11/10 | G12: Oklahoma City Thunder at Dallas Mavericks - 8PM CST

[getrichordie]

Ugh. I just wish we had one more shooter. If there was a time to play Burton/Nader, tonight was it.

[getrichordie]

Bad game. Just couldn't make anything. Adams's was a warrior though. People say he looks like Khal Drago but let's be real here. Steven would make Khal his butler.

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“Can you bring me my grapes, mate?”


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[Old Man Game]

Guessing this won’t be a nerlens Noel revenge game.

I tell you what, I've about had it with him. He's not getting the job done. Too much fouling on defense. Too many bobbled passes on offense. Can see why he's bounced around a bit now.

Yea the good news is we may be able to afford to re-sign him if he keeps playing like this.

Why can't he catch anything? It's one of the more frustrating things you can watch to see how many balls just go off this guy's finger tips.

[Osirus89]

Figured this was coming. Dallas has more talent than their record indicates, and OKC was just fatigued tonight. The energy wasn't there. Didn't get the steals, didn't close out at the 3 point line. Can't win like that. Just gotta regroup and win the next series of easier games.

Thank goodness the next 3 games are against NY and the Suns twice. Devin Booker is back this time though so there is that....

Russ just needs to be back for the Kings game. As strange as it is to think, I don't think they can beat Sac without him.

[RalphSampsonJr]

Guessing this won’t be a nerlens Noel revenge game.

I tell you what, I've about had it with him. He's not getting the job done. Too much fouling on defense. Too many bobbled passes on offense. Can see why he's bounced around a bit now.

Yea the good news is we may be able to afford to re-sign him if he keeps playing like this.

Remember people were talking about trading Adams after he had 20 pts against the suns a week ago?

[bondom34]

I tell you what, I've about had it with him. He's not getting the job done. Too much fouling on defense. Too many bobbled passes on offense. Can see why he's bounced around a bit now.

Yea the good news is we may be able to afford to re-sign him if he keeps playing like this.

Remember people were talking about trading Adams after he had 20 pts against the suns a week ago?

Pepperidge Farms remembers.

And yea, they need Westbrook. The Suns are due a good game.

[NaturalThunder]

Yea the good news is we may be able to afford to re-sign him if he keeps playing like this.

Remember people were talking about trading Adams after he had 20 pts against the suns a week ago?

Pepperidge Farms remembers.

And yea, they need Westbrook. The Suns are due a good game.

They had one for about 3+ quarters against the Celtics before a complete and total implosion.

[bondom34]

Remember people were talking about trading Adams after he had 20 pts against the suns a week ago?

Pepperidge Farms remembers.

And yea, they need Westbrook. The Suns are due a good game.

They had one for about 3+ quarters against the Celtics before a complete and total implosion.

Still wouldnt trust this offense without Westbrook sadly.

[getrichordie]

Pepperidge Farms remembers.

And yea, they need Westbrook. The Suns are due a good game.

They had one for about 3+ quarters against the Celtics before a complete and total implosion.

Still wouldnt trust this offense without Westbrook sadly.

We need Burton. Problem on second unit is that no one can really generate their own offense. Who do you trust driving to the basket? Diallo? Abrines? Patterson? Felton? If their defense isn’t working, they really don’t have much offense to fall back on. Having Westbrook back puts Schroder back in second unit which is huge.


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[bondom34]

If Deante Burton is the missing piece there's bigger issues for the Thunder.

[CROklahoma]

Felton was CRIMINAL.
Do we always have to have some super scrub on our bench just so Billy overplays him ?
It all started when Felton went in the game, the rhytm was dead. Same old chucking.
Dont wanna even comment his defense on Barea.
Disastrous, what is he even doing on playmaking position is beyond me ...

[Dn4sty]

If Deante Burton is the missing piece there's bigger issues for the Thunder.

Don’t you dare talk about the GOAT that way.

[Old Man Game]

First game in awhile that Diallo did basically nothing. Nothing good. Nothing especially bad. Just mostly disappeared.

[getrichordie]

If Deante Burton is the missing piece there's bigger issues for the Thunder.

Don’t you dare talk about the GOAT that way.

It's not the missing piece but no one on the second unit could get anything going. It's the 3rd game in 4 nights. Our guys have been hustling hard on defense for a while now. Get some fresh legs in there and let him try and get something going. He wouldn't have been worse than Felton.

[getrichordie]

Grant has been pretty solid and consistent this season, glad we paid him (was expecting Patterson to finally play well with the Thunder but not gonna happen)

I tried to tell you guys last season that he isn't the same guy from Toronto.

[Pillendreher]

Ugh. I guess they were due for one of these games, but man, this frustrates the hell out of me. Don't get outscored like that by a bunch of scrubs that are going to fight for a Top 5 pick this season.

First of all: **** YOU JJ BAREA. There are few players out there as unsportsmanlike as this ****. He's been pulling this "I'm too small to defend so I just flop every time somebody is near me" bs for a whole decade and they still fall for it. There are few players I actively dislike, but man, I wouldn't mind somebody just elbowing the **** out him. That'd give him something to flop on.

Secondly: Paul George HAS GOT to be better than this. There's nobody on the floor who's even remotely close to his supposed overall level in games like this. At some point this season he has to show us that. I don't demand him to be Michael Jordan, but being more than Otto Porter is what this team needs from him. Take over a game against a bottom feeder. He's been shooting 32.6 % from 3 so far this season. That's not good enough. He can't be out there averaging as many turnovers as made 3s per game.

Thirdly: At some point we'll have to hold everybody on this team accountable shooting wise. I get that some people simply cannot shoot. And I also get that we have too many players that won't reach NBA average level 3point shooting. But this is just too much. League average 3P% in catch and shoot situations over the last 3 seasons has been 37.0 %. And the average 3P% on wide open 3s has been 38.5 %. The Thunder meanwhile are shooting 30.2 % on catch and shoot 3s and 26.4 % on 3s that are deemed wide open. We're so far below the league average level, it's unreal.
12 games in and the team has managed to to shoot below 30 % from 3 in 9 of them. That's 75 % of the games so far. Below 30 %. That's so bad, going by last season's numbers, 30 % 3pt shooting as a team would have ranked 65th or so based on a linear trend from the best 3pt shooting team to the worst.
Patterson and Abrines have been acceptable in catch and shoot situations (36.8 %), but they have been clanking most of their wide open 3s as well (29.5 %). And George has been beyond horrible in both categories: He leads the league in total catch and shoot 3PA while shooting 30.9 %. And on wide open 3s, he's shooting 31.6%. Currently, Patterson is the only (!) Thunder player who's making shots in the catch and shoot at a league average level. And on wide open 3s, they don't have a single guy. That's insane.

And lastly, I can't believe the way Raymond Felton has been playing. He doesn't even bother to pretend that he is "running the offense". He's just out there chucking like he has not a single care in the world. And he's been doing it all season long whenever he was on the floor. Why is nobody telling him to stop jacking up shots? In 21 minutes played, the Felton bench has a ORtG of 67. 67!!!

[ThunderBolt]

Spoiler:

Ugh. I guess they were due for one of these games, but man, this frustrates the hell out of me. Don't get outscored like that by a bunch of scrubs that are going to fight for a Top 5 pick this season.

First of all: **** YOU JJ BAREA. There are few players out there as unsportsmanlike as this ****. He's been pulling this "I'm too small to defend so I just flop every time somebody is near me" bs for a whole decade and they still fall for it. There are few players I actively dislike, but man, I wouldn't mind somebody just elbowing the **** out him. That'd give him something to flop on.

Secondly: Paul George HAS GOT to be better than this. There's nobody on the floor who's even remotely close to his supposed overall level in games like this. At some point this season he has to show us that. I don't demand him to be Michael Jordan, but being more than Otto Porter is what this team needs from him. Take over a game against a bottom feeder. He's been shooting 32.6 % from 3 so far this season. That's not good enough. He can't be out there averaging as many turnovers as made 3s per game.

Thirdly: At some point we'll have to hold everybody on this team accountable shooting wise. I get that some people simply cannot shoot. And I also get that we have too many players that won't reach NBA average level 3point shooting. But this is just too much. League average 3P% in catch and shoot situations over the last 3 seasons has been 37.0 %. And the average 3P% on wide open 3s has been 38.5 %. The Thunder meanwhile are shooting 30.2 % on catch and shoot 3s and 26.4 % on 3s that are deemed wide open. We're so far below the league average level, it's unreal.
12 games in and the team has managed to to shoot below 30 % from 3 in 9 of them. That's 75 % of the games so far. Below 30 %. That's so bad, going by last season's numbers, 30 % 3pt shooting as a team would have ranked 65th or so based on a linear trend from the best 3pt shooting team to the worst.
Patterson and Abrines have been acceptable in catch and shoot situations (36.8 %), but they have been clanking most of their wide open 3s as well (29.5 %). And George has been beyond horrible in both categories: He leads the league in total catch and shoot 3PA while shooting 30.9 %. And on wide open 3s, he's shooting 31.6%. Currently, Patterson is the only (!) Thunder player who's making shots in the catch and shoot at a league average level. And on wide open 3s, they don't have a single guy. That's insane.

And lastly, I can't believe the way Raymond Felton has been playing. He doesn't even bother to pretend that he is "running the offense". He's just out there chucking like he has not a single care in the world. And he's been doing it all season long whenever he was on the floor. Why is nobody telling him to stop jacking up shots? In 21 minutes played, the Felton bench has a ORtG of 67. 67!!!

I don’t see how this will be addressed other than just hoping we return to the mean. Who are we trading to acquire a shooter? Do you think Presti is willing to trade Grant, Ferguson or Diallo? I get a feeling that our “core” guys are the ones that can’t shoot. As bad as Felton has been we can’t even afford to get rid of DS. This year feels like we’re feeling the affects of squandering all of our picks.

[sleestak33]

Back to reality for our G-league player who keeps starting Ferguson. I figured the last game was just a fluke like the Lakers game when he scored over 20. Heck you give anybody over 80 chances they're bound to play a couple of decent games even a G-league player like him. 25 minutes...2 points on 1-7 shooting (0-5 on 3s) and no defense. Probably wouldn't have mattered if they had given Abrines or Diallo all of his minutes as bad as their halfcourt defense was as a team but playing 4 against 5 for the 25 minutes he was out there sure as heck didn't help. They'll keep playing him though all the way through the playoffs until they're forced to stop just like they did with Kyle Singler.

[getrichordie]

Spoiler:

Ugh. I guess they were due for one of these games, but man, this frustrates the hell out of me. Don't get outscored like that by a bunch of scrubs that are going to fight for a Top 5 pick this season.

First of all: **** YOU JJ BAREA. There are few players out there as unsportsmanlike as this ****. He's been pulling this "I'm too small to defend so I just flop every time somebody is near me" bs for a whole decade and they still fall for it. There are few players I actively dislike, but man, I wouldn't mind somebody just elbowing the **** out him. That'd give him something to flop on.

Secondly: Paul George HAS GOT to be better than this. There's nobody on the floor who's even remotely close to his supposed overall level in games like this. At some point this season he has to show us that. I don't demand him to be Michael Jordan, but being more than Otto Porter is what this team needs from him. Take over a game against a bottom feeder. He's been shooting 32.6 % from 3 so far this season. That's not good enough. He can't be out there averaging as many turnovers as made 3s per game.

Thirdly: At some point we'll have to hold everybody on this team accountable shooting wise. I get that some people simply cannot shoot. And I also get that we have too many players that won't reach NBA average level 3point shooting. But this is just too much. League average 3P% in catch and shoot situations over the last 3 seasons has been 37.0 %. And the average 3P% on wide open 3s has been 38.5 %. The Thunder meanwhile are shooting 30.2 % on catch and shoot 3s and 26.4 % on 3s that are deemed wide open. We're so far below the league average level, it's unreal.
12 games in and the team has managed to to shoot below 30 % from 3 in 9 of them. That's 75 % of the games so far. Below 30 %. That's so bad, going by last season's numbers, 30 % 3pt shooting as a team would have ranked 65th or so based on a linear trend from the best 3pt shooting team to the worst.
Patterson and Abrines have been acceptable in catch and shoot situations (36.8 %), but they have been clanking most of their wide open 3s as well (29.5 %). And George has been beyond horrible in both categories: He leads the league in total catch and shoot 3PA while shooting 30.9 %. And on wide open 3s, he's shooting 31.6%. Currently, Patterson is the only (!) Thunder player who's making shots in the catch and shoot at a league average level. And on wide open 3s, they don't have a single guy. That's insane.

And lastly, I can't believe the way Raymond Felton has been playing. He doesn't even bother to pretend that he is "running the offense". He's just out there chucking like he has not a single care in the world. And he's been doing it all season long whenever he was on the floor. Why is nobody telling him to stop jacking up shots? In 21 minutes played, the Felton bench has a ORtG of 67. 67!!!

I don’t see how this will be addressed other than just hoping we return to the mean. Who are we trading to acquire a shooter? Do you think Presti is willing to trade Grant, Ferguson or Diallo? I get a feeling that our “core” guys are the ones that can’t shoot. As bad as Felton has been we can’t even afford to get rid of DS. This year feels like we’re feeling the affects of squandering all of our picks.

Presti has done his fair share of squandering picks, I agree, but I don’t believe Presti is dumb enough to put together the largest payroll in the league only to see them take a **** on the court.

If there is one thing we know about Presti, it’s that if there is a smart trade out there, he will find it.

My biggest questions as far as trading possibilities is:

- Do we trade Patterson?

Stretch 4s are hard to find but Patterson hasn’t given us much to cheer for. He’s missing wide open 3s and shots at the rim and his defense is sorely lacking for someone who is touted as being a solid team defender. He just looks out of place and out of sorts. You have to wonder if it’s better to try and find some kind of small deal that brings us back at least a better defender at the 4 — might as well if he doesn’t show soon that he’s still a reliable shooter.

- Do we trade Diallo/Ferguson?

Look. I love Diallo as much as the next Thunderbuddy. But given that we are definitively in what you would call “all-in” mode, Diallo is definitely looking like a nice asset to include in some kind of deal.

Ferguson is showing a lot of promise and his ceiling looks high. But we don’t know if he will ever have a consistent shot. But he is still young and has a lot of room left to grow and could quite well end up being the piece that solves the puzzle — at least, that’s how well he has played as of recent. Like Diallo, he could be the sweetener that is needed for an impactful trade.

- Do we trade Adams?

I personally feel like it is so hard to trade Adams. He anchors our defense and is an absolute monster at snatching rebounds and setting screens. His post-game leaves a little to be desired, but he’s effective. But he also has a quite sizeable salary and you could argue that there is better bang for your buck out there. With the league becoming smaller and more athletic every year, you have to wonder if Presti will want a different kind of look for this team, whether it’s in the post or on the perimeter, or somewhere in between.

- Do we need a small forward?

Outside of George, our small forward rotation is Ferguson, Diallo, and Abrines. While all of these guys are promising and can have nice games, offensive consistency isn’t something we can count on. If we can get a guy that at least reliably drive to the hole, does that open things up elicit a trade?



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[Pillendreher]

I don’t see how this will be addressed other than just hoping we return to the mean. Who are we trading to acquire a shooter? Do you think Presti is willing to trade Grant, Ferguson or Diallo? I get a feeling that our “core” guys are the ones that can’t shoot. As bad as Felton has been we can’t even afford to get rid of DS. This year feels like we’re feeling the affects of squandering all of our picks.

Yeah, regression to te mean would be nice, but so far, it hasn't really happened. We have had this little "outliers" with some guys making 3s, but overall, we're still missing 70 % of our 3 point attempts. Look at it this way: 3.5 weeks into the season and this team hasn't even managed to average 30 % on their 3pt attempts once. The closest they came to that number was 29.9 % after the Pelicans game.
There are 109 players in the league right now that have shot worse than 35 % on their at least 20 3PA this seasons. We currently have six guys featured on that list. The only other teams with more than 4 are Atlanta, Boston, Denver, Detroit, Phoenix, Toronto and Washington. And contrary to our guys, most of the other guys on that least have historically been decent 3pt shooters.

On that note: Maybe we're approaching this whole thing wrong. Think about how non-3pt-shooters operated just a couple of seasons ago. When a guy couldn't shoot, he wouldn't. You didn't see 20 something percent career 3pt shooters out there spotting up from 3. Maybe most of our non-shooters are just guys that simply shouldn't take 3s at all because they can't make them. If these guys besides George, Abrines and Patterson continue to shoot 30 % on wide open 3s, you might be better off by just not taking those shots at all as a general rule.

I think you could also see the 3pt bricking kinda hurting team morale vs the Mavs. You're playing vs a bunch of nobodys and while they almost match your game total in 3s in just the 2nd quarter alone, you're constantly missing. At some point, that's going to affect the team's effort level: They just drilled a 3 in your face and you keep on missing wide open ones.