Your guess for who will be our starting center next year

I think Dame wants Plumlee, and what Dame wants.....

That's my guess

 

I think Dame wants whatever will help the team win more games. He's not the type to pout about personnel moves, like when Frazier was traded.

 

Yeah, I'm really curious to know what people think of him after last night's game. Seems like lots of people were ready to sign him to a MAX after his 20+ rebounds the other night, but have they now swung back after a no-show?

 

I think there is a reason why, when asked about recruiting players to the team, Dame responded something about he's not the GM and he'll leave that to Olshey. He can't bond and create 'team' with the players, then turn around and advocate one of the them being replaced. As a leader, he can't afford to lose their trust. I don't believe we'll ever see Dame throw a teammate under the bus, or have it leaked that he asked for someone to be replaced. They are all his boys; until they're not -- and even then, they still are (i.e. Tim Frazier).

 

Great points and I concur. Dame just isnt that type of guy like an LBJ... Thats why I think, if he isnt yet, he will be the best leader in the NBA during his tenure.

 

I'm not sure about trading, but there are clips of him publicly criticizing his teammates on the court, and that's not leadership. You praise in public, criticize in private.

 

Man.... it's amazing how much the playoffs can boost your value. Biyombo was not a big name before the postseason. He wasn't even starting.

 

Westbrook just provided a good example. It was reported in the paper this week that Westbrook went to his coach on the sidelines during a game and told the coach he needed to bench a teammate. The coach did. I'm sure the teammate feels great about it. Probably went out with Westbrook after the game and bought him drinks. I just don't see Dame doing that. He would certainly talk to a teammate personally, but he wouldn't throw him under the bus or humiliate him in that manner. Bad for the team chemistry.

 

Yea but at the same time you have to think, when your a leader on a team, and you are in need of winning a game and you see that someone just isn't helping that at the moment, isn't it the right thing to do so that you better your chance at winning that game?

 

We might be seeing a mini version of linsanity here. I'd beware.

 

I'm going out on a limb and saying
Nerlens Noel.

 

Maybe - but it needed to be done. I have no problem with the incident, I just don't like that they made it public.

 

And this is exactly why I think OKC is in trouble and may end up losing this series. They need a reliable third scorer and Kanter is their best option, by far. He's one of the most efficient low post scorers in the game. Just look up his regular season stats (4th in the league in FG%, 4th in ORtg, 6th in TS% and eFG%, etc.). Without his offense, Westbrook and Durant combined for 71 points last night, and they still lost by 9. They also miss Kanter's offensive rebounding. He led the entire league in ORB%, and it really wasn't close. Those ORBs are extra possessions, and given that OKC shoots lower percentages from both 2FG and 3FG range than GSW, those extra possessions are important.

Ibaka and Adams are both way better defensively than Kanter, but neither is a reliable 3rd scorer. Nor are Waiters or Roberson. Given GSWs explosive offense, Westbrook and Durant could both got for 40 and OKC could still lose. That actually seems to be GSW's game plan - let Russ and KD get their's and force somebody else to step up. Unless one of Adams, Ibaka, Waiters or Roberson steps up in Game 6, OKC may be in trouble.

I get that Kanter's defense sucks, but without his offense, they are often playing 2-5 on offense. Yeah, KD and Westbrook are both great scorers, but they can only do so much. Of all the players on OKC's roster, after Westbrook and Durant, the one the most likely to step up and have a good offensive game is Kanter. None of their other players can come close to matching his offensive output or efficiency.

I think that's the real problem here. When Westbrook tries to do too much, it hurts his team. He has a history of freezing out more efficient scoring teammates, including KD and Harden, with the game on the line. That has improved this year, under Donovan. Westbrook isn't freezing out KD the way he used to, but now he's dabbling in coaching and telling Donovan who to play and when to play them. Now, Kanter is barely playing and not getting touches when he does. And if the head coach decides he knows what's best for the team and decides to overrule the player-coach and play Kanter significant minutes, Westbrook is just the type of selfish prick that would freeze out Kanter just to make a point. I mean they guy spent years freezing out Durant because he wanted to play hero ball. He won't hesitate to freeze out Kanter in order to get Donovan to pull him.

OKC really needs to win Game 6. They don't want to go back to GSW for a Game 7. They need to play as a team and right now, they're not all on the same page. Their PG and 3rd best scorer definitely aren't on the same page. If they end up loosing this series, there is bound to be bad blood and finger pointing. Not good, given what they're paying Kanter moving forward and that they'll have to max out both Durant and Westbrook to keep them.

A leader brings his team together. This is why Dame is a leader and Westbrook is not.

BNM

 

As much as I understand and agree about the premise of a third scorer and your view on Westbrook, we will see Saturday night, the return of OKC to the finals. We will NOT see... or HEAR... a muttering from the bay area snob fans...
GSW's dominating game is all but over.

 

Don't get me wrong. I want GSW to lose. Not because I like OKC, I just hate them less at this point.

But, I think Westbrook is playing with fire here. The payoffs are NOT the time to alienate an important teammate. A leader unifies his team. What Westbrook did, and the way he did it, is divisive. If he felt the need to say something about Kanter's defense, he should have said it to Donovan in private. Not during live action on national TV.

I'm not predicting OKC will lose the series. They still have a chance to close it out at home, but any rift among teammates, during the playoffs, is not a good thing.

BNM

 

Oh, I absolutely agree with you and fully believe he is a long term cancer, but I dont think its detrimental in this series. I think they win game 6.. but long term? Will this go to Westbrooks head even more now that he sees he has the coach under his thumb? I think so... in the long term, but the effects will take a bit of time. longer than it will take for them to shut GSW down tomorrow.

Up until a week ago, I had no clue who I wanted to win.

Man I sure can thank DGreen for making that easier for me.

 

Except Lin is a pretty good player.

 

HAHa. Thats debatable.

 

But not as good as the new York hype. Let's face it, NYC likes hype men.