OKC Thunder Offseason 2015

[Pillendreher]

I don't get your post. How are not hoping for him to be better defensively if we state the bad situation he found himself in on the defensive end?

[Soonerule]

I think a big issue was Westbrook's "defense" and Roberson's injury. Westbrook was all over the place going for steals, witch left his teammates on an island. Robes was a good enough P&R defender. PnR coverage is a two-way-street - you can't just depend on your big to bail you out, especially if that player's already weak defensively.

It's also worth noting that IIRC the Jazz had the lowest strength of schedule in the league post Kanter trade.

EDIT: Whoops, meant to quote the post above.

The Jazz went 5 and 1 in their first six games after the Kanter trade. They beat Portland, holding them to just 76 pts. They followed that up by beating the Spurs, holding Pop's perpetual scoring machine to 81 pts. In the 6th game they beat Memphis, holding the Grizzlies to 82 points. They went 5 and 4 against western conference playoff teams and did it without a single player making the All NBA team at any level or the All-Defensive team for that matter.

[Soonerule]

I don't get your post. How are not hoping for him to be better defensively if we state the bad situation he found himself in on the defensive end?

By virtually all accounts, Kanter will be in a Thunder uniform next season. It is only a small matter of details holding that up.

Hoping for him to be better defensively? Praying for it is more like it.

[bondom34]

I think a big issue was Westbrook's "defense" and Roberson's injury. Westbrook was all over the place going for steals, witch left his teammates on an island. Robes was a good enough P&R defender. PnR coverage is a two-way-street - you can't just depend on your big to bail you out, especially if that player's already weak defensively.

I think it will be very interesting , if Donovan continues to start Roberson. Brooks took a ton of heat from fans about starting Roberson and Thabo before him. it became extremely wearisome to hear/read fans complain about starting a non offensive player. I don't know what these fans are gonna say if Donovan starts Roberson. This is one of the things I'm anticipating for the upcoming season.

But I sure would not count on Roberson being on the floor as a way to bail out Kanter's defense.

I know plenty around here who are fans of Robes, I'd be really bummed if he weren't starting. He makes less sense w/ the bench and fits the starters perfectly.

[Soonerule]

But you're likely paying him big money for a player that is a serious defensive liability and whose offense skill doesn't really improve your team's offensive efficiency;

Also don't see anyone picking Adams as the starting Center except by the few in this forum.

Should Kanter start over Adams? Let's see what I can find to help out:

ahh, here's one

http://hoopshabit.com/2015/07/06/oklahoma-city-thunder-enes-kanter-worth-reported-price/

my bad, that piece is just questioning if Kanter is worth the money. Okay, here we go:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2383419-the-case-for-steven-adams-to-start-over-enes-kanter-for-okc-thunder

and another:

http://www.welcometoloudcity.com/2015/3/3/8144329/five-reasons-steven-adams-should-start-over-enes-kanter

and another:

http://www.quora.com/Who-should-start-at-center-for-the-OKC-Thunder-Enes-Kanter-or-Steven-Adams

guess there are others besides the few in this forum that question Kanter starting.

[Marcus50]

I am concerned the holdup might be no guaranteed starter role. If it is the case another red flag for me

[tleikheen]

guess there are others besides the few in this forum that question Kanter starting.

you can question all you want and write all the letters to the OKC brass that you can,but who thinks they'd sign Kanter for 60/80 million to sit on the bench or be a backup

[Soonerule]

I think a big issue was Westbrook's "defense" and Roberson's injury. Westbrook was all over the place going for steals, witch left his teammates on an island. Robes was a good enough P&R defender. PnR coverage is a two-way-street - you can't just depend on your big to bail you out, especially if that player's already weak defensively.

I think it will be very interesting , if Donovan continues to start Roberson. Brooks took a ton of heat from fans about starting Roberson and Thabo before him. it became extremely wearisome to hear/read fans complain about starting a non offensive player. I don't know what these fans are gonna say if Donovan starts Roberson. This is one of the things I'm anticipating for the upcoming season.

But I sure would not count on Roberson being on the floor as a way to bail out Kanter's defense.

I know plenty around here who are fans of Robes, I'd be really bummed if he weren't starting. He makes less sense w/ the bench and fits the starters perfectly.

Robes offensive skill set just didn't jive well in the old system. I'm curious to see if Donovan utilizes his athleticism and length to penalize opposing defenses with some back door cuts when Robes' defender is parked at the edge of the paint ignoring him.

[Soonerule]

guess there are others besides the few in this forum that question Kanter starting.

you can question all you want and write all the letters to the OKC brass that you can,but who thinks they'd sign Kanter for 60/80 million to sit on the bench or be a backup

Kanter's minutes and when he plays them will be determined by the team's success when he is on the floor, NOT by how much he is putting in his bank account.

[Balkman32]

I think a big issue was Westbrook's "defense" and Roberson's injury. Westbrook was all over the place going for steals, witch left his teammates on an island. Robes was a good enough P&R defender. PnR coverage is a two-way-street - you can't just depend on your big to bail you out, especially if that player's already weak defensively.

I think it will be very interesting , if Donovan continues to start Roberson. Brooks took a ton of heat from fans about starting Roberson and Thabo before him. it became extremely wearisome to hear/read fans complain about starting a non offensive player. I don't know what these fans are gonna say if Donovan starts Roberson. This is one of the things I'm anticipating for the upcoming season.

But I sure would not count on Roberson being on the floor as a way to bail out Kanter's defense.

I know plenty around here who are fans of Robes, I'd be really bummed if he weren't starting. He makes less sense w/ the bench and fits the starters perfectly.

I would not mind starting Morrow and bringing Singler and Waiters off the bench. If Morrow can get it going he could score a lot in a hurry with everyone worrying about Durant and Westbrook.

[bondom34]

I think it will be very interesting , if Donovan continues to start Roberson. Brooks took a ton of heat from fans about starting Roberson and Thabo before him. it became extremely wearisome to hear/read fans complain about starting a non offensive player. I don't know what these fans are gonna say if Donovan starts Roberson. This is one of the things I'm anticipating for the upcoming season.

But I sure would not count on Roberson being on the floor as a way to bail out Kanter's defense.

I know plenty around here who are fans of Robes, I'd be really bummed if he weren't starting. He makes less sense w/ the bench and fits the starters perfectly.

Robes offensive skill set just didn't jive well in the old system. I'm curious to see if Donovan utilizes his athleticism and length to penalize opposing defenses with some back door cuts when Robes' defender is parked at the edge of the paint ignoring him.

He seemed to mesh well to me, his cutting and moves off ball got him some looks from Russ. Plus to me its more of him guarding the other teams biggest perimeter threat.

[KD35Brah]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNS5AZjQ2Bs[/youtube]

Mitch showin out.

[Soonerule]

Does Anthony Slater post here? Little turd stole my Portland scenario!

[spearsy23]

Yeah, like the Jazz were known for their defensive fortitude over the last few years. We're talking about the Thunder being a rollercoaster the last season, but Kanter being surrounded by scrubs most of the time doesn't count for anything?

Rudy Gobert did not seem to be bothered by this perceived " defensive fortitude " .

Rudy Gobert didn't have to play with point guards that were defensive trash.

Trey Burke played 30 minutes per game AFTER the Kanter trade. Try again.

[bondom34]

Does Anthony Slater post here? Little turd stole my Portland scenario!

Well if he does now you called him a turd and scared him off lol.

[bondom34]

Also, pretty solid SL showing today. Semaj and Dakari both played pretty well and Mitch is definitely in full NBA ready mode. Reminds me of last year when you could tell Adams was just a man amongst boys out there and really didn't need to be there at all. Orlando has some decent young guys too, Gordon looked good. Hezonja I don't know what to make of other than he's really athletic and absurdly confident.

[Soonerule]

Does Anthony Slater post here? Little turd stole my Portland scenario!

Nah, he beat me by a day...

[Soonerule]

Does Anthony Slater post here? Little turd stole my Portland scenario!

Well if he does now you called him a turd and scared him off lol.

LOL, if that scared him off he should have heard what I called him a week ago....

[Soonerule]

Also, pretty solid SL showing today. Semaj and Dakari both played pretty well and Mitch is definitely in full NBA ready mode. Reminds me of last year when you could tell Adams was just a man amongst boys out there and really didn't need to be there at all. Orlando has some decent young guys too, Gordon looked good. Hezonja I don't know what to make of other than he's really athletic and absurdly confident.

McGary hitting over 61% of his shots in 2 games.

[bondom34]

Does Anthony Slater post here? Little turd stole my Portland scenario!

Well if he does now you called him a turd and scared him off lol.

LOL, if that scared him off he should have heard what I called him a week ago....

May I ask or don't wanna know .