2016 Playoffs Round 1: OKC Thunder vs. Dallas Mavericks

[bondom34]

So he gave up more than he scored.....and people just don't believe it.

All year long ,anything Kanter does you sh*t on it ,Anyone disagrees you threaten to ban them here.
Must hurt to see Westbrook wave up substituting Adams in for Kanter.I mean you'll dig up some obscure stat how Adams won 55 games for OKC and how Kanter lost the 27 games for OKC.
Now the playoffs are here and it's Kanters fault on defense.... again.I guess Durant's troubles have no effect on the games.

I've banned 2 people here, neither because of Kanter.

And no, it doesn't bother me, Kanter was great against bad big men. Doesn't change an 82 game season when he was torched regularly and had the luxury of coming off the bench.

So he gave up more than he scored.....and people just don't believe it.

Why do you keep saying he? There are 5 people out on the court. The fourth quarter was a mess BESIDES Kanter/Westbrook on offense. KD/Ibaka Flagrants/Bricked shots led to free throws and extra posessions for the Mavs too.

If that was Adams in the game instead of Kanter the game would have went down to the wire, as we wouldn't have been getting easy buckets every trip down the floor (When KD wasn't throwing up garbage shots)

Adams has shown ability to produce offensively, so even if you assume they score a few less points, the defense leaps. I posted the breakdown before but the defensive schemes are built around Kanter to cover him at the cost of others. The fact that they still don't is amazing.

http://www.welcometoloudcity.com/2016/2/26/11122056/parting-the-red-sea-why-the-defense-has-become-a-sieve

[Bergmaniac]

How could what happens on the floor when he's not in the game impact his net rating?

If he had been in, he would have had a better rating since Westbrook would have made the FTs anyway.

That's tempting but I don't think it works that way where we just presume the exact same outcome of the plays when a player isn't on the floor.

Usually that is true, but in this case it is a pretty safe bet IMO. The Mavs shot a 3 and missed between the FTs, I doubt Kanter being there would have changed much defensively on that possession, it was a great look anyway, Matthews wide open in the corner.

[Old Man Game]

If he had been in, he would have had a better rating since Westbrook would have made the FTs anyway.

That's tempting but I don't think it works that way where we just presume the exact same outcome of the plays when a player isn't on the floor.

Usually that is true, but in this case it is a pretty safe bet IMO. The Mavs shot a 3 and missed between the FTs, I doubt Kanter being there would have changed much defensively on that possession, it was a great look anyway, Matthews wide open in the corner.

Only one way to settle this. Someone invented a time machine, go back and convince Billy to leave Kanter in. Actually scratch that. Go back stop the Harden trade, forget about Kanter altogether.

[KD35Brah]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/anthonyVslater/status/724349105477033985[/tweet]

[Bergmaniac]

So the fans can swear at the players all game but players can't swear back? That's BS.

[actively]

If KD doesnt stay, I believe there is a good possibility after KD`s sluggish performance in last two months, Donovan doesnt have any other choice but start Kanter, to keep Russ happy for the contract year. Adams will be backup then. I am sure Adams will also accept his new role after he gets the new contract.
If KD stays, there is a good chance still Kanter starts next year to make Russ happy. Adams wll be backup unless he shows well in playoffs.

[Bergmaniac]

Since when is Russ not happy that Adams is starting?

[actively]

Since when is Russ not happy that Adams is starting?

If KD doesnt play, or is not good, Russ would like to play with offensively skilled players like Kanter, because he is a real pg. He want to assist.

[Cuban_Linx]

Since when is Russ not happy that Adams is starting?

If KD doesnt play, or is not good, Russ would like to play with offensively skilled players like Kanter, because he is a real pg. He want to assist.

You're assuming Russ is an idiot with tunnelvision. I'm sure he'd rather average 10 assists and win comfortably, than 12 assists and get in shootouts.

[Bergmaniac]

Since when is Russ not happy that Adams is starting?

If KD doesnt play, or is not good, Russ would like to play with offensively skilled players like Kanter, because he is a real pg. He want to assist.

You make it sounds as if Adams is Perkins. Adams has become pretty good offensively. Obviously Kanter is significantly better at this end, but it's not like Westbrook didn't make a lot of assists to Adams this season.

And on the other end Adams makes Westbrook's job much easier on the pick and roll.

If KD stays and Kanter doesn't improve a lot on D this summer, I really doubt Adams will be benched or that Westbrook would demand it.

[actively]

Since when is Russ not happy that Adams is starting?

If KD doesnt play, or is not good, Russ would like to play with offensively skilled players like Kanter, because he is a real pg. He want to assist.

You're assuming Russ is an idiot with tunnelvision. I'm sure he'd rather average 10 assists and win comfortably, than 12 assists and get in shootouts.

Last year when KD was absent, Enes was starting, eventhough there were more holes in his defense then. This year he grew offensively and defensively, eventhough most writers wont accept that here. When he play with Serge and Roberson, defence will not be issue. He wont play Foye, Dion, Kyle, and a rookie pg.

[itzmrgigglez]

So the fans can swear at the players all game but players can't swear back? That's BS.

It's their job and jobs has rules. Break the rules and there are consequences. Also they're suppose to be professional

[actively]

Since when is Russ not happy that Adams is starting?

If KD doesnt play, or is not good, Russ would like to play with offensively skilled players like Kanter, because he is a real pg. He want to assist.

You make it sounds as if Adams is Perkins. Adams has become pretty good offensively. Obviously Kanter is significantly better at this end, but it's not like Westbrook didn't make a lot of assists to Adams this season.

And on the other end Adams makes Westbrook's job much easier on the pick and roll.

If KD stays and Kanter doesn't improve a lot on D this summer, I really doubt Adams will be benched or that Westbrook would demand it.

I am not sure OKC pays 17 million to keep him in bench, this year was different, because KD needs to be kept happy, Adams needs more exposure to get a nice contract, and bench needs scoring. Second unit was disaster, and Kanter learns defense.

[Bergmaniac]

Last year when KD was absent, Enes was starting, eventhough there were more holes in his defense then. This year he grew offensively and defensively, eventhough most writers wont accept that here.

Last year Adams wasn't as good as he is this year and the Thunder needed offense more with KD out.

When he play with Serge and Roberson, defence will not be issue.

Kanter's DRTG this season when playing with Ibaka and Roberson is 115.2. That is terrible, much worse than the worst defensive team in the league (Lakers) which had a DRTG of 109. The sample size isn't that big (175 minutes), but it is pretty indicative still. Last season his DRTG when playing with Ibaka and Roberson was better (109), but still quite bad.

[actively]

Last year when KD was absent, Enes was starting, eventhough there were more holes in his defense then. This year he grew offensively and defensively, eventhough most writers wont accept that here.

Last year Adams wasn't as good as he is this year and the Thunder needed offense more with KD out.

When he play with Serge and Roberson, defence will not be issue.

Kanter's DRTG this season when playing with Ibaka and Roberson is 115.2. That is terrible, much worse than the worst defensive team in the league (Lakers) which had a DRTG of 109. The sample size isn't that big (175 minutes), but it is pretty indicative still. Last season his DRTG when playing with Ibaka and Roberson was better (109), but still quite bad.

Kanter s defense will not be issue in a couple of years, as he gets more playing time. He has still more to learn from Collision and Adams. Adams was not that great last year, when he was playing with the second unit. Kanter is a gifted player, and defense comes with work and playing time.

[Pillendreher]

Don't get all worked up because some Kanter fanboy is looking for attention.

[actively]

Don't get all worked up because some Kanter fanboy is looking for attention.

I want attention??, nice, how rude of you, English is my second or third language, I just like him, he just doent deserve this much hate here, as a player, as a person.

[Bergmaniac]

Kanter s defense will not be issue in a couple of years, as he gets more playing time. He has still more to learn from Collision and Adams. Adams was not that great last year, when he was playing with the second unit. Kanter is a gifted player, and defense comes with work and playing time.

That is pretty optimistic. This is his fifth NBA season, he is already played over 8,000 minutes. And his wingspan will always be pretty short for an NBA centre and his lateral quickness will always be pretty poor. He should get better, but chances are his defence will always been an issue to some degree.

[Pillendreher]

Don't get all worked up because some Kanter fanboy is looking for attention.

I want attention??, nice, how rude of you, English is my second or third language, I just like him, he just doent deserve this much hate here, as a player, as a person.

Of course you are. You don't want to believe something and in order to justify your uninformed opinion, you're just calling it garbage.

[Pillendreher]

Kanter s defense will not be issue in a couple of years, as he gets more playing time. He has still more to learn from Collision and Adams. Adams was not that great last year, when he was playing with the second unit. Kanter is a gifted player, and defense comes with work and playing time.

That is pretty optimistic. This is his fifth NBA season, he is already played over 8,000 minutes. And his wingspan will always be pretty short for an NBA centre and his lateral quickness will always be pretty poor. He should get better, but chances are his defence will always been an issue to some degree.

There are bigmen that have improved defensively over time, but none of them were ever this bad. And the way he's playing right now on the offensive end is really all we can ask for: He's scoring very efficiently and his offensive rebounding might be the best in the league.

This recent spurt is good for his trade value tho. Those 20/10 games look too good to pass up for other GMs.