2/26 | G60: Oklahoma City Thunder at Denver Nuggets - 9:30PM CST

[Dadouv47]

Denver is a better team, that's it.

We can't beat a good team without Paul George being efficient on offense. So basically if he struggles 1 or 2 games in the playoffs we are screwed. We never relied so much on a player on the offensive end (not even Durant). Pretty much why we needed some wing at the trade deadline/buy out market.

Now every game is big...Portland is close and we are going to play them soon

[slick_watts]

Denver is a better team, that's it.

We can't beat a good team without Paul George being efficient on offense. So basically if he struggles 1 or 2 games in the playoffs we are screwed. We never relied so much on a player on the offensive end (not even Durant). Pretty much why we needed some wing at the trade deadline/buy out market.

Now every game is big...Portland is close and we are going to play them soon

we could beat a team like denver without a big game from paul george if the defense would perform well again. we were a 5.3 srs team on january 5, which is right around where denver is now.

[Dadouv47]

Denver is a better team, that's it.

We can't beat a good team without Paul George being efficient on offense. So basically if he struggles 1 or 2 games in the playoffs we are screwed. We never relied so much on a player on the offensive end (not even Durant). Pretty much why we needed some wing at the trade deadline/buy out market.

Now every game is big...Portland is close and we are going to play them soon

we could beat a team like denver without a big game from paul george if the defense would perform well again. we were a 5.3 srs team on january 5, which is right around where denver is now.

We were better on defense than offense though (not that our defense was great overall, just during stretches). Comes clutch time we aren't able to move the ball at all (exact opposite of Denver). Pretty much why they were able to score and we couldn't.

[SecondTake]

Even if we hold on to the 3-seed, all we'll have waiting for us (if we can win our first round series) is a second round match-up with the Nuggets which will be over in 4 or 5 games. Really puts a damper on the season once you start thinking about it.

Why does that only put a damper on it now? I thought making the playoffs and seeing what happened was enough? You might not have said it, but that has been the view of most Thunder fans since the baby ran off to daddy Draymond. The Russ triple double show and a few playoff games is what most OKC fans are happy with.

Wrong. OKC fully expected to make the WCF. That's where we're going. Second round exit would be a colossal failure for a team this good.

[SecondTake]

Can we start playing defense again?

Also, right when WB's starts becoming an efficient volume scorer again PG turns in to a dud. I hope this is a blip and he's not back to his usual old PG self again. Wont cut it.

[SecondTake]

BTW, serious question. Why didnt Burton get ANY minutes at all? Is front office trying to save money by not signing the guy and playing Nader instead?

[skywalker33]

Refs have taken over the game and got OKC back into the game and the Nuggets are quitting like they always do. Glorious! Nice comeback!

Good call Jazzfan, quit right to the end !!

[RunOKC]

Upcoming sched

PHL
@SAS
MEM (b2b)

@MIN
@POR
@LA (b2b)
@UTA

Would be real nice to get these next 3 before the 4 game road trip.

[Dadouv47]

Upcoming sched

PHL
@SAS
MEM (b2b)

@MIN
@POR
@LA (b2b)
@UTA

Would be real nice to get these next 3 before the 4 game road trip.

SAS has somehow the second best home record in the West. Won't be easy (don't think Philly will be that easy too even without Embiid). But yeah we must need at least 2.

Would be nice if Blazers can start losing (Go Celtics!)

[mr570]

If Andre was available, this match up probably wouldn't be so daunting. At least there wouldn't be any concern about both Murray AND Jokic going off at the same time. That would also mean less minutes for Felton/Nader which is always brutal against a team like Denver. If OKC/Denver were to match up in a PO series as constructed, PG can't have these off nights. He has to be like "on fire" every game in the series. For a series over 5 games, that is a tough ask to be great every single night.

At least they battled back I guess. At least Portland's schedule will be tough for the next 2 games. The next stretch of 3 games are all must win games.

ABSOLUTELY! Really holding out hope Dre is good to go by playoff time.

[Kizz Fastfists]

Wrong. OKC fully expected to make the WCF. That's where we're going. Second round exit would be a colossal failure for a team this good.

I would love to see a quote from someone inside the organization that said they were a WCF team. I don't believe they are that incompetent at evaluating where they are. They were just looking to repeat the last two years. Get in the playoffs and get a minor revenue bump from a 2-3 home playoff games. If a 2nd round exit is going to be a "colossal failure" does that mean you will be on board with firing Presti and Donovan after they get a first round exit?

[SecondTake]

Wrong. OKC fully expected to make the WCF. That's where we're going. Second round exit would be a colossal failure for a team this good.

I would love to see a quote from someone inside the organization that said they were a WCF team. I don't believe they are that incompetent at evaluating where they are. They were just looking to repeat the last two years. Get in the playoffs and get a minor revenue bump from a 2-3 home playoff games. If a 2nd round exit is going to be a "colossal failure" does that mean you will be on board with firing Presti and Donovan after they get a first round exit?

Donovan should have been fired years ago. Presti has been doing an amazing job, our issue is coaching. We need a coach to unlock our potential like they did for the Bucks.

[Kizz Fastfists]

Donovan should have been fired years ago. Presti has been doing an amazing job, our issue is coaching. We need a coach to unlock our potential like they did for the Bucks.

Who hires and fires the coaches? Who recently guaranteed Donovan's contract for next season? How can say that Presti is failing to bring in a competent coaching staff and then say Presti has been doing an amazing job? This is what is known as a logic fallacy. To claim something is amazing while point out the reasons it sucks. Presti is still living off the reputation he built while tanking and drafting well. However, in the last game only three of the players on the court for OKC were actually drafted by Presti.

Since we can mostly agree that Presti is lacking in the hiring and firing of coaches. We know he has depleted OKC of assets. We know he has exhausted OKC's cap and is deep in the tax. What has he done that is amazing? Built a team that will once again make the playoffs with no chance of winning anything significant? They might sneak through one round in the playoffs with PG having a top 3 season, but Russ will decline further next year and even if Ferguson takes a big year 3 gap to replace that they will still be a team with a most likely outcome of being a first round exit.

Presti's can still draft, as we saw with Sabonis, but he gave him away so does it matter? I was high on Ferguson before the draft and it was well known I wanted him and expect him to become a high impact player. The problem is that if I am right Ferguson emerges as a high impact player as Russ declines and OKC remains firmly on the treadmill of too good to have a high probability to draft more high impact talent and not good enough to be a contender.