Re: Battle between CHI and OKC's front court. Who you got?
It is true that the duo Perkins / Ibaka might be one of the strongest in defense of the league, but do not contribute offensively. But to counter that, Harden could be starter. Scott Brooks should distribute the minutes so you always have good offensive options, because without Harden the second unit will lost his most important reference in offense.
Bulls in fact is a more balanced team offensively, but I think it would be a very close tie. Do not rule out a victory for OKC in a possible final. Although I see more chances to reach the final to Chicago.
Re: Battle between CHI and OKC's front court. Who you got?
Perkins is really overrated here. He is a very good post defender but is slow and can't defend faster and has a hard time against taller guys. Ibaka is a very good shotblocker but his man d and offensive game aren't that great. Durant is a superstar.
I rate the Bulls frontcourt higher. Deng is extremely underrated on both sides of the ball, Boozer is a beast in the post and Noah is a very good defender/rebounder/hustle player.
Re: Battle between CHI and OKC's front court. Who you got?
I'm pretty sure you have to include Taj Gibson, Omar Asik, Nick Collison, Nazr and Aldrich in the discussion.
With that said, the Bulls lineup is more complete.
Offensively:
Noah is much better offensively than Perkins. Noah can dribble and is a good passer; also has good hands and has decent finishing ability around the basket. Perkins is a better screen setter (he's bigger and many are illegal), but his only other offering is a really limited post-up game.
Boozer is light years ahead of Ibaka offensively. Ibaka is more comparable to Taj Gibson in that he has a good midrange game and some finishing ability. However, Ibaka is improving rapidly and seems to have an impressive understanding of offense; I can see him eventually becoming a low post option.
Durant is a go to guy and Deng is the third option. Not really comparable.
Taj Gibson is the best offensive player out of all the bench guys.
Defensively:
Noah guards everybody, this is more valuable in today's NBA because of the way refs officiate guards barreling through the lane and gifting them calls. By guarding everyone, Noah prevent these guards from doing these thing. Perkins allows it and then knocks that guard on his ass.
Boozer is undersized and a total airhead on defense. Ibaka is a talented shot blocker and a good post defender. He has potential to be KG-like.
Both Bulls bench bigs are terrific defensively while only Collison is the only plus bench defender.
Deng is an ALL-NBA Defensive player. His body and athleticism is nearly identical to Durant's; Durant avoids fouls like the plague.
Overall:
Bulls > Thunder (defense)
Bulls = Thunder (offense, Durant bring Thunder to par).
--> Bulls > Thunder, but not by a whole lot. I expect that Thunder front line to be noticeably better in a couple of years.
Re: Battle between CHI and OKC's front court. Who you got?
OKC has 2 go to guys, Westbrook and Durant. Westbrook is almost as great as Rose, and Durant trumps any other guy the Bulls have. They both have decent benches. Harden, Mayor, Mohammed, Collision off the Bench, Kyle Korever,
Bulls have Korever, Watson, Brewer, Gibson off the bench.
Noah, Gibson, Deng, Boozer against Perkins, Ibaka, Mohammed , Nick Collison , hard to say.
Both teams have good depth, and It would be hard to pick one of them.
Chiacgo has a great coach, and a better system.
Slight Edge to OKC thanks to 2 All-Stars.
Re: Battle between CHI and OKC's front court. Who you got?
Quote:
Originally Posted by B-Easy8
Perkins is really overrated here. He is a very good post defender but is slow and can't defend faster and has a hard time against taller guys. Ibaka is a very good shotblocker but his man d and offensive game aren't that great. Durant is a superstar.
I rate the Bulls frontcourt higher. Deng is extremely underrated on both sides of the ball, Boozer is a beast in the post and Noah is a very good defender/rebounder/hustle player.
This. Just give both teams a lil bit of time to jel and they'll get really high in the playoffs. I only see 2 other team's front court contending with them which are La and Bos (when shaq returns). Spurs are a bit undersized and the Heat needs a legit center, oh and Bosh, who only shows up in some games and don't even get me started on the knicks
Re: Battle between CHI and OKC's front court. Who you got?
