OKC Thunder 2022-23 Regular Season Discussion

[Old Man Game]

I must have finally gotten all the rooting for tanking out of my system because I found myself really mad tonight that we lost. Also, I had to listen to the Sacramento broadcast and I got to tell you, I thought I'd heard some homers before, but I heard them say tonight that as the number three team in the standings in the West, Sabonis ought to be getting MVP talk.

Same but the Kings deserves some credit...they play hard and smart. Their defensive adjusment in the second half made the difference.

Muscala and Kenrich were trash last night and I still don't understand why we drafted a poor JRE's version in Jaylin. I like the kid but I don't get it.

Agree. All I can think is somewhere Sam Presti is still hoping to find a new Nick Collison. Backup center glue guy who does the little things. I feel like we've tried to acquire him multiple times (Mcgary, JRE, Jay Will)

[ThunderBolt]

I must have finally gotten all the rooting for tanking out of my system because I found myself really mad tonight that we lost. Also, I had to listen to the Sacramento broadcast and I got to tell you, I thought I'd heard some homers before, but I heard them say tonight that as the number three team in the standings in the West, Sabonis ought to be getting MVP talk.

Same but the Kings deserves some credit...they play hard and smart. Their defensive adjusment in the second half made the difference.

Muscala and Kenrich were trash last night and I still don't understand why we drafted a poor JRE's version in Jaylin. I like the kid but I don't get it.

Agree. All I can think is somewhere Sam Presti is still hoping to find a new Nick Collison. Backup center glue guy who does the little things. I feel like we've tried to acquire him multiple times (Mcgary, JRE, Jay Will)

Kenrich is the Nick Collison guy.

[Devilanche]

I must have finally gotten all the rooting for tanking out of my system because I found myself really mad tonight that we lost. Also, I had to listen to the Sacramento broadcast and I got to tell you, I thought I'd heard some homers before, but I heard them say tonight that as the number three team in the standings in the West, Sabonis ought to be getting MVP talk.

They aren’t exactly wrong . Given how long they been out of the playoff… sabonis should at least get some talks . Whether he is top 5 or not is irrelevant but somewhere on the 5-15 list .

[Saints14]

I must have finally gotten all the rooting for tanking out of my system because I found myself really mad tonight that we lost. Also, I had to listen to the Sacramento broadcast and I got to tell you, I thought I'd heard some homers before, but I heard them say tonight that as the number three team in the standings in the West, Sabonis ought to be getting MVP talk.

Same but the Kings deserves some credit...they play hard and smart. Their defensive adjusment in the second half made the difference.

Muscala and Kenrich were trash last night and I still don't understand why we drafted a poor JRE's version in Jaylin. I like the kid but I don't get it.

I think it's fairly obvious, Presti wants passing/high feel at all 5 positions. JRE and JayWill have their limitations but they're both bets to provide that as backup 5s that can fit within an offense that values ball movement

[jake_swivel]

Thunder’s defense was really impressive last night, I thought. Swarming. Haven’t seen many nba teams that get back after a score or miss like okc does. In combination with how much okc runs on offense, teams are really going to have a hard time keeping up. Kings had a nice second half and really hung in there under pressure. Kudos to them. Really love the direction of okc.

I’ve liked coach diagonal from the start. Players have been developing, but I wasn’t really seeing the system he was going for. Last night was a pretty good picture, I thought. Pressure from end to end. Force the issue at the basket and have capable shooters ready. They are getting close to having the personal to run this. Chet being as advertised would make this team wildly successful.

[Dadouv47]

I must have finally gotten all the rooting for tanking out of my system because I found myself really mad tonight that we lost. Also, I had to listen to the Sacramento broadcast and I got to tell you, I thought I'd heard some homers before, but I heard them say tonight that as the number three team in the standings in the West, Sabonis ought to be getting MVP talk.

Same but the Kings deserves some credit...they play hard and smart. Their defensive adjusment in the second half made the difference.

Muscala and Kenrich were trash last night and I still don't understand why we drafted a poor JRE's version in Jaylin. I like the kid but I don't get it.

I think it's fairly obvious, Presti wants passing/high feel at all 5 positions. JRE and JayWill have their limitations but they're both bets to provide that as backup 5s that can fit within an offense that values ball movement

I agree with this but bad players that can play multiple positions is worthless

[Dadouv47]

Thunder’s defense was really impressive last night, I thought. Swarming. Haven’t seen many nba teams that get back after a score or miss like okc does. In combination with how much okc runs on offense, teams are really going to have a hard time keeping up. Kings had a nice second half and really hung in there under pressure. Kudos to them. Really love the direction of okc.

I’ve liked coach diagonal from the start. Players have been developing, but I wasn’t really seeing the system he was going for. Last night was a pretty good picture, I thought. Pressure from end to end. Force the issue at the basket and have capable shooters ready. They are getting close to having the personal to run this. Chet being as advertised would make this team wildly successful.

yeah coach D is doing a great job from the start and his impact on our team is underrated. It's obviously different to coach a good team though so we will see how he handles it in the next seasons.

[jake_swivel]

I agree with this but bad players that can play multiple positions is worthless

They’re second rounders. If you hit on 1 out of 10 second rounders, it’s a success.

[Xatticus]

Same but the Kings deserves some credit...they play hard and smart. Their defensive adjusment in the second half made the difference.

Muscala and Kenrich were trash last night and I still don't understand why we drafted a poor JRE's version in Jaylin. I like the kid but I don't get it.

I think it's fairly obvious, Presti wants passing/high feel at all 5 positions. JRE and JayWill have their limitations but they're both bets to provide that as backup 5s that can fit within an offense that values ball movement

I agree with this but bad players that can play multiple positions is worthless

Eh... Williams was a 2nd-round pick and he is a rookie, so the expectations should never have been high. The frontcourt does need to get sorted and I'm sure Presti is working on it. I'm not going to invest any angst into the position until we have thrown some legitimate assets at fixing it. This entire season needs a sign posted out front:

[Old Man Game]

My favorite part of the game last night was when Lindy Waters tried that pull up three in transition with three kings in front of him and front rimmed it and then coach D pulled him and he never played again the rest of the game. That was good coaching.

[Dadouv47]

Read on Twitter

faster than I thought

[jake_swivel]

Dude, Giddey is a bully. Love it. Never would have guessed he'd trend in that direction.

[Big nick]

There are times that Dort won't pass just puts his head down and drives or takes a very bad three. Coach needs to rein in that crap. But with that said his defense on the last play was great.

[QPR]

The value of a superstar very evident in that one. Role players won't always be productive and that's when you need a star to put the team on his back.

Another Giddey inbound play to add to the collection too.

[Dadouv47]

SGA/Giddey bad fit narrative didn't last...we just need Giddey to play well and they will make it work.

[ThunderBolt]

SGA/Giddey bad fit narrative didn't last...we just need Giddey to play well and they will make it work.

It's almost like jumping to conclusions early in the season wasn't the best idea. FWIW, I still think the fit can be clunky at times but guess what? It can still improve.

[QPR]

SGA/Giddey bad fit narrative didn't last...we just need Giddey to play well and they will make it work.

Will definitely hold my hands up and say I didn't see Giddey becoming a reliable shooter/scorer this quickly, which is what needed to happen to make the pairing work. But you're right, talent generally trumps anything else. The kid is a sponge though so I shouldn't be surprised.

Josh is averaging 19.3ppg in January on 54% shooting, on around 17 attempts.

[getrichordie]

Just want to say that last night we saw some things we haven't seen from Bazley before. He showed off a little vision and passing not yet seen. It was encouraging, but I am fully expecting him to continue to play mistake-filled basketball going forward.

[Devilanche]

SGA/Giddey bad fit narrative didn't last...we just need Giddey to play well and they will make it work.

Will definitely hold my hands up and say I didn't see Giddey becoming a reliable shooter/scorer this quickly, which is what needed to happen to make the pairing work. But you're right, talent generally trumps anything else. The kid is a sponge though so I shouldn't be surprised.

Josh is averaging 19.3ppg in January on 54% shooting, on around 17 attempts.

I think nobody had giddey becoming this decent shooting wise this fast.

[jake_swivel]

I’m at the point in this rebuild that I get annoyed when I see the team has two days off because I can’t get my fix.