Defense anyone?

If you like high-scoring basketball, with jump shot after jump shot finding the bottom of the net, then last night was pure joy. Some bullet point thoughts on Game 1:

• Dirk Nowitzki: 48 points with a 93.9 true shooting percentage (12 of 15 from the floor and 24 of 24 from the line). Kevin Durant: 40 points with a 75.9 true shooting percentage (10 of 18 from the floor and 18 and 19 from the line). Wow.
  
• Considering that both Dallas and Oklahoma City were in the top 10 in offensive efficiency during the season, and have continued to flourish during the playoffs, it's interesting to watch just how differently they get their points. Dirk may be the only player on the Mavericks who can score consistently without help. Therefore, the Mavs rely on ball movement and the execution of complex, half-court sets. Oklahoma City, on the other hand, pretty much just puts the ball in the hands of either Westbrook or Durant and says, "go to work." If an assist is to be had, it's usually because of a double team. While the team's styles are contrasting, what is important is the common theme: both teams play to their strengths and orchestrate their offense around their players' talents.
• I don't want to hear any complaints from Thunder fans about the officiating. Despite Dirk's 24 foul shots, the Thunder actually got to the line more than the Mavs. And when Dirk is being covered by a foul-prone Serge Ibaka or an overmatched James Harden or Kevin Durant, what do you expect to happen?
• It will be interesting to see if Scott Brooks stays with his Game 1 strategy of one-on-one coverage on Dirk Nowitzki. On the one hand, the Thunder clearly have no one to cover him. On the other hand, he can't shoot THAT well most games, and if you pay him too much attention you're risking a barrage of Maverick three pointers (see Dallas v. Los Angeles).
  
• Nate Robinson will most likely not play again this series. He got a rare cameo appearance at the beginning of the fourth quarter and got absolutely torched by J.J. Barea.
• Despite his numbers, Russell Westbrook actually played much better than he has in a few other OKC playoff games. He wasn't forcing jumpers and was instead driving to the hole. The problem is, once he got there he was throwing up wild attempts at the rim in an attempt to evade the long arms of Tyson Chandler and Brendan Haywood. You would expect Westbrook to finish at a better rate going forward, but keep in mind that he has struggled in every game against Dallas this year. He may need to start looking to kick once he gets into the lane, as opposed to trying to score.
• Nick Collison: 17 minutes, +7. Only player on the Thunder with a positive +/-. Going forward, the Thunder may want to think about upping his minutes at the expense of Kendrick Perkins.
• The Mavericks need to pay a bit more attention to Serge Ibaka. How many open dunks did he have in the second half?

Also, a few thoughts on the NBA Draft lottery:

• Is anyone surprised that the L.A. Clippers pick, with less than a 3% chance of winning the lottery, came out at #1 after it was traded away? I know Bill Simmons wasn't...
• Minnesota is likely slotted to get Derrick Williams at #2. Again, seems quite fitting. You can never have too many under-sized scorers on the front-line who struggle on defense.
• After those top couple picks, who knows what happens? This draft is wide open. It looks pretty weak, but I don't pretend to know much about the three or four international players that are near the top of the board.
• Take a look at Draft Express for their always impressive (and in this case extremely quick on the trigger) analysis and early mock draft.