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"Your's Truly".... hahahah
Is this the new rakaruva???
Thunder
"Your's Truly".... hahahah
Is this the new rakaruva???
The number of conclusions being drawn after 1 game is a little stupid. Of course OKC is not as good right now as they were last year. 1 game under our belts with Westbrook playing like a complete idiot. Martin still isn't aclimated to our offense because the only thing he's seen to this point is Westbrook playing like an idiot. The guy had to be standing around thinking to himself..WTF is RW doing? Martin isn't going to make the plays Harden did, but he can score the points. It's up to Brooks to find some combinations that work. I believe with time this will occur. Gotta get some low post scoring though...whether this be Ibaka improving in that area or PJ3. I think PJ3's development could be very important and Ibaka definitely must step it up offensively.
Do you think OKC's ceiling is as high this year as it was last year? Do you think this team is, as constructed, better suited to win the West this year, or beat Miami?
Fair points all across. It's idiots like the ones that follow me in my every post that don't understand common sense as provided in this very post.
Ray johnson and clipper "closet " nation with the continued obsession.
I do think their ceiling is as high this year as it was last, if not a little higher. Of course having a higher ceiling and reaching it are two different things. Having a high ceiling means I just think there's the potential there for them to be better than last year. The reason I think this is due to the fact that I think Martin is equal to Harden offensively in terms of scoring. Notice I didn't say I think he's overall as good as Harden, just that he can replace Harden's points. The other reason is Ibaka, who I think will show very good offensive improvement this year. The other factors are that Maynor is healthy and then there's PJ3. PJ3 could be the wild card. I'm sure someone will come on here and call him a scrub rookie, but this kid has HUGE potential. Very very smooth shoother, incredibly athletic and long.
Ray johnson and clipper "closet " nation with the continued obsession.
That's a fair point. My observation is that now that Harden is gone, the team will depend on Westbrook to step up more, especially if Durant is off the court. I don't see Martin ever getting dribble-drive penetration against playoff defenses and therefore a lot of that will fall to Westbrook, especially if the other team is focusing on stopping Durant. So much of the NBA is predicated on what "elite" players can do with the ball in their hands, and I see Martin, even with Maynor, offering less flexibility than the Thunder had last year as far as multi-faceted threats go. If Westbrook is on fire, they might very well be harder to stop, but with his constantly bad decision making with the ball, I think good defensive teams in the playoffs are going to stay at home on Martin, focus with doubles or extra pressure on Durant, and just play tight 1 on 1 coverage with Westbrook. The idea in the playoffs is to "force" defenses into making uncomfortable adjustments, and I see far less of that now, mostly predicated on the fact that Martin is a very one-dimensional player. Obviously specialist shooters can be very effective, but I am not sure they are as viable as a third option in today's NBA, especially from a team that doesn't have a lot of inside-out game like OKC. I could be wrong, it just seems like *on paper* they are slightly to moderately more predictable and therefore easier to guard on offense compared to last year.
I don't really disagree with much of what you're saying, but to me the wild cards are Ibaka and Jones. A lot of it depends on how they progress. A lineup of Maynor/Martin, RW, KD, Jones, and Ibaka could potentially be extremely effective.
In a way I guess what I'm hinting at is that PJ3 could potentially replace the playmaking that Harden offered. I think PJ3 is potentially a tough, tough cover. He's a poor man's KD, if you will. He can stroke the 3 or take it right down your throat, and everything in between...and he's more athletic than KD. He's a rookie though, so his development is an uncertainty.
I think the Spurs just match up much, much better than the Thunder this year. Martin won't be able to defend Manu like Harden did, which makes the Thunder much weaker. Harden allowed Sefolosha to defend Parker, this year Sefolosha will have to defend Manu which will make Parker much more effective.
Replacing a great defender in Harden with a below average one in Martin will be a big problem come playoff time.
Kinda wish brooks played lamb. Here's to hoping lamb get some burn when Russ plays like ass again.
Watching the Portland-OKC game... man, Matthews has a smooooth trey shot.
Some decent trolling imo
Duncan played "out of his mind"? 20 points and 8 boards on a crap 42% is "out of his mind'?, seriously? Do you not know who Tim Duncan is? That's worse than what he averaged last year and well below his career averages. It's also worse than what he did the night before @ NO. Straw grasping at best.
Rationalizing our 2nd best player not making a difference = desperate stretch. Manu also doesn't rely on athleticism to dominate monkeyball moves, he's what's known as a "skill player". Low bball knowledge on display by thunderup.
Home team has edge in OT. Statisically didn't need last shot to go in.
Here are some more facts:
No Manu makes a huge difference for the Spurs (you have to be stupid to not realize that). Just like no Harden makes a huge difference for OKC.
Spurs were playing on b2b nights and were tired due to a close fought game the night before in another city. OKC had full rest and several days to prepare for the game.
OKC had to hit 75 foot shots just to stay in the game.
OKC couldn't hit a FG in the last 3 1/2 minutes because they don't have a legit playmaker and got choked out defensively while jacking up contested 21 footers.
Chuckbrick continues to fail against Tony Parker, shooting 36% for his career against him.
OKC got 44% more FTAs
OKC outrebounded Spurs by 9.
Still failed.
You should be worried tbh. Can't beat a tired Spurs team without Ginobili despite hitting halfcourt shots and getting 44% more FTAs even with Martin hitting most of his shots and scoring Harden's former PPG.
lamb would do wonders for you team if given the time & trust he deserves, and he's also one of the main elements to justify the harden deal imho
your point is...? Houston isn't even in the same ballpark as OKC. Get over yourself already
Couldn't have said it better myself.
Just thought it was funny that even when they don't play on the same team, they're still together. Chill, bro. I'm a huge OKC fan as it stands
Kevin Martin put 35-40 on the board for Houston too. Who gives a ? It's a one man show. I like Harden, but don't go throwing his stat lines up like Houston is even worth a damn yet.
lol thunder
Chilling. I got pissy. Forgive me
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