RealGM

Russell Westbrook / Thabo Sefolosha / Kevin Durant / Jeff Green / Nenad Krstic

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Ray Felton / Stephen Jackson / Gerald Wallace / Boris Diaw / Theo Ratliff

Matchup

It's nice to get some rest before this one, because this will be a tough game against another solid defensive team. The Bobcats are good at home, and they gave us some problems last time we faced them in OKC.

However, fortune smiles upon OKC yet again as Gerald Wallace has been nursing a sprained ankle, and even if he does suit up, he's likely not going to be 100%. Stephen Graham started in place of Wallace last night against Indiana. Note that Charlotte did beat Orlando on the road without Wallace's services.

The key matchup will be Thabo on Captain Jack. With no Wallace, Jackson becomes 'the offense' for Charlotte, who don't necessarily need much scoring to win. Jackson scored 24 on 26 shots last time we met. Let's hope for a similar result.

Some Numbers

After our explosion against Utah our offense is now 16th in the league by offensive rating. So close to top half. We're achieving much better balance lately between offense and defense.

A Question

Would you prefer the Thunder be a top 2 defensive team and bottom 20 offensive team or top 10 defensive team and top 15 offensive team?

slick_watts wrote:A Question

Would you prefer the Thunder be a top 2 defensive team and bottom 20 offensive team or top 10 defensive team and top 15 offensive team?

a top 2 defensive team and bottom 20 offensive team

niiiiiice start

Great defense.. not like Charlotte's a good offensive team though, especially without Crash.

Let's see how our second unit does..

Serge is a STUD

Second unit played well. Serge's put back over Thomas was pretty explosive. Charlotte seems content throwing up long range shots which they aren't that good at.

sloppy game but we're being effective

We really cant stop Felton?

big shot by maynor we really needed that

Horrible second half. It actually started late in the 2nd quarter...

Kevin Durant is getting manhandled.

This game so far is a good example of why KD is not in the top tier yet. Teams can double him or send help whenever they want without the fear of him passing out. He's a poor playmaker and doesn't see open teammates..

Anyway, our defense continues to slip and our offense isn't good enough to make up for that against a good defensive team.

slick_watts wrote:This game so far is a good example of why KD is not in the top tier yet. Teams can double him or send help whenever they want without the fear of him passing out. He's a poor playmaker and doesn't see open teammates..

Anyway, our defense continues to slip and our offense isn't good enough to make up for that against a good defensive team.

yep

we need westbrook to beast on these off nights to win

Well at least "Power Serge" looked good. Obviously the put back over Thomas was sick. But his one step off the dribble going to his left jumper looked really nice. REALLY NICE!

I think he has a fair amount off offense hidden under all that D.

wiff wrote:Well at least "Power Serge" looked good. Obviously the put back over Thomas was sick. But his one step off the dribble going to his left jumper looked really nice. REALLY NICE!

I think he has a fair amount off offense hidden under all that D.

yep, only highlight of the night for me. Also Maynor played decent. But IBAKA's put back was sick, he also has real nice touch on his shots.

I can see 14/10/2 on 55% in his prime with elite defense.

14/10/2 on 55% shooting is a bit much. List of players to do that in the last 10 years: Shaq, Boozer, Howard, David Lee (this year, barely). I don't think Serge will shoot that high a percentage with all the jump shots he takes.

slick_watts wrote:14/10/2 on 55% shooting is a bit much. List of players to do that in the last 10 years: Shaq, Boozer, Howard, David Lee (this year, barely). I don't think Serge will shoot that high a percentage with all the jump shots he takes.

true, probably a bit more like 50% in his prime with decent scoring ability, mainly the jump shot and put backs. We are going to need him to develop into a good/great starter if we dont fix our frontcourt in the next year or so.