2015-2016 Around the NBA

[go cavs275]

To build off that, GS is loaded with players that are very high iq. Draymond, Iggy, Livingston, Bogut, Thompson, and obviously Curry. Along with guys like Ezeli, Barnes, and Barbosa who are decent iq players.

They also have 3 of the best screen setters in the league in Green, Bogut, and Ezeli, albeit that they get away with alot of illegal ones. I believe they'd still be among the leagues best otherwise.

 

[JMoneyYourHoney]

I just can't believe that the best play OKC could come up with in a timeout was a Durant 3-point attempt. When you have Durant and Westbrook on the court, how do you not close out on the inside?

Terrible.

 

[Triumph36]

I just feel like OKC is too stupid of a team to do anything but ISO. They are seemingly filled with a bunch low iq players. Dion Waiters, while he is a decent passer while driving, is not conductive to ball movement. Along with Roberson, Kanter, Adams, Morrow, Augustin , are all not particularly high iq players, and aren't great at keeping the ball moving. Even Ibaka and Westbrook aren't that great at it.

They could really use an Iggy or a Draymond, but couldn't we all...

how come you mentioned virtually their entire rotation yet the head coach did not make an appearance?

I just can't believe that the best play OKC could come up with in a timeout was a Durant 3-point attempt. When you have Durant and Westbrook on the court, how do you not close out on the inside?

Terrible.

this has been the case for years. except sometimes you can sub in 'westbrook' for 'durant.'

billy donovan is a massive upgrade though!!

 

[go cavs275]

how come you mentioned virtually their entire rotation yet the head coach did not make an appearance?

I was just specifically pointing to the players and trying to make the point that OKC just doesn't have hardly anyone that has the iq to be involved in a successful offense focused on ball movement. Obviously coaching is part of it, but you look at teams like SA, GS, and Atlanta that have high iq players to make it work.

In order to have a team that has great ball movement you have to have players with the iq for it.

 

[Simon]

Spurs have the second best record in the league, yet no one is talking about them.

 

[shoes22]

Spurs have the second best record in the league, yet no one is talking about them.

No one ever talks about the Spurs in the regular season. Has been that way for several years.

Edit: I love them though. No matter how good they are the Spurs are a team I just can’t hate.

 

[Bdawgs12]

Im not sure if this has been brought up anywhere yet, but outside of the Spurs and Warriors thus far, the West is pretty bad. All of the analysts who were saying the East was a cupcake compared to the west have been far off. I would like to see the records of each when they play each other because it has to be in Easts favor by a wide margin.

 

[JMoneyYourHoney]

Im not sure if this has been brought up anywhere yet, but outside of the Spurs and Warriors thus far, the West is pretty bad. All of the analysts who were saying the East was a cupcake compared to the west have been far off. I would like to see the records of each when they play each other because it has to be in Easts favor by a wide margin.

The East is mercilessly tooling on the West so far this season. Hopefully we continue the trend tonight...

 

[Triumph36]

I was just specifically pointing to the players and trying to make the point that OKC just doesn't have hardly anyone that has the iq to be involved in a successful offense focused on ball movement. Obviously coaching is part of it, but you look at teams like SA, GS, and Atlanta that have high iq players to make it work.

In order to have a team that has great ball movement you have to have players with the iq for it.

you have to remember the coach has not instilled the value of ball movement, or implemented a movement-centric offense for these guys. ever. donovan is terrible, but brooks was not an offensive genius either. it's kinda unfair to definitively say guys have poor bball iq's when they've never been put in a position to play smart basketball. do you really think it'd be the same if okc had pop or bud as their coach? highly doubtful. also, do you think it's just a coincidence that a team with a good offensive system like atlanta is coached by a pop-disciple? again, doubtful.

okc's roster is flawed as a team, absolutely. as is their coaching. placing a competent coach there instead would not solve all their issues. dion and roberson would still be a terrible sg rotation. enes kanter would still be a black hole on defense. their bench as a whole would still suck. but a better coach would undoubtedly improve multiple of their significant weaknesses and make them more polished on both ends of the court.

 

[go cavs275]

you have to remember the coach has not instilled the value of ball movement, or implemented a movement-centric offense for these guys. ever. donovan is terrible, but brooks was not an offensive genius either. it's kinda unfair to definitively say guys have poor bball iq's when they've never been put in a position to play smart basketball. do you really think it'd be the same if okc had pop or bud as their coach? highly doubtful. also, do you think it's just a coincidence that a team with a good offensive system like atlanta is coached by a pop-disciple? again, doubtful.

okc's roster is flawed as a team, absolutely. as is their coaching. placing a competent coach there instead would not solve all their issues. dion and roberson would still be a terrible sg rotation. enes kanter would still be a black hole on defense. their bench as a whole would still suck. but a better coach would undoubtedly improve multiple of their significant weaknesses and make them more polished on both ends of the court.

I agree with a lot of what you are saying, and I admittedly have hardly watched them this year, and don't know jack shit about Donovan's tendencies, but it is a little early to really judge a coach in his first year. Guys like KD, Westbrook, and Ibaka have bad habits to break if they are going to improve the teams ball movement, and I have little doubt that, over time, they could. The other guys, like Dion Waiters, I am not so sure about. Dion throughout his career has been an ultimate ball-stopper, a ton of bad habits to break here, and at least his 3-pt shooting is decent again, but overall its not easy to move the ball effectively with him on the floor.

Improvements can and may be made, but the role players, in particular, will likely hold the extent of those improvements back.

 

[scopedog]

I'd honestly love to see Durant just straight up leave OKC. He deserves better. And I really like the guy as an individual player, but the OKC franchise on the other hand has a lot of bad karma and I hope they are doomed to irrelevance as long as the current owner lives.

 

[mhi]

Hill anyone ?

We need wings like Charlie Sheen needs Magic Johnson's doctor.

 

[Triumph36]

Hill anyone ?

We need wings like Charlie Sheen needs Magic Johnson's doctor.

no. not any good.

if the pacers - a bona fide contender - are looking to trade him, that kind of says it all.

 

[Simmy]

So the East is the greatest it's been in a long time (top 8 teams with equal or better record than the West's 3rd place team, OKC) and the Warriors are still 20-0. Just when we thought the Cavs might have it a little easier this time around en route to battle for a championship...

 

[Snarly]

So the East is the greatest it's been in a long time (top 8 teams with equal or better record than the West's 3rd place team, OKC) and the Warriors are still 20-0. Just when we thought the Cavs might have it a little easier this time around en route to battle for a championship...

The Cavs had a losing record a coach and team drama LeBron tool two weeks off and the Warriors ran this same run even more cocky now. Yet we held our own in the finals against them with a better and still young "team" while missing two key pieces and keeping A.V safe. Yeah we are okay.