The Thunder in Sacramento...

[UKF]

If you look at the stats from this game, you wouldn't think we would have only lossed by 6 points. We struggled(putting it lightly) from the line, and OKC was killing us on the boards, so 2nd chance points. I love watching this team every night. As they continue to play I can see this team morphing into a mold similar to the Thunder. Tyreke and Durant are very different players, but if he can add a consistent jumper to his repertoire we'll be set. Were going to get a top five pick this year and add another piece to this Sacto puzzle.

[floppymoose]

Were going to get a top five pick this year and add another piece to this Sacto puzzle.

the 3 through 9 lotto spots are up for grabs. kings and warriors have an edge by playing in the rugged west, but i wouldn't be too surprised if one of the east teams manages to out-suck the rest. knicks and pacers, i'm looking at you.

[darkadun]

I'm not going to sweat what exact position we get. We'll get a good player at 4 or at 8 regardless. I'd rather us finish playing well and drop down a few spots than end the season poorly and have a great draft slot.

Anyways, it was a good game. A few calls at the end were a little rough IMO. JT got fouled, and Ibaka really should have been called for swinging his elbows. But we missed a number of free throws anyways, that would have made a huge difference.

Its funny, we match up quite well with the Thunder but for some reason they tear us up on the boards. I'm trying to understand this. Because I look at Collison and Krstic and see average big men. I don't see how they can pound us on the boards. This perplexes me, because you can hand both these losses to poor rebounding and second chance points.

As frustrating as that is, its also somewhat encouraging. We got thoroughly pounded on the boards twice, yet were right there against a good up and coming playoff team. Going into next year, if we can add a big that rebounds and plays D, we'll be right there.

[longfellow44]

As long as we get a guy who can at worst be the 3rd option on the team then I will be happy.

[RIPskaterdude]

I'm not going to sweat what exact position we get. We'll get a good player at 4 or at 8 regardless. I'd rather us finish playing well and drop down a few spots than end the season poorly and have a great draft slot.

Anyways, it was a good game. A few calls at the end were a little rough IMO. JT got fouled, and Ibaka really should have been called for swinging his elbows. But we missed a number of free throws anyways, that would have made a huge difference.

Its funny, we match up quite well with the Thunder but for some reason they tear us up on the boards. I'm trying to understand this. Because I look at Collison and Krstic and see average big men. I don't see how they can pound us on the boards. This perplexes me, because you can hand both these losses to poor rebounding and second chance points.

As frustrating as that is, its also somewhat encouraging. We got thoroughly pounded on the boards twice, yet were right there against a good up and coming playoff team. Going into next year, if we can add a big that rebounds and plays D, we'll be right there.

The Thunder were the same spot last year that we are now. But they changed three things that turned around their season completely (other than Durant becoming a MVP candidate)

1) They play defense. They're #7 in PPG allowed and #3 in OPP FG%

2) They're one of the top teams in rebounding (#3)

3) They're #2 in FT%. As a team, they shoot (just under after tonight) 80%!

Next year, if we improve 2 out of those 3 areas, I could see us being a .500 team. We're 27th in FT%...just think how many games we would have won this year if we shot our FT's 70-80% per game? At least 5+ more, including tonight.

[Norbit]

Well I'm happy with a competitive loss. I rather have chance at cousins in the lottery instead of a whiteside/aldrich. I don't wanna support tanking necessarily but man I just want to speed up the rebuilding process as soon as possible. To do that we are going to need to add another legitimate piece to puzzle through the lottery, top 5 preferably.

[SacKingZZZ]

I'm not going to sweat what exact position we get. We'll get a good player at 4 or at 8 regardless. I'd rather us finish playing well and drop down a few spots than end the season poorly and have a great draft slot.

Anyways, it was a good game. A few calls at the end were a little rough IMO. JT got fouled, and Ibaka really should have been called for swinging his elbows. But we missed a number of free throws anyways, that would have made a huge difference.

Its funny, we match up quite well with the Thunder but for some reason they tear us up on the boards. I'm trying to understand this. Because I look at Collison and Krstic and see average big men. I don't see how they can pound us on the boards. This perplexes me, because you can hand both these losses to poor rebounding and second chance points.

As frustrating as that is, its also somewhat encouraging. We got thoroughly pounded on the boards twice, yet were right there against a good up and coming playoff team. Going into next year, if we can add a big that rebounds and plays D, we'll be right there.

Well, besides the fact that they are already one of the best rebounding teams in the league(Collison is a better than average rebounder, Durant is too, and Westbrook is as well for their respective positions), it has a lot to do with penetration. You have so much attention being paid to guys like Durant and Green on the perimeter it creates a huge gap in the paint. Westbrook uses that spacing (much like I want us to with Reke) to be able to drive off the pick and roll. That causes what ever big is in the paint to help on defense which simultaneously creates an offensive rebounding opportunity. They do it by design. You give up some things by playing that way, like the most efficient way to get back on D as a team if you miss, but they just spread the floor so well it makes it really tough. What you could do is not help, but then I'm sure Brooks has multiple options after that. Brooks is an excellent coach, he certainly knows how to implement a plan.

[SactoBob]

And I would also like to say that the officiating has been HORRIBLE tonight, for both sides.

If it's the NBA, the officiating is awful. Sort of like water being wet.