sipclip wrote:
He sure did a great job of managing Reggie Jackson's ego. Who exactly are these ego's that he has had to manage? Lucky for him he has had some real class acts leading this team in Durant and Westbrook.
There is a big difference between being a fantastic defensive coach and having great defensive players. The thunder are a good defensive team because they have had incredible length and athleticism at multiple positions. That credit goes to Presti. Give any coach that type of skill and you will have a good defensive team. Some of you want to give Brooks credit for things that have absolutely nothing to do with him.
He didn't install a better ball movement based offense when the stars aren't there. You still saw tons of isolation ball but it was Reggie Jackson dominating the ball rather than Westbrook or Durant. Once they got back it was once again isolation city. I read a stat the other day that Westbrook this season has the highest usage percentage in nba history this season.
Once again you want to give Brooks credit for what Presti has done when it comes to late picks. Guys like Ibaka and Reggie Jackson were absolute steals in the draft. They aren't good because Brooks developed them. They are good because they are extremely talented. The funniest part about you even trumpeting his ability to develop young players is that they only seem to get an opportunity to truly shine when his hand is finally forced. Ibaka couldn't get in the starting lineup until Presti forced his hand and traded Jeff Green even though Ibaka was clearly outplaying Green during that season.
With Harden he had 3 years to test out a starting wing trio of Westbrook, Harden and Durant but was obsessed with keeping his usual rotation rather than just giving it a shot. He is obsessed with sticking to his rotations and the only time it changes is because of injury. This year he is forcing Roberson into that sg role but the reality is that his lack of shooting ability makes the game tougher on Westbrook and Durant because teams don't have to honor his jumper. That doesn't mean that I don't like Roberson as a prospect because I do but shooters like Morrow and Lamb are a much better fit at the starting sg spot than he is. Every time Lamb gets some consistent minutes he shows a ton of potential but Brooks never sticks with him while a guy like Waiters comes in and does absolutely nothing to earn consistent but is force fed them. Can any of you thunder fans honestly tell me that Dion Waiters is playing better than Jeremy Lamb played last year or earlier this year when injuries forced Brooks to give him minutes?
The only reason Steven Adams finally was given some heavy minutes last year was because Perkins got hurt. Perkins was playing like total garbage last and should have been benched early in the season yet he continued to start.
The thunder have the most talented team in the nba and the pieces to build a dynasty but I don't believe that Brooks is the coach to max this talent. I strongly believe the thunder will win a title within the next 2yrs because you are that damn talented but with an above average coach I think the thunder could win 4 or 5 championships in a row. Especially with the addition of Kanter. He was that missing piece that gives you a legit inside presence to compliment not only Durant and Westbrook but he makes the game so much easier for Ibaka. Ibaka looks incredible next to Kanter.
Take it by paragraph
A. Reggie is a head case. KD and Russ have not been leaders up to this past year or two, most of the good work was done before you noticed the Thunder.
B. You don't watch Thunder much. Thunder def came from Ron Adams, when he was with the team in 2010 or 11, I don't recall which , and the schemes have remained the same since, with a lot of credit to this terrible basketball player named Perk, who learned his defense from Thibodeau at Boston, along with Ron Adams. Go to 2012 WCF, and there was many defensive adjustments that turned that series, and it had nothing to do with just sending KD, Russ, and Harden out on the court. Here, since you wasting my time, go read this
http://grantland.com/the-triangle/how-d ... the-spurs/
C. Ya think Russ has high usage because KD has been injured and he's had to carry a team with not near as much talent as you think. You haven't watched this team play. I don't know where all this talent is , you say is there. Why do you think Presti just brought in four new players ?
Thunder have been running set plays for a long time, no one notices, or wants to notice. They've been running Horns since 2011, I can show you YouTube vids of plays they run. They are not complex as other teams, because the talent level doesn't demand that. Who would want to turn KD into Kyle Korver ? If you got KD, you use him properly, and if that means ISO , then so be it. Cause he's best in the world at it.
Bad coaching , would be forcing KD into some restrictive system, just so the coach can take personal credit for the results. Sadly, we see this too much in college basketball, where the coach wants to control the entire game.
It takes a bigger coach, to realize what talent he has, and then let them play.
D. In Reggies's rookie year, he could not bring the the ball up the court. Really. It was TO city. Thunder fans were all over Presti for drafting a PG who had no handle. You don't pay attention. You don't know. Even KD and Russ were developed, I know , I watched it , in person.
E. Harden would not work as a starter. It was tried, you must not have been watching, shocking as that sounds. In Jan 2011, I think, Thabo was injured. They moved Harden to the starter role for like 7 games or so, and it went terrible. Everybody was anxious for Thabo to return and Harden go back to six man.
Harden was extremely efficient in his six man role, he led the league in true shooting percentage, that's what made it work.
And even all that said, although Thabo started, Harden closed games on the court with KD and Russ. It did not matter who started, as much as who finished. You must not have been watching.
Not even gonna get into why Roberson starts, it seems this needs a sticky , or something, so its not constantly having to be repeated. He's the complement to KD.
F. Perk vrs Adams ..... Adams did not know where to be on the court, he was a pure rookie with better athletic skills, but no experience. He was not going to replace the defensive leader of this team as a raw rookie.
G. Thunder have the most talented team in the NBA ? Oh yeah, then again, why Presti make these big moves ?
You vastly over rate the roster that started this season. And it was also a roster dominated by rookie contracts, young inconsistent players, who had still a lot to learn.
