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its cause some people are idiots
First of all, I just wanna say I think the Thunder are a great team with a very very promising future. However, I don't think they're going to go on a tear this season all the way up to the second seed in the West. Gauging all the predictions I've been reading on the net, the general consensus appears to be that the Thunder are going to really break out (insert Kevin Durant joke here) this coming season and perhaps even go to the WCF.
It's not impossible, but I still think the Mavs, Spurs, and Trailblazers will compile better regular season records. Some may say experience is overrated, but I think the Thunder have "too much" youth before making it to the big stage or the WCF where I think they'll still be making key mistakes in crucial late game situations. However, they do play awfully good defense for such a young team that is a bit undersized.
They'll be ready to make a deep playoff run after next season. Just my two cents.
EDIT: Can we move this to the NBA forum, sorry!
its cause some people are idiots
They should be a lock for the playoffs but not for the second seed. They can make some noise in the playoffs too but I doubt they'll finish abovre the 4th seed. They have a nice backcourt but lack depth in the frontcourt. They may be a solid starting PF or C away from contending for the second seed.First of all, I just wanna say I think the Thunder are a great team with a very very promising future. However, I don't think they're going to go on a tear this season all the way up to the second seed in the West. Gauging all the predictions I've been reading on the net, the general consensus appears to be that the Thunder are going to really break out (insert Kevin Durant joke here) this coming season and perhaps even go to the WCF.
It's not impossible, but I still think the Mavs, Spurs, and Trailblazers will compile better regular season records. Some may say experience is overrated, but I think the Thunder have "too much" youth before making it to the big stage or the WCF where I think they'll still be making key mistakes in crucial late game situations. However, they do play awfully good defense for such a young team that is a bit undersized.
They'll be ready to make a deep playoff run after next season. Just my two cents.
EDIT: Can we move this to the NBA forum, sorry!
The biggest problem is, nobody can predict who will finish second - After the Lakeshow there are a couple of second tier teams who may get the second seed.
#Mavs (most likely imho)
#Spurs (if Splitter pans out and RJ finally matures and plays well)
#Rockets (if healthy)
# Blazers (if healthy)
Two of those teams should finish second and third the other two, Thunder and Jazz should fight for seeds 4,5,6,7.
You really think spurs are getting 2nd? Duncan and manu are one year older and the moves we made this offseason aren't really 2x the negatives
I do not think Thunder will be a lock for #2 but it is poised to take advantage of the facts that
1. Rosters are mostly unchanged
2. Its young players have another year (+playoff exp) under their wings
As opposed to all the question marks
1. Mav - did nothing much of note but Dirk, Kidd, Marion, etc are 1 yr older.
2. Houston - Yao Ming's health is questionable
3. Portland - Logjam at guard position may bring chemistry problem
4. Utah - Jefferson n Deron must work on their PnR early on
5. Suns - loss of Amare + plethora of changes
6. Denver - Can George Karl hold this group together ?
7. Spurs - Can Splitter be the man ?
With that, I will probably fancy OKC to clinch the #2 but its far from a lock since Western Conf is still very compe ive and a loss or two will change the whole playoff seeding completely (like last year)
Because they have the West's biggest superstar after Kobe, so they get unduly hyped up.
Sam Presti.
Hard to say how things will shape up this far in advance, but Thunder have a young core that can play top caliber defense and they have the best scorer in the league.
For them, it's not a matter of if, but when. This year they addressed their lack of size. That may be enough to put them on top.
Durant=Duncan.
I wonder if Durant's summer activities will slow him down a bit next year? I would think the extra year of experience would help the team, but they still need a bigger inside presence and even more experience to rack up the 2nd most wins in the West. Regular season wins seems to be something that Dallas is built for.
Then again, maybe the Mavs are tired of blowing their wad in the regular season...
What else is there? Every team but the Mavs are a question mark for the second seed depending on health (Portland, Houston), Chemistry (Nuggets), and players developing and finding their way into the system (Spurs)
#1 is a lock
After that there are a couple of teams which have the assets to grab that seed (although the Mavs are most likely to get into 2nd seed)
Same reason that everyone here, including you , think the lakers are a lock for the #1 seed.
If we were 7th seed last year and if supposedly rosters are still the same then how is it that we end up getting 2nd seed?
Manu+Duncan 1 year old >> Offseason moves
If you are saying that it is because spurs will be healthy, rj is back in his 2nd year and we have splitter then you can say the same healthwise for houston or portland
IMO anybody who is picking a #2 seed is just playing a guess game.
- noone knows how good Splitter will be
- noone knows how Chandler will fit in the mavs
- noone knows if the Thunder were a fluke last year
- Jazz made a LOT of changes, how good will they be?
- everyone else is even more of a question mark (Blazers, Rockets, Nuggets)
Only Durant averaged more then 6rpg for the Thunder last season. They are an incredibly fun team to watch and Durant is a stud, but they are 1 or 2 legit big's away from contention imho. If Ibaka makes several more strides torward that this year I could see them being a top 4 seed.
The Thunder did improve themselves for 2010-11. A legitimate post player in Cole Aldrich to bring more help for Serge Ibaka inside. They brought in Daequan Cook and Mo Pete for perimeter scoring help, two areas they needed to address. This makes OKC a deeper team with some additional weapons to call upon.
OKC just needs to learn how to close out games better. That's not always easy to figure out but if they do, then they should be right up there in the upper half of the playoff seedings.
Nobody's a lock for anything, but the Thunder seem ready to take the next step to me. Jumping right to a two seed is a pretty big step.
People are sheep.
1. Media loves durant and rightfully so ..he is a budding superstar that seems relatively humble.
2.Westbrook gives you the hustle of Rondo with even MORE athleticism and his jump-shot is nowhere near as broke.
BUT a #2 seed? doubtful. It is stilla vet's league I think a #4 seed is more realistic for the thunder ...
But I do like their team MORE than the Blazers ..
IMO they will be #2 REGULAR SEASON West seed.
But playoffs are a whole different animal and I suspect a few more veteran teams will be superior
Oklahoma might not have a dominant stud in the front court (Green's nice, but more of a finesse PF than any sort of dominant presence), but I'm liking their overall depth. They've got a lot of nice 20 minute type players in Collison, Ibaka and Kristic. And I think Cole Aldrich is going to have a big impact for them. He may not have tons of upside from a skill/development standpoint, but he's going to be a solid defensive presence from day one as well as a quality rebounder and shot blocker. I'd pencil him in as the starting 5. If he and Ibaka can solidify the center position, I think the #2 seed is quite possible. But at this point, there are no 'locks' other than the Lakers.
Also they may have their 3 BEST players playing Olympic caliber ball ...
no telling what toll this will take on this team and Durant will play BIG minutes for sure ...
I love OKC's future but from 8 to 2 is unlikely I think 3-5 is about right above I said 4 seed ..
Thunder won't be 2nd. They don't have a strong enough frontline.
Because Durant has figured out how to own the refs.
And that's exactly what I said - because of that a couple of teams are in the mix for second seed. Blazers, Rockets, Spurs, Mavs and the Thunder as a darkhorse. Yao could get injured again and the Rockets may fight for a playoff spot - the same is true for the Blazers. With every of those teams healthy all of them have a chance to get the second seed.
Improving team play is never as simple as age or individual talent. You simply have to play better. Playing better can occur from better practice, more time playing together, better coaching, heart, and compe iveness. All of the later ingredients are areas the Spurs can improve and make a run on the le.
Adding skilled players actually seems to be more disruptive to the team concept. It takes time to gel. Look at Cleveland and Dallas as they added quality starters at the trade deadline and totally destroyed their chemistry.
The Spurs are a stew that takes time to simmer. This is why new players don't totally fit in until the 2nd year. While other teams continue to blow up their rosters the Spurs remain compe ive because they know a championship is a ship best sailed by staying the course.
hype
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