slick_watts wrote:you mentioned a lot of teams that haven't improved much.. but have the thunder even improved at all? james harden's really the only addition to the rotation so far. sure, he'll definitely outproduce the SG's of 2008-2009 but he's not worth more than four or five wins at best.
Houston has went the wrong direction and New Orleans is on the verge of going the wrong way if they trade Chandler for nothing. That leaves 4 teams going for 3 spots. I would give Phoenix and Utah the nod for 2 of the spots. That leaves us and GS and even if NO doesnt trade Chandler, with the way those guys have been hurt, I would say there are 3 teams all with good shot at #8. You are right, we havent done much besides add Harden. His addition adds something we really needed: perimeter shooting. Add in the capspace and the expirings of Wilkins, Watson, and Atkins and I think some moves are coming.
slick_watts wrote:it really depends on how you see the guys developing. i don't think kevin durant's going to have as big a leap as he did last year. jeff green? he's a liability at the pf spot, i can't see that changing unless he increases his scoring efficiency tremendously. russell westbrook? that's the real factor right there. if westbrook plays efficient, smart basketball the team has a chance to be a lot better. maybe 35+ wins.
The key to this season is how they develop. Having Westbrook and Harden playing together in the Summer League should help their chemistry. Plus with Weaver, Livingston, White, Ibaka, and Mullens all playing together it should give confidence to our second unit. We started playing better towards the end of last season. I dont see why that couldnt continue.
slick_watts wrote:one thing that i think will be improved is the bench.
Some of our bench is playing in the Summer League together so that can only help them. We still have some needs on our bench but I agree they will be better. I think there are still quite a few moves to be made though.
