent. Stephen A. Smith brought up a good point when he noted that Mike D'Antoni coached teams have never averaged less than 100 points a game defensively. I'll give D'Antoni the benefit of the doubt here and say that the lack of practice time coupled with new players, along with playing enough games for opposing teams to scout and exploit their defensive weaknesses, have created the perfect storm of crappy D over the past five games.

This may be a stretch, but bare with me.

According to Hoopdata.com, the Knicks rank 6th in defensive play rate (15.4/100 possessions). What's this mean? It means the total number of blocks, steals and charges per 100 possessions. It means the Knicks have the players to get defensive stops and create turnovers if they put in the effort. They can get steals from Fields (1.08/gm), Billups (1.67/gm) and Melo (.97/gm) and blocks from Turiaf (1.10/gm) and Amare (2.02/gm). Turiaf  and Jeffries have the right defensive mentality to take charges too. The Knicks have shown they can play defense when in the right frame of mind. I point to the Miami Heat game in which they held James and co. to 86 points, giving up only 52 points in the last 3 quarters. They also forced 20 turnovers which tied Miami's season high.

Sure, the Heat game was sandwiched between losses to the Cavs and Magic in which the Knicks gave up 115 and 116 respectively, but the point is, the Knicks have the personnel to get stops. D'Antoni can emphasize defense all he wants but until the Knicks embrace the defensive end, they will not go anywhere in the playoffs. This is where the Chauncey Billups' on court leadership will be key. From everything we hear from players, coaches and sportswriters, Billups will hold his team accountable. Defense is not just about mindset, but accountability. That falls on the players.

I expect Carmelo Anthony to take more of a leadership role on the defensive end in the playoffs as well. He got the trade. He got the money. He wanted the spotlight. It's time he shows he can help lead a team on both ends of the floor.

Can the Knicks play hard on the defensive end every night in the playoffs? Only if D'Antoni and his team fully embrace it. Despite the ugly stats saying otherwise, the Knicks  have the pieces to be a decently defensive team.