But apparently Durant is. And a pretty unique one - I can't think of another superstar who has a net negative effect on his team when he's on the court. This article is so stupid that it's not worth responding to. But it's so annoying that you can't help it. So, you have to have a player that "dominates his position". Durant, apparently does that. I doubt the player he's "guarding" ever feels particularly dominated. And what position is it, exactly, that Durant is dominating? I guess not SG, because that failed, so is it SF? So Green is their PF? And "you've got to have a point guard"? Westbrook is not, in fact, a point guard. At best he's a "combo" guard. He's good at that, but nobody will be confusing him for Jason Kidd or Steve Nash any time soon. And "you've got to have a point guard"? So - who was that dominant PG that the Lakers had in their three-peat? And apparently Jason Williams counts, because otherwise the Heat didn't actually win a championship. Oh, and where would the six-time championship Chicago Bulls have been without star PGs John Paxson and Steve Kerr?
well thats the one thing we have they dont... Paul Allen. With that said... make no mistake about it.... Thunder have a great future ahead and will def be a thorn in our side and many others. In a few years teams like the Blazers and Thunder will be top 4 in the west for quite a few years. Teams like SA, Phoenix, Dallas, and maybe Houston will be rebuilding. 3 Years from now... Blazers Lakers Utah.... but they coud also slide Thunder
What Bucher totally and completely overlooks is OKC's complete and utter lack of good young big men. Defense and rebounding wins championships. Where is the Thunder's dominant rebounder? Where is there intimidating interior defender? They are completely lacking in both areas. Nenad Kristic is decent offensively, but he's a weak defender and poor rebounder. Nick Collison is a good rebounder, but below average in all other areas, and he'll be past his "prime" before the Thunder are potentially contending for anything other than the lottery. Sene and Swift are busts, as was Petro, who they traded. Wilcox was their most talented big, but they finally managed to trade him. If the Chandler deal hadn't fallen through, it would have given them the interior defense and rebounding they lack, but without someone like that in the middle, they are a doughnut team that won't go anywhere in the post season. BNM
Aldridge + Oden > any big prospects OKC has, currently. And unlike what Bucher is stating, you win with size, not with All-Stars and point guards (Jordan excluded).
Actually - you win with defense. Size helps your defense - but Jordan's Bulls and the '04 Pistons showed that defense wins. If you look at all the recent champions - they had a good defensive team or anchor - The Celtics, the Spurs, the Heat when Shaq and Zo' still played defense, Detroit, LAL during the Shaq/Kobe years, The Bulls. When your superstar is a defensive liability, as Durant has been so far - you are not going to win championships. It's that simple. The good news is that Durant is very young, Westbrook will be a defensive stud and they have a chance to get someone like Thabeet in the upcoming draft. They could be a very dangerous team in the future - but it is far from a given. They could just as well turn into the Allen/Big Dog/E.T. Bucks. Lots of fire-power with prolific scorers... and not much more.
I don't know that he's correct with respect to the Thunder having more potential than the Blazers, but Ric does have a point about the typical formula for success having been to get two superstar players surrounded by a bunch of role-players; usually a star guard and a dominant big man. The real key to me is what wil OKC do with all of their available capspace this summer? Are they going to try and go after Chandler again, is another big man on their wish list? If they can somehow add a strong defensive presence at the post position, then yes I do think the Thunder have a legitimate shot at being a contender in a few years and could even overtake the Blazers. What's not to like about a mature core of? Westbrook Sefalosha Durant Green 'Mystery Big Man'
I want Nate to have this article translated into French, then hold it right in front of Batum's face prior to the game. Add that little personal touch, ifyouknowwhatimean. Then, watch-see how Nicolus goes after Durant.
That's certainly debatable. However, if he isn't I don't see how Durant can be considered a superstar.
Biggest potential problem, unless MBM is a stud - is that Durant is not a good defensive superstar - and when your superstar is an offense only machine - you usually do not win it all. T-Mac (a better defender than Durant) - never made much noise in the playoffs. 'Melo (a better defender than Durant, with a team that had a defensive stud at the big position) - never made much noise in the playoffs - but he is trying a lot more this year. A.I. - 'nuff said Dirk Diggler (a much better defender than Durant) - Same old. Steve Nash - a joy to watch - but they could never stop the good teams when it matters - and there you go... I think Presti is too good a GM not to address this problem someway, somehow. I will be shocked if they do not take Thabeet if they have a chance in the draft. At the end of the day, however, I still like the Blazers more from a defensive point-of-view. Aldridge is becoming a very good defender. Oden has all the tools to be a dominant defensive anchor. Nic looks like a prototypical perimeter defender in the Pip/Prince mold. Roy is a very good defender when he puts his mind to it - and I am wiling to bet that once this team's other offensive options mature and the pressure on Roy to score is down - he will become a more consistent good defender. Add Bayless and his potential to be a strong defender - and this team looks a lot more like a prototypical ring contender than the Westbrooks look to me.
It's not fashionable to say so now, but I actually think Utah is a bigger short and long-term threat than Oklahoma City. Green and Durant play the same position, and Westbrook is nice but not a true PG. I'd rather have Deron Williams (who actually is a point guard) than Kevin Durant. Boozer and Millsap are each better than any big man on the Thunder roster, and one of them likely gets traded for something of real value. There's a good player in Kirilenko, and I think a team who could actually use him will eventually trade with Utah something of value. Portland is still the most promising team in the league, but if you want to talk about potential, Utah intrigues me a lot.
You can argue that if you want. I don't think Howard belongs on that list yet. He has never played in a major series or gone far into the playoffs, and part of that is becasue he pussed out in the first round of the playoffs last year. The only reason I think Wade should be on that list is because he led a team to a championship before. But otherwise, he is a good scorer on a bad team, so that inflates his stats. Kobe and Lebron don't even play the 4th quarter in a lot of games. Both of them have sat out some number in the teens of 4th quarters this year because they were not needed.
Batum needs to be all over KD tonight to make a point. B ROY after the game should thank Bucher after he gets 50! GO should also go off on that non existant defense the OKC has! As for the Thunder getting Thabeet...... GOOD! I saw a 6'10 player from Pitt push Thabeet around twice this year like it was free. Trust me GO will impose his will on Thabeet!
The Thunder ARE going to be nasty. They scare the shit out of me. Not to say they'll be better than Portland, but it's going to turn in to a GREAT rivalry.......that was once a GREAT rivalry.
Brandon Roy, has played in 2 all-star games in his first 3 seasons, but he's not the superstar Durant is, even though he hasn't made it out of the rookie/soph game? Yeah, ok...
The proven formula for winning an NBA title is simple, and it goes back 50+ years. You need either: a) a dominant big man - this helps with both defense and rebounding or b) two, or more elite defenders Go back and look at all the championship teams over the last 50 years, and see if you can find ONE that does not fit this formula. Even the Jordan Bulls, with 2 (or more) elite defenders (Jordan, Pippen and Grant/Rodman) fit this equation. They were also great rebounding teams. Sure, it helps to have a great scorer, but great rebounders and elite defenders are more likely to win championships than guys who lead the league in scoring. Another way to look at it is, for a great scorer to win a championship (unless he's also a great rebounder/defender - which usually translates into dominant big man - Duncan, Shaq, Hakeem, Kareem, etc.), he needs a lot of help. Surround Durant with great defenders and at least one top notch rebounder and he has a chance to win a title. As the rosters stand today, Portland has ALL the pieces to contend for multiple NBA titles. OKC has one of the pieces (possibly 1.5 if Westbrook becomes and elite defender). BNM
OKC does have a very talented team....but does anyone really expect Durrant to stay there long term???
