Half way there - Your thoughts on the season so far

[Pillendreher]

At 24-17, we're at the halfway point of the season. This is as good a time as any to recap the season a little bit.

Team performance:

14th ORtG
8th DRtG
10th SRS

I have to say I thought things would turn out differently. Given the 2nd half of the 2014-2015 season, I expected us to be elite offensively and below average defensively.
Given what we've seen so far, I think we still have potential both offensively and defensively. We've been Top 10ish for the better part of the past few weeks. Our defense has been inconsistent, which is very frustrating at times. Finishing in the Top 10 for both categories would be a very nice sign going forward.

Individual Players

Russ: We've grown so accustomed to his performances that we tend to underrate him. He's just been insane. Now, I still'd like him to stop shooting 3s.

Dipo: We need to get this man going. Not one single 20 point game over his last 11 games isn't gonna cut it. We need to look for him more. Run him off screens, involve him in the Pick and Roll. Something. We're wasting talent the way we're limiting him to spotting up and doing nothing else.

Robes: He seems to have recovered from his offensive woes a little bit. His defense has been stellar as always (It's fair to say he's guarding multiple players at once most of the time), but I doubt his offensive game will ever improve enough. I think the only way he breaks Sam Presti's mantra is by being not good enough to get other teams' attention.

Sabonis: The 'hate' for him is strong on DT right now, but I don't get it. We're not using him and the kid is doing his best to just contribute. I would like to see him being part of Pick and Rolls. He can read defenses and also pass.

Adams: After struggling initialy, he's adjusted very well and is still on track for Top 5 Centerhood. The sky is the limit.

Christon/Payne: One is not an NBA player, the other is still very rusty and also forbiddem from actually running the offense.

Abrines: Has been our best 3pt shooter since the start of December. Can put the on the floor and is actually decent defensively. Nice pickup.

Grant: Very athletic, but still raw as hell. Our coaching staff has to teach him some 'intengibles'. Like how to attack the rim without falling on your ass every time.

Lauvergne: Can play, but unplayable with Kanter. Need to use him more in spots and not as a general bench player.

Kanter: I've said enough about Kanter.

[getrichordie]

Abrines is adjusting a lot better than I expected. He needs to put on some weight in the offseason for sure. Training staff, please get on that.

We need to run more plays for Oladipo and get him more touches to keep defenses honest and so he can learn and grow into a player deserving of his contract.

Sabonis needs to be more aggressive but these things take time and I'm hoping to see that next year. He is still only 20, right? Damn!

I just want to see Westbrook continue to feed his teammates and get smarter on both ends. His athleticism is otherworldly and it allows him to get by in a lot of situations but his BBIQ is subpar from what I expect from our superstar which leads to the wows and the woes.

So far, I like what Donovan is doing. I don't think he can control Westbrook and that is part of the problem. But as I've said before, you live by Westbrook and you die by Westbrook.

Love Lauvergne. Love Grant. Both very athletic for their positions and I believe they will continue to grow. Grant is only 22 and Lauvergne is only 25.

[bondom34]

For the most part agree. I think the results overall are what I expected record wise, just not at all how they'd get there. Thought the defense would struggle more and offense less. I agree on most of everything you wrote, and the DT hate is strong for everyone .

Also of note, they've been one of the most accurate predictions from preseason expectations on the trade board. At this point they were pretty much what was thought overall and I'm happy with that. Roster needs some tweaking but at this point there was no time in the offseason to do it. This deadline or offseason hopefully something comes up.

[Pillendreher]

and the DT hate is strong for everyone

Some of it is just weird. 'Sabonis has been bad' What? Are you not watching the game? Contrary to some other young players, Domas doesn't look lost on the floor. He knows how to play. He's skilled in a way many NBA veterans never will be.

And the Dipo hate is weird too. It's not like we're forcing him into a completely new role and he's doing an actual good job at it.

Out of all guys with at least 120 3PA out of the catch and shoot, Dipo is 20th in 3P%. And that's a guy with a career 3P% of 35 % for you.

Also of note, they've been one of the most accurate predictions from preseason expectations on the trade board. At this point they were pretty much what was thought overall and I'm happy with that. Roster needs some tweaking but at this point there was no time in the offseason to do it. This deadline or offseason hopefully something comes up.

We can still get to my 52 win prediction.

[getrichordie]

and the DT hate is strong for everyone

Some of it is just weird. 'Sabonis has been bad' What? Are you not watching the game? Contrary to some other young players, Domas doesn't look lost on the floor. He knows how to play. He's skilled in a way many NBA veterans never will be.

And the Dipo hate is weird too. It's not like we're forcing him into a completely new role and he's doing an actual good job at it.

Out of all guys with at least 120 3PA out of the catch and shoot, Dipo is 20th in 3P%. And that's a guy with a career 3P% of 35 % for you.

Also of note, they've been one of the most accurate predictions from preseason expectations on the trade board. At this point they were pretty much what was thought overall and I'm happy with that. Roster needs some tweaking but at this point there was no time in the offseason to do it. This deadline or offseason hopefully something comes up.

We can still get to my 52 win prediction.

My concern about Oladipo's role is that Westbrook will limit his role. Oladipo has all the makings of being a lite Wade. We just have to give him the ball and let him do his thing. Going to be hard to do that with Westbrook running point.

[bondom34]

and the DT hate is strong for everyone

Some of it is just weird. 'Sabonis has been bad' What? Are you not watching the game? Contrary to some other young players, Domas doesn't look lost on the floor. He knows how to play. He's skilled in a way many NBA veterans never will be.

And the Dipo hate is weird too. It's not like we're forcing him into a completely new role and he's doing an actual good job at it.

Out of all guys with at least 120 3PA out of the catch and shoot, Dipo is 20th in 3P%. And that's a guy with a career 3P% of 35 % for you.

Also of note, they've been one of the most accurate predictions from preseason expectations on the trade board. At this point they were pretty much what was thought overall and I'm happy with that. Roster needs some tweaking but at this point there was no time in the offseason to do it. This deadline or offseason hopefully something comes up.

We can still get to my 52 win prediction.

My concern about Oladipo's role is that Westbrook will limit his role. Oladipo has all the makings of being a lite Wade. We just have to give him the ball and let him do his thing. Going to be hard to do that with Westbrook running point.

This is really underselling Wade.

2nd problem is Westbrook is more like Wade not lite.

[InTheSabonus]

I agree we're under-utilising Victor. I've commented this before, but we have the potential to b really dynamic and unpredictable in the back court. The "problem" is that it would require Russ to give up the ball a little. He was willing to pass to Durant, but obviously Oladipo isn't quite at that level. As it stands what we do is really predictable.

29th in passes per game, 30th last season. Which doesn't necessarily mean a whole lot on its own, most of the top passing teams this season aren't top teams. But with Russ' astronomical usage rate, it makes it awfully easy to pin down what we're going to do on most possessions. 19th in assists per game too. From there, you know who Russ loves to pass to: Adams and Kanter. Loves his bigs. He'll kick it out if someone's there, but we know that our go-to play usually involves a pretty basic pick and roll with Adams/Westbrook, or just a Westbrook drive and dump to Adams hanging out in the post. Our possession won't involve many passes, and of our 21.6 assists per game, Russ will get about half. Our 3 point % places us at a mighty...29th. Essentially that's all just saying what we all know: Collapse the paint against OKC. Specifically, and this is what Memphis did when they gave us an ass blasting, fill in the gaps where a) Russ scores and b) where Adams and Kanter like to hang out to receive passes from Russ. That eliminates a huuuuuge chunk of our offence right there. This is a roster problem, but you can use passing as a way to create spacing. With the way we move the ball, though, that would just make it easier for teams to confidently zone off our guys. But shooting is absolutely a roster limitation Presti has to address (so please no more raw athletic prospects and start finding some shooters...).

So when Russ is off, the huge chunk of this offence, and what is essentially the offensive identity of this team, just completely disappears. Well, more like it changes, To pass Enes the ball. I'm not even necessarily in the trade Kanter camp, I don't mind him. He's by far our best scorer off the bench and it makes sense for him to be our #1 bench option. But just like our Westbrook-centric offence is really predictable, so is our Kanter-centric bench offence. Dumping the ball to him in the post every offensive possession is incredibly easy to plan against. He's just getting double and triple teamed. His passing has improved, he's not a good passer out of doubles, but he's improved. Problem is who is he kicking out to? Abrines is a great option. But he's our only one. So with Payne back, who while not having shaken off the rust, is still much more capable a playmaker than Semaj, why don't we (just like with the starters) mix it up a little? How about pick and rolls with Kanter? Or work the ball around a little to mix it up before looking for Enes in the post? (Instead of our bench offence being Payne dribbles up court>passes to Kanter).

Overall? I mean we have a winning record with a really young team. Could be worse. But imo it could be better. That's what disappoints me. If Presti found some shooting, if Donovan implemented some ball movement (don't have to go all spurs, or not be a Russ focused team, but just mix it up every now and again), and if Russ played a bit smarter (chances of Donovan actually challenging russ though...), the team would be a lot more dangerous. A Lillard/McCollum-esque dynamic with Russ/Oladipo (obviously less shooting but a similar two headed snake principle), with some more shooters, and some actual creativity from the coaching staff is what I want to see. We may not be able to find/get suitable trade targets, but the other two things can still happen.

[oken]

I believe the reason they are not running different plays with Kanter etc. is that Payne did not have chance to even join the summer camp so Donovan may be on the "let's keep it simple until at least all-star break guys" side. The abundance of post up plays seem to be a direct order rather than spontaneous decisions.

Also I think Oladipo must "earn" the pass from WB. I saw WB not intentionally passing to him on the perimeter and searching for the safer paint option till it's very late and then taking a shot himself. Oladipo seems to be like the type who shoots better as he starts scoring so getting him in that mood earlier in the game (maybe with the 2nd unit) instead of later 3rd is also Donovan's job.

[getrichordie]

I agree we're under-utilising Victor. I've commented this before, but we have the potential to b really dynamic and unpredictable in the back court. The "problem" is that it would require Russ to give up the ball a little. He was willing to pass to Durant, but obviously Oladipo isn't quite at that level. As it stands what we do is really predictable.

29th in passes per game, 30th last season. Which doesn't necessarily mean a whole lot on its own, most of the top passing teams this season aren't top teams. But with Russ' astronomical usage rate, it makes it awfully easy to pin down what we're going to do on most possessions. 19th in assists per game too. From there, you know who Russ loves to pass to: Adams and Kanter. Loves his bigs. He'll kick it out if someone's there, but we know that our go-to play usually involves a pretty basic pick and roll with Adams/Westbrook, or just a Westbrook drive and dump to Adams hanging out in the post. Our possession won't involve many passes, and of our 21.6 assists per game, Russ will get about half. Our 3 point % places us at a mighty...29th. Essentially that's all just saying what we all know: Collapse the paint against OKC. Specifically, and this is what Memphis did when they gave us an ass blasting, fill in the gaps where a) Russ scores and b) where Adams and Kanter like to hang out to receive passes from Russ. That eliminates a huuuuuge chunk of our offence right there. This is a roster problem, but you can use passing as a way to create spacing. With the way we move the ball, though, that would just make it easier for teams to confidently zone off our guys. But shooting is absolutely a roster limitation Presti has to address (so please no more raw athletic prospects and start finding some shooters...).

So when Russ is off, the huge chunk of this offence, and what is essentially the offensive identity of this team, just completely disappears. Well, more like it changes, To pass Enes the ball. I'm not even necessarily in the trade Kanter camp, I don't mind him. He's by far our best scorer off the bench and it makes sense for him to be our #1 bench option. But just like our Westbrook-centric offence is really predictable, so is our Kanter-centric bench offence. Dumping the ball to him in the post every offensive possession is incredibly easy to plan against. He's just getting double and triple teamed. His passing has improved, he's not a good passer our of doubles, but he's improved. Problem is who is he kicking out to? Abrines is a great option. But he's our only one. So with Payne back, who while not having shaken off the rust, is still much more capable a playmaker than Semaj, why don't we (just like with the starters) mix it up a little? How about pick and rolls with Kanter? Or work the ball around a little to mix it up before looking for Enes in the post? (Instead of our bench offence being Payne dribbles up court>passes to Kanter).

Overall? I mean we have a winning record with a really young team. Could be worse. But imo it could be better. That's what disappoints me. If Presti found some shooting, if Donovan implemented some ball movement (don't have to go all spurs, or not be a Russ focused team, but just mix it up every now and again), and if Russ played a bit smarter (chances of that Donovan actually challenging russ though...), the team would be a lot more dangerous. A Lillard/McCollum-esque dynamic with Russ/Oladipo (obviously less shooting but a similar two headed snake principle), with some more shooters, and some actual creativity from the coaching staff is what I want to see. We may not be able to find/get suitable trade targets, but the other two things can still happen.

TL;DR = Starters live by Westbrook and die by Westbrook. Bench players live by Kanter die by Kanter. Presti needs to find a way to add shooters. Donovan needs to expand the offense and mix it up a little. Not doing bad but could be doing better.

Agree with all of the above pretty much but I will say it is hard to criticize going to Kanter often while he's on the floor. He's shooting 58% and is averaging almost 18 PPG off the bench in the last 10 games, even with defenses zoned in on him. He's a monster. Problem is defense. We need to keep a defensive-specialist big on the floor with Kanter. I'd love to see Presti go get one if we are not trading Kanter. I think Kanter passing out to Payne and Abrines will be enough of a bench offense in my opinion. But we are devoid of defense with those options. If we can get some 3&D wings and a defensive big, we would be much better off.

As far as offense goes, I think we have a solid core. I wouldn't mind losing a little of Roberson's defense and adding some offense at the 3, but if we can expand the offense and allow Oladipo and Sabonis and Adams to grow, I think we are doing really good. It will take time to grow but that's a solid core to build around. Just have to maximize strengths and mitigate weaknesses.

[SvenniSterki]

In few words the cast surrounding Westbrook is too young. I think it would be a nice fit if he was younger but Westbrook is at his peak right now and OKC doesnt have enough of experience and quality around him. Losing KD was a big blow and maybe we will have to be patient and hope that the young guys grow up very quickly.

[InTheSabonus]

I agree we're under-utilising Victor. I've commented this before, but we have the potential to b really dynamic and unpredictable in the back court. The "problem" is that it would require Russ to give up the ball a little. He was willing to pass to Durant, but obviously Oladipo isn't quite at that level. As it stands what we do is really predictable.

29th in passes per game, 30th last season. Which doesn't necessarily mean a whole lot on its own, most of the top passing teams this season aren't top teams. But with Russ' astronomical usage rate, it makes it awfully easy to pin down what we're going to do on most possessions. 19th in assists per game too. From there, you know who Russ loves to pass to: Adams and Kanter. Loves his bigs. He'll kick it out if someone's there, but we know that our go-to play usually involves a pretty basic pick and roll with Adams/Westbrook, or just a Westbrook drive and dump to Adams hanging out in the post. Our possession won't involve many passes, and of our 21.6 assists per game, Russ will get about half. Our 3 point % places us at a mighty...29th. Essentially that's all just saying what we all know: Collapse the paint against OKC. Specifically, and this is what Memphis did when they gave us an ass blasting, fill in the gaps where a) Russ scores and b) where Adams and Kanter like to hang out to receive passes from Russ. That eliminates a huuuuuge chunk of our offence right there. This is a roster problem, but you can use passing as a way to create spacing. With the way we move the ball, though, that would just make it easier for teams to confidently zone off our guys. But shooting is absolutely a roster limitation Presti has to address (so please no more raw athletic prospects and start finding some shooters...).

So when Russ is off, the huge chunk of this offence, and what is essentially the offensive identity of this team, just completely disappears. Well, more like it changes, To pass Enes the ball. I'm not even necessarily in the trade Kanter camp, I don't mind him. He's by far our best scorer off the bench and it makes sense for him to be our #1 bench option. But just like our Westbrook-centric offence is really predictable, so is our Kanter-centric bench offence. Dumping the ball to him in the post every offensive possession is incredibly easy to plan against. He's just getting double and triple teamed. His passing has improved, he's not a good passer our of doubles, but he's improved. Problem is who is he kicking out to? Abrines is a great option. But he's our only one. So with Payne back, who while not having shaken off the rust, is still much more capable a playmaker than Semaj, why don't we (just like with the starters) mix it up a little? How about pick and rolls with Kanter? Or work the ball around a little to mix it up before looking for Enes in the post? (Instead of our bench offence being Payne dribbles up court>passes to Kanter).

Overall? I mean we have a winning record with a really young team. Could be worse. But imo it could be better. That's what disappoints me. If Presti found some shooting, if Donovan implemented some ball movement (don't have to go all spurs, or not be a Russ focused team, but just mix it up every now and again), and if Russ played a bit smarter (chances of that Donovan actually challenging russ though...), the team would be a lot more dangerous. A Lillard/McCollum-esque dynamic with Russ/Oladipo (obviously less shooting but a similar two headed snake principle), with some more shooters, and some actual creativity from the coaching staff is what I want to see. We may not be able to find/get suitable trade targets, but the other two things can still happen.

TL;DR = Starters live by Westbrook and die by Westbrook. Bench players live by Kanter die by Kanter. Presti needs to find a way to add shooters. Donovan needs to expand the offense and mix it up a little. Not doing bad but could be doing better.

Agree with all of the above pretty much but I will say it is hard to criticize going to Kanter often while he's on the floor. He's shooting 58% and is averaging almost 18 PPG off the bench in the last 10 games, even with defenses zoned in on him. He's a monster. Problem is defense. We need to keep a defensive-specialist big on the floor with Kanter. I'd love to see Presti go get one if we are not trading Kanter. I think Kanter passing out to Payne and Abrines will be enough of a bench offense in my opinion. But we are devoid of defense with those options. If we can get some 3&D wings and a defensive big, we would be much better off.

Oh I agree. He's really talented...offensively. But I like him, I love that he loves being in OKC, and it isn't his fault that the bench offence has such little variety. He's also clearly working on his passing out of doubles, and he's even scoring on triple teams.

I do just wish we were paying him closer to 10 mil than 17. We can't play him against golden state at all, and he's really situational in terms of other teams he can play against due to his defensive issues.

[spearsy23]

Overall I'm happy with the record, uninspired by how we've achieved it, and slightly disappointed because we could've been been better if we had kept ilyasova and that pick. I like Grant moving forward, but I don't believe he is a good enough prospect that we should've prioritized him over producing wins this year. And that pick could've helped get another productive wing or a stop gap backup pg so we didn't have to rely on an out of shape Cam yet.
I really believe a lineup of Russ/Vic/Dre/Ilyasova/Adams would've been enough to challenge for the 4 seed this year, and Domas would've really helped the bench on both ends.

Individually
Russ- He's Russ. The only players in the game that could produce these results with this team are Russ and Harden (and prime LeBron who isn't saving himself for the playoffs). I think people have been way too hard on him recently and have lost sight of how incredible what he's doing truly is.

Vic- he's been exactly the level of player I'd hoped we'd see, but he's done it exactly the opposite way of what i expected. I was figuring we'd get a secondary shot creator not a knockdown three point marksman. I'm happy with him, even though I think he'll be overpaid in comparison what actually brings to the table, but that's a cba fault.

Dre- I've been disappointed. I know Durant helped open the floor, but that's a poor excuse when teams still aren't guarding him on the perimeter. On top of that, his ft shooting has been so abysmal that I feel like he's truly hurt the team at times even moreso than his defense has helped. This is the first year I've really felt that way more than on fleeting occasions. I don't know that this is the right role for him on this team anymore, and I don't see a way to fix the roster so that he remains a major piece. I love him and his work ethic and attitude, but I'd like see him back next year on the QO and forced to correct some flaws or find new home.

Sabonis- he's the first guy we've had since nick stopped being a major rotation player that I don't feel I have to check the box score to see how well he played. The numbers aren't there but you can see him always exactly where the scheme and system say he should be. He gets outmuscled, he has no right hand, his jumper is flat and mechanical and streaky, but he's already playing chess out there and when the body catches up to the mind he'll be truly special. Not all-star special, but he's going to have a much more profound effect on games than a lot of the guys who end up in all star games.

Steven- you're all going to hate me but i think he's become overrated within our fan base. His offense has taken a large leap forward but his defense took a step back. He's 15th among centers in rpm, which I wouldn't consider too important by itself, but he also posts pretty meh box score numbers. His work ethic, attitude, and rate of improvement are all off the charts, but I have serious doubts when people think he could be a top 5 center. As with Vic I question the wisdom of giving a guy who should be your third best player that kind of money when you don't have an avenue to acquire a second best player. Hopefully he continues to improve and proves me wrong, he's definitely a hard enough worker to do it. And I don't want this being misconstrued as me nor liking or valuing Steven, I just think top 10 center is likely where he stays

Enes- I like him in spite of myself. I know he doesn't play a winning style, I know he's a bad defender, I know his game is antiquated, I know he's overpaid. But damn it he likes it here, he has this team and city's back, aand god does he put up numbers. There's no chance he's here for the long haul, but I'm going to be sad to see him go. And for what it's worth, he is having the best defensive season of his career according to impact stats.

Wolverine- I'm in love with this kid. I expected him to do a reasonable impression of morrow, but he's got a much better floor game. He is already solid coming of screens, be occasionally leverages his jumpshot and can get into the lane, he's got the confidence to fire no matter the situation, he puts the work in defensively even when he's getting beat, and he has metal claws and can rip heads off. I hope he's happy here because I want to cheer for him for a very long time. Also, I really want to hear Matt Pinto say "Wolverine slices through the defense." one day.

Grant- I'm not as enamored with him a everyone else seems to be. He's kinda the anti-Sabonis, he blocks and dunks everything but find himself out of position and tripping over himself half the time. Last I checked he was near bottom of the league in RPM despite consistent playing time. Still better than singler, still lots of potential, but I know I'd rather have what we gave up to get him.

Cam- I'm disappointed because i really think we were robbed of seeing him take the next step. So often when a young guy loses momentum like this it goes on to define his career. I hope cam can follow mccollum's path, but I'm afraid he'll be on a different team before we get chance to see who he really is. He did get into the lane and hit floater tonight, if he keeps getting bit more aggressive each night maybe he'll be able to do enough to convince presti to give him one more year.

Joffrey- he's a losing player just like Enes except he can't back it up with the numbers. He's exactly the opposite of what I believe a 3rd Center should be, and I'd rather have dakari on the roster moving forward.

Semaj- he tried. He just isn't good enough justify keeping around unless he shows marked improvement. I feel bad because i do like the kid, but he's a 4th string pg and there aren't a lot of those in the NBA.

Morrow- when he was playing he actually seemed to be moving better and showing a more versatile game than ever before. Unfortunately that doesn't really matter when you're a shooter who isn't hitting shots anymore. I'd be surprised if he's still in the league next year. Hope he latches on somewhere, and if we could rid ourselves of singler I'd be fine with bringing a-mo back for the minimum.

Collison- he could never play a minute and I'd be fine paying him a couple million to look after the youngsters until he's a hundred and ten. When he has played he's been the same old Nick though, always in the right spot and hitting a backdoor cutter at least once per game.

Singler- I wish we'd have just taken the cash we offered him out back and lit it on fire. Preferably with any jerseys that had his name on them used as accelerant.

Huestis- I really don't know why we picked up his option. My Assumption is that if robes leaves this offseason we're going to see huestis get a chance at going that role. I don't think he can do it, but stranger things have happened.

[spearsy23]

Forgot to mention Donovan- I still don't think he's a very good coach. People were enamored with him after last years playoffs but people loved brooks right up until they didn't as well. I don't want to criticize Billy too much because he's been given a challenging roster to deal with, but I think he's a bit too flexible with rotations, throws too much junk at the wall hoping something sticks, and really isn't sure exactly what he wants the team to be yet.

Also he freaking sucks at inbounds plays.

[bondom34]

Forgot to mention Donovan- I still don't think he's a very good coach. People were enamored with him after last years playoffs but people loved brooks right up until they didn't as well. I don't want to criticize Billy too much because he's been given a challenging roster to deal with, but I think he's a bit too flexible with rotations, throws too much junk at the wall hoping something sticks, and really isn't sure exactly what he wants the team to be yet.

Also he freaking sucks at inbounds plays.

Still kinda miss Brooks too, glad he's turned Washington around. Think it was a lateralish move.

[bondom34]

May have to write up a fuller analysis but just a few I'm going to disagree w/ spearsy on. Most I agree totally so I won't bother rewriting what he just did:

Dipo: Agree on everything except I think he's in the end paid perfectly. The new cap is just still looking funny.

Adams: I really don't think he's disappointed, he's a top 10 center now and has added major tools yearly. Defensive anchor at 22, offense getting there but not yet. The push shot is a nice addition and I think he can nearly replicate a lot of Kanter's numbers with less skill given time.

Also I agree w/ you on Kanter, I don't mind him. If they can upgrade a wing in a trade sure, but he's fine.

Grant: I like him a little more than spearsy despite numbers not being good. He's a decent 10 mpg player, not a ton more. Ersan's numbers weren't this good in OKC, and realistically they weren't doing much this year. I think its better to be better next year and give Domantas the minutes now. Knowing the roster was flawed coming in, this is a bridge year at least, and maybe next. Might as well develop him now.

Cam: Thank you for getting Semaj off the court. I think he may be worse than Singler.

Semaj: Sorry to say that, because you were thrown into too big a role, but you're a 3rd PG.

Agree on Sabonis and love the kid. Same for Abrines. I had no expectations for either and they've both been good early.

Joffrey is I guess what you get for the 55th pick and another 2nd rounder.

One I'll add is Adrian Griffin. Didn't think this team would be so good defensively, but they are. Good work.

[spearsy23]

One I'll add is Adrian Griffin. Didn't think this team would be so good defensively, but they are. Good work.

I think this is funny because several people have expressed this and I thought exactly the opposite. I thought we'd be better than we have defensively and awful on offense.


RE Vic and Steven's contracts, I agree they aren't overpaid. I just feel like there's an order you have to acquire talent in if you're ever going to truly compete for a title, and if you don't follow that blueprint then it takes a lot of skill and even more luck to win one. We're lacking the secondary piece but we've locked in tertiary pieces at a price that makes it almost impossible to find that guy. So in a vacuum I think both contracts are good, but in our situation we don't have much upside anymore. I'm okay with being a treadmill team that could go on a surprise run like Dallas did, but I find it unlikely that run ever happens.

Re Steven: we've discussed him a bit before I think, but I don't think he's disappointed, I just think we've begun overhyping him. I'd agree he's 10ish, probably have him at 8 right now but Gobert, Cousins, KAT, Embiid and jokic are all going to be/remain better moving forward. Steven is never going to be a 20/10 guy or Dikembe type anchor. Tyson chandler is a necessary piece to a championship puzzle and I don't think Adams being that guy is a slight, but I don't see him reaching much above that level. Maybe my real problem is that cody zeller is extremely underrated and they're pretty similar players in terms of the value they currently provide, but nobody even acknowledges zeller exists.

[bondom34]

One I'll add is Adrian Griffin. Didn't think this team would be so good defensively, but they are. Good work.

I think this is funny because several people have expressed this and I thought exactly the opposite. I thought we'd be better than we have defensively and awful on offense.


RE Vic and Steven's contracts, I agree they aren't overpaid. I just feel like there's an order you have to acquire talent in if you're ever going to truly compete for a title, and if you don't follow that blueprint then it takes a lot of skill and even more luck to win one. We're lacking the secondary piece but we've locked in tertiary pieces at a price that makes it almost impossible to find that guy. So in a vacuum I think both contracts are good, but in our situation we don't have much upside anymore. I'm okay with being a treadmill team that could go on a surprise run like Dallas did, but I find it unlikely that run ever happens.

Re Steven: we've discussed him a bit before I think, but I don't think he's disappointed, I just think we've begun overhyping him. I'd agree he's 10ish, probably have him at 8 right now but Gobert, Cousins, KAT, Embiid and jokic are all going to be/remain better moving forward. Steven is never going to be a 20/10 guy or Dikembe type anchor. Tyson chandler is a necessary piece to a championship puzzle and I don't think Adams being that guy is a slight, but I don't see him reaching much above that level. Maybe my real problem is that cody zeller is extremely underrated and they're pretty similar players in terms of the value they currently provide, but nobody even acknowledges zeller exists.

TBH I think he's better than Zeller (who's underrated but not quite as good defensively and plays lower minutes) and until KAT"s defense gets better he's behind as well. Right now the only 3 I take over him today are Cousins/Gobert/Gasol, and the more I see Cousins he is a superior player with zero doubt but man I question him more on his mind than I ever have. Tonight's game again. Just gets T'd up and inefficient. Not sure you win with him as much anymore, but I love the guy's personality.

Also, I think at this point the secondary piece can come from moving any/a few of the tertiary ones, or even at this point one could develop from within. More likely is Kanter or Dipo moving for one, but that's a time will tell situation.

[Pillendreher]

One thing Adams has clearly working in his favor is that he already showed what he's capable of on the biggest stage there is. KAT, Jokic, Embiid, etc. are all great talents, but so far they haven't done ****. Adams stood his own in the Playoffs and was our 2nd-3rd best player in the 2016 Playoffs. That's an accomplishment very few bigs have. Most of those young guys haven't done anything that mattered.

[ThunderBolt]

We just really don't have a second best player. Sometimes it's Adams, other times it's Vic. If KD hadn't left, this was maybe our most complete roster. As it is, we are just searching. I don't think Adams is top 5 center but if we had a wing that could stretch the floor, he might be able to get there. Vic played just how we need him to play against the kings. Will he continue? Probably not.

Anyone who is ripping Sabonis is an idiot. I can see him developing into our Draymond Green. I apologize for comparing him to the biggest douche in the league but there is no denying what Green does for the warriors. Sabonis probably won't average 25ppg, but he I think he'll become the guy who does the intangibles. The potential for Sabonis and Adams excites me a lot more than the stache brothers.

Abrines-he's been better than expected.

Grant-he's only 22 but also in his third year in the league. I dont know how much potential he has offensively.

Kanter/Roberson- the two most one sided players in the NBA. Virtually every game they make plays that save us and kill us.

Payne- I know he's young but has he really shown enough to even have trade value? When he misses shots I found myself getting mad at his hair.

[oken]

The Clips game shows that this team needs Adams' defense more than anything else. His contribution to the team is Admiral Robinson level.