Ric Bucher Likes OKC Over Blazers In A Few Years

I agree the article is bs, but he did say in a few years so I'm surprise people think us kicking them now means anything relative to his article.

 

His overriding point was that Durant was a "superstar". Nic Batum just shut down a "superstar", while OKC had to double ordinary player Brandon Roy.

 

Did he say Durant was a superstar now?

 

Sam Presti hasn't done too bad for himself, considering the Sonics/Thunder have had like 20 picks in every draft since he took over.

 

*Mel Gibson lethal weapon voice* Its just been hijacked.

 

Ric smokes rocks period

 

Ya, rereading it I guess he pretty much did say that Durant was better than Roy at this point. Wonder how he'll feel after this game?

 

LeBron was always a monster, build wise - so for him to become a good defensive player is an awful lot easier than it is for Durant - who is nowhere near as strong as most opponents he plays against. In comparison - LeBron is almost always stronger than the guys he plays against.

I just do not think Durant has what it takes to become a great defensive player. He has the length and the wingspan - he does not have the lateral speed or strength. That's why I am certain that Nic Batum will always be a better defender than him. Durant is great as a complimentary scorer. When he is your #1 player - you are just not going to go anywhere significant.

The earlier OKC realizes they go as far as Westbrook takes them - the better it is for them.

 

Because tonight was the perfect illustration of exactly what OKC is lacking to become a serious contender - a dominant rebounder/interior defender. The Blazers just tore them apart on the glass (57-32) and killed them in the paint (46-26). They have no one on their roster with any chance of becoming the type of big man they will need to contend. They got 2 points and 2 rebounds out of their starting center. Their PG was their leading rebounder. If Channing Frye played for them he'd be their best big man - by far.

And here's the thing about great big men... they don't come around very often. Even half-way decent centers are hard to find. The Sonics spent years wasting draft picks on guys like Swift, Sene and Petro and none of them panned out. Until they address this need, I don't see how anyone can consider them to be a potential contender. It's simply too glaring a weakness to gloss over.

Bucher TOTALLY overlooked this obvious flaw in his "analysis", but he seems to think the Blazers can't improve their PG between now and whenever it is he thinks OKC will be a contender. As it stands now, the Blazers PG situation is a total non-issue compared to what the Thunder are lacking.

BNM

 

I like this.

 

Not to mention that Steve Blake, our under-appreciated point guard, completely outplayed Westbrook.

 

Forward this to Ric and I'm sure you will see him cry.

 

LOL!!!

Bulletin board, baby!

http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindblazersbeat/2009/04/trail_blazers_trounce_thunder.html

 

Thank you Ric Bucher! You may be an idiot, but at least you're a useful idiot.

BNM

 

Clearly someone on the coaching staff used this article for motivation. Nate had to approve it, I'm sure, so I really think you have to give Nate credit for using Bucher's idiocy as motivation.

 

I'm pretty sure I heard MB say that he and the other broadcasting staff did it. Am I wrong?

 

Concerning Durant vs. Roy and which, if either, is a "superstar".

The most notable stat where Durant holds an advantage is PPG. He's a high volume scorer on a team with few other options. Prior to tonight's game, Durant was averaging 25.8 PPG to Roy's 23.0. Not a huge advantage, but a definite edge to Durant in this one particular stat. Of course, the Blazers play at a much slower pace than OKC and this accounts for most of the scoring differential. Durant attempts 19.1 FG per game to Roy's 17.3. If Roy attempted 19.1 FG per game,. he'd be averaging 25.4 PPG. So, still a slight edge to Durant, but it's very slight.

However, there's more to offense than scoring and more to basketball than offense. In terms of PER, which is heavily biased towards offensive play, Roy has a significant 24.2 to 21.1 advantage over Durant. In terms of win shares, Roy again has a significant advantage 11.5 vs. 7.6. Rather than using the often misunderstood +/- stat, which is really more of a measure of team performance, when looking at a players net effect on his team, I like to use Offensive Rating minus Defensive Rating, or ORtg - DRtg. This is the difference between how many points a player scores per 100 possessions vs. how many points he allows his opponent top score per 100 possessions. For Brandon Roy, the numbers are 123 - 110 = 13. So, his net impact is a positive 13 points per 100 possessions. Durant's numbers are 111 - 109 = 2. So, his net contribution is a positive 2 points per 100 possessions.

Now, tell me again, which one's the superstar?

BNM

 

I'm pretty sure all but one fan here agrees with you. It's Hairdo Bucher that apparently needs to be convinced of it, right?

 

Hopefully he'll do a article comparing the Rockets favorably to the Blazers by Sunday.

 

Wow you really gotta give props to the Nate/coaching staff for always finding these extra motivators before the games for the players, whether it's a speech, or highlight mix to pump the guys up, or showing them articles to piss them off. Great work