Thunder Player Power Rankings: KD is code for clutch

@f5alcon@yehoshuagardner Thank you, sir!

@nomad@yehoshuagardner they don't want smith back, they are only interested in chandler. Chandler is a FA there are going to be other teams interested in him, that might pay him more than what denver offers, probably will still end up in denver but not automatic.

@[censored] Completely forgot about a number of assistant coaches that I'd thought about before. Budenholzer, Elston Turner, David Joerger chief among them. I think teams have been trying to pry Budenholzer away for years, but with the combination of SA on the decline, OKC's roster being a coach's wet dream, and Presti's SAS connections, I'd imagine the offer to coach here would be extremely enticing.

@[censored] Hmm, he's a good defensive coach but do we trust his offense? What about Mike Budenholzer?

@SammyThunderer JVG?

@Keith00@SammyThunderer I'm afraid it's approved under the guise of 'playing harder' and 'being more aggressive'.

@Jax Raging Bile Duct@SammyThunderer Though I certainly hope the coaching isn't telling our guys to sell out steals (Westbrook) or just let their guy by without much resistance.

@SammyThunderer Agreed. And some of that I can accept because the Krstic/Green pairing was so inept at one on one frontcourt defense that helping off the perimeter (and then hustling to recover) was a must. I don't think that kind of help is as necessary with this current personnel, but the problem I see is that all of our rotations have suffered, and we're allowing way too much dribble penetration.

But like I mentioned yesterday, we've been ahead by so many points in several of these games that good defense hasn't been necessary to win games. And I fear it may be a situation that is fostering bad defensive habits.

@Jax Raging Bile Duct I think the help has been really slow/non-existant this year compared to the last two...

@SammyThunderer@Keith00 As for defense, the further we are from the Ron Adams years, the further removed we are from good perimeter defense. I actually think our interior defense has improved, but that's probably just a product of Perk and Ibaka just being way better than Krstic and Green. But allowing dribble penetration is as high as it's ever been according to my eye tests. I just can't shake the feeling that it is as much a coaching issue as it is anything. I remember when we would all complain every week about Russ going for offensive rebounds and allowing his guy to leak out for a break. We were so mad at him, we railed him for it, then we find out that Scott Brooks spent time preaching that 'all 5 guys have to rebound' and we realized that Russ was just doing what his coach was asking him to do. I think to some degree that same dynamic still exists.

@Jax Raging Bile Duct@Keith00 When looking at what's happened, I'm not really predicting trends that'll continue for the rest of the year. I'm just trying to evaluate the first 10 games in and of themselves and try to suss out what's happened.

@Keith00 Of course it's just my interpretation of his game, but the biggest difference I've seen this past week is that he took over when it was time instead of getting in the way of something good. This is best exemplified in Houston during that 3rd quarter. KD was cold, nothing was working and the team had nothing going. Russell took them on his back, made several smart plays and made several good shots on decent looks and took that 12 point deficit to an even score by quarters end, basically on his own. Then when KD hit his stride again, Russ didn't get in the way. Russ turned it on in a similar way during that Dallas game when the crowd started chanting his name. He had about 5 or 6 straight plays of great game-changing basketball after that.

I just think it's too early, only 10 games so far, to predict a trend line for Russell's stats. I think it's more legit to judge guys like Russell who are emotionally driven players, as we all agree, with an eye towards body language and attitude rather than a stat line. I just don't get the sense that we've seen Russell hit that place where he'll be by season's end yet.

@Keith00 @Jax Raging Bile Duct I can live with the lowered assists; it makes sense given kd's growth as a ball handler and harden's larger role in the offense. But I need to see his efficiency return. I actually think Weatbrook hasn't been aggressive enough; he's at his best driving, but his fga's at the rim have dropped off to 2010 levels.

@SammyThunderer Again, can't disagree. His emotional drive has given him the ability to be a star. But, it may ultimately hold him back from reaching his full potential. It took MJ a few years and a new (all time great) coach.

@Keith00 I'd go so far to say that Russ emotional baggage is a lot of what pushed him from a non-recruited high schooler to the player he is today. He'd be far from the first player to take perceived slights and transform them into fuel to make himself better, Michael Jordan being the obvious example. I just hope he can gain the perspective necessary to see how he can actually improve his play sooner than later.

@SammyThunderer I can't say I disagree with that assessment. Westbrook seems highly prone to emotional baggage - both good and bad. This continues to go back to my belief that Westbrook wants to win more than anyone, but has never been taught the difference between playing harder (more aggressively) and playing smarter.

@Keith00 The last sentence is indisputable. I do think he feels threatened by a combination of factors: by Harden's rise, by what the press has said about him, by the continued adoration lavished on KD, by every PG that talks crap to him in-game, by the looming contract (and lack thereof), and, possibly, by Brooks running more plays through KD and Harden. And I think Russ' basic defense mechanism when he feels threatened is try to shut everybody up and prove everyone wrong. Unfortunately for us, proving everyone wrong to Russ means going one on five.