The first-round matchup between the Portland Trail Blazers and the Oklahoma City Thunder proved to be arguably the most entertaining series of the playoffs so far. Damian Lillard had perhaps his finest performance in the postseason with a playoff-career-high 50 points, including a 37-foot game-winner as time expired. The two teams exchanged plenty of trash talk throughout the series, setting the table for one incredible finish in Game 5 on Tuesday. As the Trail Blazers eliminated the Thunder, the trash talk didn’t finish there. Former Thunder center Enes Kanter got in on the action, too. Of course, a video clip went viral two years ago in the playoffs when Thunder coach Billy Donovan appeared to say that he “can’t play Kanter” on defense. Kanter fired back to that notion after the Game 5 victory. CAN play Kanter — Enes Kanter (@Enes_Kanter) April 24, 2019 As it turned out, the Trail Blazers could play Kanter. Kanter averaged a playoff-career-high 13.2 points, 10.2 rebounds and two assists for Portland. He recorded 20 points and 18 rebounds in Game 1 as he torched the Thunder for most of the series. Kanter will always be a fan favorite in Oklahoma City but his performance against his former team is likely one that felt good for him, especially after the apparent comments made by Donovan. On Tuesday, Kanter made sure to send one last shot to his old coach.<doc-sep>OKC Thunder head coach Billy Donovan took hits on social media from former player Enes Kanter and Marcus Morris the twin of existing player Markieff. No doubt OKC Thunder head coach Billy Donovan is feeling the heat after yet another first round exit. Arguably, the biggest question in OKC at the moment is whether General Manager Sam Presti will fire the bench boss given the lack of postseason success. While the roster doesn’t offer the personnel required to accomplish certain feats such as shooting (by multiple players) there are other more extenuating factors like the apparent lack of offense. Want your voice heard? Join the Thunderous Intentions team! Write for us! Shortly after ‘the shot’ heard round the NBA world ended the OKC Thunder season Billy D was taking hits from unexpected targets. Former player Enes Kanter hit Twitter with a bit of shade with “CAN play Kanter”. This was in reference to the season Billy Donovan was witnessed on the sidelines saying to his assistant coach “we can’t play Kanter”. CAN play Kanter — Enes Kanter (@Enes_Kanter) April 24, 2019 Perhaps the craziest part of this equation is Kanter’s fellow stache brother Steven Adams was the man relegated to the bench in the last two games of the Thunder’s season as the Thunder elected to go small with Jerami Grant positioned at the five. This was partially in response to trying to stop the Blazers star backcourt and need for a quicker, more agile center on the court but also in response to trying to stop Kanter and attack him defensively. Kanter was at the podium post game sporting a well wrapped shoulder which he noted may be separated and required a shot (needle) so he could continue in the second half. Certainly, if the shoulder is separated his ability to play in the next series will be affected as generally, a separated shoulder would keep a player off the court. (Fred VanVleet, for example, experienced a separated shoulder the last game of 2018 and wasn’t able to play the entire first round series). Kanter will always be beloved in Oklahoma City. He truly is such a likable guy and his comments about Donovan aren’t isolated as we’re discovering. Another player also took shots at Donovan although this time it was about an existing player (granted it was his twin taking the shot). Billy is going to have a very awkward press conference. Not only did KD speak ill of him, but now Markieff’s brother has ripped into him and the coaching staff. Seems like players aren’t meshing. — Logan Meyer (@Logmey92) April 25, 2019 Jay King who writes for the paid for subscription site The Athletic posted an article which featured Marcus Morris the twin brother of Markieff Morris going off on Billy Donovan as well. The Celtics player noted his dissatisfaction over his brother’s limited playing time (four minutes in Game 5). And, like many fans queried why Donovan did nothing to take the ball of Lillard’s hands even prior to the ‘the shot’. Suffice to say it’s been a rough go for Donovan who took to the podium postgame citing various calls and non-calls in the game, the excellence of Damian Lillard and missed free throws as reasons for the loss. Sure feels like Donovan’s seat should be feeling toasty and if it isn’t we have to ask the question – why isn’t it?<doc-sep>
Enes Kanter had some thinly veiled shots for the New York Knicks, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Billy Donovan after Portland’s stunning victory. New York Knicks fans know the best and worst of Enes Kanter as a player. At his best, he’s a physical presence on the interior that plays through pain and dominates the offensive glass. At his worst, the outspoken center is stealing headlines and causing controversy. Tuesday night falls somewhere in the middle. Knicks fans are likely to be fuming after Kanter’s postgame comments. "First off, I would definitely like to thank the Knicks for waiving me." Enes Kanter has no filter ? (via @ESPNNBA) pic.twitter.com/RqiYrMkeZF — SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 24, 2019 However, following the Portland Trail Blazers’ stunning comeback over the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Knicks weren’t the only team Kanter was thinking about. The Turkish center subtweeted his former head coach—Billy Donovan. CAN play Kanter — Enes Kanter (@Enes_Kanter) April 24, 2019 The tweet was a reference to something Donovan said to assistant coach Mo Cheeks on the bench in 2017. Kanter is a below average pick-and-roll defender and he is often taken off the court because of the mismatch. The Houston Rockets and Clint Capela exploited that weakness and that’s when Donovan was caught by the cameras saying, “Can’t play Kanter.” P&R lob to Capela causes Billy Donovan to tell Mo Cheeks, "Can't play Kanter." pic.twitter.com/4ROFSNpFw6 — Yaya Dubin (@JADubin5) April 17, 2017 During the 2016 Western Conference Finals, Kanter saw his role diminish due to his below average defense. This is nothing new and it’s part of the reason why he was benched with the Knicks during the 2018-19 season. With all this said, Kanter can be a very valuable player given the right role and situation. In Portland’s five-game series victory, Kanter averaged 13.2 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game. He filled in nicely for the injured Jusuf Nurkic and showed he can be the starting center on a successful team. Of course, Kanter might not have had the chance to troll his former team if not for Damian Lillard’s insane buzzer beater.