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Ibaka already is a defensive big ... what OKC really needed was a big with strong offensive post moves. Different teams have different needs ... overall Perkins may improve the Thunder, but not against the Spurs.
lol yourself
lol Spurfan logic. A legit defensive big man doesn't make OKC better but it is the solution to all the Spurs problems.
Ibaka already is a defensive big ... what OKC really needed was a big with strong offensive post moves. Different teams have different needs ... overall Perkins may improve the Thunder, but not against the Spurs.
lol yourself
Perkins was only a defensive big when he played on a great defensive team.
The Thunder have enough offensive weapons. Durant pretty much cancels out the need for a scoring big as he more dominant in the post then most bigs in the league. They can score. They have a dominant bench player. They have defense and rebounding. Those things win championships.
lol not knowing much about basketball
Looks pretty good so far from what I've seen. He's playing beside a couple of other good defensive bigs so I don't see where the drop off would be.
Two things. This thread is about the Western conference. The addition of Perkins was a good move for the Thunder because they wanted to compete against big teams like Dallas and L.A. They definitely did not make the move because they were worried of San Antonios frontline.
So, as the discussion in this thread came about the Spurs chances against the new Thunder, I will stay with my oppinion that Perkins will not make a difference. Jeff Green instead was a real matchup problem for the Spurs.
I may not know anything about basketball, but I watched all games against the Thunder last year. The Spurs won all of them because they made Durant and Westbrook look average and take tough shots. James Harden is improving, but I think even with him the OKC offense is still very much one-dimensional, because they all do the same things. Perkins does not change that if they play against the Spurs.
Over the past 2 days, I've watched 6 basketball games (all five on Xmas day and of course, our beloved Spurs versus Grizzlies). I've seen the Fakers meltdown, the Clippers rise up and the Mavs literally self-destruct before their banner was even raised.
The pre-regular season storylines that have played out have been very interesting to watch. Cuban and the Mavs FO brass elected to allow defensive stalwart, Tyson Chandler, to walk. Now the Mavs have firmly, yet subtly, sent a message that they are NOT playing for this season, as they've cast all their chips for the 2012 free agent sweepstakes. The Clip joint finally make a sensible personnel move in acquiring Chris Paul. The Fakers elected to literally "give away" one of their key pieces in Lamar Odom . Now, in addition to being old and unathletic, Kobe is pissed and their team chemistry is shot. Meanwhile, OKC has assumed a Spurs-like approach, renewed their team commitment, maintained their core and are installed as the conference favorites.
That said, after watching my share of televised games, one thing that is crystal clear - the Western Conference IS MOST DEFINITELY WIDE OPEN, as others have said.
If the Spurs can somehow unearth another big to shore up their frontline and hedge themselves from injury, I believe now that they have as good of a shot as any team in the West. Originally, I was reluctant to entertain this notion, but I believe it now.
One other thing is clear, there is indeed a lot of bad basketball being played - post lockout.
By how much did they beat minnesota by?
They made the move to get better defensively down low. They were already pretty good with the players they had but Perkins gives them a true defensive big. He looks much quicker too now that he has slimmed down. It was less about who they do and do not match up with and more about overall defensive improvement.
Its not about a single matchup. Its about the Thunder being about a hundred times more of a complete team than the Spurs. Adding Perkins simply adds to that equation.So, as the discussion in this thread came about the Spurs chances against the new Thunder, I will stay with my oppinion that Perkins will not make a difference. Jeff Green instead was a real matchup problem for the Spurs.
Two differences...one, those were regular season games. The Spurs would have likely been swept in the playoffs. Two, the Thunder are going to be a much better team this year...much more than you are giving them credit for. History seems to support that good young teams only get more cohesive with experience...unless you can provide some examples of talented young teams that only get worse.I may not know anything about basketball, but I watched all games against the Thunder last year. The Spurs won all of them because they made Durant and Westbrook look average and take tough shots. James Harden is improving, but I think even with him the OKC offense is still very much one-dimensional, because they all do the same things. Perkins does not change that if they play against the Spurs.
One regular season game...lol.
Since when?
Denver isn't better than the Spurs lol. The Spurs match up extremely well OKC, they can definitely beat them in the playoffs. Dallas is done, we too match up with them very well, they can't replace TC's defense nor Barea's scoring.
L.A just gave away their bench by trading Odom, a guy who the Spurs could not guard for , they weakened themselves dramatically.
Memphis won because their Guards/Forwards posted up/rebounded/just scored at will on Hill/Neal. This has been fixed trading Hill, giving JA, KL PT.
Splitter is getting playing time, the combo of him and TD looks scary good, we've got a pretty damn good defensive player in Kawhi and a pretty darn good player in JA. The Spurs improved a lot, they basically got 3 new players this year.
The west is wide open.
I'm sure they were worried about the Spurs penetration, which is where a lot of the Spurs easy points come from. As Memphis has shown, loading up the inside with a couple of good defenders negates that and turns the Spurs to a 3 point chucker team. On a potential matchup, Perk can guard Tim one on one, while Ibaka is swatting anything that walks into the paint.
If the Spurs are hitting the 3's it might not matter, but winning a ship on a 3 point heavy game plan is asking for way too much, unless we're substantially better defensively.
Yeah, they aleady tried that approach last year - albeit unsuccessfully. Of course, they were a far worse defensive team last year too.
Good points ... we will not have to wait long to see how the Spurs play against OKC. Thanks to the schedule OKC will always play the night before ...
He looks fine, and he's more effective being in such good shape. He's never been feared as a defender. The Celtics were a very very good defensive team.
West is wide open after 1-2 games? Not really. I think we are seeing signs of a different West with the Thunder and Clippers possibly leading the way. Its still way too early to tell.
It doesn't matter how Spurs perform in the regular season. If they don't acquire another big they are one and done again in the playoffs.
I don't know what will happen with OKC. They may have what it takes to win it all. But a lot of good young teams just become good "not so young" team and eventually not a good team.
The 2004-2005 Phoenix Suns where young (Amare 22, Johnson 23, QRichardson 24, Marion 26) only Nash was "old" (30)... but not yet in his best seasons.
And they would never have a better regular season (62-20) or playoff run (conference finals).
The 2007-2008 Hornets had their best season and playoff run with Paul (22), Chandler (25) and West (27)...
You can find a lot of similar example.
Experience will always trump youth.
Agree.
If Duncan is healthy I like our chances... maybe we could need another big.....but Dallas or Clippers need a couple of them....Lakers need one more....same Denver.
And yes,OKC is the team to beat in the West.
yes ...and we are Spurs pre-Splitter
Actually, we will have to wait long. Regular season games are rarely anything like the playoffs. That's why you have to plan ahead.
Good point. You would think that Spur fans would learn after last year that regular season success does not mean playoff success.
Everyone keeps forgetting Manu had a broken elbow, if he didn't most of the games would've been like the one we saw last night in the playoff series. I belive Splitter looking and playing better will lead to better D and less Bonner. Add in Anderson and Leonard and we're right there. Memphis did not beat a healthy Spurs team. And don't tell me about gay cause they are worse with his ball-hogging ass.
The Suns? Youth transforming into experience had nothing to do with why they failed. How can a Spurs fan not know this?
I'm done with you greys for now.
Last edited by benefactor; 12-27-2011 at 01:52 PM.
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