OKC writers on 2013 threats

[thunderfan]

Just a tidbit from a writeup on dailythunder about who is a threat to OKC in 2013. LA getting all the attention with their offseason moves, but some writers had this to say about SA:

2. Young: The Spurs. They’re the Terminator of professional sports. They don’t die. Until Tim Duncan is crushed and melted, I won’t ever say the Spurs are done. Especially considering Tony Parker has quietly become one of the NBA’s undisputed top 10 players. They’re a year older than last season which means they’re OLD, but we should’ve all learned our lesson with the Spurs four years ago. You don’t write them off.

James: The Spurs. I am done doubting the Spurs when it comes to how long they can continue to be an elite team. They’ve had two rather spectacular flameouts in a row after grabbing the No. 1 seed in the West for two straight years, yes. But as long as Tim Duncan is suiting up, Gregg Popovich is on the sidelines and a quality cast of characters surrounds them and Tony Parker and Manu Ginobli, the Spurs belong in the discussion, no matter how old they are getting.

Marking: The Spurs. You know, I know that Bill Simmons will probably always call the Thunder the Zombie Sonics, but if you really think about it, the Zombie moniker really should go to the San Antonio Zombies at this point. I mean, does it not seem like every single time you think they’re done, that they’re too decrepid, that they simply can’t compete at that level anymore and are close to pushing up championship daisies they Just. Dont. Die. As long as Pop is coaching, Timmy is somewhat mobile, and they have something of a handful of Manu, Parker and Role Player Extraordinaires…please everyone, stop writing up the obituary for the Spurs. It only seems to make them angry. And hungry for human flesh.

[lefty]

Brool story

[Budkin]

Unless we get a quality big we're fucked against the Thunder.

[chazley]

Unless we get a quality big we're fucked against the Thunder.

Our issues against the Thunder were completely out of our hands. Ibaka/Perkins/Collison 24-26 on like 75% jumpshots, Harden miraculous 3, Thabo having game of his life.

To compound the issues, our role players all sucked. Danny Green, Tiago Splitter, and Gary Neal in particular. Tony also decided to get passive all series.

The good news is, alot of the issues can be fixed.

The bad news? No one is getting past the Lakers in the West this year.

[Sean Cagney]

Our issues against the Thunder were completely out of our hands. Ibaka/Perkins/Collison 24-26 on like 75% jumpshots, Harden miraculous 3, Thabo having game of his life.

To compound the issues, our role players all sucked. Danny Green, Tiago Splitter, and Gary Neal in particular. Tony also decided to get passive all series.

The good news is, alot of the issues can be fixed.

The bad news? No one is getting past the Lakers in the West this year.

I still think the Thunder can edge the Lakers man! They will be tough though. Chemistry wise the Thunder will be even better! LA and OKC would be a very tough series.

[Proxy]

Thunder shouldn't beat LA. Maybe they have Perkins and Ibaka to match up in size on paper, but that's about it. When you have Kobe and Nash wreaking havok on the perimeter and on fastbreak and setting up Dwight and Pau while Artest and Jamison fill their roles... there's no way they stop them on offense or score with ease on their defense. That all being taken into account, plus the refs/$$$ and I don't see it happening.

...am eager to see if a more aggressive Diaw, an actual backup PG in Mills, and Kawhi taking a bigger offense role makes that much of a difference. Hopefully it makes up for the inevitable disappearing act the normal chokers.

The Spurs will be there come playoff time. Just have to cross our fingers for some luck... a lot of luck.

[Seventyniner]

I still think the Thunder can edge the Lakers man! They will be tough though. Chemistry wise the Thunder will be even better! LA and OKC would be a very tough series.

Getting the #1 seed is more important than ever this year.

[cd98]

Thunder shouldn't beat LA. Maybe they have Perkins and Ibaka to match up in size on paper, but that's about it. When you have Kobe and Nash wreaking havok on the perimeter and on fastbreak and setting up Dwight and Pau while Artest and Jamison fill their roles... there's no way they stop them on offense or score with ease on their defense. That all being taken into account, plus the refs/$$$ and I don't see it happening.

...am eager to see if a more aggressive Diaw, an actual backup PG in Mills, and Kawhi taking a bigger offense role makes that much of a difference. Hopefully it makes up for the inevitable disappearing act the normal chokers.

The Spurs will be there come playoff time. Just have to cross our fingers for some luck... a lot of luck.

I disagree. Kobe looked OLD at the Olympics. Durrant looked like an unstoppable force. Thunder bigs can neutralize Howard. Not sure if Gasol and Howard can play together after Gasol/Bynum failed. And Westbrook can average 40 on Nash.

[Kidd K]

Unless we get a quality big we're fucked against the Thunder.

The Thunder's bigs didn't kill us inside. They killed us with 15-18 foot jumpers in only one game, and otherwise weren't a huge factor on either end with the exception of the allowed goaltends and moving screens; violations that simply weren't punished nearly 90% of the time OKC commited them.

Small statistical breakdown: between both Perkins and Ibaka. Perkins only scored 35 points for the whole 6 game series, which means under 6 PPG, and cracked the dreaded 5 point barrier just once. 72 total points for Ibaka (Over a third of that during his fluke 11/11 on almost all 15+ foot jumpshots miracle game), for a combined total of 8.9 PPG out of their starting frontcourt. And that's heavily inflated by Ibaka's fluke game. Otherwise it'd be around 7.5.

Rebounds? Maybe they killed us there? Nope. Ibaka only got more than 5 rebounds in 2 of the 6 games (7 once, 10 once), averaging 5.8 for the series. Perkins was a little better averaging 7 per game.


So combined, their starting frontcourt produced about 18 points and 13 rebounds per game.

Is that really scaring you? Seriously? Old ass Duncan can still do that by himself. Maybe not for an entire series, but for 3-4 games, sure. Their biggest game changing plays were violations (the 8 Ibaka goaltends that weren't whistled, and the 30+ moving screens they got away with). Their scoring, defense, and rebounding were pretty mediocre.

[Sean Cagney]

Thunder shouldn't beat LA. Maybe they have Perkins and Ibaka to match up in size on paper, but that's about it. When you have Kobe and Nash wreaking havok on the perimeter and on fastbreak and setting up Dwight and Pau while Artest and Jamison fill their roles... there's no way they stop them on offense or score with ease on their defense. That all being taken into account, plus the refs/$$$ and I don't see it happening.

...am eager to see if a more aggressive Diaw, an actual backup PG in Mills, and Kawhi taking a bigger offense role makes that much of a difference. Hopefully it makes up for the inevitable disappearing act the normal chokers.

The Spurs will be there come playoff time. Just have to cross our fingers for some luck... a lot of luck.

Basically.

[Proxy]

I disagree. Kobe looked OLD at the Olympics. Durrant looked like an unstoppable force. Thunder bigs can neutralize Howard. Not sure if Gasol and Howard can play together after Gasol/Bynum failed. And Westbrook can average 40 on Nash.

Westbrook can average 40 on Nash but I doubt Nash would be guarding him for many minutes if any.

I don't like the chances on Howard getting completely neutralized when you factor in that they have Kobe, Pau, and Nash feeding him the ball in various sets if they draw their honest, respective defensive attention.

The refs won't bail them out on 50/50 calls against LA and when Westbrook and Harden can'd drive in it'll be too much for Durant to carry.

[cd98]

Westbrook can average 40 on Nash but I doubt Nash would be guarding him for many minutes if any.

I don't like the chances on Howard getting completely neutralized when you factor in that they have Kobe, Pau, and Nash feeding him the ball in various sets if they draw their honest, respective defensive attention.

The refs won't bail them out on 50/50 calls against LA and when Westbrook and Harden can'd drive in it'll be too much for Durant to carry.

If Harden, Westbrook, and Durrant are in the game, Nash will have to guard someone. And the Thunder also have a good back up guard that missed most of last season.

No one on LA can guard Westbrook or Durrant.

Howard's offense is inconsistent, and he can't make free throws. Meanwhile the Thunder get to the line and shoot a high percentage. Howard is the best center in a league of mediocre centers. This isn't the late 90s when the league had great big men.

[freetiago]

LAs weakness will still be the same as they were last year
if SA plays the same way they played when they blew them out twice they can win
which is basically playing uptempo
dont let them get in set defense and run their old ass of the floor
4/5 players they put on the floor cant play effective man to man defense for the most part
theyll probably go zone with howard trying to fix all their mistakes
just score before they get set and youre good

[lefty]

OKC should beat the Lakers as long as Kome goes in Hero mode in the 4th quarter

[-21-]

Yes, OKC made their shots against us. They were on fire. That speaks about how potent they can be but you can't blame it all on them. One of the reasons they got hot is probably the Spurs' defense. Unless we improve our D, there is no saying they won't be able to replicate their performance last year.

Also, they stopped our offense. Some of our guys choked but OKC's defense stopped our PnR. On a rare ocassion that a Spur got to the basket, Ibaka and Perkins were there to block the shot.

What I'm saying is we can't be content with what we've done last year. We need to improve our defense AND our offense.

[Wild Cobra Kai]

Yes, OKC made their shots against us. They were on fire. That speaks about how potent they can be but you can't blame it all on them. One of the reasons they got hot is probably the Spurs' defense. Unless we improve our D, there is no saying they won't be able to replicate their performance last year.

Also, they stopped our offense. Some of our guys choked but OKC's defense stopped our PnR. On a rare ocassion that a Spur got to the basket, Ibaka and Perkins were there to block the shot.

What I'm saying is we can't be content with what we've done last year. We need to improve our defense AND our offense.

Right. Now. explain how we stop the combination of Ibaka and Perkins from shooting 22/25 for a game. No? That's because it can't be done. It was a freak of nature.

[thunderfan]

[QUOTE=Kidd K;6076411]Small statistical breakdown: between both Perkins and Ibaka. Perkins only scored 35 points for the whole 6 game series, which means under 6 PPG, and cracked the dreaded 5 point barrier just once. 72 total points for Ibaka (Over a third of that during his fluke 11/11 on almost all 15+ foot jumpshots miracle game), for a combined total of 8.9 PPG out of their starting frontcourt. And that's heavily inflated by Ibaka's fluke game. Otherwise it'd be around 7.5.

QUOTE]

Just to touch on a part of your post - I've said it no less than 5 times here and I'll say it again: Serge Ibaka is top 10-15 in the NBA in FG% from 16-23 feet. There's nothing fluke about what he did. 11-11, is that the norm for him, or for anyone? Of course not. However, that's his bread and butter shot and he shoots it at a high %. I don't think a lot of people realize this.

[thunderfan]

I think what I get out of what I read from the OKC writers is that they are pretty dead on. Look at where SA was prior to the WCF. Going into that series, most people were of the opinion that SA was just about as unstoppable as they get. I had little confidence in OKC's ability to get past them. I thought they were pretty much unbeatable. The point is - they're still that team really. Same coach, same stars, same ability to play to that perceived unbeatable level. People want to talk LA now, but I'm still saying SA is a more dangerous opponent. LA is better now, but I'm not quite ready to call them the biggest threat in the West yet.

[temujin]

Stern allowed OKC to the Finals, but that was it, all of a sudden moving screens were moving screens.
Durant is still young, and will certainly be delivered a title sometime in the future, but likely not with OKC.
And certainly not with Nash, who has been waiting for 15 years, and Mr Superman joining Gasol and Mr. Bryant on the world' favoured lakers.

[rmt]

The Thunder's bigs didn't kill us inside. They killed us with 15-18 foot jumpers in only one game, and otherwise weren't a huge factor on either end with the exception of the allowed goaltends and moving screens; violations that simply weren't punished nearly 90% of the time OKC commited them.

Small statistical breakdown: between both Perkins and Ibaka. Perkins only scored 35 points for the whole 6 game series, which means under 6 PPG, and cracked the dreaded 5 point barrier just once. 72 total points for Ibaka (Over a third of that during his fluke 11/11 on almost all 15+ foot jumpshots miracle game), for a combined total of 8.9 PPG out of their starting frontcourt. And that's heavily inflated by Ibaka's fluke game. Otherwise it'd be around 7.5.

Rebounds? Maybe they killed us there? Nope. Ibaka only got more than 5 rebounds in 2 of the 6 games (7 once, 10 once), averaging 5.8 for the series. Perkins was a little better averaging 7 per game.


So combined, their starting frontcourt produced about 18 points and 13 rebounds per game.

Is that really scaring you? Seriously? Old ass Duncan can still do that by himself. Maybe not for an entire series, but for 3-4 games, sure. Their biggest game changing plays were violations (the 8 Ibaka goaltends that weren't whistled, and the 30+ moving screens they got away with). Their scoring, defense, and rebounding were pretty mediocre.

Spurs defensive strategy has always been vulnerable to great jump shooting teams e.g. DAL and now OKC. Spurs have no Bowen around to try to cool down a perimeter superstar. The 23-25 from OKC bigs was a fluke. Can't believe how well OKC played vs Spurs compared to their (relatively) poor play vs Heat.
Guess you have to put in your dues, go through the growing pains before you win.

Getting the #1 seed and having OKC and LA battle it out is imperative.

[G-Dawgg]

Everybody keeps saying that the Spurs are old, but actually Lakers are actually are the getting older also. With Nash 38, Jamison 36, Kobe 33 , Ron Artest 32, Pau Gasol 32, Steve Blake 32, Troy Murphy 32....

[Fireball]

Everybody keeps saying that the Spurs are old, but actually Lakers are actually are the getting older also. With Nash 38, Jamison 36, Kobe 33 , Ron Artest 32, Pau Gasol 32, Steve Blake 32, Troy Murphy 32....

"Everybody" only relates to the Spurs thinking of the Big Three. With Tony reaching the age of 30 as well the core of the Spurs is indeed old. I really love Kawhi and he will be a big part of the Spurs future, but right now everything in the Spurs system still depends on the Big Three. And none of them (TP showed it again in the WCF) can take the team on his shoulders anymore.

The Lakers now have the top center in the league who is in his prime. The others might be old, but a superstar in his prime helps to win a championship.

[Wild Cobra Kai]

Just to touch on a part of your post - I've said it no less than 5 times here and I'll say it again: Serge Ibaka is top 10-15 in the NBA in FG% from 16-23 feet. There's nothing fluke about what he did. 11-11, is that the norm for him, or for anyone? Of course not. However, that's his bread and butter shot and he shoots it at a high %. I don't think a lot of people realize this.

If he shoots his 2 point percentage (probably 45%. That's a good percentage from long 2), we win the game, Simple as that. 11-11 is a fluke and an outlier. You can't spin that.

[thunderfan]

If he shoots his 2 point percentage (probably 45%. That's a good percentage from long 2), we win the game, Simple as that. 11-11 is a fluke and an outlier. You can't spin that.

I get that 11-11 is not the norm. 82 points in a game by one player is not the norm. Nor is 9 three pointers, 25 rebounds, or 8 steals. However, good players sometimes break the norm...and that's what sets them and their team apart from the competition. If Tony Parker went for 50 that game and SA won the game, what's the point of a Thunder fan saying..well if Parker had only scored his average of 23 points per game, we woulda had that one...that was a fluke. No, it wasn't a fluke. TOny Parker is a great player. It was a great game above and beyond his norm.

A fluke is a player doing something completely outside of his capabilities. If Kendrick Perkins went 4-4 from the 3 point line - that's a fluke. A player going red hot in a category that he excels at is not a fluke.

[Obstructed_View]

A fluke is OKC doing what they did for five straight games. They came back to earth and got crushed by Miami. Congrats to them for coming up big when it mattered. Well, almost.

[Poolboy5623]

A fluke is OKC doing what they did for five straight games. They came back to earth and got crushed by Miami. Congrats to them for coming up big when it mattered. Well, almost.

Did you watch Miami's intensity on defense? How are you guys not understanding?? Against the spurs and Duncan ALL of his 11 shots were taken WIDE OPEN! That changed in the finals. That will probably go down as my biggest disappointment in those losses. You would have thought after making 2-3 In a row they'd put a hand in his face...nope, not even after 10 in a row:(

[thunderfan]

Did you watch Miami's intensity on defense? How are you guys not understanding?? Against the spurs and Duncan ALL of his 11 shots were taken WIDE OPEN! That changed in the finals. That will probably go down as my biggest disappointment in those losses. You would have thought after making 2-3 In a row they'd put a hand in his face...nope, not even after 10 in a row:(

I can't recall specifically, but I'd venture to guess you are right in that he was fairly wide open for most of those attempts. Ibaka only shoots outside jumpers when he's set and open - this being the reason he shoots it at a high %. So again - not really a fluke. Just a guy hitting open jumpers like he knows how to do. Him and Perk were just not there against Miami. I think it's a reflection of the lineups Miami plays (Battier at 4, etc) and Miami just being much faster than SA on perimeter defense. In that particular game against SA, our big advantage in perimeter speed, I think, forced SA to help out a lot and left Ibaka free to set up shop.