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No.
OKC frontline: Perkins, Ibaka & others suck.
No.
All legit takes. Right or wrong will be proven with time. I am one of those that does not see it presenting a true problem this year, but it does make them more difficult imo.
It depends on how Perkins returns from his latest knee injury. He is one of the best low post defenders in the NBA. Teaming up with Ibaka they could be downright scary defensively. He doesn't bring much in terms of offense but he is efficient (career FG: 56%) and doesn't suck. He knows how to play with dominant scorers on offense from his Celtic days and can absolutely anchor a defense. He will get plenty of wide open looks playing off of KD/Westbrook.
He plays with an edge and I think he will bring a defensive at ude to the Thunder. As a Laker fan, I absolutely respect what the Thunder are doing. One major advantage we had on them is size. That gap is closed a little bit now.
If they played the Spurs in a series I'm not sure if Perkins would have as much of an affect against you guys. Reason being, y'all are less reliant upon TD than in years past (TD is your lone low post offensive threat. I think Perkins can check him one on one without a double - which is huge). Against the Lakers, he would be much more of a factor because the Lakers rely heavily on their bigs on both sides of the ball (and rightfully so).
I'm not so sure that they couldn't take the Spurs out though. Westbrook would make TP have to play the defensive series of his life. The Spurs ace in the hole is Hill - a player who could step in and can provide more than just serviceable minutes. But what about Durant? The Spurs have no match for him. Unlike against the Lakers in last year's playoffs, if he shoots a low % (like he did against Artest), they have beef in the middle to offensive rebound in Perkins, Ibaka, and Nazr.
I guess time will tell how this trade pans out. My guess is if y'all do meet, the Spurs would prevail. But it wouldn't be in dominant fashion. Spurs in 7 grueling games.
Perkins is very over-rated otherwise Cs would not have given him up.
Spurs would still beat OKC in 6.
Big frontlines are the Spurs' biggest challenge. Everybody knows it, except maybe some fans who are in denial. The Thunder traded for Perkins primarily for that reason. That alone should give you some idea about what effect the trade will have on the Spurs.
Does it affect the Spurs' chances at a le? It shouldn't. It will make a series with OKC more compe ive. But, IMO, the only way it could allow the Thunder to win a 7 game series is if the refs consistently allow their bigs to camp in the paint.
I know some of you will howl about any mention of the officiating, but a lack of defensive 3 seconds calls may be the Spurs' biggest danger this post season. I've watched a number of Orlando and Boston games this season (not against the Spurs) and started noticing something about Howard and Perkins in particular. So I started focusing on them exclusively. Some nights they wander around in the paint for entire possessions. They slide, and pretend like they are coming out of the paint... but they don't. They pretend like they are coming over to get within reach of an offensive player... but they don't.
If the refs call 3 seconds a time or two, and they are forced to come out of the paint occasionally, their stifling defense becomes a bit less stifling. On those nights when the refs aren't calling 3 seconds, the paint becomes almost impenetrable. When they are making calls, the other teams have been able to find openings in the paint to attack. It's been a measurable factor in Boston and Orlando losses. If you don't believe it, go back and look at each of their last couple of losses. If the refs make any early 3-second calls, their games change, and they become a lot more vulnerable.
When those guys are forced to come from the weak side, they give up a lot more points, and pick up a lot more fouls. When they are never on the weak side (because they are right in the middle) they can really shut down the paint and force another team to shoot jump shots.
It will be a factor in several playoff games. How many may determine our chances to win another le. But if we get knocked out... it won't be to the Thunder.
The Spurs will most likely lose in the 2nd round, tbh.
the OP's name indicates that he was sodomized
He's a huge upgrade to Kristic. Awesome move by OKC. I still don't think they can beat the Spurs this year, but will definitely be a force in the future, especially if they re-sign Perk.
lil'mo get your mind out of the gutter!
As for OKC, if Perkins can play, I think they are stronger. Was never going to be an easy out to begin with. The Spurs can and will defeat OKC, Lakers/Mavs, and Boston in drive for five.
Agree.
This was an excellent trade for the Thunder. It gives them more size and strength at the 5 spot - a position where they sorely needed it. Also, it allows Serge Ibaka to move back to his natural position of PF. Pairing him along with Perkins, gives OKC a huge upgrade in frontline defense.
The Thunder were already good enough to win a first-round series and advance to the 2nd round, before the trade. It probably doesn't move them past the top three teams in the conference - and certainly not the Spurs.
Should the Spurs meet them in Round 2, I would expect a hotly compe ive series. However, the Spurs should prevail because of sheer execution and experience, along with a much-improved bench.
Now next year...who knows?
i just don't see what perkins will do. he ddn't play that many minutes for the celtics when he was healthy, maybe 20/game. he doesn't have any offense. and there's nobody on the spurs he needs to shut down; if perk shuts down blair's scoring, spurs will still win.
lol he'll shut down blair
Having Perkins means Duncan will be played single coverage by one of the best post defenders in the NBA... meaning Blair and Bonner will likely be matched up against Ibaka. They will have a tough time scoring against someone as big and athletic as him. Throw in Sefolosha who is one of the better perimeter defenders in the league... plus Westbrook and Durant. Thunder have the potential to be Celtic-esque defensively.. which will likely keep them within striking distance in pretty much every game they play.
Theyre definitely a better team but I dont think they have enough. No legit post scorer, lack of shooters and overall lack of depth compared to our team. They should be solid for years to come though.
ths thread is pretty epic
thats a hilarious sig muser, that guy is so annoying
I agree, but LA still is a very tough team to out IMO. They will come to play.
Perkins looks excited about the trade.
Just heard that Perkins will be out 2-3 weeks, so obviously his knee sprain is worse than assumed before the trade ....
So far. OKC has yet to score over 90 points since the trade. While, only two games is a small sample it is an ominous sign of offensive struggles to come as Perkins will not be able to provide that 3rd scoring option missing since Green's departure.
To put it in persepctive OKC had ony scored below 90 ppg 4 times this entire season up to the last two, twice against Boston, once against Milwaukee early in the season on a back to back, and once against New Orleans.
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