#focus#mustwin#playoffs#drama? : 2013 NBA playoffs

zboooo

i don't think brooks can be faulted for letting harden go to the rockets, or for westbrook's injury. they just aren't the same team without those two.

I think I counted 5 possessions in a row where OKC never passed the ball. There's no way you're gonna beat a good defensive team like Memphis playing like that.

I think every team needs three guys that can create shots. They were down to two sans Harden and then when Westbrook went down, just one.

Guys like Ibaka are replaceable at a better price. You hang on to guys like Harden. Always keep the better player.

if wade ages poorly their strategy still may work out

but i agree with you. they may have expected more growth from serge than what they're getting.

the biggest no brainer was at least keeping harden for this season, then trading him after if you must

Not amnestying Perkins is still their biggest mistake.

When Mark Jackson discusses Tony Robbins here I muttered "oh brother":

http://www.mercurynews.com/warriors/ci_23234855/poole-warriors-mark-jackson-winning-relationship-game

ibaka has progressed really nicely imo, he's looked a little shook in this series for whatever reason, what can you do

majorly shook

ibaka's problem is that if his jumper is off he is basically a no-show on offense which without westbrook totally fucks them

he has to be at the top of the list of current great nba players who have one specific skill they need to master in the offseason or else it's gonna drag their reputation down

that skill would be anything resembling offense in the post so he can get looks without having to be set up with a wide open midrange jumper

ibaka is def not great

oh ibaka is pretty great. it's just that every scab on a player's game gets picked at in the playoffs. but his numbers over the last two seasons for someone his age are definitely in the echelon of great.

He doesn't really rebound particularly well, actually did worse in that regard with more minutes.

what numbers would you be referring to, he gets a bunch of blocks and shoots a good % on not very many shots, nothing else really jumps out

ibaka's like a top 40 player and will get better but will probably never be an all-star, unless he gets traded to the bulls, it seems like everyone on that team is an all star

He could use an actual coach, yeah.

ibaka is a cool player but hes pretty limited

he's very skilled for a young big man and puts up very solid numbers. he'll be an all-star sooner rather than later IMO

he's a nut puncher

he IS a nut puncher

get stoudemire off the knicks flat his knee contagion is spreading to shump

he is not very skilled at all! he is an athletic/energy guy if hes anything, the only thing hes got going on offense is hitting open jump shots and put backs, cant dribble cant pass cant score in the post, he is a classic not that skilled nba player

a big man with that kind of jump shot fits my definition of "skilled"

so you only have to have one skill to be skilled and you dont even have to be that good at it, yokay

i'm pretty bullish on serge i just don't think he was worth keeping at the expense of harden, if that's what it came down to

he's a very good jump shooter for a big man!

things like passing and post moves he can develop as he learns the game more. he's still pretty raw in that area due to life circumstances.

he only takes open jumpers and cant create his own shot, that is not very good jump shooting, kg and chris bosh are very good jump shooting big men

ibaka is an okay shooter but he's really only good from the top of the key and corners http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/i/ibakase01/shooting/2013/

and i wouldnt wager on him developing post moves, he generally doesnt really have any basketball moves, hes just not a player in that sense

lagoon is right in that KG and bosh both have bigger hot spots for long 2's http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/g/garneke01/shooting/2013/ http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/boshch01/shooting/2013/

obvs its a tough comparison since kg and bosh are great jump shooters but not only do they shoot better than ibaka but they can create their own shot in multiple ways, ibaka just waits for someone to pass him the ball and if hes totally open he shoots it, his game is much closer to like brandon bass than any sort of legit jump shooter

I feel like Ibaka's weaknesses would not be an issue if they had a legit post guy to pair with him. A better Harden trade would've been with Utah for one of their bigs rather than a dime a dozen scorer like Martin plus change.

Yeah good comparison xp

david west http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/w/westda01/shooting/2013/

I just feel like hustle 4's are a dime-a-dozen these days and paying a slightly better one 12 mill a year is crippling.

ibaka is pretty unique, literally no one in the league has the combination of shot-blocking and deadly mid-range shooting like he does - and he's going to get better

not much better, he'll never average 20 points a game, but good enough to be a solid 3rd option on offense on a good team

does he do anything really positive on d other than get blocks?

i don't know what his synergy numbers or whatever are but he seems to be a plus - if a little overrated - defender

I feel like Ibaka's weaknesses would not be an issue if they had a legit post guy to pair with him. A better Harden trade would've been with Utah for one of their bigs rather than a dime a dozen scorer like Martin plus change.

― polyphonic, Tuesday, May 14, 2013 11:34 AM (28 seconds ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Every team needs a scoring post to go along with a hustle post but thats a tall glass. It's just hard to pay for both especially when you are already paying for KD and RW and overpaying for the hustle 4.

i think ibaka would have to become an outstanding defensive player before i could really get too excited about him

yep

It's just hard to pay for both

You don't need the best guy. You just need a guy who isn't the dessicated shell of Kendrick Perkins. It's insane how little depth the Thunder have.

the thunder have good depth! reggie jackson, nick collison, kevin martin, these are all valuable rotation players. even derek fisher isn't TERRIBLE as a 3rd PG. the problem is it's the playoffs now and star power matters more than depth (at least relative to the reg season) and their second best player is out. and scotty is clueless when it comes to his rotation

When Nick Collison is your second-best big man that's not a good sign

yeah it's not that jackson, collison, and martin are killing them, it's that they luxuriate in playing perk and thabo and did luxuriate in playing fisher (now a necessity tbf) and those first two guys just aren't gonna do it when they're not playing with two top-10 players