OKC Thunder 2023-24 Regular Season Discussion

[RingoKid]

i think giddey is a bit underrated here

for the second straight year he's having a much stronger late than early season which is an underrated trait to a player's projection imo

not to mention he's younger than jalen williams adjusting to a new continent. also the mental toll of the scrutiny he's put himself into this season shouldn't go unchecked by clubs

i think he'd do good for himself if he made a club friendly extension negotiation. maybe a shorter commitment is the ideal for him, if he's willing to bet on himself.

...and hes a clean-cut whiteboy in Oklahoma.

If the other one in Hayward could outplay him Giddey would be gone.

As is, Giddey is a keeper and Gordon is a goner.

[bbms]

wolves win bothers me

[Dadouv47]

wolves win bothers me

why? I only care about Dallas right now and I would still rather play Minny than Denver in a potential WCF.

[bbms]

wolves win bothers me

why? I only care about Dallas right now and I would still rather play Minny than Denver in a potential WCF.

my horse on the other side of the bracket is denver

i don't really want to find out thunder's incompetence vs wolves last play-in encounter was structural or circunstancial

i like the 3-1 rs record vs denver.

[Devilanche]

wolves win bothers me

why? I only care about Dallas right now and I would still rather play Minny than Denver in a potential WCF.

my horse on the other side of the bracket is denver

i don't really want to find out thunder's incompetence vs wolves last play-in encounter was structural or circunstancial

i like the 3-1 rs record vs denver.

I would like to concentrate on the opponent on hand first .

[getrichordie]

Dallas' big rotation looks like it's going to be an issue, especially when Chet is off the floor, but even if Chet is on, I think it will be problematic if Chet is getting switched on to Doncic. That just has foul trouble written all over it.

On the other hand, Doncic will probably be asked to guard Giddey so getting SGA switched on to Doncic won't be as easy.

[Dadouv47]

Lively is gonna be a big issue. I think both teams drafted the right player for their teams but in this particular match up Lively is a huge problem while I'm not sure Cason can have much impact (maybe defending Kyrie?)

[Kizz Fastfists]

...and hes a clean-cut whiteboy in Oklahoma.

If the other one in Hayward could outplay him Giddey would be gone.

As is, Giddey is a keeper and Gordon is a goner.

Why are you obsessed with "clean-cut whiteboy in Oklahoma"? You have made comments about them several times. Is that just your type or do you think they present some basketball advantage or are you just racist garbage?

[bbms]

yeah i didn't get this comment but ignored it

iirc josh giddey was booed and faced the hardest criticism from audience, media and this forum with his issues this season

i honestly don't know what this guy is talking about

[getrichordie]

Was thinking about matchups...

Defensively, I think Dallas has to put DJJ/Green on Shai and Luka/Kyrie on Dort/Giddey. My guess is Doncic will sag off of Giddey pretty heavily to help close Shai's driving lanes. That's probably the preferred half-court default defensive match up. And it might work pretty well. Hopefully not, but if it does, OKC is going to have to really push the tempo and force bad defensive sets from Dallas.

I do think OKC matches up much better defensively, but I wonder who guards Kyrie. I think we all know Dort is going to be on Doncic. Maybe Shai is on DJJ? Dub on Kyrie? Giddey on PJW? Of course, Chet/JWill/Kenrich and maybe some Dub will guard the Lively/Gafford rotation. I think we can win the defensive battle if that's the case. Bring Cason and Kenrich off the bench to clamp Doncic/Kyrie when Dub or Dort aren't out there...

[Bremzi]

I think in the next matchup Wallace will have to play more. I'd bring Giddey off the bench and go something like this matchup wise:

- Dort on Doncic
- Wallace on Kyrie
- SGA on their SF (DJJ/Green)
- JDub on PJ
- Chet on Gafford

In this manner we have better shooting and defense. I also think it's beneficial if SGA and JDub can 'rest' a bit more on defense and/or assist with help defense for alley-oop disruptions. I'd say Dort and Wallace are our best perimeter defenders that also don't have to do much offensively - which is why it's better to pair them on the defensive side together vs their best two options. That five lineup is probably OKC's best defensive unit.

Dallas plays one of Green/DJJ, Lively and now likely someone else (Exum). I feel Giddey matches up better with Exum and I'd also play Wiggins on the replacement wing and Jaylin on Lively.

[Zagor]

I like that starting five. Mark should try to "wear" down Luka with changing agressive defenders on him. Dort, Wiggins and J-Dub.

The key is to move the ball constantly in offense, and pack the paint in defense. Don't let them score easy points at the rim, force them to shot the ball. PJ Washington and DJJ are not elite shoters.
Luka's body is not on 100%, play physical with him, target him in p n r.

For me, most positive aspect is coach Daigneault. He is smarter and more flexible than Kidd.

[Bremzi]

I'd add that I'd try to pressure Doncic higher up the court in order that expands more energy on each possession and they have less time to get into their sets. He isn't 100% healthy and he gets gassed up. I think Dort and/or Wallace have a good engine to do it, but they do have to be careful not to foul inadvertently. It's a similar concept that Minnesota is using on Jokič, where he's being hounded/pressured more than usually and it throws him off his rhytm a bit.

OKC is super young and deep. They can throw Dort/Wallace/Wiggins in this role throughout the game on the ball-handler. Perhaps this leads to Luka having less ball in his hands which is only a positive. Offensively, I'd also like to try to get Doncic to switch and attack him. If possible, get into transition and use the young legs to an advantage.

[Dadouv47]

I don't like changing the starting line up at this point even if I agree but I do hope that Giddey minutes will decrease and Cason is gonna play more if he's doing a good job on Irving

I might be wrong because he's so good but I'm not worried about Doncic that much...we know what he will bring. I'm very concerned about their bigs and Kyrie though

[Dadouv47]

I like that starting five. Mark should try to "wear" down Luka with changing agressive defenders on him. Dort, Wiggins and J-Dub.

The key is to move the ball constantly in offense, and pack the paint in defense. Don't let them score easy points at the rim, force them to shot the ball. PJ Washington and DJJ are not elite shoters.
Luka's body is not on 100%, play physical with him, target him in p n r.

For me, most positive aspect is coach Daigneault. He is smarter and more flexible than Kidd.

that's true but his options are still limited given our lack of bench. There's not a more versatile big he can put on the floor.

[slick_watts]

luka will not have to play defense when the thunder have josh giddey on the floor. i don't see him wearing down much in those scenarios. isaiah joe, even when he's not making them, has the most gravity by far out of all our bench shooters. he should see more time in this series.

dallas will be tricky defensively and will stress our rotations in pick and roll. chet will need to be disciplined in drop, and the perimeter defenders will have to be fast decision makers because dallas will bomb us from the corners if we are not careful.

offensively, shai has to be smart and not pound his head against a wall when the mavs shade three defenders his way. he'll have to just trust whoever is on the weakside (dort / giddey) to make their shots. and if they can't, mark daigneault will have some decisions to make that will test his coaching acumen.

[shakes0]

man I hate these start times. Following a team in the western conference is brutal when you live in the east or midwest and have trouble staying awake past 11 pm eastern time.

Was hoping game 1 would be yesterday, but I guess the NBA wants as much rest as possible for Luka. Denver/Minny will have 2 games in the books before OKC even dips their toes into the second round.


As for the matchups. Would love to see JDub on Luka, but unfortunately we need him to guard some big guys. I'm guessing Dort on Luka and SGA on Kyrie. If the refs let Dort be as physical with Luka as he was with Ingram then I like our chances quite a bit.

[RingoKid]

...and hes a clean-cut whiteboy in Oklahoma.

If the other one in Hayward could outplay him Giddey would be gone.

As is, Giddey is a keeper and Gordon is a goner.

Why are you obsessed with "clean-cut whiteboy in Oklahoma"? You have made comments about them several times. Is that just your type or do you think they present some basketball advantage or are you just racist garbage?

No ones obsessed but do try to see the bigger picture here. Its Oklahoma FFS. Home of the great Sooner land grab, Tulsa massacre, Fed bomber and Osage murders.

Y'all cater for that whiteboy stance. It puts bums on seats in Oklahoma more than black guys with tattoos. Just like white coaches matter in OKC.

Do you not see a pattern in Scooter Bildo and Dags either ?

They provide a financial basketball advantage. Presti knows this and plays to type.

They don't necessarily have to be white but clean-cut and tatless will get you a better look in OKC and a greater fanbase.

[RingoKid]

Cason on Kyrie is gonna be a fun watch.

Irving will still get his but he's gonna have to work a hell of alot harder for it than he did against the clipz.

Wallace aint some grizzled vet on tired legs. Kyrie's got his work cut out and if Luka is still as gimpy or worse then he was last round, Thunder in 6 is my pick.

[Kizz Fastfists]

Y'all cater for that whiteboy stance. It puts bums on seats in Oklahoma more than black guys with tattoos. Just like white coaches matter in OKC.

Do you not see a pattern in Scooter Bildo and Dags either ?

They provide a financial basketball advantage. Presti knows this and plays to type.

They don't necessarily have to be white but clean-cut and tatless will get you a better look in OKC and a greater fanbase.

So you are racist and project onto the entire State of Oklahoma. Thank you for the clarification. If only Presti had been smart enough to draft Spencer Hawes instead of Jeff Green, Kevin Love instead of Westbrook and Ricky Rubio instead of James Harden maybe OKC could have sold out the arena at some point as everyone lined up to watch the white boys play basketball.