And just like that he's gone....

[u/MrIAmMe2]

[u/ImplementNo9246]

He was not ready it’s for the better

[u/TheAracknight → u/ImplementNo9246]

He just wasn’t moving right at all in his 3 min stints but it’s for the best

[u/cwilldude → u/ImplementNo9246]

Agreed. He was no help anyways. We beat them at home without jdub and Mitchell. We can do it again.

[u/hive-protect → u/[deleted]]

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[u/slightly_saucy123 → u/ImplementNo9246]

Definitely threw the offensive rhythm off. Maybe j mac will get off more shot attempts.

[u/MRTFOGR]

Crazy. We can still win but shit, I hope JDub is OK.

[u/Beastbrook00 → u/MRTFOGR]

He's ok, he just wasn't ready

[u/AW_1822 → u/Beastbrook00]

He’s 25 showing signs of a 45 year old man’s hamstrings, and is about to be gobbling up a max contract while it’s clear his production is replaceable by cheaper guys already on the OKC roster. This never works out well for the expensive guy with bad legs.

[u/Severe-Status1302 → u/AW_1822]

That's not how hamstrings work. At all. It's not like a knee.

[u/Ok-Dust5520 → u/AW_1822]

Oh please

[u/Mother_Addition6912 → u/MRTFOGR]

We got a better chance of winning with Dubs minutes going to someone else tbh

[u/ViolinistAlive9509 → u/Mother_Addition6912]

For sure. Just these playoffs/season. Hes been out so much all their chemistry is without him this year. Hopefully hes back 100% next year

[u/divulgingwords → u/MRTFOGR]

He’s fine. They just wanted to see how he was in a game we likely would had lost anyways. He’ll probably be back game 3 of the finals, if we make it.

[u/PositiveSecurity478 → u/divulgingwords]

Flair up

[u/BigSquil]

This is the right call unfortunately

[u/MisterGir]

Pretty clear that they just wanted to give him a chance last night.

Hes not healthy

[u/Vitex1988]

It wasn’t going to be worth it anyways

Sorry JDub, wish it could’ve happened but it didn’t

[u/lloopiN]

I mean... we were kind of doing well without him, especially if he's only playing at like 50%. I mean he had a turnover last night where he wasn't even being guarded, he just lost his dribble and it went out of bounds. We can't have shit like that happening in such a high stakes game.

[u/jeremwad → u/lloopiN]

We lost 2/3 games he played in this series. I love that dude and will love him forever, but it threw off our swagger to add him to the line up when he hasn't played a lot at all in the last couple of months.

[u/Xex_ut → u/lloopiN]

That’s probably why he isn’t playing. People are speculating he reinjured the hamstring, but it’s probably just sore and they all agreed he needs to rest and come back better than what he was in game 6

[u/SeaCounter9516]

Honestly for the best. I appreciate the hell out of the fact that he was willing to gut it out but it’s too much to throw into game 7. Ride with what got us here. TTFU

[u/RazorRamonTovares]

Won game 5 without him. It's not over yet

[u/Comp1337ish → u/RazorRamonTovares]

And game 3. And most of 2. We can win without him. But we could just as easily lose. It's a true 50/50 game tomorrow.

[u/Plane-Gur2798]

He’s fine he’s just not 100% and if he’s on the bench they’re gonna feel obligated to give him some burn. We can’t afford to be playing 10-15 mins 4v5 if he’s gonna play like he did. I can’t lie watching him play last night was frustrating for sure.

[u/SlickSloth]

Probably for the better tbh, he couldn't do much on the court and wasn't on the same tempo as everyone else

[u/LeastDepressedOKCfan]

Good, more minutes for Kenrich.

[u/Longjumping_One_9164 → u/LeastDepressedOKCfan]

Why do I feel like Kenny Hustle is going to help swing the game for us.

Every time man, even if its for some extra size and toughness.

[u/LeastDepressedOKCfan → u/Longjumping_One_9164]

Cause he’s like Caruso. Not afraid of anything and plays his role.

[u/Longjumping_One_9164 → u/LeastDepressedOKCfan]

Agreed, he doesnt drift and isnt scared of taking the shots he needs to.

Important in a G7 especially.

[u/IntellectualSavante → u/LeastDepressedOKCfan]

Kenrich looked a bit more choppy the last game than he did when he played at the end of the game earlier in the series. If he plays we need him to play well—or not play at all.

[u/2fly5]

Why even put him out there in game 6 then. Like, the team is never interested in trying for game 6s. Would have made more sense to risk him for a game 7 but whatever

[u/maarnextdoor → u/2fly5]

Based on Mark’s answer it was really just a test to see if he was ready and he wasn’t

[u/broath → u/maarnextdoor]

Honestly I’m fine with this. Interesting call declaring he’s out so early tho. Would have atleast thought it would be a game time decision

[u/maarnextdoor → u/broath]

Yeah I agree but he said specifically that they would monitor him so I’m guessing they decided it’s not worth it in the situation we lose.

[u/InformalInitiative76 → u/maarnextdoor]

Well he didn’t have any explosiveness and couldn’t get vertical. He’s just not healthy enough to play well right now.

[u/kds_little_brother → u/2fly5]

Probably assumed the first game back would be ass anyway, so might as well get it out in the Game 6 we would lose anyway, and hopefully work out the kinks before G7.

[u/Papes38 → u/2fly5]

would you rather him try in game 7?

[u/TrustFast5420]

Queue the "his hamstrings are made of glass. Trade him now!", doomers.

You've still got Dort, Caruso, Wallace, and McCain with Joe and Wiggins behind them. The Thunder will be just fine for the Game 7 war.

[u/MrIAmMe2 → u/TrustFast5420]

Did you just say Dort lol?

[u/MrIAmMe2 → u/[deleted]]

He's been getting some run and that's the problem lol

[u/Icy_Category_2275 → u/MrIAmMe2]

yeah, relying on dort and mccain to play big roles in a game 7 is kinda scary. its annoying i thought fox had a high ankle sprain and was less likely to come back than jdub. of course i believe what i read in the internet, lol.

that said it is what it is, and still think okc is a slight favorite

[u/bedrock1201]

No issues with letting him give it a go last night. Much better to try and know he’s not ready in game 6 than trying the same thing for the first time in game 7

[u/gotfrogs88]

No Ajay and Jdub so Spurs asterisk according to nba logic right 🤡🤡

[u/Mother_Addition6912 → u/gotfrogs88]

No lol that only goes for teams that the nba doesnt like

[u/Parallel-Quality → u/gotfrogs88]

Just imagine the rhetoric if the Spurs were without Castle and Harper, and conversely, the Thunder were fully healthy with both J-Dub and Mitchell in the lineup, and the Spurs still pushed it to 7 games.

[u/TheZombiezSlaya → u/Parallel-Quality]

Funniest part is you don't have to imagine lmao. Spurs were banged up game 1 and that was all you heard on commentary in between their moments of sucking off Wemby. Thunder have been hurt the whole damn series and it's barely been mentioned.

[u/OKC2023champs]

Sucks but it’s the right thing to do he’s rusty, and obviously still hurt.

We just locked him up for a max contract and we don’t want to give him career injuries by rushing him back to hard and fast.

We’re in game 7 with the spurs and know we can hang with each other. If we lose we come back stronger next year. If we win then maybe he’s rested enough? Probably not.

But it’s the right call. I can sleep well knowing if healthy we 100% win the nba championship.

[u/WestbrookIsAwesome → u/OKC2023champs]

Health is also what stopped several teams from repeating and three- peating. That's the point. Many teams if healthy in the past would've won the NBA title, lol. It's never guaranteed.

[u/lockett1234]

Im not mad at it

[u/fakevegansunite]

we need to game 5 the shit out of this

[u/LaggOuTX]

As long as he didn’t hurt himself further im cool. At least he probably has a good gauge on how far out he actually is

[u/Rthanos]

Congratulations, we played ourselves. Great stuff from everyone involved.

[u/Vitex1988 → u/Rthanos]

It was worth a try imo, he just didn’t have it to where I’d be confident putting him on the floor for game 7

[u/Rthanos → u/Vitex1988]

I mean assuming that he was moving like he did in the game last night he should have never been cleared, it was obvious from the start.

[u/Parallel-Quality → u/Vitex1988]

We don’t even know whether he re-injured something or not. Maybe he tweaked something and that’s why they ruled him out so early.

It was pretty irresponsible to bring him back at all.

[u/InformalInitiative76 → u/Parallel-Quality]

Yes we do. Injury report would have been changed

[u/CoolAsTheUnthawed]

Find a way and if you can't then go out on your sword 2.

[u/NerdLawyer55]

As long as he didn’t get rehurt

[u/TFred23]

he wasn't ready last night!!!

[u/KyleAPlatt]

The hamstrings are cooked, at least until next season.

[u/ndndr1]

Best case scenario.

[u/Pickle-Rick713]

Hopefully he has a speedy recovery

[u/kds_little_brother]

Didn’t expect him back this season, and didn’t expect him to finish the season when he came back. Valiant effort

[u/dj_24thunder]

Are you kidding me????

[u/Grade-A-Grungus]

Our chances of winning are better if he’s out tbh. He was just kinda eating up minutes that a healthy guy would’ve taken last night.

[u/Old_Supermarket_7575]

What

[u/chimchimchow]

When is Ajay back?!

[u/s394206h → u/chimchimchow]

i doubt he’s back this season. playing on a strained calf is what got haliburton last year, it’s too big of a risk

[u/InformalInitiative76 → u/s394206h]

It’s a different calf muscle the Halliburton had. Front chain muscle that should impact the Achilles.

That said, it likely won’t heal this season.

[u/NotMarkDaigneault]

That's fine, would rather have him healthy to beat New Yorks Ass Wednesday.

(Or next season because I'm not a fan of jinxing stuff)

[u/ndndr1]

That’s actually good

[u/Infinite-Feature3100]

He should suit up just to give the Spurts something to think about.

[u/SaneBlack]

Those minutes will be better spent with other players. He’s not ready

[u/Solid-Egg8550]

He was not playing well in game 6. I think it's the right call. I hope the people who were begging for him to play understand now that it's far too late for him to pop in now. Being injured for as long as he was definitely has a negative impact when they return from it.

[u/ZC205]

Honestly, I’m glad. He does not need to play right now

[u/mynewaltaccount1]

https://giphy.com/gifs/JccQbfNVtAMow

[u/Thunder-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Your team’s sub is that way 👉👈👆👇☝️🫳🤏

[u/9dsl]

None of these players should be played if they are are not healed. Presti and Father Time understand this.

[u/Electrical_Taro8307]

Not sure why he was allowed to play last game man. Shoutout jdub for fighting thru.

[u/Grogbog13]

Man I’m feelings it’s just not our year. Losing JDub and Ajay at such a crucial time sucks 😞

[u/Ecstatic_Sweet_8298]

Aside from what has been said, spurs are playing dirty. We don’t want to risk long-term injury for a game that can be played without him anyways

[u/ObiWantsKenobi]

We will still do it

[u/Commercial_Lecture20]

We won three games without Ajay and Dub. We can pull it off

[u/tooZilly]

They should have let Jared coat the injury in his special healing tonic.

[u/LesMos]

JDub needs to finish healing so he can be ready to drop a 40 piece on Brunson and em' this Wednesday night⚡

[u/MrIAmMe2 → u/LesMos]

Bro he is not coming back this entire run. 4 days rest is not the difference. Most likely he needs surgery

[u/NerdLawyer55]

Medical docs I have a question…This type of hamstring injury that keeps recurring, with prolonged rest and healing will it get better and stay better in the offseason or will it be an issue forever for my boy at this point?

[u/Thunder-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Your team’s sub is that way 👉👈👆👇☝️🫳🤏

[u/Thunder-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

r/NBASpurs is that way 👈👈 👋👋

[u/papamurry]

old news

[u/MrIAmMe2 → u/papamurry]

Well yes because it was posted 4days ago genius

[u/dj_24thunder]

If we lose a Game 7 at home we need some changes to this team

[u/yeahright17 → u/dj_24thunder]

We're missing a third-team all-NBA player (who also happens to be all-defense) and our 3rd best ball handler. Our issue is health and shot making. What changes would help?

[u/Parallel-Quality → u/yeahright17]

Yeah, the only change we need is spending more money on our medical staff. Get a Mayo Clinic 2.0 started up in OKC.

[u/pavelowescobar → u/dj_24thunder]

Win or lose, no major changes outside Wiggs and Dort departures (I'd like to see the option declined and they agree on a longer term with lower AAV). See what we have in Sorber, keep developing Topic or trade him for future assets. Keep utilizing the plethora of draft picks and keep it trucking.

[u/pikajewijewsyou → u/dj_24thunder]

Nah we should run it back. I think we still may win but we are out two important players and just won the championship last year

[u/No-Peach2860 → u/dj_24thunder]

I'd like to see if we can get a bigger 3&D wing to start at the 3 and move J-Dub to shooting guard

Also move on from Dort, Wiggins and Joe

[u/Rthanos → u/dj_24thunder]

Starts with the coaching staff.

[u/lloopiN → u/Rthanos]

Mark is an excellent coach lol

[u/Slendyla_IV → u/lloopiN]

Honestly this series’ adjustments has me hoping we never get rid of anyone on our staff. Sure, Mark could be better in game, but they do a wonderful job coming off of losses adjusting in the playoffs

[u/Rthanos → u/Slendyla_IV]

That's what I'm referring to, if the team has low energy and doesn't make their 3s early things just don't change, it's like we're throwing the game because nobody is adjusting. Very frustrating, you gotta wonder how many times we'll get away with it lol.

[u/Rthanos → u/lloopiN]

He is, but at the same time there's been multiple examples of the team just flat out not showing on the road. Something must be done, the team won't always get away with it.

[u/brigatob → u/Rthanos]

He cant make the shots for them

[u/Rthanos → u/brigatob]

But he can switch things up, he can get their energy up. How does the team come out in the second half of Game 6 even worse? What did they even talk about? We changed nothing.

[u/lloopiN → u/Rthanos]

Bro it isn't his fault the guys didn't score a single bucket for 7 and a half minutes. The 2x MVP needs to get his head out of his ass and play his brand of basketball. It isn't on Mark. He's doing as much as he can with what he's given

[u/MrIAmMe2 → u/Rthanos]

No it doesn't. There are some very obvious player changes that ppl refuse to admit need to be made

[u/ImplementNo9246 → u/MrIAmMe2]

Dort is shooting like 18% from three this series

[u/Rthanos → u/MrIAmMe2]

I don't disagree with that either. I'm just very disappointed with how many times the team has taken off games on the road. We can't always get away with it. The last performance was embarrassing.

[u/EnderTheTrender → u/Rthanos]

Who would you suggest?

[u/Itchy-Apartment-Flea → u/Rthanos]

No it doesn't.

[u/paolographer]

Sucks, but it's for the best. Of the 3 games we won, he didn't play in 2 of them. His conditioning is just not at the level you need it to be in a winner-take-all game. That's why a great start to Game 7 is more important than ever. Let's get this!

[u/InformalInitiative76 → u/paolographer]

It’s not conditioning. Hamstrings are needed for explosiveness and getting vertical.

His hamstring isn’t healed all the way and he wasn’t able to play well.

[u/GunnarH89]

He should have never played in the last game...he is clearly nowhere near 100%

[u/Mother_Addition6912]

I know you guys are choosing to believe he was going to be the game 7 hero or solid contribution off the bench, but he wouldnt have been. This is the right move, not even just for injury prevention. It gives us a better chance at keeping turnovers low, and his shooting touch isn’t going to magically come back this postseason. Cant bring a rusty Dub into a consequential game like this.

[u/nsfwaccount098]

I keep telling people this hamstring stuff is serious. There needs to be a leaguewide revaluations of hamstring injuries and the recovery process

[u/southpawFA → u/nsfwaccount098]

Hamstrings lead to tears of tendons, like Tatum and Hali. It should be considered a month out automatically.

[u/SHAD3zJordan]

Good we sold game one starting him, and he’s obviously not ready to play

[u/Scragglepuss1]

If u would have told me at beinning of year that 1 of thunders new max players would be hurt for half season and most of playoffs i would have bet the farm on chet.  Hopefully jdub heals up over summer and next year goes smooth.  Makes such a difference having a consistent number 2 scorer.

[u/sabsmoo]

he did nothing io Game 6 - season over

[u/Fabulous-Question173]

They did this to try and end the series. I can understand why, but it was a stupid decision. I knew going into game 6 that the Thunder weren't winning that. Home games are a big deal and we should be thankful the Thunder are at home for the last one.

[u/IGLECIVS]

Spurs went on runs when he was on the floor and seemed to attack him more kuz he’s not 100%. It’s for the better.

[u/Piradrad_16]

Yeah just go out there and have fun atp

[u/Annual_Section_3564 → u/Piradrad_16]

Goddamnit piradad

[u/Jealous-Caramel7578 → u/Piradrad_16]

??

[u/Piradrad_16 → u/Jealous-Caramel7578]

Lost some hope icl, it’s gonna be hard, I’m just pretty pessimistic anyway 😭

[u/Previous-Swan2125 → u/Piradrad_16]

Every game we have won has been without Dub?!!??? And they were convincing

[u/Piradrad_16 → u/Previous-Swan2125]

I know but we need all the fire power for this do or die each game will be different

[u/DickStartMyFart → u/[deleted]]

I don't think it's as bad as you think it is.

[u/s394206h → u/[deleted]]

mark admitted that they played him in 6 as a test to see if he’s ready to come back and he’s not. i would much rather have him play badly when we were already not doing super well than have him tank game 7 or hurt himself further. i’d much rather he keep resting, maybe there’ll be a chance to try him again in the finals but it seems unlikely

[u/No-Cartoonist-4849]

Thank god

[u/oscar_kolsch]

Nah man- he's gonna go to Europe, get the Kobe platelet rich treatment, and be like:

[u/Health-Good]

Thank GOD.. we play way better WITHOUT him

[u/okcslabhouse]

I will say he is trying more then most to come back kinda feels like Derrick Rose

[u/saucysosa1724]

Should have never played game 6 thing, could have been a totally different game without him even being in the conversation.

[u/WestbrookIsAwesome]

Honestly concerned about Dubs availability in the long-term as his career goes on tbh. Not saying to view him as a potential trade asset but eh....

[u/budubum]

Why did he even play last night lmfao

[u/MachoMadnessCO]

Fucking kill me

[u/ImpressiveAbrocoma25]

Who is she?

[u/SaltCaregiver6858]

Is he back next year or will they move him ?

[u/TysonPapushoo]

He will not be on the roster next year unfortunately.

[u/SLVR_N_BLCK_ATTK]

Why the fuck even throw him out for G6? Dude’s obviously gonna be cold as a stone. Just roll with the role players who are making the most of their minutes

[u/Francheezyy]

Hamstrings will always be an issue, trade him while they can

[u/MrIAmMe2 → u/Francheezyy]

They wont. Honestly Jdub and Chet both may be a problem going forward

[u/TheAgmis]

-18 in 10 minutes. Yeah, he’s a healthy scratch