SRU's 60/40 NBA picks for 2015-16 season

[Canarsie]

Originally Posted by cj

I think injuries have taken a toll on Ibaka. He is still a good player, but not what he was a couple years ago. The owner was never a cheapskate, he was trying to set the team up for a long run. They changed the rules on him after the last lockout but they adjusted pretty nicely and are spending. It i sup to Presti now.

Kanter wasn't -6 against Minnesota, he was +3. The game you are talking about was the third Timberwolve game back. Here are his game logs on the season:

http://www.basketball-reference.com/.../gamelog/2016/

His defense isn't great by any stretch, but his offense is really good. A big part of him being in the - is playing a majority of his minutes with DJ (early on before Payne), Waiters, Morrow, Singler, etc. As bad as Kanter is, Augustin and Morrow are even worse on defense. He isn't in the - overall on the season though, he is +.

Thanks for that link and I stand corrected. It wasn't on basketball-ref but some other site. Any way you look at it I was 100% WRONG. I should have listened what I tell others and that is "provide a link".

He played quite some time with Westbrook while Durant was injured and I'm pretty sure (don't bank on it now) that his stats were still poor for plus minus.

He really needs to spend some time with a defensive tutor who can get through to him. If he was just adequate defensively my opinion (you know better than me) is they would let Adams walk rather than giving him a high end contract.

You will never convince me on the Thunders owner. Letting Harden walk was a mistake that cost them dearly. He has been playing catch up since then. He didn't have to pay for the practice facility except for a paltry $100,000 a year rent. The naming rights are for him another company would step up in a split second to have it named for their enterprise.

http://www.nba.com/thunder/news/grou...ng_090827.html



Lets see how much the owners pay for naming rights after she opens up the books of certain teams when negotiations start.

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/13...-silver-claims

[cj]

Originally Posted by Canarsie

Thanks for that link and I stand corrected. It wasn't on basketball-ref but some other site. Any way you look at it I was 100% WRONG. I should have listened what I tell others and that is "provide a link".

He played quite some time with Westbrook while Durant was injured and I'm pretty sure (don't bank on it now) that his stats were still poor for plus minus.

He really needs to spend some time with a defensive tutor who can get through to him. If he was just adequate defensively my opinion (you know better than me) is they would let Adams walk rather than giving him a high end contract.

You will never convince me on the Thunders owner. Letting Harden walk was a mistake that cost them dearly. He has been playing catch up since then. He didn't have to pay for the practice facility except for a paltry $100,000 a year rent. The naming rights are for him another company would step up in a split second to have it named for their enterprise.

http://www.nba.com/thunder/news/grou...ng_090827.html

Lets see how much the owners pay for naming rights after she opens up the books of certain teams when negotiations start.

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/13...-silver-claims

Kanter was definitely in the + in the +/- during his OKC time last year. It wasnt great, something like +30 or so in about 25 games. His defense is better this year individually, but he isn't a rim protector and never will be. One on one as a post defender he is fine, it is help defense and pick and rolls where he struggles. He works hard at it, I know that much, so I expect some improvement. His ceiling is probably "average" on defense.

The thing with the Harden trade that people forget is that the Thunder were a better team the next year without him. They were the #1 seed and probably would have made the Finals again if not for Beverly's ridiculous play on Westbrook that injured him and took him out of the playoffs. They had pretty much owned the Spurs for two full years before that happened, regular and post season.

I personally don't think having Harden would be all that great to be honest. He doesn't play any defense and OKC isn't lacking for scoring by any means. How many points a game would they have to score to win games with Harden playing big minutes? Keep in mind they wouldn't have Adams with that trade.

[Canarsie]

Originally Posted by cj

Kanter was definitely in the + in the +/- during his OKC time last year. It wasnt great, something like +30 or so in about 25 games. His defense is better this year individually, but he isn't a rim protector and never will be. One on one as a post defender he is fine, it is help defense and pick and rolls where he struggles. He works hard at it, I know that much, so I expect some improvement. His ceiling is probably "average" on defense.

The thing with the Harden trade that people forget is that the Thunder were a better team the next year without him. They were the #1 seed and probably would have made the Finals again if not for Beverly's ridiculous play on Westbrook that injured him and took him out of the playoffs. They had pretty much owned the Spurs for two full years before that happened, regular and post season.

I personally don't think having Harden would be all that great to be honest. He doesn't play any defense and OKC isn't lacking for scoring by any means. How many points a game would they have to score to win games with Harden playing big minutes? Keep in mind they wouldn't have Adams with that trade.

They turned the draft pick into a very nice player but when the trade was consummated it was one sided. Harden's defense is far better than Kantner, at least he can rotate and offer help. Seriously its tough watching him defend I think he's that bad. On the up side if he was adequate defensively he would definitely get a max contract.

OKC hasn't been to finals without Harden but I understand your argument. We agree to disagree on the merits of the trade and Kanter's defense. Its an indictment on him that he comes off the bench making a nice amount of money.

I am interested on your take if this actually happened.


Sources: Warriors serious threat to sign Kevin Durant

https://sports.yahoo.com/news/source...182559375.html

This is an interesting take because if he left for any other team he would think OKC's chances of getting a ring are slim. There is no reason besides that to go anywhere else.

I'm not buying him going home to the wizards. His home is OKC he gave a million bucks when the tornado devastated Oklahoma. That was the same amount as the team (OKC management was very charitable also) gave. He was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame.

'Overwhelmed' Kevin Durant inducted into Oklahoma Hall of Fame

http://espn.go.com/blog/okc-thunder/...a-hall-of-fame

[cj]

Originally Posted by Canarsie

They turned the draft pick into a very nice player but when the trade was consummated it was one sided. Harden's defense is far better than Kantner, at least he can rotate and offer help. Seriously its tough watching him defend I think he's that bad. On the up side if he was adequate defensively he would definitely get a max contract.

OKC hasn't been to finals without Harden but I understand your argument. We agree to disagree on the merits of the trade and Kanter's defense. Its an indictment on him that he comes off the bench making a nice amount of money.

I am interested on your take if this actually happened.


Sources: Warriors serious threat to sign Kevin Durant

https://sports.yahoo.com/news/source...182559375.html

This is an interesting take because if he left for any other team he would think OKC's chances of getting a ring are slim. There is no reason besides that to go anywhere else.

I'm not buying him going home to the wizards. His home is OKC he gave a million bucks when the tornado devastated Oklahoma. That was the same amount as the team (OKC management was very charitable also) gave. He was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame.

'Overwhelmed' Kevin Durant inducted into Oklahoma Hall of Fame

http://espn.go.com/blog/okc-thunder/...a-hall-of-fame

KD was never going to Washington. I said that a long time ago. As for the Warriors, who could blame him? But I don't think it will happen personally. I think he really wants to win a ring here in OKC. He is just a different type of guy than many NBA stars.

[Canarsie]

Originally Posted by cj

KD was never going to Washington. I said that a long time ago. As for the Warriors, who could blame him? But I don't think it will happen personally. I think he really wants to win a ring here in OKC. He is just a different type of guy than many NBA stars.

I agree with what you saying except for the only thing that could make KD consider the Warriors.

Just imagine there are four players talking in a room with just a beer or whatever beverage they choose to drink. Steph turns to KD and says I'm willing to give up some of my shots if you would honor us by becoming a teammate. Clay says I can't wait to set up screens for you because your shooting percentage with hover at 60% or better. Draymond says time can't come soon enough for me setting you up in the lane for one of your emphatic dunks. Then the three of them speak in unison and say "but it's still all about our team concept first and foremost'. "We respect every member of our team to find the open man instead of exciting the fans all over the globe".

That's some pretty powerful words that would be hard to turn down imo.

After writing that I still think he'll return to the Thunder.

[cj]

Suns give the Thunder fits and are getting 12 tonight, but I'm taking OKC anyway. Suns are a mess and I think the Thunder will blow them out.

[cj]

Late surge gets the cover.

[Valuist]

Originally Posted by cj

Late surge gets the cover.

That's great news. Had written it off as a loss.

Teams playing a game with Golden State in the on deck circle (as Phoenix did tonight) are a horrific 16-35 ATS. Best angle anywhere this season.

[cj]

Originally Posted by Valuist

That's great news. Had written it off as a loss.

Teams playing a game with Golden State in the on deck circle (as Phoenix did tonight) are a horrific 16-35 ATS. Best angle anywhere this season.

Can't argue with those numbers, but having watched the game no way was PHO looking ahead last night. They played tough and scrappy all night like they always do against OKC.

[Stillriledup]

YTD 25-31-1

One official pick for Feb 10

Boston -1.5 vs LAC

Clippers got very lucky to beat Philly the other night and worked very hard for that win. This is going to be a tough game for Los Angeles.

[cj]

Taking OKC -3.5 vs the Cavs on National TV tomorrow.

[lansdale]

Originally Posted by cj

Taking OKC -3.5 vs the Cavs on National TV tomorrow.

What the hell happened in this game? I wanted to catch part of this but had to go out. I can't remember any home loss for OKC this bad in any game where KD and WB both played. Love leading scorer? It looks like Love read all those posts where you heaped abuse on him and decided to take revenge ;-). But historically, Love has always killed OKC, regardless of game location.

Few minutes for an ineffective Kyrie - looks like he got hurt and came out. But Cavs still win in OKC with no Kyrie no Shumpert and no Channing Frye? KD and WB excellent as usual but Kanter and Waiters simply vanished as I believe they well late in post-season.

One thing here especially strange - OKC nearly always outrebounds opponents but got crushed on boards. Starting to wonder whether this reflects toll taken by injuries on not only Ibaka but also Durant.

Wonder if LBJ staring to realize that the decline of his outside shooting ability due to back problems means he'll have to start giving Love more shots. Smart move, if so.

[cj]

No idea what is going on with this team. Outside of KD and Russ the rest of the guys look lost.

[azeri98]

Originally Posted by cj

No idea what is going on with this team. Outside of KD and Russ the rest of the guys look lost.

That's all they have, as much as I like the team. I'm not a fan of Ibaka, he is a good defender but average on offense, the rest of the team is full of "plumbers". They have 2 of the top 5 guys in the league but the rest of their team is weak. Just my opinion.

[cj]

Originally Posted by azeri98

That's all they have, as much as I like the team. I'm not a fan of Ibaka, he is a good defender but average on offense, the rest of the team is full of "plumbers". They have 2 of the top 5 guys in the league but the rest of their team is weak. Just my opinion.

Ibaka isn't even playing defense.