Still have to get more out of Ibaka though

More goaltending?

As long as it's not called sure, no different than Manu or Harden flopping right? It's all deceiving the refs.

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I don't like the Spurs even a little but but I respect their gamesmanship. Their 3 point shooting is their identity and when Serge is healthy we routinely handle them fairly easily as their guards don't force the defense to rotate when the best defender in the league is swatting their shots into the cheap seats. Still I think they are a decent team and I respect Pop for coming up with the best strategy for the hand he has been dealt. Props to SA. However, Houston is a joke. They haven't won jack and remind me of the little annoying puppy chasing the limo. Get back to the curb Rocket!

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A decent team?

Seriously?

Maybe some day the Spurs will have the kind of success the Thunder have achieved. Someday....

I think he was talking about this year guys, not the last decade or so.

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I don't like the Spurs even a little but but I respect their gamesmanship. Their 3 point shooting is their identity and when Serge is healthy we routinely handle them fairly easily as their guards don't force the defense to rotate when the best defender in the league is swatting their shots into the cheap seats. Still I think they are a decent team and I respect Pop for coming up with the best strategy for the hand he has been dealt. Props to SA. However, Houston is a joke. They haven't won jack and remind me of the little annoying puppy chasing the limo. Get back to the curb Rocket!

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A decent team?

Seriously?

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Pretty sure he was not talking about this year as he said "Their 3 point shooting is their identity and when Serge is healthy we routinely handle them fairly easily as their guards don't force the defense to rotate when the best defender in the league is swatting their shots into the cheap seats."

He posted that on December 18th. The teams had not played each other yet this season. So there goes that. It was a pretty obvious troll post to get the Spurs fans riled up.

When you post things like the Spurs are a decent team and talk about OKC routinely handling them pretty easily, it's tough to take it seriously.

I guess Serge wasn't playing when the Spurs won 2 games in a row to close the series. One by 28 points and the final game in OKC.

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I think he was talking about this year guys, not the last decade or so.

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Yeah, no he wasn't.

It's one thing to hate another a team, but it's pure delusion to not acknowledge that one of the most dominant franchises of the last decade is a great team, especially when they are the current defending NBA champions and ranked above OKC in the current standings.

For instance: I hate Westbrook. I hate his on-court demeanor, I hate his on-court antics. But I can acknowledge that he's a very, very good player and very difficult to guard. I'm not going to say Westbrook is a "decent" player because that makes me sound like an idiot who never watches basketball games.

Well I don't know if he lives up here in OKC or not, but I can tell you that is NOT the prevailing opinion of San Antonio up here among the majority of the fan base.

I believe that.

So back to the OPs question... OKC sits at the 10 seed. 2.5 games back of PHX at the 9. I see OKC over coming them and rounding out the 8 teams in the playoffs. I think they could finish anywhere from 6-8. I think the Spurs have a shot to move up to the 5. Golden State is playing really well. I don't see them falling out of the top spot. I do think Portland and Memphis could lose some ground at the 2 and 3.

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Well I don't know if he lives up here in OKC or not, but I can tell you that is NOT the prevailing opinion of San Antonio up here among the majority of the fan base.

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Agreed, based on the majority that I've met.

I'm a pretty big KD fan myself, and in general, like OKC. They're my 3rd favorite after SA and Memphis. I tend to root for small market teams.

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I think the Spurs have a shot to move up to the 5. Golden State is playing really well. I don't see them falling out of the top spot. I do think Portland and Memphis could lose some ground at the 2 and 3.

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IMO, the top three are pretty much set, except for the order. I think SA, Houston, and Dallas will battle it out for the 4th seed. If I were a betting man, I'd bet on Mavs at 4, Spurs at 5, Rockets at 6.

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3-12 now. Need to go 47-20 to get to 50 wins.

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47-20 is a .701 winning percentage.

Since that post, they've gone exactly .700. So they're almost exactly on track for 50 wins.

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I think the Spurs have a shot to move up to the 5. Golden State is playing really well. I don't see them falling out of the top spot. I do think Portland and Memphis could lose some ground at the 2 and 3.

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IMO, the top three are pretty much set, except for the order. I think SA, Houston, and Dallas will battle it out for the 4th seed. If I were a betting man, I'd bet on Mavs at 4, Spurs at 5, Rockets at 6.

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You are a betting man. Or did you forget?

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I think the Spurs have a shot to move up to the 5. Golden State is playing really well. I don't see them falling out of the top spot. I do think Portland and Memphis could lose some ground at the 2 and 3.

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IMO, the top three are pretty much set, except for the order. I think SA, Houston, and Dallas will battle it out for the 4th seed. If I were a betting man, I'd bet on Mavs at 4, Spurs at 5, Rockets at 6.

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You are a betting man. Or did you forget?

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Glad you haven't forgotten either.

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I think the Spurs have a shot to move up to the 5. Golden State is playing really well. I don't see them falling out of the top spot. I do think Portland and Memphis could lose some ground at the 2 and 3.

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IMO, the top three are pretty much set, except for the order. I think SA, Houston, and Dallas will battle it out for the 4th seed. If I were a betting man, I'd bet on Mavs at 4, Spurs at 5, Rockets at 6.

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You are a betting man. Or did you forget?

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Two weeks ago OKC looked like they were a lock for the playoffs, now not so much. 18-19, 2.5 games behind #8, and 5-5 in the last 10. Luckily for them Pelicans went 5-5 and Suns 6-4.

Their next few games though? Rockets and Warriors back to back, and they play the Wizards, Hawks, Cavs, and Grizzlies before the end of the month.

Incredibly difficult stretch coming up no doubt, good timing for a week long break.

I don't think the Thunder is getting past Phoenix for the 8th seed.

They obviously can still make the playoffs; right now they're only 2 losses behind Phoenix (though Phoenix, which has played 3 more games, has 5 more wins). That said, OKC hasn't regained last year's form and the west might be better than it was last year. Getting to ~50 and grabbing the 8th seed isn't going to be a breeze (not to mention that they'll likely have to play a really scary Golden State team if they do grab it).

I don't like the Waiters move, either. He's another ball hog like Westbrook, but he doesn't play defense and he isn't as talented as Westbrook. In 3 games, he's taken 9, 14, and 16 shots in 22, 27, and 31 minutes. That's a hell of a lot of shots for a guy who's vying with Reggie Jackson for 3rd wheel status (or maybe with Ibaka for 4th-in-the-pecking-order status).

The Thunder were already struggling with ball movement on offense. Waiters just strikes me as another black hole who's either going to take a shot or possibly dish it on a drive.

I don't watch the Thunder much, but I'm looking through the stats for tonight's game against Houston. A quick glance suggests that they have no interest whatsoever in a classical post game. 10 of 11 of Ibaka's shots were classified as jumpers (the other was an assisted dunk so probably an alley-oop). Of those 10 jumpers, 8 were 14' or longer (the other 2 didn't list a distance, so they might have been long jumpers too). Adams took 3 shots. Perkins took 1. Collison took 0.

WTF is going on here? Is it as bad as the stats look? I know they've always been a drive-the-lane team, but this is ridiculous even for them.

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I don't watch the Thunder much, but I'm looking through the stats for tonight's game against Houston. A quick glance suggests that they have no interest whatsoever in a classical post game. 10 of 11 of Ibaka's shots were classified as jumpers (the other was an assisted dunk so probably an alley-oop). Of those 10 jumpers, 8 were 14' or longer (the other 2 didn't list a distance, so they might have been long jumpers too). Adams took 3 shots. Perkins took 1. Collison took 0.

WTF is going on here? Is it as bad as the stats look? I know they've always been a drive-the-lane team, but this is ridiculous even for them.

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Ibaka doesn't have a post game. He takes more than half of his shots 14+ feet from the basket, his shots from 10-14 feet are still jumpers, and virtually every shot inside of 10 feet is off an assist or offensive rebound. Occasionally he thinks he has a mismatch and "goes to work in the post", but when I've watched that pretty much always ends in a spectacular failure.

Stephen Adams is their only player with a decent post game, but he takes less than 6 shots per game and again most of those are putbacks or assisted.

The Thunder abandoned the post a long time ago. It works for them and I don't think they need to change it, but (if I were a Thunder fan) I'd like to see them pass better. Very low in the league in assists, secondary assists, and passes. There are easier points out there than what they are getting.

Per Stein: OKC trades for Dion Waiters and is trying to trade for Brook Lopez

Per Broussard and "sources": Sources confirm USA Today report that Okc's Kendrick Perkins could go to the Nets to make trade work financially.

Sources: Nets,Hornets,OKC talking 3-way trade. Brook Lopez 2 OKC, Lance Stephenson 2 BKN, Jeremy Lamb/Jarrett Jack 2 Charlotte.Talks ongoing

Presti I think is desperate, I just don't understand the move. You talk about being in for the long haul, but that would stunt Adams development.

Although getting something in return for Lamb and Perkins would be something.

What is Lopez going to do on that team? Watch while Westbrook and Durant attempt 3's and midrange jumpers? I don't see how this makes them better unless they're planning on completely changing the offense.

Yea. Lopez is a solid player, but I don't see how he fits with what the Thunder are doing.

Suns are on pace to win 46. Thunder will have to go 29-15 (66%) to top that.

I know Lopez is nice, but I agree in that I don't understand how he fits?

I don't think the question is whether or not they can catch the Suns, because, if healthy, they will.

I think the question is whether they (Durant & Westbrook) will be able to stay healthy for this run.

Fair or not, if they don't make the playoffs, Brooks is done.

Brooks is an awful coach, so even if they slip in, they won't do anything.

Sure helped that Bogut and Igudola didn't play last night, but badly needed win over GS. Russ with one of his best games ever.

What the hell was Washington's defense doing on that last play? (Actually, 2nd to last play)


Nice play by RW to win game.

22-20, 3 games back.

Gotta go .700 the rest of the way to get to 50 wins.

I give em a 50-50 shot at this point. If they do make it in, we're in for a hell of a first round series with GS vs OKC.

The Marcus' injury in Portland certainly doesn't hamper our chances. They have been terrible historically without him.