NBA Playoffs 2011: Why Westbrook Got Benched - Game 2 Mavericks vs. Thunder

[@dayofayanju9021]

I think Durant saw this when he ditched the Thunder- the way OKC played with Maynor is a lesser version of how the Warriors play

[@bballbreakdown]

@Wymetime While I criticize Westbrook for playing angrily and not in the moment, hence bad decisions, I don't necessarily blame him. You are who you are, and I truly believe he simply isn't a point guard. They should stop trying to force a square peg in a round hole, y'know??

[@robertjohnson1973]

Love the old videos coach! Feels like I can see the evolution of the sport by watching every years playoffs with your coaching intellect to pair with it. Watched you when I was still in high school playing basketball(homework by my coach) and only now do I see the beauty of the small techniques, but most importantly the conceptual aspect of the sport. If every coach had your ability to take the complex concepts and communicate that to their kids, then the future of basketball will be in great hands.

[@elitaren]

Ur videos are amazing. I can sit for over a hour and look at them ! Cant wait for NBA season!

[@kwoktony121]

As a Mavs fan, I was so worried when RW was on the bench... and my worry became reality

[@YawningBoy]

seriously you are a better analyst than the professionals on TV.

[@cooliocolio441]

hey coach i watched ur lives stream the other night and thought it was great!! cant wait for sunday's!

[@bballbreakdown]

@Tommmaaah Yes! I believe there's a record button and it can be put into the queue so you can watch them on our website.

[@syck40]

Nice vid, keep it coming. What are u going to do when the season is over? Any video plan during the summer?

[@MultiScienceMan]

8.5 Assists? So if I pass the ball only 8 times and those 8 times I get an assist, does that mean i share the ball a lot? If those 8 assists came from all fastbreaks does that make me a good play maker? If I pass the ball solely for the stat and not the play making or that my team will get hot, does that make me a good play maker?

[@2tbreezy988]

Brognisiqam I love you.....

[@bballbreakdown]

@sonidea Thanks! I enjoyed being able to contrast Maynor to Westbrook...

[@tango400016]

Amazing reply coach Nick. I look forward to you coaching an NBA team

[@bballbreakdown]

@godonio84 Thanks! The post game chat was even better - were YOU IN?

[@bballbreakdown]

@animesolider I'm still not completely sold on Dallas - the adjustments necessary to contain Dirk seem easier than the adjustments needed to stop OKC

[@bballbreakdown]

@mxr2000 I don't think so. Even if he could run around, he has no timing or rhythm and the other guys wouldn't be used to playing with him after all that time off.

[@bballbreakdown]

@SquishyCandyftw Epic for sure! Did you participate in our live chat? It was great tonight!

[@bballbreakdown]

@JoeMyre Thanks so much. Stay tuned, we'll have breakdown why Rose has only had 2 points in the last 2 fourth quarters. Coach Nick

[@bballbreakdown]

@Tommmaaah Yes - not sure how quickly, but I'll make sure to hit the record button for this one.

[@bballbreakdown]

@damnumalone Thanks! You seen our Finals breakdowns? Game 2 will be up tomorrow!

[@bballbreakdown]

@McVincenity Thanks! Lots more coming up. And a live chat after the Bulls game tomorrow!

[@mdc1211]

im not completely sure about this but didnt westbrook play the 2 in college?

[@chibuezendukwe3121]

mdc1211 yeah

[@bballbreakdown]

@wac411 COme back and watch it now. If you're too quick on the trigger, it's not finished processing.

[@bballbreakdown]

@NCISSANG But does Maynor have more experience than Westbrook??

[@bballbreakdown]

@chopperreid12 No, probably not - at least not a lot of teams. I haven't really seen enough of him to know what his potential is.

[@lmaostrnoob]

You guys are brilliant. I never noticed, or ever attempted to analyze all this, but now when I think of it. Maynor is a somewhat better playmaker than Westbrook AT TIMES.

[@bballbreakdown]

@bbarrus82 Right... But I feel Rose could transition into a more traditional point guard in the future - I don't know if Westbrook could ever do that

[@bballbreakdown]

@MRPENNNIS Well, when the pressure is really on, and the defense is good, the bad habits are coming out. Stay tuned! Lots more coming up! Coach Nick

[@bballbreakdown]

@mepatrick But he won't be able to control the ball and THEN score from the SG position - you know what I mean? When he brings it up, calls a play, and then fires up a shot - that's when it's bad for OKC. If they swing it around to him, he gets a weakside screen - THEN he shoots a much better and open shot.

[@Maayerr]

Nick Collison is a seriously underrated player, he's contributing and hustling in every second and every plays. without him, thunder wont be that good right now. honestly.

[@bballbreakdown]

@nantoi I think there's an underlying anger to his play that's a problem specifically with being a point guard

[@jason615lakers]

Still relevant today

[@bballbreakdown]

@wanstrading You think Maynor is a bad defensive player? He seems fine to me. Sefolosha goes to bench, Then you can have Ibaka Perkins and KD in front court. You could even do Maynor, Westbrook, Durant, Harden and Ibaka/Collison

[@DannySeeum]

To bad Maynor tore his ACL, it pretty much ended his career after that as he wasn't the same anymore. He was such a textbook PG you could count on and could have started for a lot of NBA teams before his injury.

[@bballbreakdown]

@cooliocolio441 Great. Stay tuned! We'll get a Bulls breakdown done before then!

[@bballbreakdown]

@kmanthan You feel that way now, after Game 3?

[@bballbreakdown]

@phasuul Good idea - I will have lots of content for you all summer. Coach NIck

[@chipsa86]

coach nick, i'd like to hear what you think about the thunder situation at the guard positions - they have a perfect fit PG in maynor, but i think that harden is becoming simply to good to come off the bench, and then you got westbrook, who has some issues he needs to work on, mentally and technically, but he's upside is amazing, he's sheer potential can make him an allstar for many years, if he'll just get a grip on himself. now, do you disagree with me? and what do you think they should do?

[@bballbreakdown]

@syck40 Lots to do over summer! Exclusive interviews with coaches like Tex Winter, Dean Smith, Pete Carril, Pete Newell, and many more! Plus the ever popular RetroBreakdowns of old games from the history of basketball!

[@bballbreakdown]

@kabalcage I agree that you shouldn't change your team that radically this late in the season. However, they should at least try during the course of the game to play Maynor w/ Westbrook at least one rotation. They haven't done it all year and it amazes me..

[@bballbreakdown]

@666mirana Thanks! Stay tuned and don't miss our post game live chat on Sunday!

[@bballbreakdown]

@dimedropper1992 I feel that the way Rose plays, he could easily adjust and not shoot as many times and set up his teammates, when the offense matures and his teammates get better offensively. With Westbrook, I don't have that same feeling.

[@dimedropper1992]

Would you put this in the same case for Derrick Rose? im not hating but i would be curious on your toughts

[@bballbreakdown]

@damcmg85 I would love to find out exactly why I get a thumbs down - we don't get too many!

[@CustomFitted]

this video did a good job of showing how valuable a point guard eric maynor can be.

[@bballbreakdown]

@KarolisAlive What's so annoying about it? thx

[@bballbreakdown]

@hitokiriheero Thanks! Stay tuned for Bulls vs Heat Game 2

[@bballbreakdown]

@AbdullahAl18 Thanks! Stay tuned - a Game 3 OKC DAL breakdown coming up this afternoon!

[@bballbreakdown]

@MiopTop D'OH! Meant Maynor! Good catch...

[@uncleyen]

Thanks for saying all my stuff in my mind, i always think he just want to shoot the ball all the time and easy to get frustration or get upset, sometime when you play important game like that, he just want to win the game so bad and think that he could agaist two and three defenders by himself. Thank you again. Great Analysis

[@CaptKirby18]

@bballbreakdown the video quality is not only lower but has all this black noise flashing all over at around 1:15...might be what they were talking about (already fixed by 1:30)

[@bballbreakdown]

@Tai223235 I hope so - having Dirk guard Cook is not a great match up for them.

[@joshuabryant8504]

You gotta give maynor his probs man he really stepped up. That adjustment hat was made really helped the thunder.Just my take.

[@itay6262]

I'm sure he will inprove his decision making in the future!

[@chopperreid12]

Hey Coach Nick, do you think that Eric Maynor would start on alot of teams in this league?

[@bballbreakdown]

@chipsa86 Like I've been saying - play Maynor and Westbrook together, at least for a couple of stretches. Play Harden and Westbrook together and let Harden bring it up - even though that's not where Harden is good at distributing - he's much better slashing and passing... Play Collison and Ibaka together a lot more!

[@bballbreakdown]

@MAF0X Welcome to BBALLBREAKDOWN! Don't forget to spread the bballbreakdown word to all your basketball loving friends!

[@SoftBosh]

@bballbreakdown as a coach, what's your opinion on kendrick perkins calling a timeout by himself in game 3? LOL

[@KFourTwenty]

@bballbreakdown In addition, that wasn't a "textbook" fastbreak. Barea waited to long to get the ball to the middle of the floor. It worked in the end but "textbook"? Hardly.

[@Wymetime]

@bballbreakdown Yeah, I totally agree. The kid's got some mad potential. He's just gotta find his place, and I do think he has a place here in OKC. Like I said, I'm with you on your argument to put him as SG. I'd love to see what he could do in that position.

[@bballbreakdown]

@m4tttc He is! I've been saying this since he splashed on the scene in last year's playoffs. You seen our Finals breakdowns? Check 'em out - great stuff! Coach Nick

[@bballbreakdown]

@Cordwinder I'm all for this - good idea. But it will never happen - Westbrook would never accept it.

[@yuch1102]

that is some reasonable advice, but sefolosha is a pretty good defender, and if they play westbrook at the 2 and manor at the 1, they go pretty small in the backcourt.

[@hitokiriheero]

great video!

[@bballbreakdown]

@missmafe001 Mavs need to adjust to the lineup OKC uses w/ Durant at the power forward position. THey need to go small as well, bring Marion back in - he didn't play at all in the 4th. Terry also went 0-4 in the 4th quarter

[@bballbreakdown]

@SquishyCandyftw Coming up! Stay tuned! Really, Bulls make a few more FTs, they win.

[@ajlian1]

i don't go for the thunder or the lakers??? neither of them even played in the finals last year! I'm not really sure what you're saying...in case you haven't noticed, the video was on the "Thunder vs Mavericks", don't see any lakers out there...

[@scapicoco]

right at this point only coach, who do you think "most likely" will win the series?

[@JhonnyKing0001]

@CaptKirby18 it´s not terrible video quality... it´s an effect to show the difference

[@517wiiface]

These two teams are evenly matched.

[@DaBossMan32]

How do you find minutes for Harden with your idea, do you just go small most of the time?? Maynor, Westbrook, Harden, Durant, and a big?

[@bballbreakdown]

@AnAProductions151 He would be the #2 shooting guard in the league!

[@bballbreakdown]

@Slamwoo93 I think it's more that he plays angry, you know?

[@BlackenedThunder]

Sefolosha starts. That's how it should work, too, Harden's scoring off the bench is valuable. Sefolosha is a great defender, he should start games. Harden gets his minutes anyway.

[@CaptKirby18]

@JhonnyKing0001 yes, I was serious that it was bad quality and probably what was being commented on...what does being a flashback require terrible video quality for?

[@bballbreakdown]

@chitownkidd33 Haven't seem much of that ever. Maybe Dwight Howard a few times.. and MJ

[@dddicf]

I think your'e right and i think this is what prooves that even if you manage to get 20 points 6 rebs and 8 assist like westbrook does, doesn't mean that you're a great point guard, don't get me wrong Westbrook is a really great player, but not fit to play point guard unless he sets his mind to the mood of the game, a good point guard makes plays with or whitout the assist, westbrook is too impatient (like me lol) he's really good but impatient but like u said if he played sg it take away stress

[@bballbreakdown]

@SquishyCandyftw Stay tuned - a quickie on OKC DAL today and Bulls Heat tmrw!

[@bballbreakdown]

@brodouglas Thanks!!

[@jadenchup2]

Basketball isn't just power and quickness. =) NICE MAYNOR!

[@Wymetime]

To all Westbrook haters. Let's not forget all that Westbrook is capable of when thinking he should be traded. Consider game 4 against the Grizzlies. Highest scorer on the Thunder and second highest amount of assists.(Harden had 7, he had 5) Or you can take into account game 7 where he had 14 assists opposed to Harden's close ranking second place of 3 assists. Yes, he has a lot to figure out, but give him the time. People should really consider all the facts before jumping to conclusions.

[@bballbreakdown]

@590221010 LOL - wanted to make sure you guys realized it was from Game 1

[@max420ful]

@wac411 its not ur computer its youtube wait for a minute or two it will get better replay in in like 5 mins !

[@bballbreakdown]

@ISonbabball Stay tuned - our next breakdown is coming up ASAP!

[@mxr2000]

Hey Nobody knows if Dallas would use Caron Butler on this series?

[@wac411]

is it my computer or is the video quality lower then it usually is?

[@KFourTwenty]

@bballbreakdown Plus, saying the Thunder watched the last breakdown is what caused them to front the post? I mean, I understand the attempt at humor, but that's basically the definition of pretentious. It's just a simple coaching move they should have done in the first game. I promise they didn't realize this need by watching your breakdown.

[@A2cool]

Okc has the same problems in the 4th vs elite teams, they tend to go isolation plays with Durant or Westbrook instead of getting the ball to the inside with Ibaka and Perkins. Its like they don't trust their inside scoring and settle for jumpshots late in the game

[@beatcavs09]

Did you get an offer from the Lakers yet?

[@Wymetime]

As for putting Westbrook at SG, I'm all for trying it... next season.

[@TR18NJ]

Is James Harden a starter? Or is Sefalosha still the starting SG?

[@bballbreakdown]

@retrotw I'm sure you feel even more this way after Game 4! Kidd was great, Westbrook... not so much.

[@JhonnyKing0001]

@CaptKirby18 are you serious or was that just a joke? it´s a flashback, that´s why it looked like that

[@bballbreakdown]

@heyyyitsandre24 Stay tuned - we have something coming up in the off season. BUT, check our videos for a breakdown comparing the Lakers and the CLippers offense - you'll see some of how it works! Coach NIck

[@rawurn]

I think that would be a great idea movie Westbrook to SG. There are SGs in the NBA just as small as Westbrook. He's a great scorer... The Thunder needs a point guard to control the team, not score. And the experience issue? there are a lot of guys just as young as Westbrook that are great players. Derrick Rose and John Wall carry their teams and are both great scorers and point guards.

[@ajlian1]

you're criticizing westbrook wayy to much. The poor kid is only 22 years old. This is only one game out of many he played in the season and you really can't judge him off one game. I get that he made mistakes in that game but he's still learning and you can't say he's not a great player like some are in the comments

[@bballbreakdown]

@DaBossMan32 Well, I like having Ibaka and Collison out there together. So you can go Harden, Durant, and Westbrook with them. Or you can do Maynor, Westbrook, Harden,Durant, Ibaka/Collison. Hell, have Harden play the PF and let Durant play shooting guard!

[@bballbreakdown]

@smiley4284 This is what I've been saying all playoff long. They started experimenting w/ it and I wouldn't be surprised to see more of it next year. Check out our NBA Finals breakdowns - a great conversation going on over there right now!

[@bballbreakdown]

@chikenfriedricey and Dean Smith was the only person to hold Michael Jordan under 20! :)

[@KFourTwenty]

@bballbreakdown Also your first point contrasting how they run the offense is another example. You are applying greater importance to what Maynor did to run the offense than is true. Yes he dribbled the ball to the left side of the court but Harden's the one that delt with Terry better. If Harden would have cut more to the top instead of toward Westbrook. Westbrook would have been able to pass him the ball. This was mostly Harden's cut not Westbrook's "torpedoing of the offense."

[@animiefansHQ]

Maybe, but if you watched this playoffs he's defiantly grown up there's no doubt he is no longer immature and cocky( at least a bit i mean who can't be cocky with his skillset) plus being cocky is a attribute for basketball i don''t see what you have against lebron