OKC is playing better BUT

[coolm]

we are taking a major butt-kicking inside. by everyone. it's more than a little disturbing.

IMO if we don't shore up our problems in the paint we won't stand a chance of getting past Memphis in the playoffs.

 

[SoonerBounce13]

We got by them last year.

I assume u mean rebounding. Bc we are one of the best in paint defense

 

[bocabull]

Looks to me like the West is currently a 4 team battle between OKC, SA, Memphis & the Clippers. I would give OKC the edge right now because of Durant/Westbrook ability to finish. Clippers have the next best chance. Griz are solid but they just don't have a consistent go to guaranteed scorer.

Lakers are still a wild card when Nash gets back but it will be awfully hard for them to reach the elite level in such a short timeframe.

 

[playmakr]

we are taking a major butt-kicking inside. by everyone. it's more than a little disturbing.

IMO if we don't shore up our problems in the paint we won't stand a chance of getting past Memphis in the playoffs.

We got by them last year.

I assume u mean rebounding. Bc we are one of the best in paint defense

Thunder:

8th in rebounding differential
2nd in FG% defense
5th PPS defense
1st in blocked shots per game
8th in opponents points per game in paint
15th in points per game in paint (combined with all the FT's they shoot attacking the rim, not all that bad)

I just don't get the big beef with them in the paint.

 

[coolm]

is there an "offensive rebounds given up per game" stat ... because that one would have us looking rather ragged.

great, so we have some nice stats. I really don't like basing things on stats because you can skew those dramatically in a few games on weaklings.

 

[bocabull]

Upon further review I'll put the Clippers as co favorites with the Thunder. They are so loaded. If Odom gets in shape and they get Grant Hill & Big Shot back to 100% they will be the favorite. No weaknesses and their second unit will be tops in the entire league.

 

[bocabull]

Suns got Scola on amnesty for only $4.5/season with the intent to deal him to a contender. He could definitely improve the Thunder's inside presence. Maybe Lamb & Jones III in a trade.

 

[coolm]

Upon further review I'll put the Clippers as co favorites with the Thunder. They are so loaded. If Odom gets in shape and they get Grant Hill & Big Shot back to 100% they will be the favorite. No weaknesses and their second unit will be tops in the entire league.

Their second team is (and will be even more so) awesome. I love watching Bledsoe, Crawford, and Barnes play together. NO CLUE how they're gonna work Grant Hill in but it's a wonderful problem to have.

Suns got Scola on amnesty for only $4.5/season with the intent to deal him to a contender. He could definitely improve the Thunder's inside presence. Maybe Lamb & Jones III in a trade.

I'm a HUGE fan of Scola. His game is fun to watch. Not sure that he is accustomed to the defense that Brooks expects, but he has like a million different shots (most of them strange) and a high basketball IQ.

 

[gracefor24]

Suns got Scola on amnesty for only $4.5/season with the intent to deal him to a contender. He could definitely improve the Thunder's inside presence. Maybe Lamb & Jones III in a trade.

i wish we could get Dragic as well. Maynor is playing like doo-doo.

Scola would be a huge pickup. The problem is I don't know if Brooks would give up his stubbornness with Perkins.

What's interesting though, is that to get to the Finals we NEED Perkins badly. No way we get past LAC, LAL, or MEM without Perkins. Our biggest problem rebounding is that Serge is too busy trying to block every single shot and is constantly out of position for rebounds. Perkins does a great job blocking out but then can't get off the ground to rebound! But Serge is the one that needs to improve. He should be averaging 10 plus with his athleticism.

The problem with needing Perkins to get to the Finals is that at that point we need him to sit the bench while we go at Miami!

 

[coolm]

I agree with you 100% about Serge and Perkins. I guess it must be a trade-off but to me it would make more sense to dominate rebounding and keeping them off the offensive glass than having this huge statistical edge in blocks. If I'm gonna take pride in numbers defensively then I want it to be defensive fg% ... and I'd trade Perkins for Kenneth Faried in a heartbeat.

 

[stoops4pres]

Looks to me like the West is currently a 4 team battle between OKC, SA, Memphis & the Clippers. I would give OKC the edge right now because of Durant/Westbrook ability to finish. Clippers have the next best chance. Griz are solid but they just don't have a consistent go to guaranteed scorer.

Lakers are still a wild card when Nash gets back but it will be awfully hard for them to reach the elite level in such a short timeframe.

Don't forget about Z-Bo. He's looking like he is back to his 2010 form (dropped 38 and 22 less than a week ago).

The real issue that could plague Memphis is Rudy Gay's tendency to shoot more than Z-Bo and Gasol combined (or close to it). See their last game vs. the Hawks. No way that type of shot distribution (or lack thereof, for the Memphis bigs) should ever happen.

 

[gracefor24]

Don't forget about Z-Bo. He's looking like he is back to his 2010 form (dropped 38 and 22 less than a week ago).

The real issue that could plague Memphis is Rudy Gay's tendency to shoot more than Z-Bo and Gasol combined (or close to it). See their last game vs. the Hawks. No way that type of shot distribution (or lack thereof, for the Memphis bigs) should ever happen.

Agreed. And I think whoever plays them will make Conley beat them by jumpshooting. I just don't think he can do it. I also think their bench will regress to the mean as the year goes on. I definitely think they will make noise in the playoffs and have a legitimate chance to go to the Finals. At the end of the day I think it's all about matchups and I hope OKC doesn't meet the Grizz till late if at all.

 

[playmakr]

Agreed. And I think whoever plays them will make Conley beat them by jumpshooting. I just don't think he can do it. I also think their bench will regress to the mean as the year goes on. I definitely think they will make noise in the playoffs and have a legitimate chance to go to the Finals. At the end of the day I think it's all about matchups and I hope OKC doesn't meet the Grizz till late if at all.

Great minds....

As for the game last night, the Grizzlies bench was very impressive, didn't miss a shot. If that happens consistently, then them and the Clippers will run away in the West. I suspect they will correct to mean at some point (3 guys shooting over 50% from 3 off bench right now) and things will even out. But right now, they are definitely one of the 4 to 5 favorites in the West, at worst.

http://ouhoops.com/forum/showthread.php?t=26845

 

[stoops4pres]

Agreed. And I think whoever plays them will make Conley beat them by jumpshooting. I just don't think he can do it. I also think their bench will regress to the mean as the year goes on. I definitely think they will make noise in the playoffs and have a legitimate chance to go to the Finals. At the end of the day I think it's all about matchups and I hope OKC doesn't meet the Grizz till late if at all.

All good points. And the bench has already started to regress--Ellington has played like crap since he hit 7 shots from behind the arc vs. Miami. But I'm excited about the return of your boy Darrell Arthur, grace. He is one of my favorite role players in the entire league, and always gives the Spurs problems when healthy.

One very underrated what-if scenario: What if the Grizz hadn't foolishly traded Grevis Vasquez last season? Damn. :facepalm

 

[gracefor24]

All good points. And the bench has already started to regress--Ellington has played like crap since he hit 7 shots from behind the arc vs. Miami. But I'm excited about the return of your boy Darrell Arthur, grace. He is one of my favorite role players in the entire league, and always gives the Spurs problems when healthy.

One very underrated what-if scenario: What if the Grizz hadn't foolishly traded Grevis Vasquez last season? Damn. :facepalm

What's interesting with Arthur is what it does to Speights time. I feel like Speights gives the Thunder major problems because he's such a good scorer.

Vasquez was a major loss. He was another guy the Thunder struggled with.

How about if the Grizzlies had drafted James Harden instead of Thabeet?!!

 

[stoops4pres]

What's interesting with Arthur is what it does to Speights time. I feel like Speights gives the Thunder major problems because he's such a good scorer.

Yeah, I would like to see Arthur play more vs. the Spurs (he is great at defending the Spurs' pick-and-roll), but I think Speights is a more ideal match-up vs. the Thunder. Will be interesting to see how Hollins divides their minutes up.

How about if the Grizzlies had drafted James Harden instead of Thabeet?!!

Ugh. :facepalm

I appreciate Heisley for bringing basketball to the mid-south, but he was literally the only person in Memphis that wanted Thabeet at #2. What a joke.

 

[coolm]

agreed ... but I dont think they would have taken Harden. Most people had him going 6th or later. I am betting Tyreke Evans.

 

[stoops4pres]

agreed ... but I dont think they would have taken Harden. Most people had him going 6th or later. I am betting Tyreke Evans.

Would've been interesting. Evans was the product from Memphis, but they drafted Conley to be the primary ball-handler two years before. That's why I think Harden would've been plausible, but so were Curry, Evans, etc.

Now that the Grizz made the brilliant hire with John Hollinger, I don't think they'll be making any more Thabeet-sized gaffes the next time they're in the lottery. :dance005:

 

[gracefor24]

Would've been interesting. Evans was the product from Memphis, but they drafted Conley to be the primary ball-handler two years before. That's why I think Harden would've been plausible, but so were Curry, Evans, etc.

Now that the Grizz made the brilliant hire with John Hollinger, I don't think they'll be making any more Thabeet-sized gaffes the next time they're in the lottery. :dance005:

Obviously hindsight is 20/20 but it's crazy to think about how they whiffed on 2 Top 5 picks in a row. OJ Mayo then Hasheem Thabeet. They could have had Russell Westbrook/Kevin Love/Brook Lopez/Serge Ibaka. But they picked Kevin Love so let's say they keep that pick. Then the next year they take Harden because as stoops4prez says they wouldn't have paired a chucker like Evans next to Gay.

You could have a lineup of:

Conley, Harden, Gay, Randolph, Gasol with Love coming off the bench as a young pup then letting you dangle Randolph or Gay for someone that might fit better or trade Love, etc. They would have had an unbelievable amount of talent.

The 2009 Draft was crazy when you look back on it. 11 PG's drafted in the 1st round not counting Tyreke Evans. Unvelievable. And Minnesota picked 3 of them!! Outside of the PG's it was a terrible draft.