Thunder to play the Magic in OKC on Christmas

I know I am in the minority or even third party on this - but I like Thabo outright just how we use him now. I just wish he would remain committed to defense while he tried to at leats pretend to be in a bit on offense, maybe make a few shots. He does great shooting pregame, it just needs to be more spontaneous shooting against real defense when he practices maybe, instead of those slow deliberate set shots he practices at so much.

I do agree that Ibaka should prioritize defense over offense but during the playoffs against the Mavs I couldn't help but notice on offense that the Thunder were bust if KD couldn't get to his sweet spots (Marion physically pushing him out to the perimeter) or if Russell's penetration got nullified because of a clogged up paint. The reason the Mavs D worked was because they didn't have to take Ibaka, Perkins and Sefalosha seriously on offense. If Ibaka can develop and reliably knock down that J in the future at say, LaMarcus Aldridge's level, and Harden gets swapped in for Sefalosha, it'll really help with spacing which is key for utilizing KD and Russell.@Keith00 @Jax Raging Bile Duct

@Jax Raging Bile Duct I would be ecstatic if it does. But for the time being I would rather him work on defensive footwork in the post and reading shots to contest rather than foul or fly by on a fake.

@Keith00 Agreed on his offensive potential. I am holding out hope though that his mid-range jumper becomes more consistent. I see nothing about his mechanics that makes me think he can't get there. A pick and pop threat is still a threat. And I guess you never know, his roll game could come around a little bit.

@KD35Russ0 Russ has to make the All-NBA 1st, 2nd or 3rd team to be eligible for a max contract next Summer. He was All-NBA 2nd team last year. Assuming Rose gets 1st team again next year, Russ will have to once again finish ahead of guys like Deron Williams and Chris Paul to make 2nd or 3rd team. Is it worth the gamble for him to wait to sign until next Summer? We'll find out in about 8 days.

@Lambchop @[censored] not the same surgery. Mensicus surgery, especially for a partial tear, is one of the most simplistic surgeries you can have, and basically consists of going in, cleaning out the tear or loose body, and a 2-4 week recovery. The only usual complication with Paul's ype is sometimes early onset arthritic type symptoms. However, Roy's surgery is a full transplant of his meniscus, which had never been done on an active pro player before.

So basically, I have 10000% more confidence in Paul's knees than Roy's, although I wouldn't say I'm 100% on Paul's either.

@Lambchop Good point. Seems like Paul couldn't get away with making demands the way Melo did. Probably lot less teams interested. Words is the Celts are already backing away based on the knee.