2015-16 OKC Thunder

[dcsooner]

Billy Donovan have the Thunder on the right track. Wait til next season; this too will pass...

Laramie, I actually agree with you about Billy, but I would venture to say he will push to have more rounds in the chamber from which to draw.

[Anonymous.]

I don't think the team needs a new piece. We just need to get better. Specifically three point shooting - that faucet of OKC's game is lackluster and for some reason Morrow never gets a chance - even when Waiters is cold.


GSW is a new era of NBA - it goes against everything that is team basketball. Literally the only reason they were in this series is because Klay and Steph are incredible lights-out shooters from 3. And it isn't like there was poor defense played on them, they were hitting strafing threes with hands in their faces. You can't do anything against them when they have "one of those nights". And for some reason, those two have those nights way more often than anyone in NBA history.

You remove just a handful of Klay's threes in Game 6 and take away the ISO pull-up threes at the end of the shotclock from Klay and Steph in Game 7 - then OKC is easily up 20+ points.

We have to live with them making those insane shots because it is who they are and it is how GSW have beaten countless records in the NBA in two seasons.


OKC had freaking 7 turnovers in the ENTIRE game 7. That is outstanding care. The difference in these last 3 games was simply the 'Splash Bros' doing exactly what they have done all season. Unguardable has a new definition when it comes to those guys. Props to them for successfully exploiting everything that is team basketball.

[BlackmoreRulz]

So where does the Thunder go from here? Obviously they will do everything they can to resign Durant but will they match ANY offer that Waiters gets? Is there any market for Ibaka on an expiring contract? He just seems to disappear at times.

KD was really upset with Roberson passing up an open 3 last night late in the game.

[Anonymous.]

KD was really upset with Roberson passing up an open 3 last night late in the game.

I was too when he passed that out. He had 30 feet around him. If he hits that, the game is totally different. Instead we end up empty and then Ibaka fouls Curry on the 3 point attempt and that's all she wrote.

Everyone has confidence in Roberson except himself. He is a A+ defender with zero offensive confidence. That will (and likely already is) a thing the staff is working to fix.

[AP]

Man, this hurts. I posted this on twitter earlier, but this hurts me just as bad as OSU losing to Iowa State in 2011. Never thought I'd feel that heartbreak again. Not sure I'll get over it anytime soon.

[Thomas Vu]

I was too when he passed that out. He had 30 feet around him. If he hits that, the game is totally different. Instead we end up empty and then Ibaka fouls Curry on the 3 point attempt and that's all she wrote.

Everyone has confidence in Roberson except himself. He is a A+ defender with zero offensive confidence. That will (and likely already is) a thing the staff is working to fix.

He wasn't particularly hot that night. 2/11 FGA, 4 of which were from 3. He was even missing lay ups.

On paper though, a wide open Roberson 3 is probably better than a contested Dion (long) 2.

[Richard at Remax]

To be fair Dion did score on that possession where Roberson passed up that 3.

[Anonymous.]

Roberson is a guard. Passing up a wide open (by 20ft+) look to someone who is covered is horrible basketball. I forgot Dion somehow made a miracle fadeaway on that possession. I guess that is when it went downhill fast with the Ibaka foul.

If Roberson had confidence in making the big shot, he would have a much better chance at making the big shot. You think Steph and Klay think they're going to miss those miracle chucks? No, they not only think they can make them, they KNOW they can make them. You have to take shots to make shots. Roberson has the chance to be a major piece to OKC, but he needs to develop that confidence.

[KingGilbert]

Looking like the Thunder will get hammered in the first round next year as Portland and a rebuilding Minnesota stand a better chance of winning the Northwest Division title. The human abortion Skip Bayless is loving that the Thunder lost and he's a bandwagon Cavaliers fan as he's picking Cleveland to win easily plus this is the year LeBron brings a championship to Cleveland as the 1986 Cleveland Browns will be inn attendance the night the Cavs win. Jim Thome never got to win a World Series but he and Drew Carey will be at game 4 when David Stern gives J.R. Smith the NBA title.

[Bellaboo]

[B]]Looking like the Thunder will get hammered in the first round next year as Portland and a rebuilding Minnesota stand a better chance of winning the Northwest Division title[/B].[/B] The human abortion Skip Bayless is loving that the Thunder lost and he's a bandwagon Cavaliers fan as he's picking Cleveland to win easily plus this is the year LeBron brings a championship to Cleveland as the 1986 Cleveland Browns will be inn attendance the night the Cavs win. Jim Thome never got to win a World Series but he and Drew Carey will be at game 4 when David Stern gives J.R. Smith the NBA title.

Would you bet money on this ?

Portland and/or Minnesota....

By the way, Stern has since retired.

[Jake]

Lol

[KingGilbert]

David Stern is LeBron's agent/BFF plus Stern promised LeBron that Adam Silver would get him a title if he went back to Cleveland. LeBron will win this for Cleveland will try to recruit Durant/Wade/Carmello/Chris Paul to Cleveland and if Draymond Green breaks his neck and never walks again, so what.

[adaniel]

David Stern is LeBron's agent/BFF plus Stern promised LeBron that Adam Silver would get him a title if he went back to Cleveland. LeBron will win this for Cleveland will try to recruit Durant/Wade/Carmello/Chris Paul to Cleveland and if Draymond Green breaks his neck and never walks again, so what.

Your troll game is strong.

[Laramie]

Don't like to talk about individual player performances; however, Ibaka does seem to be 'slow.' Slightly above the high challenge range (EMH = Educable Mentally Handicapped) .

Ibaka needs to hang onto passes in the paint (slight improvement this season); he also needs to know when to pass the ball (more assists). Wouldn't trade him now, he would definitely come back to haunt us.

Ibaka will be better next season.

[dankrutka]

Dan, I know you are a huge Thunder fan and a very knowledgeable student of the NBA. But, I did not lose these games by blowing big leads. It was almost totally the "hero" ball attempted by 2 players. Yes, when they are good they are as good as any, but, time and time again they fall back into this mode and it is getting the Thunder beat when they do.

And they almost beat the greatest team of all time doing it, right? So, that's enough to usually win a title. But some years you need some luck.

However, the only time I felt like Russ/KD really got away from playing smart team ball was at the end of game 6. They played incredible team ball the last two rounds, but there's just no room for error with Golden State. I really am as optimistic about their play as I've been in a couple years. So, no, they don't do it "time and time again." They were great in this playoffs in getting their teammates involved.

[dankrutka]

Don't like to talk about individual player performances; however, Ibaka does seem to be 'slow.' Slightly above the high challenge range (EMH = Educable Mentally Handicapped) .

Ibaka needs to hang onto passes in the paint (slight improvement this season); he also needs to know when to pass the ball (more assists). Wouldn't trade him now, he would definitely come back to haunt us.

Ibaka will be better next season.

I thought Ibaka was great in this series. He played to his strengths -- rim protecting and shooting. Ibaka is not good in traffic and may never be. I have no complaints about how he finished this playoffs.

[dankrutka]

One notion that's in several posts in this thread is that the Thunder players just need more confidence/practice in shooting threes. Three point shooting is an elite skill. Not all players can just develop into great shooters. Steph and Klay are historically good and no amount of hard work or practice is going to transform OKC into Golden State from behind the arc. Of course, some guys might improve incrementally with work (but some guys work their butts off and see no improvement... it's not guaranteed with work). But if OKC wants another knock down shooter then they need to find one in free agency or bring over Abrines, but I doubt either happens for next year. And I don't think OKC necessarily needs one. KD, Serge, and Morrow are good. If some other guys (e.g., Robeson, Waiters, Payne) can just show some minor incremental growth then that could help a lot. More than anything, Russ needs to cut out those one or two bad threes a game. We'll see what they do...

[jn1780]

I would settle for them hitting the 2-point shots. The Thunder played good defense but had a bad night shooting. If they made those baskets it would have been a lot closer even with all of Golden State's 3-pointers. Golden State was weaker in this series than they have been year long, but the Thunder miss their opportunity to take them out. Oh well, better luck next year.

[dankrutka]

Golden State was weaker in this series than they have been year long, but the Thunder miss their opportunity to take them out.

Golden State was weaker because of what OKC did. OKC's defense was absolutely phenomenal in the series, and it gave Golden State absolute fits. Despite losing OKC was really impressive in this series.

[Laramie]

Will say this about Ibaka's game. No one thought he had the skill set to shoot the 3 point shot. He just may continue to develop into a formidable 3 point shooter.

Many sportscasters complained about Ibaka defending at the 3-point line against Curry; just don't know any NBA defenders who could handle Curry in that area.

[Bellaboo]

David Stern is LeBron's agent/BFF plus Stern promised LeBron that Adam Silver would get him a title if he went back to Cleveland. LeBron will win this for Cleveland will try to recruit Durant/Wade/Carmello/Chris Paul to Cleveland and if Draymond Green breaks his neck and never walks again, so what.

Not even close - Rich Paul is his agent among others - has been for years -


NBA


Rich Paul Client List

Agent: Rich Paul
Agency: Klutch Sports Group

Website: http://www.klutchgroup.com/

SORT:PLAYER (Z-A)
COLUMNS:SWIPE
Player Team Pos Height Weight Birth Date Age Contractual Status YOS
Eric Bledsoe Phoenix Suns PG 6-1 190 Dec 9, 1989 26 Phoenix Suns, Sep 24, 2014 5
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope Detroit Pistons SG 6-5 205 Feb 18, 1993 23 Detroit Pistons, Jul 19, 2013 2
Norris Cole New Orleans Pelicans PG 6-2 175 Oct 13, 1988 27 New Orleans Pelicans, Sep 15, 2015 4
Montrezl Harrell Houston Rockets PF 6-8 240 Jan 26, 1994 22 Houston Rockets, Sep 18, 2015 0
LeBron James Cleveland Cavaliers SF/PF 6-8 250 Dec 30, 1984 31 Cleveland Cavaliers, Jul 10, 2015 12
Cory Joseph Toronto Raptors PG/SG 6-3 193 Aug 20, 1991 24 Toronto Raptors, Jul 9, 2015 4
Kosta Koufos Sacramento Kings C 7-0 265 Feb 24, 1989 27 Sacramento Kings, Jul 13, 2015 7
Trey Lyles Utah Jazz SF 6-10 234 Nov 5, 1995 20 Utah Jazz, Jul 7, 2015 0
Ben McLemore Sacramento Kings SG 6-5 195 Feb 11, 1993 23 Sacramento Kings, Jul 13, 2013 2
Dejounte Murray Washington SG 6-5 175 Sep 19, 1996 19 Draft Eligible in 2016 0
Kevin Seraphin New York Knicks PF/C 6-10 278 Dec 7, 1989 26 New York Knicks, Aug 6, 2015 5
Ben Simmons LSU PF 6-10 225 Jul 20, 1996 19 Draft Eligible in 2016 0
Tristan Thompson Cleveland Cavaliers PF 6-10 238 Mar 13, 1991 25 Cleveland Cavaliers, Oct 22, 2015 4
John Wall Washington Wizards PG 6-4 195 Sep 6, 1990 25 Washington Wizards, Jul 31, 2013 5

[Anonymous.]

Will say this about Ibaka's game. No one thought he had the skill set to shoot the 3 point shot. He just may continue to develop into a formidable 3 point shooter.

Many sportscasters complained about Ibaka defending at the 3-point line against Curry; just don't know any NBA defenders who could handle Curry in that area.

I think with Kanter/Adams/Ibaka as primary defender on Klay/Steph 3pt FGA. The stat was a made three on 17/23. That is unbelievable. I don't think anyone on OKC could make 17/23 being wide open, except maybe Morrow.

[OSUMom]

There was something that happened and isn't getting discussed because we lost and I guess it doesn't matter anymore, but is the NBA ever going to do anything about Green? Seriously, that move he did to Adams in game 7 was incredibly dangerous. If he had managed to pull him all the way over, Adams could have ended up with a broken neck. Luckily karma got him because Adams weighs too much and ended up crashing down straight on top of Green instead.

[Anonymous.]

NBA has already failed to suspend him the last 3 games. No chance he gets it for that. Tinfoil hat mode, but the NBA seemed to truly want another GSW/CLE Finals.

[TU 'cane]

The NBA is by far the most well documented rigged professional league in North America. Everyone remember all the referees being caught in the mid 2000s for bribes and rigged officiating? So, your tinfoil hats may not be tight enough if you ask me.

Anyway, wanted to throw this in here. According to ESPN (who I despise for a variety of reasons- but enough about me), their formulas rank KD as the 6th most popular athlete in the world right now, behind LBJ:

http://espn.go.com/espn/feature/stor...world-fame-100

Westy is at 48. These two are the image of OKC to the world.
And another, game 7 was the MOST WATCHED NBA game and PROGRAM EVER on TNT:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2...er-on-cable-tv