could OKC have beaten SA the past two years with James Harden?

[jzek]

I think they could have. He creates problems for SA and OKC clearly needs a third scorer behind Westbrook and his sidekick Durant.

[Milbuck]

He's worthless.

[qrich]

Sure, they could have extended it to game seven, and that is it.

[Springsteen]

Yea, Harden would've defended Duncan great.

[Nash]

harden still coming off the bench if he was in okc, lol

[buddha]

of course.

[UK2K]

Do they lose Ibaka?

If so, then no.

[SillyRabbit]

They spotted the Spurs a 2-0 series lead and still pushed it to Game 6 OT.

Who cares about Harden? If Ibaka was healthy they would've won in 6.

(In b4 "they still lost when Ibaka came back" ... it was quite obvious that he wasn't playing at 100%)

[andremiller07]

They spotted the Spurs a 2-0 series lead and still pushed it to Game 6 OT.

Who cares about Harden? If Ibaka was healthy they would've won in 6.

(In b4 "they still lost when Ibaka came back" ... it was quite obvious that he wasn't playing at 100%)
:roll: :roll:

[DMAVS41]

Definitely not last year.

This year though? yea...they probably win.

However, do they get to the WCF with Harden? My answer would be no. I think they lose either the Grizzlies or Clippers series with that clown Harden...

[bdreason]

PG: Westbrook
SG: Harden
SF: Durant
PF: Green
C: Ibaka

:bowdown: :bowdown: :bowdown:



At the end of they day, OKC management chose Perkins + $$$ over James Harden and Jeff Green.

[miles berg]

Yes the Thunder would own the West if they still had Harden. They would probably also be a one time champ by the end of this season.

Stupid ass trade.

[DMAVS41]

Yes the Thunder would own the West if they still had Harden. They would probably also be a one time champ by the end of this season.

Stupid ass trade.

That trade is not what did them in.

The trade was actually good. Without Adams they would have been in serious trouble...even with Harden.

It was the fact that Presti didn't upgrade the sg position. That was the big ****up...the Harden trade was fine. (I actually loved it at the time and still love it...even more now after watching Adams and Reggie Jackson....I know they didn't get RJ in that trade, but he doesn't sniff the court if Harden is still there)

Presti could have easily gotten Meeks or another quality sg at the deadline for a first round pick and Thabo and or Fisher. He chose to hold onto those damn picks and it cost the Thunder a chance at the title.

I want you and everyone to think about this. Meeks makes 1.5 million this year. Are the Lakers. A team looking to clear it's books and be bad...going to turn down a late first round pick, fisher (retires a Laker), and Roberson (not bad and on a great contract)...for Meeks??? Hell no they aren't.

WB/Jackson
Meeks/Lamb
Durant
Ibaka/Collison
Perk/Adams

That addition of Meeks changes everything. No more Butler. No more Fisher. No more Thabo.

They should be gearing up to go get Meeks as we speak. He remains the perfect and most cost effective player that they could get at the position....and would be a perfect compliment to them all and would allow Lamb to not have to step into a starting role next year.

[Kiddlovesnets]

I think they could, Harden was the reason why Spurs lost in 2012. Spurs always have trouble defending the SG position, especially the ones who can both make long range shots and drive to the hoop(ie Kobe, Mcgrady, Carter, Ellis and Harden). Fortunately the Thunder does not have Harden this year, so no way they had a chance against the Spurs. The result in WCF clearly reflects this fact anyway.

[Haymaker]

Harden was also the buffer between KD and Westbrook. He took the ball off their hands and served as a playmaker, helping the team keep the ball moving.

[TheReturn]

Ofcourse. Come on now..

[SOD 21]

I don't think there is any chance that Oklahoma City would beat the San Antonio Spurs last season with James Harden and without Russell Westbrook due to his knee injury. None.

I do believe the Oklahoma City would have defeated the Spurs this season if Ibaka played the entire series and they had James Harden coming off the bench. James Harden is good enough to carry their bench and offset a lot of what San Antonio had as an advantage there this season.

Either way, I am still not sure that they defeat Miami though. Although Miami does look more vulnerable this season than they did last year.

Sam Presti has his work cut out for him this off-season to address a few glaring weaknesses on this team.

[SsKSpurs21]

Rockets swept the spurs 4-0 in the regular season. Harden being the biggest factor. we just cant stop that guy. having him and reggie jackson off the bench and them two pretty much match the entire spurs bench in production.

[DMAVS41]

I don't think there is any chance that Oklahoma City would beat the San Antonio Spurs last season with James Harden and without Russell Westbrook due to his knee injury. None.

I do believe the Oklahoma City would have defeated the Spurs this season if Ibaka played the entire series and they had James Harden coming off the bench. James Harden is good enough to carry their bench and offset a lot of what San Antonio had as an advantage there this season.

Either way, I am still not sure that they defeat Miami though. Although Miami does look more vulnerable this season than they did last year.

Sam Presti has his work cut out for him this off-season to address a few glaring weaknesses on this team.


The biggest one...the hole at sg...should have already been addressed.

And this team doesn't really have any glaring weaknesses outside of that. In fact, they just don't.

If Presti had done his job at the deadline...here is what the Thunder would have looked like;

WB/Jackson
Meeks/Lamb/Thabo
Durant/Jones
Ibaka/Collison
Perk/Adams

Here is what they look like with Harden;

WB/Jackson/Fisher...but Jackson is a far worse player and gets hardly any playing time
Harden/Thabo
Durant/Jones
Ibaka/Collison
Perkins/Thabeet


Ugh...I just like the first roster so so so much better both presently and long term.

I'm going to keep saying it. The problem was not the Harden trade...it actually worked perfectly. Adams is a beast, Jackson has turned into a perfect fit, and they now have two picks and financial flexibility going forward. It was great.

The problem is that Presti didn't upgrade the roster this year. He sat on his hands and did nothing.

Does anyone here think the Thunder lose to the Spurs if they played Meeks 30 minutes a game????

[SOD 21]

[/B]

The biggest one...the hole at sg...should have already been addressed.

And this team doesn't really have any glaring weaknesses outside of that. In fact, they just don't.

If Presti had done his job at the deadline...here is what the Thunder would have looked like;

WB/Jackson
Meeks/Lamb/Thabo
Durant/Jones
Ibaka/Collison
Perk/Adams

Here is what they look like with Harden;

WB/Jackson/Fisher...but Jackson is a far worse player and gets hardly any playing time
Harden/Thabo
Durant/Jones
Ibaka/Collison
Perkins/Thabeet


Ugh...I just like the first roster so so so much better both presently and long term.

I'm going to keep saying it. The problem was not the Harden trade...it actually worked perfectly. Adams is a beast, Jackson has turned into a perfect fit, and they now have two picks and financial flexibility going forward. It was great.

The problem is that Presti didn't upgrade the roster this year. He sat on his hands and did nothing.

Does anyone here think the Thunder lose to the Spurs if they played Meeks 30 minutes a game????

Sam Presti, in my opinion, is playing a dangerous game of both trying to always build for the future and also compete for championships at the same time. Can you legitimately be constantly building for the future and have the proper level of commitment to winning now that will keep Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook happy?

Does having Jodie Meeks ensure that you defeat San Antonio? I am not sure, although there is a chance that it pushes them over the top with his ability to score and punish teams for playing too far off of KD, RW and Ibaka. They desperately needed that type of scoring to pair with their star players and to give them additional punch off the bench.

This off-season will tell you a lot about Oklahoma City's commitment to winning a championship now.

[VIntageNOvel]

are you guys serious,
do milbuck succeed

james harden was a monster in okc,
not the worthless diva he is now

as a lakers fans, i remember how harden was the one that we didnt have the answer for, dude wrecked your second unit, dropping 20-30 points off the bench

[DMAVS41]

Sam Presti, in my opinion, is playing a dangerous game of both trying to always build for the future and also compete for championships at the same time. Can you legitimately be constantly building for the future and have the proper level of commitment to winning now that will keep Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook happy?

Does having Jodie Meeks ensure that you defeat San Antonio? I am not sure, although there is a chance that it pushes them over the top with his ability to score and punish teams for playing too far off of KD, RW and Ibaka. They desperately needed that type of scoring to pair with their star players and to give them additional punch off the bench.

This off-season will tell you a lot about Oklahoma City's commitment to winning a championship now.

i totally agree...been saying it all year

Presti is looking too much to the future now. He should have drafted 1 or both of their draft picks this year for a real asset.

Who knows if they win or not with Meeks, but what I do know is that he fits in perfectly on the Thunder as a nice solid big sg that can shoot the lights out and has turned into a solid player.

They not only bad needed him this year, but also for the future. If they had traded for him, they would then have the inside track to keep him.

Now I'm not sure if they can get him in free agency because he might cost them too much. Especially as a trade would have allowed them to dump a guy like Collison and or Roberson to free up an extra 3 million for this coming year

I personally, if I was Presti, would sign Meeds to like 4 years 16 to 17 million if that is what it takes. Get Jackson locked up on an extension....and then evaluate what kind of big you can get.

Part of me, if I was Presti, and I could convince ownership to do it...would take Collison, Perkins, Roberson, and the two first round picks and go get Larry Sanders.

They spent 71 million this year...and doing all that with Reggie extension would put them at around 76 million.

WB/Jackson
Meeks/Lamb
Durant/Jones
Ibaka
Sanders/Adams

I think you win 3 titles in the next 5 years with that.

Presti won't do that though...my guess is Meeks and Davis and Reggie extension....and then another vet at the trade deadline like they did with Butler this year. And I like that stuff as well. Let Adams, Lamb, and Jones play a lot more minutes and just tinker a little. And that is fine, but damn...part of me wonders if they should just go for Monroe or Sanders with those picks....and expiring contracts and young players.

[Macho Grande]

They spotted the Spurs a 2-0 series lead and still pushed it to Game 6 OT.

Who cares about Harden? If Ibaka was healthy they would've won in 6.

(In b4 "they still lost when Ibaka came back" ... it was quite obvious that he wasn't playing at 100%)


Here come the excuses. :rolleyes:

[Pointguard]

They definitely beat them with Harden. Their main problem now is that they have no adaptable, thinking or adjusting players on the ball. Harden would have been acclimated four years deep with the team. He kept the team on the same page better than anybody does now. They are just a "go talent go" team now. They don't have anybody to harmonize the different games of Westbrook and Durant. Now they are a youthful duo almost outside of the team concept. At least a trio is a majority and the most team oriented guy is part of the equation - I know he hasn't been that much of a team player on Houston this year, but back on OKC he was.

[DMAVS41]

They definitely beat them with Harden. Their main problem now is that they have no adaptable, thinking or adjusting players on the ball. Harden would have been acclimated four years deep with the team. He kept the team on the same page better than anybody does now. They are just a "go talent go" team now. They don't have anybody to harmonize the different games of Westbrook and Durant. Now they are a youthful duo almost outside of the team concept. At least a trio is a majority and the most team oriented guy is part of the equation - I know he hasn't been that much of a team player on Houston this year, but back on OKC he was.

I said this earlier, but I'll say it here again.

I definitely agree with you that they beat the Spurs with Harden this year. However, I don't think they make it out of the first round with him...and definitely don't think they beat the Clippers with him either.

Without Adams against the Clippers I think they are just ****ed. And we also have to remember that Jackson isn't getting any burn really with Harden either.

Again, it's not the Harden trade. The Thunder definitely beat the Spurs with Meeks as well in my opinion. And they'd still have the brighter future with a developed Reggie and Adams/Lamb/pick

Presti was the silent killer of this team.