I would not be suprise if the thunder upsets the warriors next year playoffs

[snipes12]

Imagine gs getting the no. 2 spot and okc have the 7 ..steph gets hurt ,durant choke , and the front court of okc destroys them .. Russel for the buzzer :lol
Jokes would be on durant

[Dr. Cheesesteak]

Imagine gs getting the no. 2 spot and okc have the 7 ..steph gets hurt ,durant choke , and the front court of okc destroys them .. Russel for the buzzer :lol
Jokes would be on durant
That's dumb.

It's gonna be a 1-8 matchup.

[KiiiiNG]

I wouldn't be surprised if you get fed through a tube

[Fudge]

I wouldn't be surprised if you get fed through a tube
:roll:

[AirBonner]

I wouldn't be surprised if you get fed through a tube
Savage :eek:

[JohnMax]

Westbrook shot 39% vs Golden State and broke the turnover record in a Conference Finals.


http://oi65.tinypic.com/4js178.jpg

[SouBeachTalents]

Westbrook shot 39% vs Golden State and broke the turnover record in a Conference Finals.


http://oi65.tinypic.com/4js178.jpg

Durant was even worse, especially in Game 6

[Meticode]

Durant was even worse, especially in Game 6
I remember Westbrook having a worse shooting percentage from the field and more turnovers than Durant.

[SouBeachTalents]

I remember Westbrook having a worse shooting percentage from the field and more turnovers than Durant.

Lol, meant to say just as bad, even worse was probably an exaggeration

[CakeorDeath]

I would be surprised, because that would mean that OKC made the playoffs.

Warriors
Spurs
Clippers
Jazz
Grizzlies
Blazers
Rockets

Appear to be playoff locks. Last spot seems to be up for grabs between OKC, Dallas, and Minnesota, and Dallas is tough to bet against making the postseason, and Minny's young talent is scary.

[raprap]

Minny is our saviour.

Dunn would feast on little boy Curry

Wiggins will negate KD

KAT would dominate their frontcourt

#builtnotbought

[Bandito]

I would be surprised, because that would mean that OKC made the playoffs.

Warriors
Spurs
Clippers
Jazz
Grizzlies
Blazers
Rockets

Appear to be playoff locks. Last spot seems to be up for grabs between OKC, Dallas, and Minnesota, and Dallas is tough to bet against making the postseason, and Minny's young talent is scary.

Something here doesn't fit.

[CakeorDeath]

Something here doesn't fit.

Yeah, I thought about that too. It could be 6 locks with 4 teams (Houston, Dallas, Minny, OKC) battling for the last two spots.

I do like the Ryan Anderson signing for them, though. It would have been even better obviously if they had kept Dwight, as Anderson would have helped them play an even better inside-out scheme, but Anderson will be a player for them regardless.

Nene is a good signing too. Will gobble up a portion of the rebounds and put-backs Dwight otherwise would have had.

That's mostly why right now I'm penciling Houston in as a 7th seed. No problems though if others don't have them in the top 8.

[imdaman99]

I would be surprised, because that would mean that OKC made the playoffs.

Warriors
Spurs
Clippers
Jazz
Grizzlies
Blazers
Rockets

Appear to be playoff locks. Last spot seems to be up for grabs between OKC, Dallas, and Minnesota, and Dallas is tough to bet against making the postseason, and Minny's young talent is scary.
This guy said the Jazz are locks :roll: Sorry but OKC has a superstar and they have decent talent around him. They are easily better than the Jazz

[CakeorDeath]

This guy said the Jazz are locks :roll: Sorry but OKC has a superstar and they have decent talent around him. They are easily better than the Jazz

OKC easily better than the Jazz, huh? Well, let's look at some numbers:

Last year, OKC finished 55-27 and Utah finished 40-42.

Utah was devastated by injuries, losing 180 games just to their projected starting lineup. OKC, by comparison, had the single lowest games-lost-to-injury in the entire league. Thus, playing the "what if injuries hadn't happened" card doesn't really net OKC any additional wins, but it almost certainly would have netted the Jazz substantially more wins. Probably 5-10 more games at least.

Even when the Jazz were healthy, they simply didn't have enough quality depth last year. Even if the team suffers injuries to key guys again, the backups this year will be Joe Johnson, George Hill, and Boris Diaw instead of borderline D-league players like Raul Neto, Joe Ingles, Chris Johnson, and Jeff Withey. That's worth more wins too, especially in close games, where the Jazz were dismal last year because they were forced to play guys who had no business being on the floor in tight games. The Jazz bench could not establish, keep, or add to leads last year. This year should be different with proven vets coming in.

The last time OKC played a season without Durant, they went 45-27. Obviously, they don't have him anymore, but they also don't have Ibaka either. Other than Oladipo, the core of the 14-15 squad and the 16-17 squad is pretty much the same. Don't you think pretty much the same team minus Durant and this time also minus Ibaka figures to dive some in the standings? Because that is exactly what happened a year ago when OKC only lost Durant?

So given all of the above, you don't find it possible (if not likely) that the Jazz will improve to at least the low 50s in wins (10-12 game improvement)? And, based on the above, that the Thunder will fall to the mid-high 40s? Or do you think Durant + Ibaka was only worth 5 wins or less? And this is all assuming Westbrook isn't traded some time during the year?

Jazz should win the division next year, and should be a 4-5 seed (52-57 wins). Thunder will fight for the 8th spot, and may not make it (40-45 wins).

[Dr. Cheesesteak]

:lol

The only locks in the West, imo, are GSW, SA, and LAC.

OKC, Por, Utah, Minny, Dal, Mem, and possibly Den and Hou will be a big cluster-F for the other spots. Think 3-9 positions in East last season.