[valentine]

I’m watching OKC vs Dallas, and it should be noted that Steven Adams and Russell Westbrook are missing/restricted. 

So I get to evaluate the supporting cast. And I’m not impressed. 

Victor Oladipo is the Gerald Wallace of Combo Guards. He crashes, he fills the stat sheet. But at the end of the day, he doesn’t make winning basketball plays. 

Enes Kanter is so self-centered and one-dimensional that even his effectiveness around the rim can’t overcome his atrocious defense. 

Andrew Bogut is just owning the inside right now. Steven Adams can probably play 28 minutes a night, but when he’s not on the court there is little support on the bench. 

I saw a lot of Sabonis at the olympics and he might be a nice rotation player in the future, he’s not ready to contribute yet. 

In short, if Adams or Westbrook miss any substantial time, there’s no chance OKC can make the playoffs. 

My forecast

Perfect Health: 48 wins

Injuries to Adams or Westbrook before AllStar: 32 wins

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[OhCanada-Participant]

 Seems about right.  But you forgot Westbrook is a leading condidate for preseason MVP and one of the best players in the league a certain hall of famer even if he retired today.  Hes gonna make the team better. If Lilliard gets a major injury Portland is bound to struggle as well and same goes for 24 other teams "if" they lose thier best player. 

[D7H7NParticipant]

 In order to even have a good shot at winning MVP you need to lead your team to a top 2 seed in your conference. As it stands right now looks like OKC will be competing with Utah for the 4th seed. 

[jerb2011Participant]

 You watched 1 preseason game and have the whole season figured out, lol

[OhCanada-Participant]

What the…So I looked at the game recap and Im not imoressed Hype.

Westbrook played in this game you saying missing/restricted led me to believe he sat out.  He played regular minutes for a starter in the preseason. Adams sat out so they could experiment with Sabonis,  Lauvergne,  and other bigs.  Sabonis,  Christon and Albrines shot 3-20 in this game. Oladipo and Westbrook didnt shoot well.  The rest of the team shot around 50% and on paper it seems the supporting cast played great but I didnt watch the game. 

I dont mind when you overhype Australian players and bring attention to your countrymen but your posts have had alot of misinformation lately. What happened man you used to be cool. 

 

[Hype Machine]

Misinformation? I cant be held responsible for events that happen after my post goes live.

 

I just call it like I see it and I stick by my comments both in this thread, and previous threads.

 

Poll: Who has more ‘Theraputic Use Exemptions’. Russell Westbrook, Serena Williams or Big Poppa Pump? 

[Robb_CParticipant]

 Way to press the early panic button on a team that lost two starters and added a bunch of new pieces.. This team still has to grow together, its only preseason lets save the doom and gloom for after the all star break

[JordoParticipant]

 Can easily say if team ____ loses player ___ and ___ for extended time, and it would mean loses.

[MatosParticipant]

Here let me put it in perspective:

– If Portland loses Lilliard and McCollum, same can be said

– If Raptors lose Lowry and DeRozen, same can be said

– If Houston loses James Harden and…just James Harden, same can be said

 

See the pattern? A team is not the same team without their best player(s). Add in the fact that this team has been reconstructed and hasn’t played a single game together and the fact that this is pre-season. Lets wait before we assume.

 

 

[JoeWolf1]

Not quite sure what you mean about Crash Wallace. During his prime he was player who effected his team positively on both ends of the court, and not just collecting meaningless stats. He was in the top 10 in Defensive Win Shares twice, and spent his entire prime in the top 20. He stacks up pretty well as a player who positively impacted his team ( except for his late career, which was pretty abysmal).

He never enjoyed a lot of team success, but he had a nice career, and his long All-Star season was extremely impressive all the way around.

[Author]

Posts