OKC Thunder 2023-24 Regular Season Discussion

[Dadouv47]

Shai looked great. JDub wasn't moving that well yet...should be fine though

[Dadouv47]

We went from +16 wins in 2022-2023 to at least +14 wins in 2023-2024 without any major trade. Only significant signing was Isaiah Joe. It's insane. 30 wins gap in 2 seasons with internal growth...we got lucky with injuries this season so far but it's still crazy

[slick_watts]

the loss to the utah jazz earlier in the season robbed the thunder of controlling their own destiny for a 2nd seed. if minnesota loses to denver, the thunder will lose the division record tie breaker to them if both teams win out. had the thunder beaten the jazz that game, they would have the tie breaker against whichever team loses that game. as it stands, we need a denver loss, and then run the table to secure #2.

[Woerzboerg]

Do we want the #2 seed? I think it would be wise to avoid the Lakers at any costs.

[slick_watts]

Do we want the #2 seed? I think it would be wise to avoid the Lakers at any costs.

i don't understand this. what is the goal for the thunder? a first round win? we want home court advantage in as many scenarios as possible. fixating on who we play in the first round is loser talk to me.

[shakes0]

Shai looked great. JDub wasn't moving that well yet...should be fine though

yea JDub looked really out of sorts last night. Like he hadn't played in 17 years and forgot what leg to take off on during layups



Great game though, loved seeing the 20 pt comeback.

Looking forward to Chet vs Wemby tonight.

[shakes0]

We went from +16 wins in 2022-2023 to at least +14 wins in 2023-2024 without any major trade. Only significant signing was Isaiah Joe. It's insane. 30 wins gap in 2 seasons with internal growth...we got lucky with injuries this season so far but it's still crazy

I mean, you're kinda glossing over the main difference between last year and this year.

[shakes0]

Do we want the #2 seed? I think it would be wise to avoid the Lakers at any costs.

i don't understand this. what is the goal for the thunder? a first round win? .

Yes. Anything beyond that is pure gravy.

[Dadouv47]

We went from +16 wins in 2022-2023 to at least +14 wins in 2023-2024 without any major trade. Only significant signing was Isaiah Joe. It's insane. 30 wins gap in 2 seasons with internal growth...we got lucky with injuries this season so far but it's still crazy

I mean, you're kinda glossing over the main difference between last year and this year.

if u mean Chet's impact, of course he's the main reason from our improvement from last season to this season but other than Giddey and Kenrich, everybody else improved. SGA is even better, JDub looks like a legit star and Dort is somehow a good role player. I don't know what will happen in the POs but Coach D is doing an amazing job and I'm glad he will win COY award.

[slick_watts]

Do we want the #2 seed? I think it would be wise to avoid the Lakers at any costs.

i don't understand this. what is the goal for the thunder? a first round win? .

Yes. Anything beyond that is pure gravy.

this is crazy talk. you know it's very possible the thunder won't get a better opportunity to win a title than this year, right? does anyone even remember what happened after 2012?

[Kizz Fastfists]

i don't understand this. what is the goal for the thunder? a first round win? .

Yes. Anything beyond that is pure gravy.

this is crazy talk. you know it's very possible the thunder won't get a better opportunity to win a title than this year, right? does anyone even remember what happened after 2012?

Only the people that have been calling Presti incompetent for refusing to make moves with an open championship window. I believe that is less than 1% of the Thunder's fan base.

[Xatticus]

i don't understand this. what is the goal for the thunder? a first round win? .

Yes. Anything beyond that is pure gravy.

this is crazy talk. you know it's very possible the thunder won't get a better opportunity to win a title than this year, right? does anyone even remember what happened after 2012?

Sure... it's possible. The likelihood of that being the case is remote though, particularly if Presti learned from past mistakes and doesn't forget what got us here. It's more likely that this is only the beginning of an open-ended title window. I don't see the point in trying to manufacture urgency regardless. This organization didn't luck it's way to the top of the heap.

The goal isn't to get to within shouting distance of the peak and then make a myopic, desperate lunge for a title. The goal is to assert sustained dominance over the competition for a prolonged and indeterminate period of time. Earning home-court advantage in the first round doesn't mean that it's time to stop planning for the long term.

[Clav]

I wish we had made other roster moves too, but we didn't so this is what we get. Biyombo, Hawyard, and no Bertans/Mann/Poku/Micic

Either way, our team is beginning it's championship window this season. You could maybe argue last season was the first year of contention but we didn't make it to the playoffs so idk if that's valid, this is just pulling hairs at this point. Hopefully, THIS group's window is equal or longer than the KD/RW era. That lasted about 6 or 7 seasons, depending on how you slice it. Unfortunately, in the past we had some bad injuries to our stars and always we question Presti and co.'s roster choices. This time, let's hope that Presti builds around his stars a little better, and we get on the good side of injury luck

I'm pretty confident that without KD's foot injury and without RW and Ibaka's knee injuries in some of our playoff runs, we might have been the other team in the Finals other than San Antonio for 13, & 14. It was really close, we gave them fits with out athleticism. Would we have beaten the Heatles ? I am unsure.

The seeding in the west is going to be very important, if we get Dallas in R1, we might be up against too much shotmaking and a team playing hot at the right time. The rest of the teams I wouldn't dodge at all. We're not getting Minny or Denver until later, so don't worry about them yet.

[Kizz Fastfists]

I'm pretty confident that without KD's foot injury and without RW and Ibaka's knee injuries in some of our playoff runs, we might have been the other team in the Finals other than San Antonio for 13, & 14. It was really close, we gave them fits with out athleticism. Would we have beaten the Heatles ? I am unsure.

Yet it happened. Injuries derail teams every year. Chet is the type of player that has shown in the past that chronic foot problems can limit and cut their career short. Anytime you throw away a season when you had a chance to go for a championship you are telling your fan base they are pathetic and worthless. Presti has been telling OKC fans his entire tenure they are not worthy of a championship team. He can build a playoff team and then he will tell you that is good enough and refuse to make the moves that could lead to a championship.

Presti told you this wasn't a .500 team. He told you they still needed to eat breakfast. He either believes the team is not close, is blind to the issues on the roster or he doesn't feel you, the fan, are worth having a championship team. Presti is either stupid or he believes the fans are stupid and will continue to eat up the media propaganda of how great he is. I'll give you a hint, Presti isn't stupid, but he understands his job is to put you in the area and that doesn't require anything more than making the playoffs and letting you fill yourself with false hope. In what other market can you be the GM this long and consistently refuse to add players in an attempt to win a championship and be worshiped for delivering several early round exits and only one finals appearance?

In 16 seasons with Presti in charge OKC has made one Finals appearance. This will make 17 seasons. There are 30 teams in the NBA and 15 in the Western Conference. Presti has done what every team should be able to do over that time. He is one for 16, about to be 17, in a game that gives one in 15 odds. A good GM beats the odds. A mediocre GM meets the odds. A bad GM can get lucky and have more championships than Presti on a fluke run because they traded for the center that Presti passed on to go chase Kendrick Perkins.

[slick_watts]

Yes. Anything beyond that is pure gravy.

this is crazy talk. you know it's very possible the thunder won't get a better opportunity to win a title than this year, right? does anyone even remember what happened after 2012?

Sure... it's possible. The likelihood of that being the case is remote though, particularly if Presti learned from past mistakes and doesn't forget what got us here. It's more likely that this is only the beginning of an open-ended title window. I don't see the point in trying to manufacture urgency regardless. This organization didn't luck it's way to the top of the heap.

The goal isn't to get to within shouting distance of the peak and then make a myopic, desperate lunge for a title. The goal is to assert sustained dominance over the competition for a prolonged and indeterminate period of time. Earning home-court advantage in the first round doesn't mean that it's time to stop planning for the long term.

i think you're misunderstanding me. the thunder are in the playoffs now, they have been at or near the top of the west all season. they are contenders, now. nothing is guaranteed when it comes to the future. settling for one playoff series win after a season like the thunder had is milquetoast behavior in my opinion that i see too many thunder fans engaging in. this isn't even a question of making 'desperate lunges' it's about calibrating expectations to those of a team that has been on top all year and is ready to win.

[slick_watts]

I'm pretty confident that without KD's foot injury and without RW and Ibaka's knee injuries in some of our playoff runs, we might have been the other team in the Finals other than San Antonio for 13, & 14. It was really close, we gave them fits with out athleticism. Would we have beaten the Heatles ? I am unsure.

this is the whole point. chet can break his foot next year. who knows! we're in the playoffs now with at least a top 3 seed. we should be aiming higher than 2nd round exit

We're not getting Minny or Denver until later, so don't worry about them yet.

the goal should be to get home court for as long as possible. the thunder will be fighting to win a championship in a couple weeks. re-calibrate your expectations. we are contenders.

[Clav]

It must be tiring focusing on him @Kizz. It's not his fault that injuries happen, that's just sports. Yes he's one for 16 in his tenure here, but he's also got at least one, and multiple other WCF appearances (which should count, it is still a Finals appearance). OKC is far better off as a franchise in terms of team success than many others who have had many GM groups and failures along the way.

Take nothing for granted but enjoy the good while it lasts. Even in the 'bad years' or years where OKC doesn't make the Finals, I enjoy seeing the team compete. I hope this isn't ruining your life because it seems like it's a prominent part of what affects you on here.

[Kizz Fastfists]

Take nothing for granted but enjoy the good while it lasts. Even in the 'bad years' or years where OKC doesn't make the Finals, I enjoy seeing the team compete. I hope this isn't ruining your life because it seems like it's a prominent part of what affects you on here.

What is the goal of sports? To win a championship? To be in the over 50% of the teams that make the playoffs? To compete? The Spurs compete, but aren't winning much, and their fans are already talking about what the team should do in the off-season to be in back into the position of being a dynasty. The Thunder competes and their fans talk about enjoying not sucking and how there is no need to fix the glaring holes on the roster and that they would be happy with losing in the first round because of those glaring holes that make them underdogs with home court against half the playoff teams in the West. Thunder fans aren't yelling about how they should have used their assets to plug a hole or two and go into the playoffs as a favorite to win the West with homecourt advantage.

When I hear Spurs fans talking about what the team should do in the off-season so of them are thinking short-term gratification, adding Trae to Wemby, and how with the rest of their young core they think they would be instant contenders. I disagree, but their eyes are on a championship. Others talk about drafting their needed PG and adding another floor stretching big to go with Wemby and using cap space wisely to build a team that could be dynasty material starting in '25-'26. I tend to agree with that group as I'm not certain Trae moves the needle as much as others do. The point is they are all focused on how to get another championship. OKC fans are focused on just making the playoffs and maybe with the right matchup they can get past the first round. A winning mentality VS a losing mentality and the organizations are reflections of their fan base. LAL is constantly making big moves to try to win because their fan base wants championships. Boston, NYK, etc. do the same thing. Some of them do it better than others, but as long as OKC fans are happy with just making the playoffs they deserve nothing more and unlikely to ever get it.

[Clav]

Take nothing for granted but enjoy the good while it lasts. Even in the 'bad years' or years where OKC doesn't make the Finals, I enjoy seeing the team compete. I hope this isn't ruining your life because it seems like it's a prominent part of what affects you on here.

What is the goal of sports? To win a championship? To be in the over 50% of the teams that make the playoffs? To compete? The Spurs compete, but aren't winning much, and their fans are already talking about what the team should do in the off-season to be in back into the position of being a dynasty. The Thunder competes and their fans talk about enjoying not sucking and how there is no need to fix the glaring holes on the roster and that they would be happy with losing in the first round because of those glaring holes that make them underdogs with home court against half the playoff teams in the West. Thunder fans aren't yelling about how they should have used their assets to plug a hole or two and go into the playoffs as a favorite to win the West with homecourt advantage.

When I hear Spurs fans talking about what the team should do in the off-season so of them are thinking short-term gratification, adding Trae to Wemby, and how with the rest of their young core they think they would be instant contenders. I disagree, but their eyes are on a championship. Others talk about drafting their needed PG and adding another floor stretching big to go with Wemby and using cap space wisely to build a team that could be dynasty material starting in '25-'26. I tend to agree with that group as I'm not certain Trae moves the needle as much as others do. The point is they are all focused on how to get another championship. OKC fans are focused on just making the playoffs and maybe with the right matchup they can get past the first round. A winning mentality VS a losing mentality and the organizations are reflections of their fan base. LAL is constantly making big moves to try to win because their fan base wants championships. Boston, NYK, etc. do the same thing. Some of them do it better than others, but as long as OKC fans are happy with just making the playoffs they deserve nothing more and unlikely to ever get it.

Kind of unfair to attack fans for being happy to make the playoffs. Have you ever been a fan of another team that is bad ? It's a rare accomplishment for certain franchises. Don't blame them Everyone has their different perspectives. If they are happy making the playoffs then they deserve nothing, ever, and are unlikely to get it... That's so hyperbolic diatribe. Disconnect the pulse of the fan with the objective of the franchise. Us here, us posters here are a small %age of fans. OKC's boards are not that many of us...

But what is the goal in sport ? The greatest things for me, in sport, are the craft, the sportsmanship, the community you make with your teammates, the coaching and teaching, and discipline to improve. The ultimate goal of a franchise needs to be to win the Championship, it's frustrating being a fan when the franchise isn't doing what we want, if you want to change it, join them and do just that. I can't put that energy into it, I have too much going on in my life to care about Presti's moves or non-moves ad nauseum. I just hope that in whatever iteration we have, we succeed, and we're pretty close, that's fun for me.

[shakes0]

i don't understand this. what is the goal for the thunder? a first round win? .

Yes. Anything beyond that is pure gravy.

this is crazy talk. you know it's very possible the thunder won't get a better opportunity to win a title than this year, right? does anyone even remember what happened after 2012?

no I don't know that and I definitely don't believe that.

I like that you bring up 2012 because I also cite to history to support my opinion on this. First I look at the Atlanta Hawks from a few years ago. They had an up and coming team and made a very surprising run to the ECF as the #5 seed. After that the team decided they were ready to contend and started making moves that you would expect out of a team that was 1 piece away from contending. Turns out, that ECF run was a fluke and the team regressed, but not before pushing all their chips in the middle with a premature move for Dejontae Murray. They would've been much better off letting the team grow naturally rather than trying to jump start things.

Next example is from the team I followed the first 40 years of my life, the Bulls. They had MJ but they didn't rush thnings. They let it grow naturally. Took MJ 7 years to win and that was after incremental success year after year in the playoffs. YOu can't manufacture playoff maturity, it has to happen over time and via many playoff series and years. No one runs the table the first year they are good. OKC will be no different. I'll be very happy if they get out of round 1 and make it no further. Then next year they grow from that experience and do even better. And so on and so on until OKC wins the title.