Westbrook Back...Expectations?

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Mr.B!!!

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You're Billy Donovan and as of 8-4-16 this is what you have to work with:

C: Adams/Kanter
PF: Ilyasova/Collison/McGary/Sabonis
SF: Roberson/Singler/Huestis
SG: Oliadipo/Morrow/Abrinnes
PG: Westbrook/Payne/Price

Where does that line-up put you in the WC and how do you maximize it?
 
6 or 7 seed. Going to see better perimeter defense & worse rebounding. Roberson & Payne need to make sizeable jumps.
 
I think they'll need a guy to come out of nowhere to be markedly better even if you factor in Adams natural progression. A perimeter of Roberson, Oliadipo and Westbrook is hyper-athletic and Kanter and Adams can beast on the boards. I don't know, as built OKC looks a lot like the 2010-11 Grizzlies ... and hopefully OKC can be that annoying defensively and on the glass. If OKC only had a 7' SF that could score 28 a night it'd be perfect.
 
They will be a four seed. They should still win their division. As far as playoffs, max they win in the first round. Going to really hurt on 3 pt shooting but will be really athletic.
 
Need some shooters and they will be really good... I think Westbrook and Oladipo is going to be exciting. What a couple of total freaks in terms of athletic ability.
 
Will can still win the NW but could be anywhere from 4th to 6th in record. Depending on match up can get out of first round but that's about it. Warriors, Spurs, and Clippers will probably have better records. They should be in the next tier with Dallas and Portland
 
Max Power said:
Will can still win the NW but could be anywhere from 4th to 6th in record. Depending on match up can get out of first round but that's about it. Warriors, Spurs, and Clippers will probably have better records. They should be in the next tier with Dallas and Portland
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Grizzlies will be much improved.
 
They picked the wrong "star" to build around IMO.

4th in the West is probably their ceiling. Could get hot/lucky and make conference finals. Basically you defend that roster by not allowing Westbrook and Adams to kill you. I don't think Oliadipo or Roberson are good enough to win you games, even if left open on the perimeter. Be interesting to see how teams choose to defend them.
 
WTSooner said:
They picked the wrong "star" to build around IMO.

4th in the West is probably their ceiling. Could get hot/lucky and make conference finals. Basically you defend that roster by not allowing Westbrook and Adams to kill you. I don't think Oliadipo or Roberson are good enough to win you games, even if left open on the perimeter. Be interesting to see how teams choose to defend them.
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not sure what you mean by this? They didn't not pick durant. And surely you aren't saying they should have chosen to build around serge

This year, i agree, fourth is their ceiling. Which would be pretty impressive after losing a top 3 player in the league without getting anything in return and it being too late to get any free agents.
 
SoonerBounce13 said:
not sure what you mean by this? They didn't not pick durant. And surely you aren't saying they should have chosen to build around serge

This year, i agree, fourth is their ceiling. Which would be pretty impressive after losing a top 3 player in the league without getting anything in return and it being too late to get any free agents.
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Agreed. They are going to build around Westbrook, can't all happen in 2 months.
 
BCSooners said:
6 or 7 seed. Going to see better perimeter defense & worse rebounding. Roberson & Payne need to make sizeable jumps.
Click to expand...
I'm optimistic about Payne making a significant jump, to the point that I think he'll get meaningful minutes not only backing up Westbrook but playing alongside him.

If Roberson could just get into the mid-30s (34-35%) as a 3-point shooter, that would go a long way.

I'm curious to see what Sabonis and Abrines could do. I'm hopeful that one of those guys emerges as a significant rotation player by the end of the season.
 
Smash Williams said:
I'm optimistic about Payne making a significant jump, to the point that I think he'll get meaningful minutes not only backing up Westbrook but playing alongside him.

If Roberson could just get into the mid-30s (34-35%) as a 3-point shooter, that would go a long way.

I'm curious to see what Sabonis and Abrines could do. I'm hopeful that one of those guys emerges as a significant rotation player by the end of the season.
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Yes I think Payne can be just as good as Reggie Jackson in time.

We could see Roberson play some 4 this year.

I'm optimistic about Sabonis, not so much Abrines from what I've seen & read.
 
I'm optimistic, with much of the league going small ball there is something to be said for zigging when others are zagging [Presti mentioned that]. If there is a team built to play smash mouth basketball it is this one. I really agreed with a lot of what this article said:

https://theringer.com/russell-westbrook-oklahoma-city-thunder-extension-7ce3d083de4#.xjrodys5b

I really have a gut feeling that if this team can be dominant on the boards, competitive defensively and above-average offensively it can get past the first round. We obviously need some outside shooting, but if there was a team that could live without it I'd put OKC right behind Cleveland.

No way we are "better" losing KD, but I'm not sure what the incremental gain will be to GSW either. The subtle (not-subtle) shade that RW through at KD is definitely going to be in his head and it sounds like there may be some GSW chemistry issues already. In any event, if RW can stay healthy and OKC can sniff 50 wins, it'll be a fun MVP campaign.

Maybe if the issues with the LAC don't go away, this guy thinks about coming home :bgriff624_jpg_xs:
 
It's a good roster. They'll definitely make playoffs, and might even get into the second round. That's not too shabby when you consider this roster is on the rise with quite a bit of young talent, but it's gonna take one of the big guns next offseason to push them back into contention (crossing my fingers for Blake).
 
SoonerBounce13 said:
not sure what you mean by this? They didn't not pick durant. And surely you aren't saying they should have chosen to build around serge

This year, i agree, fourth is their ceiling. Which would be pretty impressive after losing a top 3 player in the league without getting anything in return and it being too late to get any free agents.
Click to expand...

I think they should have known that KD wouldn't be happy, and wasn't happy, playing alongside Westbrook. A lot of non-Thunder fans saw it. The bickering. The simple fact that Westbrook is a ball dominant pg while KD would be better paired with a pg that distributes. The signs were there.

Be interesting to see what they do in the future. Landing Blake would be huge, but I don't imagine they'll have an easy time landing players of that caliber during FA most of the time.
 
WTSooner said:
I think they should have known that KD wouldn't be happy, and wasn't happy, playing alongside Westbrook. A lot of non-Thunder fans saw it. The bickering. The simple fact that Westbrook is a ball dominant pg while KD would be better paired with a pg that distributes. The signs were there.

Be interesting to see what they do in the future. Landing Blake would be huge, but I don't imagine they'll have an easy time landing players of that caliber during FA most of the time.
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Why did KD go to G.S. then?

RW had more assists and more "hockey" assists than curry last year

KD told OKC managment what they wanted to hear i imagine. Hell, KD even said that he almost signed with Boston b/c he was so impressed with Brady LOL. Shows you how scatter brained he was
 
SoonerBounce13 said:
Why did KD go to G.S. then?

RW had more assists and more "hockey" assists than curry last year

KD told OKC managment what they wanted to hear i imagine. Hell, KD even said that he almost signed with Boston b/c he was so impressed with Brady LOL. Shows you how scatter brained he was
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http://stats.nba.com/tracking/#!/team/passing/?sort=PASSES_MADE&dir=-1

OKC was last in the League is Passes made and received last year. Meanwhile Golden State Led the League in Assists and Potential Assists per game
 
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Max Power said:
http://stats.nba.com/tracking/#!/team/passing/?sort=PASSES_MADE&dir=-1

OKC was last in the League is Passes made and received last year. Meanwhile Golden State Led the League in Assists and Potential Assists per game
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right. But people are saying it is Russ vs. Curry and KD chose GS b/c curry would share the ball more. That isn't the case and stats back it up.

If one person was to blame for OKC's lack of ball movement, it wouldn't be russ. IT would be the guy that would jack up long threes at the end of the the shot clock or in end of game scenarios
 
SoonerBounce13 said:
right. But people are saying it is Russ vs. Curry and KD chose GS b/c curry would share the ball more. That isn't the case and stats back it up.

If one person was to blame for OKC's lack of ball movement, it wouldn't be russ. IT would be the guy that would jack up long threes at the end of the the shot clock or in end of game scenarios
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So... Russ? The 29% 3 point shooter. Or are you trying to cherry pick a few games out of the 8 seasons they spent together.
 
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