Thunder is scary good

[Special_Puppy]

+15.1 net rating so far. Could be looking at the 2014-15 Warriors all over again https://www.pbpstats.com/team-leverage-summary/nba?Season=2024-25&Leverage=Medium,High,VeryHigh

[165bows]

But seeing them referred to as one of the most dominant teams of all time is just so outrageous.

they are, currently, the best defense since the merger, and 3rd all-time. will that keep up? who knows! but it's a fact, and it's fun and it's exciting.

That’s for any 25 game sample during any of those seasons?

[MrTribbiani]

OKC should dominate the regular season, as I would expect them to. Younger teams tend to go all-out and Shai will be gunning for an MVP.

They're better than the Mavs on paper, no doubt. Regular season numbers should put them on their own tier compared to the rest of the west. Whether that actually pans out to post-season success remains to be seen. I've been watching the NBA for way too long to assume the dominant regular season team will push through in the playoffs.

They got 2 years before they have to start dismantling their team, we know OKC won't go into the 2nd apron. Let's see what they can do. Presti will need to hit on a few of those late picks to sustain their depth of good role players.

Honestly, Sam Presti might go down as the best basketball executive ever, up there with Jerry West. I want to call it luck but this guy keeps creating luck, he's too good.

Presti would need to win multiple rings in order for that to happen. Only one team that he has assembled has been to the Finals lmao.

Pump the brakes.

Cant fault him for no rings, he's now set up 2 different teams in 2 different eras to win it all. He's working in a small market thats not a FA destination with limited budget.

You can definitely fault him for no rings. Last season, the team was the number 1 seed and ended up losing in the second round to the 5th seed lol.

If people can fault Doc Rivers for being an overrated coach who only has 1 ring in about 20 seasons as a coach, people can fault Presti for being an overrated GM who has only assembled one team that has made it to the Finals in almost 20 years as GM.

[OkcSinceSGA]

+15.1 net rating so far. Could be looking at the 2014-15 Warriors all over again https://www.pbpstats.com/team-leverage-summary/nba?Season=2024-25&Leverage=Medium,High,VeryHigh

Not accurate. They are at a 12 net rating I'm pretty sure on both NBA.com and BBALL ref. That being said, it's still incredibly dominant and that's without Chet a while now. Celtics to give you an idea were at 11.5 ish last season and were called historic by many fans here.

[ShootersShoot]

Presti would need to win multiple rings in order for that to happen. Only one team that he has assembled has been to the Finals lmao.

Pump the brakes.

Cant fault him for no rings, he's now set up 2 different teams in 2 different eras to win it all. He's working in a small market thats not a FA destination with limited budget.

You can definitely fault him for no rings. Last season, the team was the number 1 seed and ended up losing in the second round to the 5th seed lol.

If people can fault Doc Rivers for being an overrated coach who only has 1 ring in about 20 seasons as a coach, people can fault Presti for being an overrated GM who has only assembled one team that has made it to the Finals in almost 20 years as GM.

He deserves credit for building one of the best teams in the nba with 8 of their 9 top players all under the age of 27.

Doc hasnt had any recent success whereas presti is one of the most succesful gms in the nba currently.

[Jaqua92]

+15.1 net rating so far. Could be looking at the 2014-15 Warriors all over again https://www.pbpstats.com/team-leverage-summary/nba?Season=2024-25&Leverage=Medium,High,VeryHigh

Not accurate. They are at a 12 net rating I'm pretty sure on both NBA.com and BBALL ref. That being said, it's still incredibly dominant and that's without Chet a while now. Celtics to give you an idea were at 11.5 ish last season and were called historic by many fans here.

The Celtics were called historic because

1. They were 11.5 after the full 82 game season
2. Set an NBA record for 20 and 30 point blowouts
3. Went 64-18
4. Were the best offense in NBA history
5. Went on to win a championship 16-3.

OKC having a 12.0 net rating after a 25 game sample does not compare.

I don't understand the agenda.

[slick_watts]

But seeing them referred to as one of the most dominant teams of all time is just so outrageous.

they are, currently, the best defense since the merger, and 3rd all-time. will that keep up? who knows! but it's a fact, and it's fun and it's exciting.

That’s for any 25 game sample during any of those seasons?

it's very obvious what i meant. for posterity, their current pp100 allowed relative to league average would be 3rd best ever and best since the merger. but if you have the 'any 25 game' sample, please provide. it should be interesting!

[slick_watts]

4. Were the best offense in NBA history

the 2023-24 celtics were the 6th best offense relative to league average, not the best.

[SFour]

I wouldn't be surprised if they won the championship....they tick the two most important boxes - superstar and elite defense

[ThunderBolt]

+15.1 net rating so far. Could be looking at the 2014-15 Warriors all over again https://www.pbpstats.com/team-leverage-summary/nba?Season=2024-25&Leverage=Medium,High,VeryHigh

Not accurate. They are at a 12 net rating I'm pretty sure on both NBA.com and BBALL ref. That being said, it's still incredibly dominant and that's without Chet a while now. Celtics to give you an idea were at 11.5 ish last season and were called historic by many fans here.

The Celtics were called historic because

1. They were 11.5 after the full 82 game season
2. Set an NBA record for 20 and 30 point blowouts
3. Went 64-18
4. Were the best offense in NBA history
5. Went on to win a championship 16-3.

OKC having a 12.0 net rating after a 25 game sample does not compare.

I don't understand the agenda.

What’s equally impressive is no Celtic fans talked about any regular season stats until game 82 was completed.

[ITYSL]

Not accurate. They are at a 12 net rating I'm pretty sure on both NBA.com and BBALL ref. That being said, it's still incredibly dominant and that's without Chet a while now. Celtics to give you an idea were at 11.5 ish last season and were called historic by many fans here.

The Celtics were called historic because

1. They were 11.5 after the full 82 game season
2. Set an NBA record for 20 and 30 point blowouts
3. Went 64-18
4. Were the best offense in NBA history
5. Went on to win a championship 16-3.

OKC having a 12.0 net rating after a 25 game sample does not compare.

I don't understand the agenda.

What’s equally impressive is no Celtic fans talked about any regular season stats until game 82 was completed.

Pretty sure there weren't any Celtics fans calling them a historic team 25 games into the season. That talk didn't really happen until the end of the RS and then after the playoffs.

Thunder are fantastic, though. Not taking anything away from them at all.

[OkcSinceSGA]

+15.1 net rating so far. Could be looking at the 2014-15 Warriors all over again https://www.pbpstats.com/team-leverage-summary/nba?Season=2024-25&Leverage=Medium,High,VeryHigh

Not accurate. They are at a 12 net rating I'm pretty sure on both NBA.com and BBALL ref. That being said, it's still incredibly dominant and that's without Chet a while now. Celtics to give you an idea were at 11.5 ish last season and were called historic by many fans here.

The Celtics were called historic because

1. They were 11.5 after the full 82 game season
2. Set an NBA record for 20 and 30 point blowouts
3. Went 64-18
4. Were the best offense in NBA history
5. Went on to win a championship 16-3.

OKC having a 12.0 net rating after a 25 game sample does not compare.

I don't understand the agenda.

People were saying this about Boston mid-late season, late season long before they won a title (how historically dominant they were playing). I understand that the job isn't finished, and it's 25 games, I'm just expressing that to this point they are doing it. Although... they have been without Chet a while, I'm not quite sure why you expect it not to be sustained? Again though, I'm not knocking Boston here.. I was correcting someone else who claimed they have a 15 net rating.

[OkcSinceSGA]

The Celtics fans are becoming Raptors fans 2.0 of the Kawhi year. Where basically you are only allowed to say they are the GOAT and best of everything or you're wrong lol. What I find funny about it is... they literally were the Mavs pre 2011 of the east! 5 years banging their head on the ECSF and ECF wall over and over being called a choke. But they finally figure it out and now they are they blueprint!

I get it, Boston is the most storied franchise in the NBA along with the Lakers, and they are an amazing team.. but chill. They won it.. and may very well win again but I don't think they will. Last year's run in the playoffs they played some banged up teams no? No Jimmy Butler, Duncan or Richardson vs Miami, then Jarrett Allen out entire series and Mitchell hurt vs Cleveland.. Haliburton and Mathurin etc. Like the Celtics were incredibly lucky with health outside of the typical Porzingis injury.

My guess is they win in 2024 even against those teams healthy but not the 16-3 or whatever or by the margins they did. More like 16-8 to 16-10 I'm guessing.

[MrTribbiani]

Cant fault him for no rings, he's now set up 2 different teams in 2 different eras to win it all. He's working in a small market thats not a FA destination with limited budget.

You can definitely fault him for no rings. Last season, the team was the number 1 seed and ended up losing in the second round to the 5th seed lol.

If people can fault Doc Rivers for being an overrated coach who only has 1 ring in about 20 seasons as a coach, people can fault Presti for being an overrated GM who has only assembled one team that has made it to the Finals in almost 20 years as GM.

He deserves credit for building one of the best teams in the nba with 8 of their 9 top players all under the age of 27.

Doc hasnt had any recent success whereas presti is one of the most succesful gms in the nba currently.

I personally won't give him the full credit until he actually assembles a title winning team. As of right now, he deserves some credit but not full credit IMO.

[RunOKC]

The best part is the OKC fans insisting they beat Boston because no one watches OKC, as if they watch Boston.

OKC hasn't played a team with shooting like Boston and won't.

Conversely, Boston hasn't played a team with the perimeter defense of OKC and won't all season. Then on top of that you have Chet (hopefully) and Hartenstein locking down the paint.

I hope people keep talking about the Thunder like they didn't improve or make any changes since last season though. The more the public doubts them the better their odds are.

[165bows]

they are, currently, the best defense since the merger, and 3rd all-time. will that keep up? who knows! but it's a fact, and it's fun and it's exciting.

That’s for any 25 game sample during any of those seasons?

it's very obvious what i meant. for posterity, their current pp100 allowed relative to league average would be 3rd best ever and best since the merger. but if you have the 'any 25 game' sample, please provide. it should be interesting!

No I don’t have any of that and I assumed that you were taking that license, that they are on pace or have performed to that level or what not.

[Blame Rasho]

Not accurate. They are at a 12 net rating I'm pretty sure on both NBA.com and BBALL ref. That being said, it's still incredibly dominant and that's without Chet a while now. Celtics to give you an idea were at 11.5 ish last season and were called historic by many fans here.

The Celtics were called historic because

1. They were 11.5 after the full 82 game season
2. Set an NBA record for 20 and 30 point blowouts
3. Went 64-18
4. Were the best offense in NBA history
5. Went on to win a championship 16-3.

OKC having a 12.0 net rating after a 25 game sample does not compare.

I don't understand the agenda.

People were saying this about Boston mid-late season, late season long before they won a title (how historically dominant they were playing). I understand that the job isn't finished, and it's 25 games, I'm just expressing that to this point they are doing it. Although... they have been without Chet a while, I'm not quite sure why you expect it not to be sustained? Again though, I'm not knocking Boston here.. I was correcting someone else who claimed they have a 15 net rating.

Well they lost to the Spurs without their top 4 players, but that is just me… pretty sure that Boston didn’t have a bad loss like that in their resume.

No one cares about a stupid rating in Dec except people who have proven nothing but you do you…

[OkcSinceSGA]

The Celtics were called historic because

1. They were 11.5 after the full 82 game season
2. Set an NBA record for 20 and 30 point blowouts
3. Went 64-18
4. Were the best offense in NBA history
5. Went on to win a championship 16-3.

OKC having a 12.0 net rating after a 25 game sample does not compare.

I don't understand the agenda.

People were saying this about Boston mid-late season, late season long before they won a title (how historically dominant they were playing). I understand that the job isn't finished, and it's 25 games, I'm just expressing that to this point they are doing it. Although... they have been without Chet a while, I'm not quite sure why you expect it not to be sustained? Again though, I'm not knocking Boston here.. I was correcting someone else who claimed they have a 15 net rating.

Well they lost to the Spurs without their top 4 players, but that is just me… pretty sure that Boston didn’t have a bad loss like that in their resume.

No one cares about a stupid rating in Dec except people who have proven nothing but you do you…

The same people that use these sample size arguments will literally disregard the preceding evidence showing otherwise. Last year they were a 7.5 net rating/SRS team. Not Boston level, but still #2 in the league and dominant (most title winners for example fall in the 5-8 range historically). They won 57 games and were top 5 on offense and defense. This year Jalen has taken a big leap, their young role players have all improved, they added Caruso+ Hartenstein, both huge positive impact guys.

So why is taking a sizable leap in net rating/SRS or anything needing more than a 25 game sample size to say they have been dominant? 25 games isn't really small anyway.. it's 30% of the season. We set these odd arbitrary rules of when we are allowed to call something a word like dominant or bust etc... but none of it holds up to actual scrutiny. Some of these outcomes are VERY predictable.

[Triple M]

I dont think people were calling the Celtics historically great in the middle of their run. The general opinion around them was that, "they had to prove it in the playoffs" or "yea they are good but KP needs to syay healthy". I heard that more than that the Celtics were on a great run, but Tbh it is similar to some of the reactions we are seeing in this thread. Look at people talking about the Dallas series it feels similar to how people constantly brought up the Heat series against the Celtics.

[Champ1on]

Shai is more skilled. The man has 100 moves. KD is considered a goat scorer because of skill. Shaq is better at getting buckets, but KD has 100 ways to score, so he's always been considered the best scorer since Jordan.

Based on this logic, Shai is more skilled than Giannis and Jokic (along with stats and efficiency), so he is the better scorer.

Flawed logic. Better scorer doesn't not mean more skilled. You have to be able to get points whenever you want and need them in the final minutes when every possession counts.

What is the criteria?

Shaq, for example, can get more points off of brute force, but I don't think he is a better scorer than KD.

KD can score on all 3 levels with 100 more moves than Shaq.

The eye test is my proof, which is the most accurate scientific process.

Stats can be manipulated.

Your basis for your point was most skilled = best scorer. This logic is wrong. It's a combination of skill, strength, physical attributes, and clutch in the final minutes. Shaq could score but his free throw was awful so they invented hack a Shaq to stop him from scoring in the final minutes. Skill isn't the be all end all of scoring but it is a factor. What makes KD so good is he is a great tall shooter. He could shoot over most guys guarding him and doesn't need all the moves that Shai needs to get a shot off. KD can just jump high and get his shot off.