Ibaka out

[farmerbyron]

Its true.

If not for Russell Westbrook the Thunder would be on vacation right now. He is a freak athletically and is a mismatch for any othe PG in the league. Even the número uno Chris Paul cannot handle him. Really the only thing that defeats RW is RW. To say that his negative plays equal or outweigh his positive plays is flat out wrong. He has gotten better every year and on the last game he had 19 pts and 12 assists. That was with not scoring his first bucket until like 3:something left in the 3rd Q. A triple double threat on any given night and because he plays the position unlike it's ever been played before a bunch of people want to move him around or trade him. Lunacy I tell you!

 

[tharper]

I agree. He makes dumb plays, and I was getting frustrated with him early in game 6 until I realized he had 9 assists and only 2 turnovers. He wasn't on shooting, but he made FT's when it mattered and got the ball to teammates.

 

[beast1989]

We will miss Ibaka but we can do well without him. I think Westbrook and Durant could use another legitimate starter that can shoot and/or handle the ball to give them more firepower and diversity on the offensive end. RW has a way of hogging entire possessions and coughing the ball up on silly plays which drives me nuts! He doesn't defer to the team's superstar in some situations when he should and Durant likewise could be more assertive.

When it comes to role players we are certainly not in short supply with Jackson, Collison, Sefolosha, Fisher, Lamb, Butler, Adams etc. but we need a definitive third scorer/ball handler in the number two spot... or perhaps starting in the PG spot with Russ at number two. I've said it before but I'll say it again, Perkins is flat out over paid, especially when his player efficiency rating is dead last out of the 62 centers in the league for yet another year in a row. His hog of a contract definitely holds us back from seriously addressing help for Russ and Durant around the perimeter.

 

[farmerbyron]

I hope we OKC fans realize how spoiled we are. If we don't bring home some hardware in the next 2 years, we will find out what life without Durant is really like. We could very easily look up in 5 years and be begging to ***** about one of if not the top PG in the league.



Looking forward though it is exciting to think about a starting lineup with KD, Westbrook, Adams, and Ibaka. IDK who the last guy will be as I think Sefalosha may be sent on his way as his contract ends this year.

 

[beast1989]

If not for Russell Westbrook the Thunder would be on vacation right now. He is a freak athletically and is a mismatch for any othe PG in the league. Even the número uno Chris Paul cannot handle him. Really the only thing that defeats RW is RW. To say that his negative plays equal or outweigh his positive plays is flat out wrong. He has gotten better every year and on the last game he had 19 pts and 12 assists. That was with not scoring his first bucket until like 3:something left in the 3rd Q. A triple double threat on any given night and because he plays the position unlike it's ever been played before a bunch of people want to move him around or trade him. Lunacy I tell you!

RW is BIG TIME, I never said he wasn't great. His game has some fairly big flaws and that's simply undeniable. I agree the only that defeats RW is RW. I just happen to believe that RW defeats RW more than it should. Just my opinion.

 

[beast1989]

I hope we OKC fans realize how spoiled we are. If we don't bring home some hardware in the next 2 years, we will find out what life without Durant is really like. We could very easily look up in 5 years and be begging to ***** about one of if not the top PG in the league.

Looking forward though it is exciting to think about a starting lineup with KD, Westbrook, Adams, and Ibaka. IDK who the last guy will be as I think Sefalosha may be sent on his way as his contract ends this year.

If you think Im a spoiled fan then you are 100% wrong. The only reason why Im remotely critical is because of the first thing I bolded in your statement.

The road to the championship is going to involve going through the Clippers, San Antonio, and the Heat. Those teams can flat out score from many positions and different players can carry the load at different times. If RW or Durant have a bad day then we are instantly in jeopardy. The second thing that I bolded in your statement is exactly what I've been saying. If the solution is a home run then we should be in the finals easily.

Although you are disagreeing with my points, we are saying similar things in my opinion.

 

[BadgeBunny]

If you think Im a spoiled fan then you are 100% wrong. The only reason why Im remotely critical is because of the first thing I bolded in your statement.

The road to the championship is going to involve going through the Clippers, San Antonio, and the Heat. Those teams can flat out score from many positions and different players can carry the load at different times. If RW or Durant have a bad day then we are instantly in jeopardy. The second thing that I bolded in your statement is exactly what I've been saying. If the solution is a home run then we should be in the finals easily.

Although you are disagreeing with my points, we are saying similar things in my opinion.

Regardless of anything else going on right now, THAT is the God's honest truth ... and it's a dangerous position to be in if you want to win it all ... Because KD is good, but he's already proven that he can, and will, get in his own way when the stakes are high. They really need to find a different sports psychologist to work with him because the one he has now is doing him no good.

 

[farmerbyron]

If you think Im a spoiled fan then you are 100% wrong. The only reason why Im remotely critical is because of the first thing I bolded in your statement.

The road to the championship is going to involve going through the Clippers, San Antonio, and the Heat. Those teams can flat out score from many positions and different players can carry the load at different times. If RW or Durant have a bad day then we are instantly in jeopardy. The second thing that I bolded in your statement is exactly what I've been saying. If the solution is a home run then we should be in the finals easily.

Although you are disagreeing with my points, we are saying similar things in my opinion.

Oh, I include myself in the "spoiled fan" category so don't feel singled out. We just disagree about the path forward in regards to RW. RW is like a Tasmanian devil through from which other good things spin off of. He brings the ball back up the court so fast, it keeps our opponents on their heels. Plus his tenacity on defense really disrupts the opposing teams flow. Just look at that steal on Conely at the end of a game in one of the Memphis series. Not many people can pick a pocket like that.

RW is our point guard and his assist numbers keep going up and he opens the floor up for his teammates with his ability to get to the rim at will. Really we need some guys that are dead eye shooters like Miller for Memphis or Allen from the Heat. Guys that hit open shots because RW and KD are going to draw double teams every game.

We are going to have some more flexibility under the salary cap in the next couple years to get our studs another piece or two. I just am absolutely opposed to taking a downgrade at the point position to move RW around for experimentations sake. Heck we are in the WCF with a chance to win it all under the current lineup. Plus who knows how far we make it last year if RW doesn't get hurt? What we have now works well so we should be a little more cautious than just shaking everything on its head.

I mean are we expecting perfection? Sure the Heat look like a shoe in right now but the eastern conference is a great big pillow fight compared to the west. Let the Heat play Memphis and then the Clippers and see how unbeatable they look. Just sucks how lopsided the conferences are. Might be a reason KD would leave the thunder for a team in the eastern conference.

 

[Thunder35]

Perry Jones needs to step up. He's not much of a scoring threat, but he's long enough to block some shots.

 

[farmerbyron]

Regardless of anything else going on right now, THAT is the God's honest truth ... and it's a dangerous position to be in if you want to win it all ... Because KD is good, but he's already proven that he can, and will, get in his own way when the stakes are high. They really need to find a different sports psychologist to work with him because the one he has now is doing him no good.

Agreed, but it's not substantially different than many other teams in the NBA. If Lebron has a bad day the Heat are in trouble. If Griffin has a bad day or fouls out, the Clippers probably won't win. Memphis was down Randolph and had little chance to win because of it. Curry has a bad day and GS ain't going to win. Really the major exception to this may be San Antonio. They are scary deep and honestly probably have a better bench than we do. They've got several options. More than most. Not any one is heads and shoulders better than the rest of the team. The sum is greater than the individual parts.

That being said, nut up and thunder up! Get it done!