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Harden is going to need that fat contract to pay for flopping fines. Martin is a solid shooter when he isn't injured. And it's not like OKC is losing a defensive player in the deal.

OKC's issue is passing the ball. Operation Russel attack the basket, pull up for a jumper on a break, or ISO Durant didn't cut it against Miami. They have to make a serious commitment to swinging the ball around, getting players open and stretching defenses. And on the defensive side, the further maturing/development of Ibaka is critical. Same with Durant and his lazy reach around defense.
 
vi edit said:
Harden is going to need that fat contract to pay for flopping fines. Martin is a solid shooter when he isn't injured. And it's not like OKC is losing a defensive player in the deal.

OKC's issue is passing the ball. Operation Russel attack the basket, pull up for a jumper on a break, or ISO Durant didn't cut it against Miami. They have to make a serious commitment to swinging the ball around, getting players open and stretching defenses. And on the defensive side, the further maturing/development of Ibaka is critical. Same with Durant and his lazy reach around defense.
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Adding Martin to your rotation is the equivalent of losing a defensive player. 😉
 
vi edit said:
OKC's issue is passing the ball. Operation Russel attack the basket, pull up for a jumper on a break, or ISO Durant didn't cut it against Miami. They have to make a serious commitment to swinging the ball around, getting players open and stretching defenses. And on the defensive side, the further maturing/development of Ibaka is critical. Same with Durant and his lazy reach around defense.
Click to expand...

Without Harden they're going to have trouble stretching defenses out no matter how well they pass. I'll let Perkins, Sefolosha, Ibaka etc. take wide open threes all game.
 
Red Storm said:
Good for Harden getting that extension. He was already sacrificing minutes, shots, etc. and for OKC (who have been making quite the profit the last few years) to play the money card was just disrespectful to their fans. Sam Presti has done an amazing job thus far, but this was a bad move.



However, there is an important distinction to make. Harden didn't come off the bench because he was the team's 6th best player. He was their third best, they brought him off the bench by design. I wonder how many of those guys on that list were their team's clear third best player (after two top 20 players)?
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Let's get something straight - Harden was not sacrificing any minutes for the Thunder. He played over 31 minutes a game, which was the third highest on the team - where is the sacrifice there? And yes, he's going to give up shots to a players like Durant and Westbrook, but he does take advantage by having a high shooting percentage. People typically don't realize it, but OKC is largely based on the Spurs philosophy and structure, which is why Harden was compared to Manu so much during the series. You ask how many were the team's clear third best player in the list?

2010–11 Lamar Odom
2009–10 Jamal Crawford
2008–09 Jason Terry
2007–08 Manu Ginóbili
2004–05 Ben Gordon

And there's some more going back, but those are the more recent ones.

This move was great because the Thunder add an expiring contract in Kevin Martin, who can still produce as well as a good rookie in Lamb and future picks. I said it last year, and people argued with me about Harden not being on the team, but I was right. This was the best way for Oklahoma to get value out of the situation.

vi edit said:
OKC's issue is passing the ball. Operation Russel attack the basket, pull up for a jumper on a break, or ISO Durant didn't cut it against Miami. They have to make a serious commitment to swinging the ball around, getting players open and stretching defenses. And on the defensive side, the further maturing/development of Ibaka is critical. Same with Durant and his lazy reach around defense.
Click to expand...

So true, and it was how they beat San Antonio - the passing was great. For some reason, they decided not to carry it with them into the Finals which probably has more to do with maturity and their consistancy, which Westbrook is ALWAYS bashed for.

Red Storm said:
Adding Martin to your rotation is the equivalent of losing a defensive player. 😉
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Harden is not a stopper - the reason he did well is because he flopped well. He's like a small version of Varejao!

Gibsons said:
Without Harden they're going to have trouble stretching defenses out no matter how well they pass. I'll let Perkins, Sefolosha, Ibaka etc. take wide open threes all game.
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Spurs did this one game in the WCF and it bit them in the ass. Just sayin'.
 
jjsole said:
Colangelo self-pleasured himself while watching Irving against team usa in las vegas this summer. He has high hopes for him, which says a lot.
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Andy is big time, 23 rebounds and 9 assists last night. People underestimate his skills, but the guy is a rebounding machine, and in my opinion the best pick and roll defensive big in the nba.
 
AznAnarchy99 said:
Im not too worried.. yet. When the Heat first came together, their first half of the season was miserable until they figured out how to work together. The Lakers have an entire new offense and basically almost all new players. Im more understanding, the LA fan base isnt though. LA is championship or nothing.
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The Heat ran off 21 of 22 games or something like that in the first half of the season with the big three.

The four pieces of the Lakers *can* fit together. Just because they can doesn't mean they will. It will require Howard to be more aggressive on the offensive end and Kobe to defer more to Nash. I don't really see either of those two happening, at least not with regularity.
 
hdeck said:
if only it were possible to watch rockets games in houston...maybe one day...
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Because of the CSN thing? I didn't try to find it, but the Spurs were on NBATV and I got to see updates. That really sucks if that's the case.
 
My Blazers are killing it right now. Holy cow. I had very low expectations for this game, despite LA's poor record when playing in Portland and the Blazers tendency to win home openers... but golly, am I ever impressed by this. I hope they can keep this up for more than one game.
 
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