IF the Thunder kept PG/Westbrook

NatiboyB · Post #21 » by **NatiboyB** » Fri Oct 4, 2019 11:53 pm

he still would of went to the clippers instead of George they probably would of had Beal or Jimmy Butler

Raptor_Guy · Post #22 » by **Raptor_Guy** » Fri Oct 4, 2019 11:58 pm

They would still lose in the first round, what's changed?

manlisten · Post #23 » by **manlisten** » Sat Oct 5, 2019 12:45 am

Almost everyone agrees that PG and Russ had run its course but why are there so many who are confident Harden and Russ will be any better?

mudsak · Post #24 » by **mudsak** » Sat Oct 5, 2019 2:25 am

The accumulated for 2 first round exits. I think that was their ceiling. GG

BBgun · Post #25 » by **BBgun** » Sat Oct 5, 2019 2:38 am

Best case scenario in the next couple of seasons would have been this year's version of the Blazers with a solid regular season and a lacklustre 3rd round exit.

With that being the case they did a good job of expediting an eventual rebuild (once PG left) and they got a treasure trove of picks as compensation. Yes, it will be a while before many of those come to fruition and they could have to endure some ugly seasons in the meantime, but I don't see how it would have been any better to keep the previous iteration of their team and still have to rebuild in 2-3 years anyways minus all the assets they received this summer.

Baski · Post #26 » by **Baski** » Sat Oct 5, 2019 7:20 pm

Same as last year

giberish · Post #27 » by **giberish** » Sat Oct 5, 2019 7:30 pm

Probably worse then last year. George was the 3rd best player in the league last year (regular season at least). He won't be that good this year. Westbrook has been declining the last couple years - does he bounce back or does the decline continue?

They were also in line for a big luxury tax hit (particularly for a small market with a 1st round and out team). Do the make moves to save money (like trading Grant as they did in real life)?

Overall a lot of ways to get worse and very little to get better. Could have easily missed the playoffs.

NBAFan93 · Post #28 » by **NBAFan93** » Sat Oct 5, 2019 8:19 pm

manlisten wrote:Almost everyone agrees that PG and Russ had run its course but why are there so many who are confident Harden and Russ will be any better?

Cause Houston has shooters and much better role players around them. On Houston, Harden has bad games on the playoffs, they still eek out wins against Utah and GSW - Russ has bad games and they loose. It’s a huge difference. Now throw Russ on there and it’s an even better situation.

OKC has Terrance Ferguson in their starting line-up - and zero shooters and offensive creators outside of PG and Westbrook - if you’d even count Westbrook as a shooter.

NBAFan93 · Post #29 » by **NBAFan93** » Sat Oct 5, 2019 8:22 pm

To answer the OP question, Thunder wasn’t going anywhere unless they got some real shooters who could space the floor added to that team.

SecondTake · Post #30 » by **SecondTake** » Sun Oct 6, 2019 11:26 am

Wrong. Robertson was injured
. Had he been there they would have been as good as with Kd. Don't try to credit KD for what Rob does

Drygon wrote:OKC became joke of a franchise in the playoffs since Kevin Durant left them lol.

Westbrook/PG aren't capable to lead OKC anywhere.

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SecondTake · Post #31 » by **SecondTake** » Sun Oct 6, 2019 11:30 am

Cuz now Russ is playing with shooters. He's a smaller Lebron. He should be back in the MVP discussion

manlisten wrote:Almost everyone agrees that PG and Russ had run its course but why are there so many who are confident Harden and Russ will be any better?

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Prokorov · Post #32 » by **Prokorov** » Sun Oct 6, 2019 11:34 am

OrangeBlueSkies wrote:we could assume Kawhi joins the lakers... how good can PG/Westbrook be this season? Top 3 in the West? Just curious as most of the "good" teams this upcoming season have a 1-2 punch.

PG is a guy who makes everyone else and your team worse. maybe a top 4-5 regular season record but 1 and done in the playoffs. he was smart to try and ride kawhis coat tails and westbrook is 100000X better off with harden

Prokorov · Post #33 » by **Prokorov** » Sun Oct 6, 2019 11:35 am

NBAFan93 wrote:
manlisten wrote:Almost everyone agrees that PG and Russ had run its course but why are there so many who are confident Harden and Russ will be any better?

Cause Houston has shooters and much better role players around them. On Houston, Harden has bad games on the playoffs, they still eek out wins against Utah and GSW - Russ has bad games and they loose. It’s a huge difference. Now throw Russ on there and it’s an even better situation.

OKC has Terrance Ferguson in their starting line-up - and zero shooters and offensive creators outside of PG and Westbrook - if you’d even count Westbrook as a shooter.

Also harden > George

everyone trashes Hardens for the playoffs but WTF has PG ever done in the post season?

Post #34 » by **ThunderBolt** » Sun Oct 6, 2019 12:24 pm

SecondTake wrote:Cuz now Russ is playing with shooters. He's a smaller Lebron. He should be back in the MVP discussion
manlisten wrote:Almost everyone agrees that PG and Russ had run its course but why are there so many who are confident Harden and Russ will be any better?

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Last year from three:
Jerami Grant 39%
Paul George 38%
Terrance Ferguson 37%

OKC wasn't a great three point shooting team but one of the biggest reasons for that was Russ himself. The issue wasn't the starters he played with it was the fact he wanted to shoot like he was as good as they were.

Adam Stern · Post #35 » by **Adam Stern** » Sun Oct 6, 2019 6:37 pm

manlisten wrote:Almost everyone agrees that PG and Russ had run its course but why are there so many who are confident Harden and Russ will be any better?

Harden >>>>> PG
Rox supporting cast >> OKC supporting cast
D'Antoni >>>>>> Donovan
Morey >>>> Presti

Of course nothing is guaranteed but Houston just seems like a better situation all around.

That's why I think the most underrated part of the NBA's crazy summer is that Houston didn't have to decimate or overly disrupt its roster to acquire Westbrook.

SecondTake · Post #36 » by **SecondTake** » Sun Oct 6, 2019 7:39 pm

Last season he was injured and battling mental issues with his shooting. He says he's going to be ready this season. With a cast like the rockets and no injury he should be closer to his MVP form

ThunderBolt wrote:
SecondTake wrote:Cuz now Russ is playing with shooters. He's a smaller Lebron. He should be back in the MVP discussion
manlisten wrote:Almost everyone agrees that PG and Russ had run its course but why are there so many who are confident Harden and Russ will be any better?

Sent from my SM-G950W using RealGM mobile app

Last year from three:
Jerami Grant 39%
Paul George 38%
Terrance Ferguson 37%

OKC wasn't a great three point shooting team but one of the biggest reasons for that was Russ himself. The issue wasn't the starters he played with it was the fact he wanted to shoot like he was as good as they were.

Sent from my SM-G950W using RealGM mobile app

NBAFan93 · Post #37 » by **NBAFan93** » Sun Oct 6, 2019 8:25 pm

Prokorov wrote:
NBAFan93 wrote:
manlisten wrote:Almost everyone agrees that PG and Russ had run its course but why are there so many who are confident Harden and Russ will be any better?

Cause Houston has shooters and much better role players around them. On Houston, Harden has bad games on the playoffs, they still eek out wins against Utah and GSW - Russ has bad games and they loose. It’s a huge difference. Now throw Russ on there and it’s an even better situation.

OKC has Terrance Ferguson in their starting line-up - and zero shooters and offensive creators outside of PG and Westbrook - if you’d even count Westbrook as a shooter.

Also harden > George

everyone trashes Hardens for the playoffs but WTF has PG ever done in the post season?

he disappointed majorly both of his Thunder postseasons and was just fortunate enough to escape criticism cause Westbrook is a lightening rod. Only reason they weren’t swept this year was cause of Westbrook and he put up a huge fight in every game - especially last years game 6.

NBAFan93 · Post #38 » by **NBAFan93** » Sun Oct 6, 2019 8:27 pm

SecondTake wrote:Last season he was injured and battling mental issues with his shooting. He says he's going to be ready this season. With a cast like the rockets and no injury he should be closer to his MVP form
ThunderBolt wrote:
SecondTake wrote:Cuz now Russ is playing with shooters. He's a smaller Lebron. He should be back in the MVP discussion

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Last year from three:
Jerami Grant 39%
Paul George 38%
Terrance Ferguson 37%

OKC wasn't a great three point shooting team but one of the biggest reasons for that was Russ himself. The issue wasn't the starters he played with it was the fact he wanted to shoot like he was as good as they were.

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If statistics say guys like Terrance Ferguson and Jerami grant are good three point shooters, that’s a reason to not always trust statistics. Those guys are on the court for their defense, not their offense.

OfficialRef · Post #39 » by **OfficialRef** » Sun Oct 6, 2019 8:52 pm

they might make it to a game 7 in the 1st round

Post #40 » by **ThunderBolt** » Sun Oct 6, 2019 9:27 pm

NBAFan93 wrote:
SecondTake wrote:Last season he was injured and battling mental issues with his shooting. He says he's going to be ready this season. With a cast like the rockets and no injury he should be closer to his MVP form
ThunderBolt wrote:Last year from three:
Jerami Grant 39%
Paul George 38%
Terrance Ferguson 37%

OKC wasn't a great three point shooting team but one of the biggest reasons for that was Russ himself. The issue wasn't the starters he played with it was the fact he wanted to shoot like he was as good as they were.

Sent from my SM-G950W using RealGM mobile app

If statistics say guys like Terrance Ferguson and Jerami grant are good three point shooters, that’s a reason to not always trust statistics. Those guys are on the court for their defense, not their offense.

They aren’t high volume but you can’t really argue with shooting percentages. It’s like arguing against the final score of a game. The numbers are a reflection of what happened. Just like russ jacking up 5-6 3 pointers a game shows he’s not a good shooter. Grant and Ferguson both attempted just under 300 three pointers last year. It’s not being reasonable to blame OKCs shooting struggles on them. Westbrook is the one consistently poor shooter.