The Thunder/Westbrook have been AWFUL without Durant

[andremiller07]

Better impact player than all the bolded.. lol at you reaching with melo as a PF.. and anthony davis is a center. Bosh is debateable. Fringe top 5 PF.

LMAO better impact than Tim Duncan? Boris Diaw impacts the game more than Ibaka. As evidenced by him playing against both Spain and OKC (who Ibaka plays for) in which he came out on top playing for both a superior and inferior team.

[Hamtaro CP3KDKG]

LMAO better impact than Tim Duncan? Boris Diaw impacts the game more than Ibaka. As evidenced by him playing against both Spain and OKC (who Ibaka plays for) in which he came out on top playing for both a superior and inferior team.

They just look at impact as his athleticism they dont know what impact actually is.
Ibaka is a GREAT weakside shotblocker with a deadly midrange shot. But his overall post game is garbage on offense and defense. He only gets those midrange shots b/c he has 2 of the best players in the world taking massive pressure off him leaving him open and he was assisted on 86%!!! of his baskets last season. He cant pass at all, hes a mediocre rebounder compared to most of the players i mentioned............hes one of the least skilled big men on a contender

[andremiller07]

They just look at impact as his athleticism they dont know what impact actually is.
Ibaka is a GREAT weakside shotblocker with a deadly midrange shot. But his overall post game is garbage on offense and defense. He only gets those midrange shots b/c he has 2 of the best players in the world taking massive pressure off him leaving him open and he was assisted on 86%!!! of his baskets last season. He cant pass at all, hes a mediocre rebounder compared to most of the players i mentioned............hes one of the least skilled big men on a contender

Wow someone else see's it

[stalkerforlife]

Westbrook will be exposed while Durant is out.

The Durant haters love to build Westbrook up to meet their agenda.

[navy]

Ibaka is a very good role player. And his impact is huge in the right situation because he makes players fear driving. But he cant create for himself or anyone else and if you put a stretch 4 you render him damn near useless. He has no offensive game if you move him center so you really could put in anyone at 5 to stretch the floor and not be punished . Same reason why Perkins is so terrible vs the Heat.

This is why the thunder would never beat the Heat: Lebron, Battier, Bosh made Ibaka and Perkins useless.

Also why Diaw and Bonner were so effective last year vs the Thunder.

[Hamtaro CP3KDKG]

Westbrook will be exposed while Durant is out.

The Durant haters love to build Westbrook up to meet their agenda.

Eh Westbrook is a top 3 PG and top 10 player
its only the nikkas who was saying he was the best PG or a top 3 player thats gonna look like dummies
i hope he does well tho

[NZStreetBaller]

So is it settled then??? Are people going to stop believing that westbrook is the alpha on this team?? That this team is stacked even without durant???

Are we finally going to give durant the credit he deserves making this team what it is today???

[navy]

So is it settled then??? Are people going to stop believing that westbrook is the alpha on this team?? That this team is stacked even without durant???

Are we finally going to give durant the credit he deserves making this team what it is today???

it's the preseason. nothing is settled.

But no doubt Durant is better than Westbrook.

[tpols]

LMAO better impact than Tim Duncan? Boris Diaw impacts the game more than Ibaka. As evidenced by him playing against both Spain and OKC (who Ibaka plays for) in which he came out on top playing for both a superior and inferior team.

Tim Duncan was not a power forward last year.. He has been the spurs center for a while.

Boris is one of the most underrated players in the league playing in his role.. He isn't a traditional PF though.. He plays on the perimeter as a passer/setup guy and doesn't bring any traditional big man defense at all. He's like a sf/pg hybrid.

Ibaka was also injured in that series.. But OKC looked night and day with and without serge. He brings a ton of energy heart and strength to their team.

[andremiller07]

Tim Duncan was not a power forward last year.. He has been the spurs center for a while.

Boris is one of the most underrated players in the league playing in his role.. He isn't a traditional PF though.. He plays on the perimeter as a passer/setup guy and doesn't bring any traditional big man defense at all. He's like a sf/pg hybrid.

No he's a PF which is what he played on the Spurs and which is what he played for France, it's also what he played for the Suns when he was in his prime. Boris Diaw defends PF's and C's more than he defends SF's (he defends them when they try play small ball at the 4). What do you mean doesn't bring any traditional big man defense? He's a excellent man to man defender in the post much better than Ibaka and draw's charges really well.

Who cares what his skillset is it's what position you play, it's like saying Tony Allen is not a SG cause he can't shoot.....

[tpols]

No he's a PF which is what he played on the Spurs and which is what he played for France, it's also what he played for the Suns when he was in his prime. Boris Diaw defends PF's and C's more than he defends SF's (he defends them when they try play small ball at the 4). What do you mean doesn't bring any traditional big man defense? He's a excellent man to man defender in the post much better than Ibaka and draw's charges really well.

Who cares what his skillset is it's what position you play, it's like saying Tony Allen is not a SG cause he can't shoot.....

Yea he's been utilized at the 4 in small ball lineups centered around the three ball for his passing. Suns spurs etc.. You couldn't plug him into any teams PF slot.. Their defense and rebounding would suffer too much. We're talking about a 4 rpg player here as a power forward. It only works on teams that run an unorthodox style.. He's a great player but I'd take serge over him for traditional power forward role.

By traditional big man defense I mean paint/rim protection

[Joyner82reload]

Westbrook scored a very efficient 14 points on 16 shots(37.5%) vs Utah compared to his first few games without Durant

Westbrook also compiled as impressive +/- of -20 in 27 minutes, but you expect noting less facing an elite Utah unit at home in OKC.

[Graviton]

Ibaka is a pretty useless piece of shit on his own, can only hit WIDE OPEN mid range shots and dunks. Overrated defender that is mediocre at man-to-man, face up post, and pick n roll defense. Can only block players from the weakside, also jumps at every pump fake known to mankind. Got assraped by Diaw in both the NBA and FIBA. Usually gets destroyed by any halfway decent big man, especially stretch 4s and guys that can actually pass and use their brains to shot fake.

Then we have other completely useless trashbags like Perkins, Thabo, and everyone else outside Reggie and Collison. Morrow may be ok too.

This team is gonna have some issues without Durant.

[Hamtaro CP3KDKG]

Ibaka is a pretty useless piece of shit on his own, can only hit WIDE OPEN mid range shots and dunks. Overrated defender that is mediocre at man-to-man, face up post, and pick n roll defense. Can only block players from the weakside, also jumps at every pump fake known to mankind. Got assraped by Diaw in both the NBA and FIBA. Usually gets destroyed by any halfway decent big man, especially stretch 4s and guys that can actually pass and use their brains to shot fake.

Then we have other completely useless trashbags like Perkins, Thabo, and everyone else outside Reggie and Collison. Morrow may be ok too.

This team is gonna have some issues without Durant.

Yup. Exactly. 0 ball handling or passing ability as well. Im glad at least some ppl can actually understand the nuances of the game and what each player brings.

[andremiller07]

Ibaka is a pretty useless piece of shit on his own, can only hit WIDE OPEN mid range shots and dunks. Overrated defender that is mediocre at man-to-man, face up post, and pick n roll defense. Can only block players from the weakside, also jumps at every pump fake known to mankind. Got assraped by Diaw in both the NBA and FIBA. Usually gets destroyed by any halfway decent big man, especially stretch 4s and guys that can actually pass and use their brains to shot fake.

Then we have other completely useless trashbags like Perkins, Thabo, and everyone else outside Reggie and Collison. Morrow may be ok too.

This team is gonna have some issues without Durant.

Preach my brother preach, Grav is the only realistic Thunder fan on this board.