Oklahoma City Thunder rotation has Kendrick Perkins confused and frustrated – NBA News
After cruising through the playoffs, the Oklahoma City Thunder have found themselves in a slump at the worst possible occasion – the NBA Finals.
The Thunder swept the Dallas Mavericks 4-0, then went past the Los Angeles Lakers 4-1 and finally defeated the dominant San Antonio Spurs 4-2 in the Western Conference Finals, snapping their 20 game winning streak along the way.
But now that they are in the NBA Finals, the Thunder have lost three games in a row against the Miami Heat including one at home, and are facing elimination in Game 5 after going down 3-1 after the Game 4 loss.
And among other things that the Thunder need to look back upon, the rotation Head Coach Scott Brooks is using in not making sense to anyone.
Brooks sat out Kevin Durant midway through the third quarter in Game 3 after he landed himself into foul trouble, which was the right decision. But a minute later, he called Russell Westbrook to the bench as well just when the
Thunder were gaining momentum and making a strong run.
With both Durant and Westbrook out and with James Harden struggling all throughout the series, the Thunder allowed Miami to get back into the game and lost eventually.
Brooks messed up his rotation again in game 4, when he played Derek Fisher for more than 10 minutes in the 2nd half after the reserve point guard had already played more than 11 minutes in the first half and did not
get a single point, assist or rebound. He went scoreless in the 2nd half as well.
Nick Collison played 7 minutes in the first half after Brooks decided to give rest to Serge Ibaka. Collison came up with 6 points, 3 rebounds and a block in those 7 minutes. And Brooks then played him only 5 minutes in the 2nd
half. The strange decisions on substitution and rotation had everyone confused, even Thunder big man Kendrick Perkins.
“I just don’t understand why we start out the first quarter the way we did with the lineup we had, and all of a sudden we change and adjust to what they had going on. So they won the last three quarters and that’s what happened,”
said a frustrated Perkins in the locker room after the game.
“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” added Perkins.
Perkins was dejected and disappointed much like the rest of the Thunder team after a third straight loss at the hands of the Heat, after being so close to a victory yet again. He and the Thunder will now play game 5 in the American
Airlines Arena facing elimination. However, Perkins was not giving up yet and said that he still thought the Thunder had a chance.
“This series is not over. We just have to keep taking it one game at a time. We win Thursday and we’re back in Oklahoma City,” said Perkins
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