Which Western Conference team is the worst matchup for OKC?

[Im Still Ballin]

Houston feels like it to me. They have the personnel, defense, and style of offense that could cause OKC problems. The Thunder's superpower is generating live-ball turnovers on defense that lead to easy transition/early offense. The Rockets' offense is all about possession efficiency: limiting TOs and maximizing second-chance points/ORB%.

[Full Court]

Houston feels like it to me. They have the personnel, defense, and style of offense that could cause OKC problems. The Thunder's superpower is generating live-ball turnovers on defense that lead to easy transition/early offense. The Rockets' offense is all about possession efficiency: limiting TOs and maximizing second-chance points/ORB%.

Lakers.

Rockets are too flaky. One game they'll look unbeatable, the next game they'll look like trash. Rockets have a good thing going, but they need to mature. This isn't their year.

[90sgoat]

Warriors look like a tough matchup for anyone. Butler is a game changer, can probably make life difficult for Shai and Curry and Podz will make Shai run a lot on defense.

[Xiao Yao You]

Rockets are young. Be a vetvteam. Gs or minnesota with their size and d

[Axe]

Warriors look like a tough matchup for anyone. Butler is a game changer, can probably make life difficult for Shai and Curry and Podz will make Shai run a lot on defense.
Indeed he's a game changer and has shown to be clutch. But he's already 35 and you never know when he'd fall down.

The obnoxious retard above you has a bleeding crotch and suffers from severe erectile dysfunction, btw.

[Real Men Wear Green]

It's the Warriors because of the best teams in the West they have the best defensive personnel to put on SGA. Led by Butler, with GP2 as an alternative and Green coordinating everything in support that's the best mix on paper. Thunder are still the favorites though. Holmgren's overwhelming height may give the Thunder a scoring option they can't deal with, great as Green is and I'm not expecting Alexander to be shut down, just forced into more tough shots than he may normally take.

[Xiao Yao You]

It's the Warriors because of the best teams in the West they have the best defensive personnel to put on SGA. Led by Butler, with GP2 as an alternative and Green coordinating everything in support that's the best mix on paper. Thunder are still the favorites though. Holmgren's overwhelming height may give the Thunder a scoring option they can't deal with, great as Green is and I'm not expecting Alexander to be shut down, just forced into more tough shots than he may normally take.

Youngest team in the league isnt the blueprint for championships. Wolves have plenty of guys to throw at shai

[Real Men Wear Green]

Youngest team in the league isnt the blueprint for championships. Wolves have plenty of guys to throw at shai Age is not a match-up reason. OKC may win 70 games, even if it's just 68 or 69 that would make them one of the greatest regular season teams ever. That level of dominance deserves some respect. They could have 20+ more wins than Minnie, a one-star team who the Thunder have good personnel to guard.

[999Guy]

Houston feels like it to me. They have the personnel, defense, and style of offense that could cause OKC problems. The Thunder's superpower is generating live-ball turnovers on defense that lead to easy transition/early offense. The Rockets' offense is all about possession efficiency: limiting TOs and maximizing second-chance points/ORB%.

Amen Thompson cannot be your best offensive player against ax defense like OKC’s. They will get swept in a series against them.


Jimmy Butler, Kawhi Leonard, Nikola Jokic and (healthy) Luka Doncic are the only players that can cause serious problems for OKC’s defense in half court as far as shot creation. Make of that what you will.

[ImKobe]

Warriors & Clippers. Teams that can defend at a high level and go small. Say what you want about the Clippers' offense with Harden bricking it up but when Kawhi's on the court they're elite on both ends.

[tpols]

They have a tough slate to choose from.

Warriors
Lakers
Nuggets
Wolves
Clippers
Grizzlies

There's really no easy option there except maybe the Grizzlies, who aren't all that easy. Maybe pray for Clippers and then find out Kawhi is gonna sit.

[Xiao Yao You]

Age is not a match-up reason. OKC may win 70 games, even if it's just 68 or 69 that would make them one of the greatest regular season teams ever. That level of dominance deserves some respect. They could have 20+ more wins than Minnie, a one-star team who the Thunder have good personnel to guard.

No disrespect. Great team. When did the youngest team win it all? Until they do they are a young team with a bright future

[Xiao Yao You]

Amen Thompson cannot be your best offensive player against ax defense like OKC’s. They will get swept in a series against them.


Jimmy Butler, Kawhi Leonard, Nikola Jokic and (healthy) Luka Doncic are the only players that can cause serious problems for OKC’s defense in half court as far as shot creation. Make of that what you will.

Thompson is their best offensive player? :coleman:

[Neal Romer]

OKC had a great regular season but I dont think theyre invincible in the playoffs. Not with the West as strong as it is this year. Also some teams are built more for regular seasons, OKC has yet to prove their playoff strength, altho Im of course not discounting them.

But I could see them ending up in a real battle with multiple teams: Denver, Golden State, Lebron, Houston, Minny, even Dallas could be tough for them.

[hold this L]

It's the Warriors. They already beat them twice without Himmy this season, they can match them stylistically. They will key in on the non-SGA players because until recently, OKC had problems offensively with others getting it going.

[Real Men Wear Green]

No disrespect. Great team. When did the youngest team win it all? Until they do they are a young team with a bright future When did the youngest team win 70 games? The ages aren't relevant. Especially when Minnie isn't that veteran themselves. SGA is older than Edwards. Does that matter?

[Akeem34TheDream]

Rockets are weird and young so i understand people ignoring them. They can't shoot but they defend, rebound and score in transition very well. This team isn't Grizzlies or Kings. Rockets have talent and tenacity. And they had great success against top teams.

This year will be crucial for management though. They prioritized being flexible and they will get to see which players they should keep or send.

[999Guy]

Thompson is their best offensive player? :coleman:

He's close. If FVV wasn't out of his prime it'd be him. But even prime FVV can't be that guy on your team.

They'd get locked down and knocked out. Chet Holmgren would be their best player on both ends if they had him.

[Xiao Yao You]

When did the youngest team win 70 games? The ages aren't relevant. Especially when Minnie isn't that veteran themselves. SGA is older than Edwards. Does that matter?

Ages have always been relevant. Minnesota has plenty of vets and were in the finals last year. Who are okc vets. Caruso and hartenstein?

[Xiao Yao You]

He's close. If FVV wasn't out of his prime it'd be him. But even prime FVV can't be that guy on your team.

They'd get locked down and knocked out. Chet Holmgren would be their best player on both ends if they had him.

From what ive seen it is certainly senguns team. Leads in fga fta 2nd in points and assists. Ist in offensive rebounds. Hes a beast

[Real Men Wear Green]

Ages have always been relevant. Minnesota has plenty of vets and were in the finals last year. Who are okc vets. Caruso and hartenstein?
So the age doesn't matter when it comes to Edwards but does for the team overall? The superstar play of Ant has a lot more to do with Minnie making the conference finals last year than however many playoff games Mike Conley has been a part of. An elite basketball team is far more likely to succeed than an average squad with some roleplayers that got taken deeper into the postseason by whoever their star was.

[Xiao Yao You]

So the age doesn't matter when it comes to Edwards but does for the team overall? The superstar play of Ant has a lot more to do with Minnie making the conference finals last year than however many playoff games Mike Conley has been a part of. An elite basketball team is far more likely to succeed than an average squad with some roleplayers that got taken deeper into the postseason by whoever their star was.

Minny making the finals had to do with a team that was built to beat the favorite and defending champs. Historically great d with size that no one could match up with. Okc is the team to beat. No other team their age has done it. They have to prove it now. They showed they were too young last year. Added a couple vets and some more size. Is it enough? We will soon see.

[StrongLurk]

Warriors

[TMac&Luther]

Amen Thompson cannot be your best offensive player against ax defense like OKC’s. They will get swept in a series against them.


Jimmy Butler, Kawhi Leonard, Nikola Jokic and (healthy) Luka Doncic are the only players that can cause serious problems for OKC’s defense in half court as far as shot creation. Make of that what you will.

Amen Thompson was the third leading scorer, Dylan Brooks didn't even play. Amen Thompson isn't the biggest offensive threat on the team..

[999Guy]

Amen Thompson was the third leading scorer, Dylan Brooks didn't even play. Amen Thompson isn't the biggest offensive threat on the team..

You confuse narratives, ideal roles and reality. Amen Thompson is the most efficient scorer and passer on the team by a good distance. If he shot the ball as much as Sengun or ever the scrub Green, he isn’t being less efficient than either.

[TMac&Luther]

He's close. If FVV wasn't out of his prime it'd be him. But even prime FVV can't be that guy on your team.

They'd get locked down and knocked out. Chet Holmgren would be their best player on both ends if they had him.

:facepalm Jesus Christ do you even watch the Rockets?

[TMac&Luther]

You confuse narratives, ideal roles and reality. Amen Thompson is the most efficient scorer and passer on the team by a good distance. If he shot the ball as much as Sengun or ever the scrub Green, he isn’t being less efficient than either.


If he shot the ball as much as Sengun or Green his efficiency would drop, because he's still developing that. He's a rising star, but he isn't our top scorer :oldlol: He's a great off the ball/scrip scorer. He's a excellent cutter who Sengun has a knack of finding. That's what makes him great, but he isn't close to being the top offensive weapon.

[999Guy]

:facepalm Jesus Christ do you even watch the Rockets?

Only while sleeping.

Looking deeper into it with impact metrics, you’re right. Amen isn’t their best offensive player.

But my assumption wasn’t as bad as you’d think.

https://x.com/TheBBallSage/status/1901292768686711146/photo/1


They have role player level first options in FVV, Green and Sengun. It’s not gonna be enough IMO. Dead on arrival against OKC.

[Wally450]

I feel like the Clippers could give them a good fight in the first round. You're going to need the stars to align to beat them, but a healthy Kawhi turning the clock back a bit and Harden actually playing well in the postseason could put some pressure on OKC.

[tpols]

Just watching them closely now they basically rely on SGA to perform like MJ to win. Chet is way too skinny to bully smaller frontcourts and what other star talent do they have?

[warriorfan]

Just watching them closely now they basically rely on SGA to perform like MJ to win. Chet is way too skinny to bully smaller frontcourts and what other star talent do they have?

When Jalen Williams starts to get fonky is when okc gets real dangerous

[tpols]

When Jalen Williams starts to get fonky is when okc gets real dangerous

Seems like he can't really shoot though? Like poor man's jaylen brown. Idk... they don't seem that scary to me eye test watching. I'm sure they'll be praying that Dallas or Kings upset somebody in the play in.

[warriorfan]

Seems like he can't really shoot though? Like poor man's jaylen brown. Idk... they don't seem that scary to me eye test watching. I'm sure they'll be praying that Dallas or Kings upset somebody in the play in.

He can be inconsistent but if he can get going and get hot in the post season they can get it done.

I do agree that even as good as they are they still feel a year away.

[Full Court]

Lakers.

Rockets are too flaky. One game they'll look unbeatable, the next game they'll look like trash. Rockets have a good thing going, but they need to mature. This isn't their year.

Man, Full Court just keeps on proving over and over again that he knows what he's talking about. :lol Suck it, Bronie fluffers.