Hes also the best player on the Celtics. He doesnt get enough credit becaus he is playing with "3 future HOFs" even tho none of them are even playing at an all star level.
Fair bit of Stevie Franchise about RW. Mostly the GOOD Steve. Rebounds like a hyper athletic SF. RW has really cut back on the TO's lately aswell, he has a serious chance to be elite.
Ibaka has impressed me a lot recently. (Hell, all their rookies have this year, especially Maynor - great trade for a backup pg.) But I'm hoping Ibaka can bulk up a little during the offseason and slide over to the center slot as a starter. He's still only 20 and a little raw. last 7 game block totals for Serge! (with the beverly hills - balki bartokomous voice) chi - 2 den - 2 gsw - 3 atl - 2 nor - 2 gsw - 0 por - 4 I don't mind Collison and Krstic as much as I thought I would, but I would still prefer both came off the bench, even with their pricetags.
I think most people had zero expectations for Ibaka this season but he's been a huge surprise. His defense and rebounding are greater than advertised and at times he's shown a very good touch around the basket and from mid-range. Seems like most things Sam Presti touches turns to gold. But the Thunder still need a big man in the middle who can clear rebounds. I don't think Ibaka should bulk up. He's just about right as a physical PF.
They have enough height for rebounding. They just need some vet leadership. I think they're a Battier away from being a finals contender next year.
I hope Oklahoma City gets in the playoffs and watch a network try to say how winning would mean so much to the city after the OKC bombing forever ago simply because that's the only thing anyone knows or has ever known about it
They need bulk, not height. A combinatiaon of Green/Krystic or Green/Ibaka doesn't get it done late in games against good offensive rebounding teams. Green is undersized at the PF position and gets overpowered. Ibaka is very good at clearing the glass when he's in at PF for Green, but Green has made several late game key plays on offense for them. Ibaka at C is enough against the Warriors and injury-riddled Blazers but not against bigger teams. I've seen the Thunder lose 3-4 games this year specifically because they couldn't clear the boards on defense when it counted. It's something they just have to live with this season.
Ok I need to bump this up again after tonight's and last night's performance. But it should be old news for us here. It seems like the NBA Dish forum has turned into the Thunder love fest and the TMac hate fest as of late :grin: Anyway, Westbrook is averaging a triple double the last to games. If you listen to his coach's interviews (Scott something), he mentions that Russell is improving as a player EVERY game. And I agree with him. Oh I also started the official original Kevin Durant thread last year. KDur I guess you can say I have an eye for great talent
Westbrook's average the last 8 games: 20pts/7rebs/10ast. That is elite by anyone's definition. It's like he flipped a switch and suddenly realized he could dominate on a regular basis instead every now and then. He also hasn't pulled a disappearing act in over a month.
The Thunder are really fun to watch with Westbrook and Durant. Once Westbrook gets a consistent jumper, look out for a dominant backcourt for years.
Any doubt its turned into a guard's league? Said it in other threads, besides Lamarcus Aldridge and Kevin Love and maybe Carl Landry, there wasnt been diddle in PFs coming into the league. Jeff Green's about as good as its been there. Maybe if you count PFs playing center like David Lee and Al Horford. But the quality guards have far outnumbered the quality front court players. How's UCLA keep cranking out these guard prospects? Jordan Farmar, Arron Afflalo, Russell Westrook, Jrue Holiday, Darren Collison ... Farmar is the worst pro of the bunch and he was the best college guard of them all? And not like he's in danger of being run out the league...
This one really slipped away from them. It happens to every team from time to time. Some more than others.
If there is such a thing, this was a good loss for the Thunder. It will teach them to not celebrate a win when 4 minutes are left in the game. Their loose, happy and early shot selection in the final minutes (plus the dumb fouls) bit them. They were playing inspired basketball before the break. The game after, OKC was lucky to catch a disjointed and tired Mavs team. Their wins over the Nets and T-Wolves were pathetic and it pained me to hear them incorrectly described as "the hottest team in the NBA". Hopefully blowing this game will sting and cause them refocus on the fundamentals which have made them successful: defense. To say the defense was awful tonight is an understatement. Hopefully they follow this up tomorrow with a solid performance against the failing Spurs.
westbrook isnt elite yet....he appears "elite" right now bcause of durant...looking at durant's low scoring games, 20 pts or less, westbrook's assists decrease significantly. If he wasnt playing with such a prolific scorer i'd say he'd only average closer to 5 asst. Still good, but not even close to elite. Then there's his shooting %. Very low and he takes like 14 shots a game, too many for such a poor shooter. then of course turnovers...there's probably some formula where it shows how ineffecient he is overall and that can't be too high if he shoots poorly and turns the ball over. Right now the only thing that's elite is his athleticism. Rose is better overall.
You obviously haven't been watching him. Recently, Westbrook has taken over games on a consistent basis. He isn't the same player he was earlier in the season. Some of the stuff he does is ridiculous. For the last 8-9 games, he's shooting close to 50% from the field and his ast/TO ratio is between 3:1 and 4:1. There nothing misleading about Westbrook's recent stats. During this recent 20-8 (or whatever) Thunder run, he has often been more responsible than KD for the Thunder winning. What's truly misleading is KD getting so much attention for his scoring streak, which has kept Westbrook from getting the credit he deserves. And seriously, if you think KD is the sole reason for Westbrook raising his game, you are free to be wrong. Who said Westbrook was better than Rose?
