RealGM

Hey everyone first of all let me introduce myself I was a Sonics fan and now I cheer for the Thunder (long story short)

anyways most of the times I just chose to lurk unless something interesting comes up and with the recent rise of intensity on the defensive end thanks to Thabo taking charge.

I have two point of views as to why this team has taken pride on guarding the basket.

1. Everyone knows that whenever key guys go out, the other players who played lesser roles (Weaver, Thabo etc) step up, that is probably universally known. Now the Thunder know they're probably not gonna score a boat load of points with out Durant and Green so they must concern their energy into the defensive end in order to win games, which has happened when they've kept the opponents under 100 points. What I fear is that if Durant comes back the team will become lack luster and they think they wouldn't have to defend that hard because Durant will just carry them and lead the way (unlikely but hopefully not)

2. Everyone in the starting line up with out Green and Durant. That's Westbrook, Weaver, Thabo, Collison, and Kristic. Those three thrive on the defensive end with Thabo leading them, and Collison and Kristic means we actually have some big bodies down there. Now, i'm not saying Jeff Green/Durant at the PF/C is a bad move but Collison is a work horse and Kristic has been stepping up big too it makes the opponents have to put up with size imo. It'd be interesting to see if KD and Green came back making it so we only have one legit guy down low again.

So i'd like to hear your guys' opinions on why the Thunder are all of a sudden a good defensive team for the time being (besides the obvious which is Thabo). What do you think will happen when Durant and Green are playing again? Will we thrive more than ever? or go back to being the defensive team we were before.

Hey man, you're always welcome to post here!

The D has definitely stepped it up lately. As you said, it's mostly due to Thabo and then Green/Durant being out and other defensive minded players getting more PT. I do have to disagree about Krstic though, aside from a play here and there, he's not all that much above average on that end of the court.

Green came back last night and played the 4. Collison was also out. They looked similar to the way they have over the last stretch. The Durant factor obviously wasn't included, but the not having 2 bigs on the floor was.

I think the team will play somewhere a bit under .500 ball for the rest of the season. They've had a fairly weak schedule without Green and Durant, so that has inflated their recent win total.

I think more than anything, this has allowed guys to step up (some of them for the first time in their careers) into a bigger role and gain confidence. I think that this stretch has been huge for Thabo and Weaver more than anyone.

I will try to give my opinion although I have to confess that I haven't been watching the Thunder so much before the trade...

I think of couse that everyone is stepping up with KD and Green being out. But I am sure they will continue to play with the same energy when those two are back... They realized that they can be a good defensive team if they want so I am sure this won't be an issue with Durant back in the lineup.

Regarding your second point, I agree with you... Collison did some good work in the paint so did Kristic... But I would prefer to see Collison coming from the bench and hustling in a limited playing time (as long as Kristic plays well) !

It is true also that the scheduale was pretty weak... Let's see what this team can do with a devensive mindset against better teams... the next 5 games should be interesting :

@Denver, @Phoenix, Spurs, Bulls, Jazz !!

When will Durant be back ?

Hey Yoshi it's nice to see you around.

I'd be really curious to see what is the average amount of trips the Thunder have been making up and down the court with Durant out compared to Durant playing.

Because the faster you score in the shot clock, gives the other team more opportunities to put the ball in hole over the span of the game.

The year the Sonics won 52 games they were one of the slowest teams in the league however they shot a lot of 3's at a good percentage with Ray Allen, Rashard Lewis and even Radman bombing away.

So they ate up a ton of clock and hit a good chunk of 3 balls that gives the other team less time on the clock/opportunity's to catch up.

So with the Durantless Thunder focusing on running the offense and and playing hard "D" it's keeps them in the games a little easier.

Not to take a shot at Durant but the guy is so good on offense that he comes down and practically scores at will. And if this happens early in the clock, then the opposing team is going the other way with more time on the game clock.

At least that's my hunch. I'm not that gifted statically to look up the amount of trips with and with out Durant but maybe someone who is can find out.