2017-2018 OKC Thunder Regular Season Thread part one: The Fellowship for A Ring

[slick_watts]

four of our six bench rotation players (huestis, ferguson, felton, patterson) are now below 50% ts for the season. that is extraordinary.

[Dadouv47]

Let's be optimistic and rename the thread to ''fellowship for a second round playoff''

[bbms]

Allen waived

[slick_watts]

Allen waived

several teams could claim allen off waivers before us.

[thekaoswithin]

Allen waived

several teams could claim allen off waivers before us.

does he not have a say in where he goes?

[bondom34]

After tonight likely tied w/ PDX and a game up of Denver/LAC for 7 or 8.

[hardenASG13]

After tonight likely tied w/ PDX and a game up of Denver/LAC for 7 or 8.

Likely 2 up on LAC after they go to philly on a b2b tonight, also only 2 out of 4th and likely 3.5 out of 3rd after SAS plays the warriors tonight.......with a very easy stretch coming up, and after losing 5 of 6.....with Adams,Westbrook, George and Anthony healthy as the playoffs rapidly approach, nobody's bench looking great aside from Houston, and likely 1-2 buyout vets coming in to at least improve over abrines/ferguson/johnson. But hey, thats only if you want to look at the positives.....

[Pillendreher]

with a very easy stretch coming up

You know that's not a good sign for this team, right? We currently have the 9th worst record league wide (!) against teams who are below .500 at 14-11. The only worse teams:

W.,ashington Wizards 14-11
Phoenix Suns 12-11
Brooklyn Nets 9-11
Orlando Magic 8-10
Memphis Grizzlies 8-11
Atlanta Hawks 9-14
Sacramento Kings 7-11
Dallas Mavericks 5-11

As you may have noticed, the Wizards are the only team even in the Playoff picture.

So no, playing 9 bad teams over the next 15 doesn't mean anything with this squad. We could very easily go 4-5 or even 3-6.

[hardenASG13]

with a very easy stretch coming up

You know that's not a good sign for this team, right? We currently have the 9th worst record league wide (!) against teams who are below .500 at 14-11. The only worse teams:

W.,ashington Wizards 14-11
Phoenix Suns 12-11
Brooklyn Nets 9-11
Orlando Magic 8-10
Memphis Grizzlies 8-11
Atlanta Hawks 9-14
Sacramento Kings 7-11
Dallas Mavericks 5-11

As you may have noticed, the Wizards are the only team even in the Playoff picture.

So no, playing 9 bad teams over the next 15 doesn't mean anything with this squad. We could very easily go 4-5 or even 3-6.

They definately have to play better against the bad teams. I'm aware of it, everyone on this board is, and they are. Do you consider the fact they may not have cared as much earlier in the season about those games (plus they were a bad team over the first 20)? Sorry to crush the boyish dreams of some, but NBA players coast at times in an 82 game season.

They have shown what levels they have vs. Good teams. Veteran contenders tend to turn it on after the all star break, as they, unlike most on this board realize it is all about the playoffs. They will play houston or gsw in the second round, no way around it ( other than losing in the first round, of course). They will be the road team in such a series. I think they are fine having to win a game or 2 in San Antonio or minnesota, if it comes to it, but both are catchable with 1 good stretch. OKC has lost 5 of 6, and lost minimal ground in the standings. They are going to add at least 1 buyout guy to mix into the guard rotation, hopefully 2.

[ThunderBolt]

Good teams don’t screw around with missing the playoffs.

[Pillendreher]

Do you consider the fact they may not have cared as much earlier in the season about those games (plus they were a bad team over the first 20)?

Looking at their season performance, their overall performance barely changed over time. They managed to record a positive NetRtG in consecutive games vs <.500 teams only 3x this season. Granted, the last two streaks lasted 4 games, but they still managed to go right in the other direction afterwards:

Sorry to crush the boyish dreams of some, but NBA players coast at times in an 82 game season.

This is an interesting argument. So if we were to assume that all NBA players coast (at times), why should the Thunder playing like hot garbage against trash teams not mean that they're playing like hot garbage? If everybody coasts, 'coasting' can't be used as a reason for playing bad. Every team is affected, therefore it can't be used to differentiate.

Oh and for comparison's sake, here are our historic winning % against <.500 teams:

11/12: 83.3 %
12/13: 85.7 %
13/14: 82.0 %
14/15: 74.6 %
15/16: 83.3 %
16/17: 70.2 %
17/18: 56.0 %

So no, this is not something that is 'normal' for good teams. Not at all.

Veteran contenders tend to turn it on after the all star break, as they, unlike most on this board realize it is all about the playoffs.

Spare me the empty platitudes. If this were the case, how come that the Rockets, Warriors and Raptors are each winning at least 80 % of their games against <.500 teams? Are they too stupid to realize that this doesn't matter? Or is it maybe just a futile attempt by you to distract from the fact that being this mediocre against bad teams is very uncommon with good teams?

OKC has lost 5 of 6, and lost minimal ground in the standings.

That just means that either the competition has not been playing well enough to catch up or that they have been playing against each other a lot. That doesn't make going 2-7 since Roberson went down any better.

They are going to add at least 1 buyout guy to mix into the guard rotation, hopefully 2.

Like 80 % of these buyout guys are scrubs. If you bank on them saving this season, you're in for a huge disappointment.

[hardenASG13]

Do you consider the fact they may not have cared as much earlier in the season about those games (plus they were a bad team over the first 20)?

Looking at their season performance, their overall performance barely changed over time. They managed to record a positive NetRtG in consecutive games vs <.500 teams only 3x this season. Granted, the last two streaks lasted 4 games, but they still managed to go right in the other direction afterwards:

Sorry to crush the boyish dreams of some, but NBA players coast at times in an 82 game season.

This is an interesting argument. So if we were to assume that all NBA players coast (at times), why should the Thunder playing like hot garbage against trash teams not mean that they're playing like hot garbage? If everybody coasts, 'coasting' can't be used as a reason for playing bad. Every team is affected, therefore it can't be used to differentiate.

Oh and for comparison's sake, here are our historic winning % against <.500 teams:

11/12: 83.3 %
12/13: 85.7 %
13/14: 82.0 %
14/15: 74.6 %
15/16: 83.3 %
16/17: 70.2 %
17/18: 56.0 %

So no, this is not something that is 'normal' for good teams. Not at all.

Veteran contenders tend to turn it on after the all star break, as they, unlike most on this board realize it is all about the playoffs.

Spare me the empty platitudes. If this were the case, how come that the Rockets, Warriors and Raptors are each winning at least 80 % of their games against <.500 teams? Are they too stupid to realize that this doesn't matter? Or is it maybe just a futile attempt by you to distract from the fact that being this mediocre against bad teams is very uncommon with good teams?

OKC has lost 5 of 6, and lost minimal ground in the standings.

That just means that either the competition has not been playing well enough to catch up or that they have been playing against each other a lot. That doesn't make going 2-7 since Roberson went down any better.

They are going to add at least 1 buyout guy to mix into the guard rotation, hopefully 2.

Like 80 % of these buyout guys are scrubs. If you bank on them saving this season, you're in for a huge disappointment.

Each team is different. Golden state and houston, for example, have enough talent to coast and still roll bad teams. Toronto is playing for the 1 seed in the east. Not saying okc has been trying to lose the games, but you also can't ignore how good They have looked vs. The good teams. They have that level. Were you expecting them to have as good a record as golden state.Yea the competition hasn't been separating. Everyone is tired, with eyes on the all star break. While the buyout guys arent anything special, there are likely rotation level talents among them, and we don't even know who will be available. They would be replacing the likes of Ferguson, dakari ,abrines, and huestis in the rotation. That is significant. I guess i just dont think a playoff rotation of Westbrook, buyout 2 guard, Carmelo Anthony, Paul George, Steven adams, Ray Felton, Patrick patterson, and Grant is as terrible as you. It's gonna be like 2016 all over again, with all the haters shocked when they improve in the playoffs based on top end talent, scrubs play alot less, and they play the same team every night on national tv.

[hardenASG13]

Good teams don’t screw around with missing the playoffs.

Sure, they stink, you're right....i mean, they'd likely be the favorites in the east, or a 1a, and itd only be an upset if they beat golden State or houston, but yeah.....theyre awful. Seriously why follow the team. There are 2 definate teams better than them, maybe 2 or 3 more teams arguably built better for a playoff series. What more do you want? Just follow the warriors

[hardenASG13]

Damn, houston looks like they are getting iso joe.

[RalphSampsonJr]

Damn, houston looks like they are getting iso joe.

Yea looks like players truely see the Rockets as the ones to dethrone the Dubs.

[hardenASG13]

Damn, houston looks like they are getting iso joe.

Yea looks like players truely see the Rockets as the ones to dethrone the Dubs.

Was hoping he'd rather get the minutes with okc. Golden states bench hasn't looked close to what they were in previous years, they can at least be beat realistically by houston this year, if cp3 and harden don't crap their pants in the playoffs like usual......and by okc!

[RalphSampsonJr]

Damn, houston looks like they are getting iso joe.

Yea looks like players truely see the Rockets as the ones to dethrone the Dubs.

Was hoping he'd rather get the minutes with okc. Golden states bench hasn't looked close to what they were in previous years, they can at least be beat realistically by houston this year, if cp3 and harden don't crap their pants in the playoffs like usual......and by okc!

It must really be ring chasing because neither Joe or Wight will get many minutes with HOU.

Yea Dubs bench has been bad. Ol father time is finally catching up to Iggy. Houston has one of the longest benches in the league. we can still get Belly hopefully

[Pillendreher]

Not saying okc has been trying to lose the games, but you also can't ignore how good They have looked vs. The good teams. They have that level.

And it's good that hey have shown the ability to beat (very) good teams convincingly. But at the same time, there's no valid reason for not showing that same kind of level against worse teams. This is not the 2001 Lakers. These guys do have something to prove.

[ThunderBolt]

Good teams don’t screw around with missing the playoffs.

Sure, they stink, you're right....i mean, they'd likely be the favorites in the east, or a 1a, and itd only be an upset if they beat golden State or houston, but yeah.....theyre awful. Seriously why follow the team. There are 2 definate teams better than them, maybe 2 or 3 more teams arguably built better for a playoff series. What more do you want? Just follow the warriors

I see you’re still living in denial about Roberson’s impact. There is no way in hell we are the third or fourth best team in the nba right now. We are not the same team without Dre. We likely have the third or fourth best duo in the league. Our roster blown out of the water after that with the exception of Adams.

You want to put all of the emphasis on a few wins and make excuses for bad losses. The reality is those losses could cause this team to miss the playoffs. What is more likely is that we could end up with a first round matchup with Houston.

It’s virutally impossible to have a great roster with what we’re paying Russ, Adams, Melo and George. Melo just isn’t worth it and as good as Steven Adams has been, we needed to sign him for less.

Once again, I won’t go follow a different team. You’re the fickle one that has stated your fandom is transient.

[Pillendreher]

It’s virutally impossible to have a great roster four guys what we’re paying russ, Adams, Melo and George. Melo just isn’t worth it and as good as Steven Adams has been, we needed to sign him for less.

I disagree with that. It's not impossible. It just seems impossible when very few things the FO does actually do work out. Presti's draft record since 2013 has been suspect, to say the least. The same goes for his trading (with regards to role players) and he has not been able to find contributors for cheap like other teams have.