Now that we understand the math of the 3 pointer and the importance of spacing.

Were the KD OKC teams really overrated after Harden was traded?

2012/2013 - Harden traded for Kevin Martin. This team went 60-22. But can a team with Kevin Martin as the 3rd best player really win a title? I don’t think so. And look at the starting line up with a modern lens. Russ, Thabo, Perkins and Ibaka were all inconsistent or flat out bad shooters. Ibaka averaged 0.7 three point attempts a game. Perkins could not hit a jumper from 12 feet. Russ was a very bad three point shooter. OKC had absolutely horrible spacing and allowed teams to constantly blitz KD without consequence. Team pays zero luxury tax and don’t even use the MLE.

2013/2014 - really more of the same. Still terrible spacing with 4 starters who were no threat from three. Still Russ running the point as an inefficient and turnover prone guard. Off the bench was Reggie Jackson (31% from 3) and 39 year old Derek Fisher was there big free agent acquisition. Again OKC didn’t pay any luxury tax and didn’t even use the MLE. This is 2 years removed from the Harden trade. The only thing remaining from that trade is a raw 20 year old Steven Adams.

2014/2015 - Spacing concerns continue. Maybe worst than ever. Steven Adams 0% from 3. Andre Roberson 24% from 3 and Russ 29% from three. Their biggest acquisition was Enes Kanter who is too slow to stay on the floor on defense and Dion Waiters. Yes this team was big but they had absolutely horrible spacing and looked like a team from 2000. Again team pays next to zero luxury tax, signs no significant free agents and doesn’t use the MLE. Still coached by a terrible coach that refuses to play Ibaka at center.

2015/2016 - basically the same team again. Again 3 guys in the starting lineup who can’t shoot at all. Again the best players off the bench were extremely flawed Kanter and Waiters. Waiters literally was their 3rd option in closing lineups.

It is incredible that these OKC teams even competed with teams with great shooting and spacing. Teams like the Lebron Heat, Spurs and Warriors.

I can only imagine how different things would be if OKC actually had a shooting guard who could actually shoot. How different if Ibaka played center, KD played PF and they had a wing who could knock down threes. Russ and KD with 3 shooters would have been amazing.

Detroit lions - okc thunder, both are top teams in the league and in their respective conference, also have the cockiest fanbases in the league despite having zero rings to show for it

orlando magic - commanders, paolo and Franz are like jd5 and mclaurin, two rising stars and future all pro players to spearhead a playoff team

list urs in the comments

I want to buy one

I've heard this discussion lately IF Jokic wins one more ring.

I really don't see how he would be, who would you take out of this top 10?

• MJ
• LeBron
• Kareem
• Duncan
• Bill
• Wilt
• Shaq
• Bird
• Magic
• Curry

It would be like the NBA Finals

Bulls starting lineup:

Guards: Ron Harper and Michael Jordan

Center: Luc Longley

Forwards: Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman

Head Coach: Phil Jackson

vs.

Warriors starting lineup:

Guards: Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson

Center: Andrew Bogut

Forwards: Harrison Barnes and Draymond Green

Head Coach: Steve Kerr

Only discussing the Wizards period

So if this happened, I think it would only be first round picks that could choose which team they sign to. Maybe like the top 10 or top 5 in the 1st round are the only ones who can do that.

There wouldn't probably be restrictions to keep it someone fair. Maybe the first 2 seeds in each conference can't have any of those players on thier team or something.

It would be cool for good players to not be forced to play with trash teammates for a couple of years. Imagine Jordan and LeBron with good teammates from the jump.

I first supported the Heat because some of my first cousins live them, then supported the Celtics from age 11 to 13 because I'm of Irish descent and now support the Nets, because I like the history of the team, them being the New York Nets with Dr. J. I'm now 18 and live in England.

They finished 3rd in the West two years ago, 9th last year missed the playoffs and this year 13-16. They always seemed like that "Watchout" type team waiting to turn the corner and they've yet to turn.

This is the best team the mavs have in the luka era rn. The record doesn’t reflect how good they can be.

Klay for example is shooting 50% on 3s in the 4th quarter, something which they couldn’t do vs the celtics which was hit wide open 3s and corner 3s.

Klay and grimes are both shooting above 40% on corner 3s on the year, and Naji marshall is 55% on floaters.

Pj Washington has taken an all defensive leap this year, and has been a menace on the boards.

Luka himself doesn’t need to average 35/10/10 a game, so he has more energy to expend on both ends of the floor. He’s also developed an off ball game too, as seen in his masterclass vs the warriors.

One thing they couldn’t do vs the Celtics was hit wide open 3s and corner 3s. They shot 11% from 3 in game 1 and game 2 vs boston and still only lost by relatively small margins. Kyrie also struggled vs boston at home which is something that needs to change.

With that being said, the mavs have the deepest team in the luka era right now. With kyrie still being in the tail end of his prime and with Grimes on a 1 year contract, it’s the mavs best shot.

My favorite player of all time

Victor Wembanyama just came off a 10 block performance and is now averaging 3.8 blocks on the season, which would be the highest of this century if it holds for the entire year. The last time we saw a season with 300+ total blocks was Theo Ratliff in 2004, the height of the dead ball era. Wemby is at 87 blocks currently. He's already missed 5 games this year, so he's currently on pace for 67 games played, and would need to average 4.9 blocks per game to hit 300 at that pace. However, if he plays every remaining game, he would only need to average 3.9 blocks, right in line with his current average. Can he get there, this year or in the future? And would it be even more impressive than the block totals of past giants considering the era in which Wemby plays?

Usually, an all-time starting 5 looks like something like:

1. Curry or Magic

2. MJ

3. Lebron

4. Duncan

5. Shaq, Kareem or Wilt

So who's the ideal 6th man for a lineup like that? Who is the ultimate 6 man? Do you go for an all time great starter or specifically a historical 6th man?

I know an all-time lineup varies but I'm just using the most classic template as a starting point

Is it crazy to think that wemby is on pace to be the all time leader in blocks?

I just can't shake the fact that Big men being the best in the league is bad for the sport. Jokic has done incredible things as a player on the court, but it doesn't seem like the average non basketball head really cares. This is the same thing that was happening to Duncan in the early 00s, he was the best player for probably a good 5 year stretch, but nobody outside of basketball heads talk about that era because of him.

Shaq is an anomaly for a couple reasons, his larger than life personality already catapulted him to popularity, but also the style of basketball he played.

Crucify me for this opinion, but Wemby being the future face of the league in the future is not good for ball outside of a spreadsheet that says hes doing crazy things because hes built like an alien.

In this era where reach advantage is king and 7 footers pull up from the 3, with literally nothing stopping them, its just bad for the sport.

Christmas week in the NBA is here! There are great nationally televised games on Christmas Day, and a lot of folks made note of them when they were announced before the season even started. So to provide some parity, here are some suggestions for non-Christmas League Pass games to keep an eye on.

Oklahoma City may have lost in the NBA Cup, but they are the 4th best offense, 2nd best defense, and 1st in overall net rating in the last 10 games. They currently have 2nd best title odds and are projected to win ~61 games this season. Also they're currently on a 7-game win streak (NBA Cup Finals did not count towards the regular season record).

The day after Christmas OKC will play the middling Pacers, who have not quite met expectations heading into the season. So why even suggest that you invest time in watching this game? Well, the Pacers have won 4 of their last 5 games and Haliburton has begun to look like himself in that stretch. In that 5-game run Hali is averaging 19 points and 10 assists on 44% from 3 on 9 attempts per. Both teams will be coming off a day of rest and it will be fun to see how OKC's defense can potentially neutralize a team that (although limited sample size) so far) like the team that made the Eastern Conference Finals last season.

It's a shame that Grizzlies @ Thunder is a League Pass game on a Sunday, Where the Thunder are number one in net rating in their last 10 games, the Grizzlies are number two. Although it's looking like Ja Morant will be out for this game, the Grizzlies are 7-4 this season without him. Another note: Memphis is 2nd in the Western conference standings, and only 3 games behind the Thunder for 1st.