IvyinBarondise
Pretty much a regular
My god OKC has bad luck...
They're gonna drop a spot or two because of this first month now
They're gonna drop a spot or two because of this first month now
Westbrook...
- Thread starter IvyinBarondise
- Start date
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Lareux
Guest
They're going to drop a lot more than a spot or two it would seem. The West is too deep for them to stay in the top 4 w/o KD and Russ. The Grantland guys and Haralobob had a tough time seeing them stay in the top 4 with only Russ until KD was back. Who is going to possibly carrying the scoring load for them with both stars out? Hopefully Westbrook's hand fracture isn't too severe and he's back within a month...KD is probably until early December at least....he said he wasn't going to rush back, but you wonder if that plan changes a bit now that Westbrook is out as well.
They're going to be a horrible first round matchup for someone if they end up in the bottom 4 and have KD and Russ healthy come playoff time though, that's for sure.
Fondybadger
CTG Partner
Time for them to crash and get #1 pick next year ala Admiral and getting Duncun.
divol
The Spurs can suck my manhood
To be honest, Oklahoma right now, can easily find themselves out of the playoffs come spring.
Last year, you needed 50 wins to get in to the playoffs.
Looking at their schedule, they can easily be someting like 6 - 16 when KD comes back. That means they will need something like 44 - 16 just to get in to the playoffs. It can be done, but they will need to stay healthy the rest of the season and have some luck, because they still have a lot of very tough games ahead of them (Cleveland twice, Chicago twice, SAS and LAC and many others...).
Last year, you needed 50 wins to get in to the playoffs.
Looking at their schedule, they can easily be someting like 6 - 16 when KD comes back. That means they will need something like 44 - 16 just to get in to the playoffs. It can be done, but they will need to stay healthy the rest of the season and have some luck, because they still have a lot of very tough games ahead of them (Cleveland twice, Chicago twice, SAS and LAC and many others...).
divol
The Spurs can suck my manhood
Why? What injuries got to do with it?
Take LeBron, Kyrie and Love out of Cleveland, take Rose, Gasol and Noah out of Chicago, take Manu, Parker and Duncan out of Spurs or CP3 and Blake out of Clippers and you get very bad teams that won't make playoffs...
I think that healthy Oklahoma are worhty contenders for the title...
Take LeBron, Kyrie and Love out of Cleveland, take Rose, Gasol and Noah out of Chicago, take Manu, Parker and Duncan out of Spurs or CP3 and Blake out of Clippers and you get very bad teams that won't make playoffs...
I think that healthy Oklahoma are worhty contenders for the title...
gsro
Give me the NHL, or give me death
Toronto is waiting!!!
emkee
The Truth Is Out There
And away from Scott Brooks and Presti, until then he'll never win a title.
Bullets and Wall a nice fit.
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Lareux
Guest
Agree that he needs to get away from Brooks...he is, quite possibly, the worst coach in the NBA. The only problem is that KD loves him, and may be the only reason Brooks still has the job. KD seems like a good dude who doesn't want to see Brooks fired, but that probably doesn't mean he won't leave when he's a FA....he's not stupid, he's just a good dude.
Dude had 17 dimes tonight and has ZERO talent outside Ibaka on the court with him. And he's never been a traditional 1 guard...the guy is a 2 guard forced into playing the point...he's like a 1.5...a tweener. But there isn't a player in this league outside The Beard that has a speed he has...And as far as talent goes...the guy is a thousand times more clutch than KD. This is the guy OKC wants to keep...let KD go home to DC when he hits Free Agency...
9-21 tonight with 17 assists
Now, I know this isn't the normal and he shoots a lot but it is not like he is Iverson...
Tonight was right on norm for his shooting....season he is 9.3 outta 21.4...
Nowhere near 35 FGA's...
CASH
Pretty much a regular
The beard isnt nearly as fast as a few others - What the beard is good at is going to the rim and getting fouled and taking a ton of free throws..
You obviously haven't watch a kid in D.C. named John Wall go from one to end another with the ball...or Irving or Teague, Lilliard.... all these guys are faster than the Beard..
what has made him a thousand times more clutch than KD?
He has been on an amazing run lately --he did avg 35 shots a game the previous 4 ...plus .5/6 turnovers a game..... 9 last night
again been on a great run no denying that... then what happens when KD is back and and Kanter is pretty good talent....
take a look at the teams he did it against - none of them known to play much defense except for toronto and it was their pg's first game coming back after trying to get his head screwed on correctly...
and his 17 dimes last night.. 5 of them were of the phony kind... should be reviewed by an official score keeper... they were more like a 2nd hockey assist.. when you are the point guard and you are playing 40+ minutes a game.. you better have 10+ assists a game also 9 turnovers last night,
3-3 record last 6 games- he missed a game (okc won) Clutch???
CASH
Pretty much a regular
I don't hate him - and yes he is freakish and exciting to watch.... his decision making can certainly be questioned...
I don't think anyone is hating - just disagreeing
twinkie13
In transit, arriving late.
Biased to AD obv, but right now he is just on another level. He flies around the floor like a magician.....
I heard a guy say it, and I bet it holds. He stays in OKC and KD is on the move....
He averages 4 more FGA than Curry, Irving, and Lilard. However, he has no where near the scoring options that those PG's have. He and Durant combined for 53% of OKC's points last season. People expect him to transition to facilitator when the teams leading scorer goes down? This team doesn't have another viable scoring option outside of Westbrook right now. Even as good as Ibaka is, he is a defensive player and cannot create his own offense too often.
He also averages less 3PA's than those 3 PGs. He has to be the offense if OKC plans on winning. This roster was created around Westbrook and Durant being the offense. It's going to take time to create a dependable post offense between Ibaka/Kanter/Adams.
That being said, it would be a huge blow for Durant to leave OKC. I am not looking forward to his FA as I do think it's starting to look like he is heading elsewhere. Likely Washington. KD for Beal and picks please.
He also averages less 3PA's than those 3 PGs. He has to be the offense if OKC plans on winning. This roster was created around Westbrook and Durant being the offense. It's going to take time to create a dependable post offense between Ibaka/Kanter/Adams.
That being said, it would be a huge blow for Durant to leave OKC. I am not looking forward to his FA as I do think it's starting to look like he is heading elsewhere. Likely Washington. KD for Beal and picks please.
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Lareux
Guest
Brooks is a horrible coach. Hornacek may be worse, not sure, but there's less of a sample size on him to know for sure.
Who said Brooks was worse than Hornacek anyway?
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Lareux
Guest
Downgrade for which team? It sounds like you're implying that it would be a downgrade for Wash to get KD for Beal (as was proposed in the post above yours).
If that's the case.....what?!?!? I like Beal, and he's a pretty damn good player, but how in the world would KD be a downgrade from Beal?
divol
The Spurs can suck my manhood
I assume he meant going from Oklahoma to Washington...
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Lareux
Guest
I'm wondering that myself. I admittedly haven't followed along too much, but haven't heard bad things about him as a coach.
I'm pretty certain that Brooks is one of the worst coaches in the league though. Byron Scott and Lionel Hollins may be worse, but the 3 of them are as bad as it gets. Give Haralabos Voulgaris a follow on Twitter if you aren't already....he follows the NBA more than anyone, knows what he's talking about, and constantly dogs Brooks, Scott, and Hollins. He gives his reasoning as to why they are bad coaches too, he's not just shooting off his mouth because he dislikes them.
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Lareux
Guest
Ahhh, so a downgrade for KD himself? I'm not sure that's necessarily true, but that may be what he meant.
Putting KD on a team with John Wall and Gortat seems like it'd be a pretty damn good team.
tuck321
Not all those who wander are lost
Good teams play defense. Hornachek before the season said he was going to take the Suns back to a good defensive team and then gave the brothers freedom to ignore defense and generally do what they want. They were fairly decent players last year and this year usually up and down but very frequently trouble makers. The Suns Could have been a quality team but he took care of that.
tuck321
Not all those who wander are lost
This is dreaming
BJPLAYER
Pretty much a regular
when westbrook is dishing and rebounding and playing d he is a good player....he rarely does but admittedly has been doing so recently.....the body of work that represents his career indicates a very talented guy that is not a very good bb player....imo.....but i subscribe to Larry's approach to the game....you do whatever it takes to win the game and stats are irrevelent
CASH
Pretty much a regular
Are you kidding me with what i bolded above... "he took care of that"...???? (please tell me this is just you being bitter over your future bet with them? )
Good teams play defense when they need to - bust most good teams play as a "team"
- think it is unfair to judge horny on this year alone considering how well he did last year......
- They lose Frye who as we see now meant a lot to this team, added a 3rd pg that never worked out- there were issues with drajic and ownership/gm as soon as they signed thomas. lot of issues with the team that go much deeper than the coach....PJ tucker who was a glue for them last year has been suspended by the team a few time or hasnt started becuase he missed the bus, flights.. etc- horny might be the right coach for this team as it is assembled.. but to say he it is his fault for all the horseshit - no way..
"Right now because Knight is out there is some excuse for playing Green short minutes. When Knight is back he should never leave the bench".
Knight is a much better all around player and needs time to adjust to playing without the ball in his hand so much as he did in Milw.
Green is only good in shorter minutes,, once he plays past "x"minutes he sucks.. he is a role player..
stop betting on them and just watch with no financial interest and then make a judgement.....
CASH
Pretty much a regular
Just looked him up.. will take a read on him... like to see what/if he says/reasoning on monty williams.... he's a coach i can't figure out..
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Lareux
Guest
Your post can be summed up in one word.....racism
As far as Wash being a downgrade for KD, what do you mean by that? Why do you feel that Washington's roster is a downgrade from what he's playing with now in OKC. And, couldn't one assume that KD playing in the East, versus the stacked West, would immediately increase his and his team's chances of success?
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Lareux
Guest
Surprised you didn't know who he was already. He's the 'most popular' and possibly the 'most successful' (probably not, but it's been said due to his popularity I'd assume) NBA gambler out there. He is so knowledgeable, that he's been offered front office-type positions by a few NBA teams...but he makes more money gambling than they'd pay him, so he's chosen to continue gambling.
CASH
Pretty much a regular
tbh , when it comes to twitter and following, more about news ...attention span is short so don't read too much but will certainly pay attention to this guy,, just his last few tweets on "angles" and "cuts" (general basketball knowledge) vs gambling on it is very interesting to me. i like those discussions/conversations.....too many folks look at stat sheets and spout out... the fantasy sports syndrome..
CASH
Pretty much a regular
i will avoid some of the "uh hum" remarks...
by the time kd gets there (if he does) pierce and nene will be gone, webster retired, porter gone, temple gone.. point being what is there today wont be when/if he gets there........
I know he is from the dc area but is that the only reason he presumably is looking to go back there??
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Lareux
Guest
Gotcha. There has been a thread about him in the past, I'll see if I can dig it up. Deadspin and ESPN have done features on him if I'm not mistaken. He's got a pretty interesting story, as he basically made his way into professional gambling by winning a HUGE future bet on the Lakers to win the title back in 2000 (I think it was that year, but it was one of those seasons in the early 00's).
Not sure if he does it to this extent anymore, but a couple of seasons ago, he watched every single minute of every single NBA game. That's some dedication right there.
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Lareux
Guest
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Lareux
Guest
Here's a pic of his GF (a different one from that thread), because who doesn't like looking at hot chicks?
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Lareux
Guest
:shake:
tuck321
Not all those who wander are lost
Hornachek chooses who is on the floor and does a bad job at it.
The Suns got a win tonight. For the first time this year Brendan got 30 minutes
5 of 9, 9 rebounds, 2 assists. He actually tries to take good shots. Typical Sun player shoots as soon as he approaches the net. No setting up shots or squaring up to shoot. This charming trait has lead to the Suns shooting falling apart. In desperation now maybe this will change but Hornachek allowed the nonsense all season. Today no Green, a miracle and Warren got 18.42 minutes which was seriously weird as he was 8 of 10 with 5 rebounds and a steal. He has played 23 minutes 1 time. No one has any idea why these players minutes have been so small. Marcus Thornton finally had a good game which is a miracle since he has been a stiff most of the season and he got 22 minutes. Almost 4 more than Warren. Goodwin had a poor game but has real upside. Bottom line to this is despite this game Thornton should play at most very limited minutes and Warren is being wasted.
Very simply I have been a low key Suns fan for a long time and this is a year where they could have been special and are now nobodies and YES it is the fault of Hornachek and his unigue combination of no defense and lousy shooting and pandering to the brothers and that angers me a lot more than that bet.
The Suns got a win tonight. For the first time this year Brendan got 30 minutes
5 of 9, 9 rebounds, 2 assists. He actually tries to take good shots. Typical Sun player shoots as soon as he approaches the net. No setting up shots or squaring up to shoot. This charming trait has lead to the Suns shooting falling apart. In desperation now maybe this will change but Hornachek allowed the nonsense all season. Today no Green, a miracle and Warren got 18.42 minutes which was seriously weird as he was 8 of 10 with 5 rebounds and a steal. He has played 23 minutes 1 time. No one has any idea why these players minutes have been so small. Marcus Thornton finally had a good game which is a miracle since he has been a stiff most of the season and he got 22 minutes. Almost 4 more than Warren. Goodwin had a poor game but has real upside. Bottom line to this is despite this game Thornton should play at most very limited minutes and Warren is being wasted.
Very simply I have been a low key Suns fan for a long time and this is a year where they could have been special and are now nobodies and YES it is the fault of Hornachek and his unigue combination of no defense and lousy shooting and pandering to the brothers and that angers me a lot more than that bet.
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Lareux
Guest
Well, this is at the root of your dislike for Hornacek. They could have been special this year? Come on, that's a super fan talking. They are in the West, and there was literally zero chance they were going to "be special" this season. They constructed their team with 3 PGs and thought they could make it work (not Hornacek's doing since he's not the GM)....not only didn't it work very well, they ended up getting rid of 2 of those 3 PGs. They had a good year last year, so I could understand the expectations of some fans for this year, but let's be honest, the Suns weren't seen as doing much of anything by anyone outside of fanatics. Cash mentioned they lost Frye...he was clearly a huge part of this team...and another situation where Hornacek most likely isn't the one who made that call to let him go.
Tuck, you're talking like a super fan....for real. One can even get on board with your thoughts about the lineup combinations....but at the end of the day, they don't have a roster that can compete with the big boys of the West....and there's nothing much Hornacek can do about it. Get him some players and then we can talk.
CASH
Pretty much a regular
^
I agree with you on his unique combinations - but at this point do you/we know what Phoenix's goal is? sure at the beginning of the year - playoffs, build on last year. now with so many changes and looking up at the standings -competing for the playoffs or a good draft pick?
I will give you a similar comparison - do you think Brad Stevens is a bad coach?
in the 1st half of the year - he played 12 guys every night-- hated it, couldnt understand what he was doing (celtics fan) - but knew he was showcasing players for trades, seeing what/if his younger players could do etc.... need to look at the bigger picture...
btw- suns gm was Celts former asst. gm...
not much was said about it (mostly negative) they tried the 3 pg and it didnt work - give the gm credit for getting rid of it quickly and picking up pieces (draft picks) to build on... he took an ugly situation and on paper made some good deals to build upon...not what a fan wants to hear but step back and look at it..
I agree with you on his unique combinations - but at this point do you/we know what Phoenix's goal is? sure at the beginning of the year - playoffs, build on last year. now with so many changes and looking up at the standings -competing for the playoffs or a good draft pick?
I will give you a similar comparison - do you think Brad Stevens is a bad coach?
in the 1st half of the year - he played 12 guys every night-- hated it, couldnt understand what he was doing (celtics fan) - but knew he was showcasing players for trades, seeing what/if his younger players could do etc.... need to look at the bigger picture...
btw- suns gm was Celts former asst. gm...
not much was said about it (mostly negative) they tried the 3 pg and it didnt work - give the gm credit for getting rid of it quickly and picking up pieces (draft picks) to build on... he took an ugly situation and on paper made some good deals to build upon...not what a fan wants to hear but step back and look at it..
tuck321
Not all those who wander are lost
Hornachek says 1 more elite player and the Suns can be a top team. Bull. They had lots of talent. Combining it and letting it work was his job. Dragic should have been given more time as a Point Guard. did not happen. The brothers should have been compelled to play DEFENSE. That insanity was all Hornachek. They should have made the playoffs and could have had around a 30% shot at the first round. If the players had been operating in a situation where they could have been optimistic instead of always scratching their heads and wondering why things were always crazy. It did not happen and I think its clear who I blame.
CASH
Pretty much a regular
big difference - talent and chemistry-- they didnt have any chemistry-- coach can only do so much -- maybe take them bowling, have to put some blame on the players for sulking (tucker, drajic) supposed leaders.....you keep saying the brothers should have been compelled to play defense..... are you sure they didn't try, maybe just not good enough in this league to play defense... coach can only put you in position to succeed it is up to the individuals to make it happen...
your trying to put all the blame on the coach,, he might have some of the fault-- but no way as much as you are trying to put on him..
btw- great discussion
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