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Main lesson from the Thunder’s 94-89 preseason loss to the Chicago Bulls: Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are important.
Playing without their two superstars, the Thunder struggled to find consistent offense, primarily relying upon James Harden and Serge Ibaka. Ibaka stepped up big, scoring 24 points on 10-of-17 shooting in 29 minutes, while Harden struggled mightily, scoring 13 points but on just 2-of-17 shooting.
Five big thoughts from OKC’s second-to-last preseason game:
1. Playing without Durant and Westbrook meant James Harden got a taste of what it would be like being an alpha dog. Obviously he shot the ball horribly, but he did register seven rebounds and seven assists. What was obvious though was that he stepped out of his typical game and clearly tried to force his hand offensively. Maybe he’s working on adding more of a mid-range game this season, but he rarely attacked the paint, instead settling for a lot of long, contested 2s. (Stat: Only six of Harden’s 17 came inside the painted area. That’s not like him.)
Harden attempted 17 shots, which equals the most he’s ever taken in a game in his career. Granted, this was only Harden’s third preseason game so he’s searching for rhythm, but possibly it’s a little bit of an awakening that he fits better as a second or third banana. Look at the four players he started with tonight — Maynor, Ibaka, Perk and Thabo — and compare that to who he’d likely be starting with in Phoenix — Dragic, Beasley, Gortat and Scola. Which is better? Probably the Thunder’s still, right?
But even with the awful offense, Harden showed off his overall ability and well-rounded game. He controlled the game, set up teammates and made plays. It’s one preseason game which means it would be kind of dumb to completely read in to his performance as an indictment of him as a potential alpha. I do think Harden’s game naturally fits better as a complementary player, but I knew that well before tonight.
2. Hasheem Thabeet made a little statement. Is the backup big spot still up for grabs? The 7-3 big man had an impressive five-minute stretch in the second quarter, pulling in eight rebounds and scoring six points in that span. Here’s how shocking that was: In Thabeet’s three-year career, the most points in a game he’s scored is 10 and the most rebounds he’s had is 11.
For the game, Thabeet finished with 10 boards and the six points in 26 minutes. I was really hoping he’d notch a double-double so I could share this with you: As a 7-3 center Hasheem Thabeet has never had a double-double.
It’s not really pretty out there for Thabeet. It looks like he’s close to falling over every time he lumbers up the floor. But he produced, and did it against Taj Gibson and Joakim Noah. It was a really good game from Thabeet and hopefully a sign that the Thunder developmental program is working its magic on him.
3. The Thunder are playing a back-to-back (and three in four days) to finish preseason, so reading in to playing time might be dumb, but I’ve changed my mind: I think DeAndre Liggins is getting the 15th roster spot. I think he’s just played himself into it. He’s earned it. He’s the kind of player Scott Brooks loves to throw out boring cliches about and really seems to embrace the Thunder culture and philosophy. He hustles, he plays hard, he makes plays.
Daniel Orton, who I thought had the leg up, didn’t play at all in this one while Liggins saw another game with extended minutes. Liggins is consistently seeing big time on the floor and he’s producing. I think the best plan for the Thunder would be to buy out Lazar Hayward, give his spot to Liggins and then sign Orton as the 15th man, but that’s a long shot.
4. Reggie Jackson still hasn’t mastered the timing and speed of the NBA. One area it’s obvious: Setting up a screen-and-roll. Jackson is always too eager to attack. He got Perry Jones called for a moving pick tonight simply because he took off too early. Every time he sets up the screen, he leaves a half-step too early it seems. It leaves the screener rushing to get set and throws off the rhythm and timing of the pick-and-roll.
5. Serge Ibaka seems to really be turning into something. The guy could be an offensive force. His mid-range game is more polished and tonight, he wasn’t shy at all about pulling the trigger. And not just that, but he hit his fourth corner 3 of the season. If that’s actually a thing, Serge Ibaka is about to become a pretty dynamic offensive power forward.
His improvement as a basketball player these past few seasons is nothing short of stunning. He’s a true case of a blank canvas potential type player that put in the work and is actually realizing that talent. Averaging more than 10 points a game for OKC will be difficult because of all the other weapons, but he absolutely could show up with big offensive nights and establish himself as a potential secondary or even primary option in games.
Next up: Wednesday against the Mavs in Wichita.
http://www.dailythunder.com/2012/10/wednesday-bolts-10-24-12/
Why is Ibaka shooting 3s?the main problem with this team is that it lacks a post presence yet you have your talented big man at the 3pt line.. but his jumper looks good off of the pick n'roll, reminds me a little of KG..
@kennygee90 you guys probably would have been better off letting Pau shoot 3's last year.
@kennygee90 Because he is making them at an efficient rate.
Because if he pulls Pau out of the paint against your Lakers, it'll be Russell Westbrook vs. Howard, all anime style. And let me tell you, Russell fears no single man by himself.
@ou_sas actually i'd take him shooting 3's any day..and have pau close to the free throw line, leaving no room for your guards to penetrate..and this type of play would lead to another whooping by the heat.. you need ibaka to make the heat pay for their small ball in the post not shooting 3s
@kennygee90 @ou_sas Oh it'd be great if the Thunder could do that, but they don't have the personnel to do it. Ibaka just isn't a post player. And even if he was, it still doesn't force the Heat to go big since Bosh could guard him.
@justin_mia @ou_sas Ok i get what you guys are saying now..i guess you guys are concentrating more on defending them where it seems thats where the problem was...I just thought making them put in Joel anthony at the 5 will turn the advantage to your team thats why i was saying for ibaka to play the post..but if thats not his game then its good that his expanding his game then...
@kennygee90 Perhaps if we had Howard, or Perk were somehow good offensively, I could see what you're saying. However, that weakness - Bosh at the 5 - is not easily exploitable by us, and having Ibaka develop a post game wouldn't make that happen. Furthermore, it wasn't our offense that failed us, it was our defense. Not sticking on 3 point shooters, defending Lebron with the wrong guys for the majority of the series, that's what really killed us. Not a lack of post presence.
@kennygee90 @ou_sas Lack of post play wasn't the reason OKC did not beat the Heat, it was defense. Pau doesn't shoot threes because he's a highly skilled player with the ball in his hands. Ibaka is not. OKC can make the Heat pay for small ball by playing small themselves. The Thunder played two bigs for 96.8 minutes of the series (out of 240) and were outscored by 18 points in those minutes. All other lineups were outscored by 2 points in 143.2 minutes. It was the big lineups that got OKC killed. The small lineups played the Heat about even.
@ou_sas I get what your saying, but that's playing small ball..against a team like the heat that traps in the pick n'roll and then crowds the paint when you drive, i get that you'd want a big that can shoot 3s..the problem is thats the hard way of beating the heat...You need to pound them to submission and make them take out bosh at the 5..allowing them play their style of ball is almost suicide IMO...you can say that its better for floor spacing but at the end of the day it won't win you a ring..Ibaka needs to work on his footwork in the paint and make the heat pay for it,..I guess its different tactics but one is a losing formula against the current champions
@kennygee90 We'll see then, won't we.
And we're a team that drives the paint for the majority of our easy buckets. How does cramming the paint with offensive players help that whatsoever? As Justin pointed out above, offensive spacing is our issue. If Ibaka is helping spread the floor because he's hitting at a decent clip out there, then it makes our wings/guards jobs much easier. Your team is built for an inside-out game. Don't try and shoehorn us into that, because it won't work. See Barkley, Charles.
@ou_sas I doubt he'll do that
@justin_mia @ou_sas Gasol can shoot 3s but I hate seeing him at the 3pt line...without a post play this team isn't beating the heat anytime soon...ibaka should be working on his footwork in the post not shooting 3s...If you can't make the Heat pay for their small ball there's no way in hell your beating a team with Wade and Lebron, their too good for russ and durant to keep up with..
@kennygee90 If he's hitting 3s at anything approximating league average, that'll be enough that Pau can't leave him. Or if he does, beware the backdoor cut action.
@kennygee90 @ou_sas OKC's offense is fine no matter what Ibaka is doing. It was good against the Heat except one game. If Ibaka shooting three effects him getting back on defense then I'd really discourage it. Otherwise, it's not like the offense has major issues so why not? The main problem with the starting unit has been floor spacing...
@f5alcon Just created the Gag league. I've got it set to autodraft right now, but we can change that as we go. It's on Yahoo, just go to Yahoo Sports>Fantasy> Basketball, click join league, type in League ID 105580 and Password LOLPerk. I'll pimp it in the bolts too.
@ou_sas I joined
@f5alcon Look at the player list (sorted by points earned): http://goo.gl/vPVIV
@ou_sas @f5alcon i'm playing the law of probability. I'm in so many fantasy leagues i'm bound to make a right team eventually...
@MrRaysian @f5alcon Even better, in this league, the lower the productivity of your players, the better. Perk would have been the number 2 player in the league last year!
@ou_sas @MrRaysian @f5alcon
What's it going to do to your confidence if you suck at being good AND suck at being bad?
The idea of buying out lazar is the absolute best case scenario for the thunder. If it happened i'd be a happy camper. Unfortunately, i don't see it happening. My best guess is lazar will be on the team until his option doesn't get picked up next year or he is included in a trade at the deadline.
@areayewhy Justin looked through tranaction history for teams for a few years back, no team has waived a guaranteed contract to make room for a bench player. It just is not going to happen, it isn't like whoever we sign is ever going to see the floor, so just leave lazar on the bench for this season.
@f5alcon @areayewhy Agreed. The problem is not waiving Lazar for Liggins, it's that you'd be waiving Lazar for Orton. That's not a perceptible difference there.
@f5alcon @TaoMaas Guys like Hollis and Orton have guaranteed money in their contracts, so they get 75-100k when they get cut.
@TaoMaas 10,000 is a lot less than nba minimum wage
@TaoMaas @f5alcon Nick Garnett = a scientific fusion of Nick Collison and Kevin Garnett. With the combined power of scruffy 3 day old beard and knuckle pushups, he's a defensive powerhouse!
@f5alcon @ou_sas You know, I was thinking the same thing...sign Orton to the 66ers. But really, I had no idea how much any of those guys make, so I decided to take a look at their salaries. Have you guys checked it out? Looks like all but 2 players make $10,000. However, we've got a guy named Nick Garnett that's making over $2,000,000. WTH? Who is he? I got nothing when I googled him...(but then, I didn't look very hard, either).
@f5alcon He's not going anywhere, and we'll need minimum contracts to fill up the team next season anyways. Decline the option on Lazar, sign Orton. Probably what's going to happen.
@ou_sas Yeah, just sign orton to a dleague contract for 1/20th the cost
I'm also really glad to see maynor slowing getting back to his old self. All of last yr when brooks had fisher and Russ on the court at the same time I always imagined how much better it would've been with maynor instead of fisher cause maynor is a true point that can get everyone one involved and letting Russ roam with kd and ibaka out there is something I'm looking forward to. I think with maynor back and if pj3 can consistently produce we easily have the best bench in da league and I really miss the game where kd and Russ could get extended rest because da bench was doin work and at times being better as a unit than the starters. With the fact that the lakers forgot that u have to have a bench during an 82 game season where during a 66 game season Howard couldn't finish the season while Nash and Kobe started breaking down by the 40 or 50 game. Then u have the heat that if it wasn't for the real Scott brooks standing up and being his stubborn self it would've been a different story in last years finals. Anyways now that everyone in the league now knows that bosh will play the 5 and lebron could and probably will play more 4 than 3. That gives everyone time to figure out how to handle it. Honestly they better watch out for the celtics and the bulls because the heat can't handle elite point guards and their lineups handle defending the 3 better.
@Ch2 Maynor talks about rehabbing his ACL: http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/10/24/thunders-maynor-offers-advice-on-acl-recovery-to-rose/
I can't be the only one who really respects and appreciate guys who move off the ball as well as Hamilton does.
I really hope brooks doesn't use cook at the 3 spot over pj3 to start the season. When he's on it works but with the fact he has a hard time creating his own shot and has a hard time guarding actual 3s in the league. While pj3 can create he own shots, rebound and when he's on defense he can defend multiple positions. He's a ton of upside and if he puts on weight he could really b something. Just think bout if he follows the recent thunder trend of breaking out in his third yr.
I completely agree with point 4 Royce wrote about. A lot of guys (The Youngs ones) in the league seem to rush it a little too much. The best thing they could probably do is just watch tapes of how great Stockton was at the pick and roll. need to be patient with the ball, and I think that's an area that Harden is great at while using the Pick and Roll especially with nick
@MrRaysian
The PnR takes so much practice to make perfect. I once remember reading that Stockton and Malon would spend whole summers just practicing that one play. It became second nature. Chemistry like that wont be replicated anytime soon. Nash is great at the PnR becaus he can make wildly accurate passes even without that chemistry.
Makes you wonder how long Nick and Harden practiced this play?
@MrRaysian
Malone*
@Bsooreal It's the small things that makes you want the edit bottom like never before. Because proof reading is too hard for us all.
Man, Kendrick perkins gets more amazing as time goes by.... 0 rbs in 22 mins... Awesome!!!
I think it would be best for us if the C minutes were perk 15 aldrich 10 and some combo of nick and serge the rest of the way. Lets face it none of our centers are good enough to demand minutes. I think that all of us probably underestimate Perk's screening abilities but I don't know that he creates that much worth with it.
@cemitten Especially plausible given how few traditional back to the basket centers there are to defend in the league anymore. Nick Serge would do okay most nights.
@Old Man Game I agree, only against the lakers, sixers and pacers Perkins should see 25 plus minutes.
Also Ibaka had a good game offensively but he pretty much ignored Boozer on the other end. He played horrible defense last night.
I hope they can find a permanent spot for pj3 with the 2nd group. He can really finish at the rim. His jumper wasn't falling last night and he still had 14 on 14 shots. If he plays with Maynor, Harden and Collison he's going to get a ton of dunks.
I was only able to watch the 4th quarter, but wow were my thoughts different. Having missed that one good 5 minute stretch, my thoughts on Thabeet were, "I'm not sure that guy even knows how to play basketball." He also didn't look all that big. He seems to slouch and doesn't keep his hands up at all. Also, for a guy whose only real skill is defense, it was surprising how really bad at it he was. He couldn't keep anyone in front of him, even when he was only 10 feet from the basket, and consistently lost his man throughout a defensive possession.
Reggie was a little overaggressive, but he also looked head and shoulders above the backups on the court with him. He was actually able to dribble where he wanted to go, and made several good passes that his teammates generally failed to capitalize on. One notable possession had PJ3 receive a pass just outside the paint for an open jumper. Instead of shooting, PJ3 pump faked until his defender caught up and was able to contest the shot. I didn't understand that. If he wasn't going to use the space to drive (and he could have), just take the open shot. Instead he just stood there and let his defender (Gibson) catch up and force a terrible contested jumper.
Harden was forcing his shots. It's preseason, so there not a lot to read into that. Maybe this is a taste of what alpha dog Harden would be, but it also felt like he was ordered. He didn't look loose, confident, or happy taking most of his shots. It often looked like he was throwing up a prayer, a shot he knew wasn't going in.
Serge should be utilized more in the pick and pop. I don't know if his screens have improved, but he and Westbrook could make each others lives a lot easier.
@Keith00 Reggie was really good in this game I thought. Even outside of the fourth quarter he had some nifty passes that weren't finished.
@Keith00
Thank you Keith. Reggie Jackson's Arm Shield really appreciates to comments. Please follow me on Twitter at @RJsArmShield .
@RJsArmShield @Keith00 @RJsArmShield worst. novelty account. ever.
@slimjimzv
I'm real good friends with that fellow. Swell guy to say the least.
Kevin Durant's C*ck ring thinks this is stupid.
@Bsooreal @ThunderChick2010 @booles @Keith00
Thank you Bsooreal. You shall now be protected by the shield, the Arm Shield.
@RJsArmShield @ThunderChick2010 @booles @Keith00
because i lol'd you get a like.
@ThunderChick2010 @booles @Keith00
Your replies would have saddened me...but, because of my Arm Shield, I feel no pain.
@booles @RJsArmShield @Keith00
-1 for twitter spelling fail . . .