The Rotation: Kelly Olynyk has a reputation and JaVale McGee has redemption

Welcome to The Rotation, our daily playoff wrap-up of our favorite stories, large and small, from last night’s NBA action.

Kelly Olynyk continues to add to his reputation

By Matt Cianfrone (@Matt_Cianfrone)

Before we get started on this section I want to make this clear: What Kelly Oubre Jr. did was dumb and unnecessary. It could have potentially cost his team dearly considering he is one of only two good bench players the Wizards have, but ultimately it didn’t matter. If he is suspended for Game 4 (which he absolutely should not be, but more on that below) it becomes even worse. But despite all of that being true, there is really only one acceptable response following Thursday night.

Kelly Olynyk is the worst.

No, this isn’t based just on the screen that set Oubre off. While that screen was a little bit dirty, Olynyk seems to drop his shoulder a bit in an attempt to hit Oubre in the head, Oubre getting leveled was mostly on the Wizards for not communicating. But after ESPN came back from commercial following the incident, they did play a replay of a screen that was very clearly dirty. In that clip Olynyk brought his forearms right up to the shoulder and head area on Oubre who just got out of the way of major harm.

And this all comes after this play in Game 2 where Olynyk fell awkwardly into an airborne John Wall after seemingly leaning into his direction.

And there is also the famous Kevin Love play which Olynyk seemingly went back to in the first round against Robin Lopez. Add it all up and it is becoming pretty hard to believe that all of these plays are just a result of Olynyk being “clumsy”.

And that doesn’t even account for the worst part of Thursday night’s incident.

By running towards the referee the way he did, Olynyk seems to be trying to act tough. Yet when Oubre touches him Olynyk flops in a manner Marcus Smart would be proud of. For a player involved in so many “hard nosed” incidents, Olynyk’s response is ridiculous.

If you are going to toe the line between dirty and physical as much as Olynyk does you need to be tough about it. Acting like you got hit with a knockout punch when a player pushes you in the chest just ridiculous, and makes it seem like the incident is much worse than it really was. If Olynyk just stays on his feet I doubt we are having the discussion about Oubre being suspended for Game 4. But he didn’t and now we are at the point where many people expect the Wizards’ sixth man to miss an important game.

All because Kelly Olynyk stays the worst.

Play of the Day: KD at the tip of the triangle

By Jeff Siegel (@jgsiegel)

One of the central ideas of the Golden State offense in the Steve Kerr era has been a modified and updated integration of the Triangle. Using the gravity of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, the Warriors have torn teams apart with back cuts and oddly placed screens to find openings for their offensive stars. In the past, Andrew Bogut would be the man with the ball in the mid-post or at the elbow, where he would consistently pick the correct pass to keep the offense moving. While Bogut is a fantastic passer, opposing teams did have a couple of options to defend this action: either the big guarding Bogut would back off to cut off passing lanes to Curry and Thompson, or he would pressure up on the ball, knowing Bogut didn’t have the skill to put the ball on the floor and beat his man.

Among many other problems he solves, the Warriors’ acquisition of Kevin Durant last offseason obliterates the idea of the on-ball defender helping elsewhere to deny the many cuts and screens Golden State likes to run. Opponents cannot afford to leave Durant open at the elbow or the mid-post, so pressure it is, which opens up the paint for cutters.

Draymond Green enters the ball to Durant on the right side of the floor, and watch the rest of the Warriors move around him, orbiting Durant and each other like planets around a sun:

None of this is orchestrated—it’s all about the feel of the play and taking what the defense gives them. Thompson initially comes around a screen from Andre Iguodala, but instead of taking a second screen from Green, he feels Rodney Hood on his back and decides to cut down the middle of the lane. Rudy Gobert snuffs out that threat, but now in comes Curry on a similar cut. Iguodala fades out toward the corner while Green spots up for a jumper at the top of the key.

So far, there’s very little to distinguish this play from one we’ve seen hundreds of times over the previous two seasons with Bogut at the helm of the offense, but once Durant puts the ball on the floor, everything changes. If Utah tries to take away all the cutters and shooters around Durant, he’s in a great position to work his magic in the post; something Bogut very rarely was able to do. In this clip, Durant takes two dribbles, forcing Dante Exum to help down one beat too long, which opens up Green at the top of the key. With Exum and the Jazz scrambling to catch up, Green is able to get in the lane and find Iguodala for an easy layup.

Gobert did the best he could to leave Iguodala, who has yet to make a 3-pointer in the postseason, but even he can’t make up for the multitude of weapons Golden State has at their disposal.

Who is JaVale McGee, really?

By Rory Masterson (@rorymasterson)

An unsolvable puzzle: the Warriors have four All-Stars at ostensibly suitable, traditional “wing” positions in Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant and Draymond Green. Thompson’s general underratedness aside, everybody knows the ball is going through one of these four people on essentially every possession Golden State’s offense runs. It is the nature of the beast, and the Warriors are a multi-faceted beast the likes of which makes diamonds envious.

The natural reaction for any competent coach is to drive the ball inside and, essentially, see what happens. It worked for the Cavaliers in last year’s Finals, with LeBron James as a power forward/point forward/point LeBron, and it (damn near infamously, at this point) worked for the Denver Nuggets earlier this season, with an inside-outside presence that produced a record-tying 24 3-pointers made in a game, a game in which Nikola Jokic went for 23 points, 21 rebounds and 12 assists on a game-high +33. Granted, the Warriors shot historically poorly; granted, most points weren’t scored inside. Granted, etc., etc., etc.

The problem for the Jazz, right now, and the Trail Blazers before them is one of raw strength: the Warriors possess three of the best shooters ever, as well as an all-time glue guy who fills any space necessary and happens to also be an all-time great defender. Getting around the Warriors is a fool’s errand, and yet, it is the only way. The problem? What awaits them is a 7-foot chameleon, a man who has made a career out of being a buffoon, only to await redemption under the right circumstances.

Here are a few facts about JaVale McGee: he has the wingspan of a condor, the likes of which disrupt the immeasurability of Rudy Gobert. He once made a habit of planking, perhaps even in a professional basketball game. He is currently averaging career-high playoff marks in block percentage, offensive rebound percentage and, by a wide margin, PER.

McGee has become an anomaly, apart from everything he’s stood for thus far in his NBA career. He’s a staple on Shaqtin A Fool, sometimes unjustly, but forever present, a lark in a world meant for vultures. After years in the NBA’s custodial closet, McGee has emerged, the key to an otherwise objectively unbelievable intersection of playmaking, shot taking and floor spacing. Some of this credit is due to Zaza Pachulia, but even he can only do so much.

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A laughingstock becomes a hero. Isn’t that the story of 2017 in a nutshell? McGee is perfect for this time, and this place. Oracle Arena is due to crumble after the Warriors move to San Francisco, yet McGee seems fit as an outsider. He hasn’t taken a shot outside of ten feet thus far during these playoffs, and it is suiting him well, going for an insane +47 through the first five games of these playoffs. If anyone is to figure out the Warriors (hello, Cleveland), then they must first figure out JaVale McGee, an incomprehensible man and even more enigmatic basketball player.