2018-2019 OKC Thunder Regular Season Pt 1: A Renewed Hope

[Atomic Punk]

I find it odd that Westbrook carries around dvds of Roberson playing defense. I mean he could show the same videos to Ferguson using an iPod.

What is a DVD?

[thekaoswithin]

I find it odd that Westbrook carries around dvds of Roberson playing defense. I mean he could show the same videos to Ferguson using an iPod.

Or a phone, grandpa!

[spearsy23]

I agree that he is coming along on the defensive end but he looks like he has no confidence on the offensive end. That’s what I meant by his lack of progress.

You know... there's more ways to be involved in an offense than simply shooting and again, this is an aspect of his game he has definitely improved in. His understanding of our offense and what to do on the floor is twice as good as it was last year.
He could easily be just another Roberson, but there is something to be said about an A+ defender who does not score, but completely understands an offense and his teammates. I just don't think him not developing into a scorer is a point of concern as there are so many other ways to affect the game.

The problem with Ferg being Roberson offensively is that he doesn't have the frame to do the things Roberson excels at.

[spearsy23]

So Russ has looked significantly less explosive this season, but has been terrific finishing after drives. How do we reconcile that? Is it because of the reduced explosiveness meaning he takes fewer difficult shots at the rim?

[Atomic Punk]

I agree that he is coming along on the defensive end but he looks like he has no confidence on the offensive end. That’s what I meant by his lack of progress.

You know... there's more ways to be involved in an offense than simply shooting and again, this is an aspect of his game he has definitely improved in. His understanding of our offense and what to do on the floor is twice as good as it was last year.
He could easily be just another Roberson, but there is something to be said about an A+ defender who does not score, but completely understands an offense and his teammates. I just don't think him not developing into a scorer is a point of concern as there are so many other ways to affect the game.

The problem with Ferg being Roberson offensively is that he doesn't have the frame to do the things Roberson excels at.

That is a good point. As much as it pains me to say this, if Ferguson can’t develop a reliable 3 point shot, he is considerably worse than Roberson on the offensive end of the floor for this team.

[spearsy23]

Diallo is really interesting in that Roberson role long term because he's already got that Tony Allen 'can't shoot but finds his points' game. If he can put together the kind of defensive improvement Ferg has seen he'll be a significant piece of a rotation as early as next year

[Pillendreher]

So Russ has looked significantly less explosive this season, but has been terrific finishing after drives. How do we reconcile that? Is it because of the reduced explosiveness meaning he takes fewer difficult shots at the rim?

I don't think that's true actually. He was getting to the rim at will without anybody stopping him before his ankle injury. Now he looks completely out of shape and I suspect it will still take him a week or two to regain his physical fitness.

Btw:

Russ and George are averaging several career highs/near career highs so far.

Russ:

Career high in eFG%
Career high in 2P% (by far)
Career high in STL%
4th best TOV%
3rd highest %AST'd on 2PM
2nd lowest percentage of shots as 16+ footers
Career high in percentage of shots as dunks

George:

3rd best AST%
Career high in TRB%
Career high in STL%
Career high in BLK%
Career high in TOV%
2nd best WS/48
Career high in BPM
2nd best AST per 100 poss
Career high in PTS per 100 poss

Oh and Adams has not been too shabby either:

Career high in TRB%
Career high in AS%
Career high in STL%
Career high in TOV%
Career high in WS/48
Career high in BPM
Career high in ORtG
Career high in PTS per 100 poss

[Old Man Game]

Diallo is really interesting in that Roberson role long term because he's already got that Tony Allen 'can't shoot but finds his points' game. If he can put together the kind of defensive improvement Ferg has seen he'll be a significant piece of a rotation as early as next year

Really interesting point. Diallo, like Tony Allen, is able to do just enough with the dribble that he can't just be ignored offensively, lest he attack a gap in the defense when receiving a pass swung to him. Roberson never has been able to do that (not trying to debate his overall value here or compare defensive attributes).

Coincidentally (or not) that inability is the same thing that appears to be limiting Ferg's chances to find any semblance of a consistent offensive game. All he has is streaky spot up shooting to fall back on.

[Old Man Game]

The Alex Abrines situation should be getting more attention. His mystery illness and return only to play at a D League level is a big deal. And what's worse, it appears Billy is losing faith. The minutes are so spotty it'll be hard for him to get back into a rhythm.

[spearsy23]

Coincidentally (or not) that inability is the same thing that appears to be limiting Ferg's chances to find any semblance of a consistent offensive game. All he has is streaky spot up shooting to fall back on.

I think there are a lot of reasons to think Ferguson is going to have to be able to hit at least 35% of his threes long term in order to be an impact player. He doesn't have the frame or instincts to impact the game offensively in the ways Roberson can (rebounding, backdoor lobs, setting screens).

[spearsy23]

The Alex Abrines situation should be getting more attention. His mystery illness and return only to play at a D League level is a big deal. And what's worse, it appears Billy is losing faith. The minutes are so spotty it'll be hard for him to get back into a rhythm.

If his illness was this bad then there's no way he was going to come back from it at 100%. From the thunder buddies pod it sounds like a lot of vomiting and diarrhea, which means he probably has been dehydrated and eating very little for the last two weeks. It's going to take time for him to get back to even his normal meh level.

[ThunderBolt]

The Alex Abrines situation should be getting more attention. His mystery illness and return only to play at a D League level is a big deal. And what's worse, it appears Billy is losing faith. The minutes are so spotty it'll be hard for him to get back into a rhythm.

I’ve pretty much lost faith in him as anyone we can be relied on game to game. He will have a few games here and there when he comes in and hits some big shots. I’ll probably get hopeful and wonder if he can play like this night in and night out. Then he’ll get knocked over setting a screen and disappear for a few games only to return and look like he’s a euro rookie all over again.

[spearsy23]

The Alex Abrines situation should be getting more attention. His mystery illness and return only to play at a D League level is a big deal. And what's worse, it appears Billy is losing faith. The minutes are so spotty it'll be hard for him to get back into a rhythm.

I’ve pretty much lost faith in him as anyone we can be relied on game to game. He will have a few games here and there when he comes in and hits some big shots. I’ll probably get hopeful and wonder if he can play like this night in and night out. Then he’ll get knocked over setting a screen and disappear for a few games only to return and look like he’s a euro rookie all over again.

But he is what he is, he's never going to be Kyle korver. This is what guys who are primarily rotation level shooters generally look like. Look at a guy like Belinelli and it's the same thing.

[spearsy23]

Would Jodie Meeks be worth a look?

[Old Man Game]

The Alex Abrines situation should be getting more attention. His mystery illness and return only to play at a D League level is a big deal. And what's worse, it appears Billy is losing faith. The minutes are so spotty it'll be hard for him to get back into a rhythm.

If his illness was this bad then there's no way he was going to come back from it at 100%. From the thunder buddies pod it sounds like a lot of vomiting and diarrhea, which means he probably has been dehydrated and eating very little for the last two weeks. It's going to take time for him to get back to even his normal meh level.

Get the guy an IV and some anti-nausea meds like Zofran. This isn't 1925. Short of something very serious (like, life threatening serious) he should have been able to bounce back from this much quicker than we've seen (at least, physically).

[ThunderBolt]

The Alex Abrines situation should be getting more attention. His mystery illness and return only to play at a D League level is a big deal. And what's worse, it appears Billy is losing faith. The minutes are so spotty it'll be hard for him to get back into a rhythm.

If his illness was this bad then there's no way he was going to come back from it at 100%. From the thunder buddies pod it sounds like a lot of vomiting and diarrhea, which means he probably has been dehydrated and eating very little for the last two weeks. It's going to take time for him to get back to even his normal meh level.

Get the guy an IV and some anti-nausea meds like Zofran. This isn't 1925. Short of something very serious (like, life threatening serious) he should have been able to bounce back from this much quicker than we've seen.

Noel was sick the game after the first one Alex missed. Noel was back the next game. I dont know if it was the same illness but it seems reasonable to think that it was. Alex is frail. It’s as simple as that.

[spearsy23]

The Alex Abrines situation should be getting more attention. His mystery illness and return only to play at a D League level is a big deal. And what's worse, it appears Billy is losing faith. The minutes are so spotty it'll be hard for him to get back into a rhythm.

If his illness was this bad then there's no way he was going to come back from it at 100%. From the thunder buddies pod it sounds like a lot of vomiting and diarrhea, which means he probably has been dehydrated and eating very little for the last two weeks. It's going to take time for him to get back to even his normal meh level.

Get the guy an IV and some anti-nausea meds like Zofran. This isn't 1925. Short of something very serious (like, life threatening serious) he should have been able to bounce back from this much quicker than we've seen (at least, physically).

This just isn't realistic. You're expecting a guy to go play in an NBA game while he's been puking and crapping his guts out for two weeks. It's like telling zhaire to grab an epi-pen and get back on the court, or Hami to take an aspirin and suck it up.

Seriously, you guys are ridiculous. If he could've played then he would've, and it's completely unfair to deem him a malingerer when you have no clue how sick he was.

[Pillendreher]

I had a "stomach thing" a couple of months ago. Thankfully no vomiting, but man, it is not pleasant when you can't even get through a 20 minute episode of a sitcom without hearing some rumbling from your stomach area and then rushing to the toilet. And I was just supposed to go to class, not run around playing basketball. Sometimes you're just too sick.

[alessandrux]

Who is responsible for our shooting?
Do we have any good/capable shooting coaches?


I know they can't alter the players we have, and we have an assortment of anti-shooters, but I don't think that we generate that bad of shooting situations. But despite that all our players seem to regress at shooting, constantly. Every new-arrival is shooting worse than before.
I know we can't soley pin this on shooting coaches, but there must be some reason for that and this should change sometime.

Other teams seem able to improve the shooting of their players, e.g. some years ago it looked like Atlanta could turn any non-shooter into an at least decent one, I would love if we were able to do that.


That is also one of very few reasons where I'm not thrilled with Westbrook, he is a super willing passer, but some of his passes are hard to handle, his ball-dominant style doesn't help either.
But even he can't be the sole reason for our struggles to shoot, his shooting seems to regress also.

[spearsy23]

The reality is that if there was any consistent way to teach people to shoot then everyone in the NBA would be able to.