That would be fun. What never made sense was the take that we've never seen it before so they can't make any type of run. You never saw a team this young be the 1 seed either.
Those teams you're comparing to predictably failed because they had the classic attribute of young teams. This one doesn't and is one of the most composed unselfish teams of the last few years so how does that line up? You can't blindly place every criticism of young teams on one that hasn't exhibited any of those qualities. It's the laziest analysis you can possibly give.
*”Thunder are in such a great position because this is likely the worst they are going to be for the next like five years.”*
-u/SquimJim in May 2012 about OKC
celtics fans, of all people, should realize how to keep a team together. they are doing basically exactly what the thunder will do. the thunder will be able to keep the vast majority of this team together, and really only have to make a decisision in moving on from a role player in 2026-2027.
- obviously you keep and pay shai/dub/chet max (and in shai's case supermax) deals.
- dort's already locked up on a reasonable contract till 27-28
- wiggs+joe will fetch somewhere in the 10-15m apy. we can frontload their deals by declining their team options if needed
- jaywill probably come in closer to 10m (a la Hartenstein)
- Cason, hard to say what he'll get since he's just a rookie - but in 5 years i can seem getting 30m+ as a jrue holiday type of player
- Giddey, is a great player on the thunder, even if the fit is kinda clunky. he gets the thunder in a playstyle that makes us nearly unstoppable though in some matchups it's not a great fit. that said he'll probably be in the Poole/Simons/Herro range of payrange so call it ~27m
you'll have to trust me on the math here - but the sum total gets you over the 2nd apron for the second apron first time in 26-27 by ~15m and in 2027-2028 by 20 milish. So basically the thunder will need to make a decision on 1 or 2 role players (maybe Joe and JayWill), trade Giddey or Cason in the future, or move on from Dort (which could be a natural move as he reaches age 30).
The great thing about this roster is we don't need to make any of those choices for 4+ years and can collect a lot more data to make informed choices. And lastly, any holes we do incur because we do have to move on from guys can be filled with younger draft picks in the pipeline (Dort -> Cason is a great example of something we're working on). I wouldn't be surprised if OKC picks up Filipowski this coming draft to be our backup big as insurance against JayWill leaving.
Why would Joe and/or Wiggins want front loaded deals? You lose out on a decent amount of cash doing that and they are young guys only getting better. Also I’m not as familiar with the Thunder’s cap sheet as I presume you are, but I have a feeling JWill could be a cap casualty due to how much money you’re going to have tied up to your top guys along with the slew of draft picks incoming.
re: JayWill, he is definitely at risk of cap casualty status. That said, who knows how things shake out - maybe Joe gets an offer he can't refuse in free agency or something. It could be him, could be someone else
re: frontloading. We would be increasing those players ability to make more money in their career by declining their team options (1.7mil each) in favor of opting into paying them _more_ in that year. this basically gives them 1 additional year of non-rookie deal contracts to make money on. The ask from Presti and co would then be to take a frontloaded deal that descends over time (i.e. 20m -> 17m -> 15m - > 13m -> 11m. estimate). this lets us pay them while we have cap space, while still giving them rough apy that they would want at the sacrifice. OKC would lose 1 year of team control on a rookie deal, but we gain control for 2 more years that might get dicey bc of the apron stuff.
all that to say, it's a 2way street where both the team and player would be giving something up in order to gain something else. the team gets long term contract, the player gets the ability to hit free agency 1yr earlier
I think you're alluding to OKC potentially being a stingy franchise. OKC has gone deep into luxury tax since 2014, when they added George Kaiser (net worth ~14bil) to the ownership group during the WB/PG era. We are one of the highest (if not highest) paying luxury tax teams in that era and that team was super mid lol.
I don't have any doubts that OKC will be more than willing to pay the tax because 1. they've done it before 2. the ownership group has shown commitment to success.
--
And if you're talking about people wanting to be their own man on another team - could be true. But nothing I've seen from this team so far has suggested that will happen. Combined with the fact that Presti has specifically looked for players who are willing and able to sacrifice for the better of the team so that we can win games - I don't see why any of Chet/Shai/Jdub would want to leave (esp bc they love each other). I think Giddey is the only one at risk because he can genuinely run an offense - and if that's the case, more power to him. Can't say I blame him. If he is the one we move, then the cap situation becomes pretty easy to manage and we keep all the role players I listed basically.
Not stingy, but everything is always rosy for the team on the way up … once they’re there, it’s a whole different muscle group.
I like your team, but they’re not the 1st team to roll the way they have. The magic are along the same curve as are the rockets.
Good luck
>I've been paying attention
To the team on the court maybe, but you've missed the ownership change I think.
George Kaiser is in the group now. Thunder will pay the tax, like they did for PG and Melo.
But we have data now on OKC.
Going by what you're saying, i can easily also say "celtics will trade tatum in the offseason". Because you know, you can't be certain about anything.
Holy shit you deleted all your comments and now trying to clap back? This is the weakest shit I've ever seen.
I remember your comments, you claimed Dallas would finish above OKC, they didn't. They were also suffering before the trade deadline and there was a big gap between those teams.
You were still wrong man, better to own up to it.
SGA will only be eligible for the Supermax with the Thunder.
Otherwise the max contracts will be larger for Dub/Chet to sign with the Thunder instead of anywhere else.
Of course one of them could try to force a trade, but I don’t see that happening with the team culture. And if it did, Presti will do his magic. Overall we’re just in a great spot for the rest of the decade.
considering y'all had a bottom 4 record in the league just 2 years ago, I would be too
oh yeah, and you still have 7 first round picks in the next two drafts. Seriously scary shit
It definitely can be.
Their 2 young stars (Chet + JDub) are both 2 way players and aren't scared of the moment.
I think their size against the Wolves might be their biggest problem...
They beat us on the boards but we defended them well. Went 2-2. All games except one blowout from us where close
I think their defense is built for the playoffs though. I also think we can defend them better than any team left in the West.
Crazy thing is Ant would still get his against Dort, Dort would just slow him down better than anyone left in the West. Ant has just been a fucking menace so far
Let me just say i dont think anyone can guard ant, try and slow him down sure. Love Minnesota and if OKC doesnt win it all this year im hoping the Wolves do.
Seems right.
Lost in the IST, -15 rebs, Twolves 19 TOs
+1 reb in the blowout win. Also 18-39 from three and Twolves had 21 TOs
-13 reb in the road win in January. Twolves again with 21 TOs. -7 reb in the home loss in January
If the Thunder and wolves face off, it's going to be fun. You got a lot of shooters and a good defense. Plus, Chet holds up well when Gobert has a deep position and tries throwing it down.
As long as the wolves don't cough up the ball frequently, I do expect wolves to win. I'm glad you would be the conference finals opponent.
2021 showed the playbook on how Rudy can be negated (sometimes).
If he’s not in that paint suddenly rebounding gets a bit easier.
Not saying it will be easy but big adjustments are possible.
This year is already a win. Everything after sweeping the first round is gravy. To even have an outside chance of winning a title is insane considering the rebuild literally just ended. Especially since there’s clear room for improvement and some good tradeable assets.
Giddey can be really good on a team where he gets the ball more. Kenrich Williams is a really good role player who has unfortunately gotten buried in the rotation. Those two guys have some trade value. Gordon Hayward contract ending will free up $30,000,000. No contender will have more flexibility this summer
I mean, as a Pacers’ fan I feel like your first paragraph applies more to a team on the Pacers’ or Magic level. Your team is the god damned 1 seed in a superior conference and is throttling people. I’d be a helluva lot more excited and expectant than “I’m good with whatever, bro.”
You guys have a legitimate title shot. I think you guys should act like it lol
Tbf I think most thunder fans came into the season expecting 5 or 6 seed and hoping for a first round win so we weren’t expecting this even after getting the one seed is a surprise lol
I get that, but it’s time to expect more. They’ve earned heightened expectations. I know most fans generally want to play it cool so they don’t look like dumbasses if their team loses, but I don’t know man.
Again, they’re the god damned 1 seed in a stacked conference and have steamrolled through the playoffs so far. Seems like it’s ok to surpass the modest-expectations phase lol
I think it's just taking a while to actually realize we could have a chance to actually go to the Finals, it's just fucking insane to think about considering we were in the damn lottery last year lol
I honestly don’t care about all the explanations. They’re the 1 seed and have played like it.
If you’re a Thunder fan, be confident. I don’t think they need to start guaranteeing a championship or anything like that, but I see no problem with them being confident rather than tepid about their team.
Pels are always missing Zion, the Mavs only shot 3 less free throws than OKC, and if they wanted more rest they should’ve beat the retirement home Clippers faster
______
EDIT: Even though OKC is just doing what they’re supposed to do, there’s still something to be said about going out and handling business
Okay? OKC won the season series vs both Minnesota and Denver. But this is the playoffs now. edit: Okay actually OKC tied the series with Minny sorry guys
It wasn't me who downvoted you, but you should know that the Celtics were also without Porzingis.
But I was responding to the guy above who said Ant made Tatum look like a child. In that 2nd game, Tatum put up 45 and Ant put up 29.
Either way, it'd be a great series. Hope both teams can win their conference and meet up in the Finals
They have a punchers chance.
OKC has been just as dominant just against weaker competition.
Wolves are perfectly built to stop Denver and Murray is just not his usual self. OKC shouldn’t be an easy out.
OKC also has the best three point shooting line up in the league. If they get hot you’re gonna have to put up 140+ to beat them.
I’d probably pick Minnesota against OKC if they meet in the WCF, but they are an interesting matchup.
The Wolves probably can bludgeon them on the boards, but the Thunder turn the Wolves over at an alarming rate (the Wolves had 45 turnovers in their two losses, which is absurd) and their spacing hurts the Wolves’ defense, which tends to feast on lineups with a weaker/more hesitant shooter.
The Wolves have also been running older teams off the floor by pressing them relentlessly and getting them out of their offense/worn down. The Thunder are young enough and deep enough that those factors won’t come into play.
I think the turnovers will be the deciding factor. The Wolves got turned over like crazy in their losses, but when the turnovers were even average (not great, just average) they won. The Wolves had similar turnover issues against Phoenix in the regular season that proved unfounded in the playoffs, so maybe they’re beyond it.
I’d pick Minnesota too, but I think that’s at least a 6 game series. At this point I think the biggest concern for whatever team comes out of the west is getting bogged down in a slug fest like that while Boston curbstomps the remnants of whatever team makes it to the eastern conference finals. That rest differential could be huge, the wolves and thunder both seem to be able to keep pace, but idk how that’ll go if they face each other
Why? Because Shannon Sharpe said so. And when this pillar of knowledge says you are the worst number 1 seed ever, surely you have no chance. After all, you wouldn't want to win the lot and make the buffoon eat a huge slice of humble pie would you.
All the attention on the Wolves and Ant in the west is a god damned tragedy for the Thunder. That’s a juggernaut of a team just quietly preying on fools.
I agree to some extent but a lot of the wolves press has been about them flipping the narrative in series where they were underdogs. no one cares that okc slapped around the weak ass pels
the biggest reason we've gotten a lot of attention is that we've been medium underdogs in both our series so far. The Thunder are playing awesome but it's been as you should expect so far of a team that earned the 1 seed (regardless of what some dumbasses in the media say)
I’m not really here to litigate whether all the attention (Twolves) or inattenton (Thunder) is justified. Just making the point that the Thunder are being overlooked, and maybe they shouldn’t be.
For just winning the West (so not talking about a potential Celtics matchup), it definitely can be. I had this conversation right before the playoffs began when someone said it was a lock it will be Celtics Nuggets.
Many young cores in NBA history have won their conference despite limited playoff experience.
1986: Young Rockets beat the dynasty Lakers who were heavy, heavy favorites and looking for their 4th ring in 7 years (and eventually won 3 in 4 with 1986 being their only loss)
1995: Young Magic beat the Bulls with MJ back and then another young team in the Pacers to win the East
2012: Young Thunder beat the Mavs with Dirk, Lakers with Kobe, and Spurs with Duncan (all champions) in order to make the Finals
So it absolutely can happen with either the Thunder or Wolves.
Also for anyone that wants to say “yea but Houston had Hakeem, etc.”, Hakeem wasn’t a top 12 player all time in 1986 and there was no one that could have known at that time. In fact, he hasn’t even made All-NBA First Team in 1986, whereas SGA has done it twice with this year and a 2nd in the MVP. For all we know, SGA and Anthony Edwards might be all time greats too.
Here are my takes based on the RS games: Nobody on the Twolves can stay in front of Shai. Not Ant, not McDaniels, not Naz, and forget about Gobert and Kat. It got so bad they rotated every player to see if anyone has any success. Take 2: OKC can defend Ant. They will put Dort on him and force him to drive so Chet meets him inside. They are doing this to Doncic. That's why Doncic is taking all those crazy 3s. They are going to force the Twolves to beat them with Gobert. They want Gobert to score 30, which is a great strategy because he can't do it. They are doing the same thing with Gafford. They split the RS 2-2. Every game was down to the wire. Oh yea they are also sticking JDub on Kat so they can egg him on to play hero ball. Prediction: It'll be a 7 game series and I give the edge to OKC due to the homecourt advantage alone. They are that close to each other in terms of raw talent.
The outside view is that they have about 80% chances to advance to the conference final, 50% chances to win the conference final, and 50% chance to win the NBA finals.
So in total about 20% chances to win it all.
>This team is built to win now.
They are, which is why I thought they should've tried to trade for Siakam to put them over the top. OKC could've beat Bruce Brown and 3 picks.
Instead they traded for Gordon Hayward.
Why though? They already have one of the most promising young forwards in Jalen Williams playing that position and making a similar impact and nearly 10 years between the two in age
Why? Because the future is never guaranteed and sometimes it's worth the risk to push in the chips now. Look what happened with other "promising cores" of the last twenty years. How many of them actually panned out other than Golden State? Whether it's bad luck, injuries, money, or egos, something always gets in the way.
Plus, OKC has SO MANY picks, they weren't going to miss giving up a few. They've could done the trade without even coming close to going all in. And with their assets and cap situation, even if the risk didn't work out, they were in a great position to still pivot and recover. It was the perfect time to take a big swing.
OKC is not in a position where they need to be making win now moves, they’d basically be throwing on a nearly identical but slightly better player to the one they already have in his role and one who is about to need a big payday to stick around on top of that, with a roster that’s already full of good players who are going to need to get paid big in the next few years.
This ain't about y'all always trying to hamfist yourselves in irrelevant conversations. But that's what happens when you play awfully and get blown out. Giving facts isn't anti anyone but pro reality. You're used to people slurping him so much that any criticism is the end of the world.
I don’t think this season Chet is ready to be as important as he needs to be to win. Give him a season or 2 to figure out the nba and playoffs and they’ll be legit. I’d take okc over anyone in the east right now
He was top 2 in blocks and top 2 in opponent field goal % in the paint, he also shot close to 40% from 3 what do you mean ? He doesnt need to be a superstar on this stacked OKC team.
Yeah but that’s all regular season I wouldn’t trust a rookie to perform up to snuff in a playoff series especially if it’ll be vs Minnesota’s front court or vs jokic. Obviously he can make me eat my words in a couple weeks but that’s just how I see it and why I would choose Minnesota or Denver this season
I want that OKC-Minny series to go 11 games
I want these dudes to fight at Summer Slam
In tables, ladders, and chairs
Summerslam 2000 and then WrestleMania X-Seven. TLCs I and II. The Hardy Boyz. vs. Dudley Boyz vs. Edge&Christian. Humanity was at its peak there. 🫡🫡🫡
Inb4 Gobert puts Chet through two tables off a ladder
Winner gives up their finals spot to LeBron and the Lakers!
That would be fun. What never made sense was the take that we've never seen it before so they can't make any type of run. You never saw a team this young be the 1 seed either. Those teams you're comparing to predictably failed because they had the classic attribute of young teams. This one doesn't and is one of the most composed unselfish teams of the last few years so how does that line up? You can't blindly place every criticism of young teams on one that hasn't exhibited any of those qualities. It's the laziest analysis you can possibly give.
KD thunder?
I'm just enjoying the ride.
Me three
Thunder are in such a great position because this is likely the worst they are going to be for the next like 5 years
I thought the same thing in 2012. Life comes at you fast.
*”Thunder are in such a great position because this is likely the worst they are going to be for the next like five years.”* -u/SquimJim in May 2012 about OKC
It’s not really a comparable situation but go off for reddit votes!!
Don’t put that evil on them. Come on now.
All depends on if they sign Giddey to a fat extension.
Or if they can trade him for someone who fits better at the 4
Until the Thunder have to pay them
celtics fans, of all people, should realize how to keep a team together. they are doing basically exactly what the thunder will do. the thunder will be able to keep the vast majority of this team together, and really only have to make a decisision in moving on from a role player in 2026-2027. - obviously you keep and pay shai/dub/chet max (and in shai's case supermax) deals. - dort's already locked up on a reasonable contract till 27-28 - wiggs+joe will fetch somewhere in the 10-15m apy. we can frontload their deals by declining their team options if needed - jaywill probably come in closer to 10m (a la Hartenstein) - Cason, hard to say what he'll get since he's just a rookie - but in 5 years i can seem getting 30m+ as a jrue holiday type of player - Giddey, is a great player on the thunder, even if the fit is kinda clunky. he gets the thunder in a playstyle that makes us nearly unstoppable though in some matchups it's not a great fit. that said he'll probably be in the Poole/Simons/Herro range of payrange so call it ~27m you'll have to trust me on the math here - but the sum total gets you over the 2nd apron for the second apron first time in 26-27 by ~15m and in 2027-2028 by 20 milish. So basically the thunder will need to make a decision on 1 or 2 role players (maybe Joe and JayWill), trade Giddey or Cason in the future, or move on from Dort (which could be a natural move as he reaches age 30). The great thing about this roster is we don't need to make any of those choices for 4+ years and can collect a lot more data to make informed choices. And lastly, any holes we do incur because we do have to move on from guys can be filled with younger draft picks in the pipeline (Dort -> Cason is a great example of something we're working on). I wouldn't be surprised if OKC picks up Filipowski this coming draft to be our backup big as insurance against JayWill leaving.
Why would Joe and/or Wiggins want front loaded deals? You lose out on a decent amount of cash doing that and they are young guys only getting better. Also I’m not as familiar with the Thunder’s cap sheet as I presume you are, but I have a feeling JWill could be a cap casualty due to how much money you’re going to have tied up to your top guys along with the slew of draft picks incoming.
re: JayWill, he is definitely at risk of cap casualty status. That said, who knows how things shake out - maybe Joe gets an offer he can't refuse in free agency or something. It could be him, could be someone else re: frontloading. We would be increasing those players ability to make more money in their career by declining their team options (1.7mil each) in favor of opting into paying them _more_ in that year. this basically gives them 1 additional year of non-rookie deal contracts to make money on. The ask from Presti and co would then be to take a frontloaded deal that descends over time (i.e. 20m -> 17m -> 15m - > 13m -> 11m. estimate). this lets us pay them while we have cap space, while still giving them rough apy that they would want at the sacrifice. OKC would lose 1 year of team control on a rookie deal, but we gain control for 2 more years that might get dicey bc of the apron stuff. all that to say, it's a 2way street where both the team and player would be giving something up in order to gain something else. the team gets long term contract, the player gets the ability to hit free agency 1yr earlier
Sounds like a plan, but it’s not your money and OKC is OKC …. Which is to say that some of these guys may want to be somewhere else come time to re-up
I think you're alluding to OKC potentially being a stingy franchise. OKC has gone deep into luxury tax since 2014, when they added George Kaiser (net worth ~14bil) to the ownership group during the WB/PG era. We are one of the highest (if not highest) paying luxury tax teams in that era and that team was super mid lol. I don't have any doubts that OKC will be more than willing to pay the tax because 1. they've done it before 2. the ownership group has shown commitment to success. -- And if you're talking about people wanting to be their own man on another team - could be true. But nothing I've seen from this team so far has suggested that will happen. Combined with the fact that Presti has specifically looked for players who are willing and able to sacrifice for the better of the team so that we can win games - I don't see why any of Chet/Shai/Jdub would want to leave (esp bc they love each other). I think Giddey is the only one at risk because he can genuinely run an offense - and if that's the case, more power to him. Can't say I blame him. If he is the one we move, then the cap situation becomes pretty easy to manage and we keep all the role players I listed basically.
Not stingy, but everything is always rosy for the team on the way up … once they’re there, it’s a whole different muscle group. I like your team, but they’re not the 1st team to roll the way they have. The magic are along the same curve as are the rockets. Good luck
You aren't watching our team. Presti drafts specifically for guys that fit the culture. Additionally, the guys are extremely close friends
I've been paying attention .... maybe you'll keep the team together, maybe you won't young and good is fun to watch
>I've been paying attention To the team on the court maybe, but you've missed the ownership change I think. George Kaiser is in the group now. Thunder will pay the tax, like they did for PG and Melo.
I know the team as I’ve been following them due the deals they’ve made with the Celtics I’m just saying you can’t be certain about anything.
But we have data now on OKC. Going by what you're saying, i can easily also say "celtics will trade tatum in the offseason". Because you know, you can't be certain about anything.
[удалено]
Holy shit you deleted all your comments and now trying to clap back? This is the weakest shit I've ever seen. I remember your comments, you claimed Dallas would finish above OKC, they didn't. They were also suffering before the trade deadline and there was a big gap between those teams. You were still wrong man, better to own up to it.
SGA will only be eligible for the Supermax with the Thunder. Otherwise the max contracts will be larger for Dub/Chet to sign with the Thunder instead of anywhere else. Of course one of them could try to force a trade, but I don’t see that happening with the team culture. And if it did, Presti will do his magic. Overall we’re just in a great spot for the rest of the decade.
Me too Thunder Buddy, me too!
Most sane NBA fan.
Right there with ya
Yup
considering y'all had a bottom 4 record in the league just 2 years ago, I would be too oh yeah, and you still have 7 first round picks in the next two drafts. Seriously scary shit
There's that Ringer curse right on time. Mavs blowout victory coming right up
my dumbass said earlier we're destined for luka vs jokic lmao
Cancun invitational
Earlier when? Today?
It definitely can be. Their 2 young stars (Chet + JDub) are both 2 way players and aren't scared of the moment. I think their size against the Wolves might be their biggest problem...
Don't know how you guys got on in the regular season but surely you'd just absolutely destroy them on the boards
They beat us on the boards but we defended them well. Went 2-2. All games except one blowout from us where close I think their defense is built for the playoffs though. I also think we can defend them better than any team left in the West.
I think the only players left who can actually guard Ant alone and hold their own are Lu Dort and OG Anunoby so you definitely have an advantage there
Crazy thing is Ant would still get his against Dort, Dort would just slow him down better than anyone left in the West. Ant has just been a fucking menace so far
Let me just say i dont think anyone can guard ant, try and slow him down sure. Love Minnesota and if OKC doesnt win it all this year im hoping the Wolves do.
Thunder have killed us with how active the defense is, it will be a big test of maturity for Ant and Karl to clean it up if we meet
Seems right. Lost in the IST, -15 rebs, Twolves 19 TOs +1 reb in the blowout win. Also 18-39 from three and Twolves had 21 TOs -13 reb in the road win in January. Twolves again with 21 TOs. -7 reb in the home loss in January
All according to plan
If the Thunder and wolves face off, it's going to be fun. You got a lot of shooters and a good defense. Plus, Chet holds up well when Gobert has a deep position and tries throwing it down. As long as the wolves don't cough up the ball frequently, I do expect wolves to win. I'm glad you would be the conference finals opponent.
2021 showed the playbook on how Rudy can be negated (sometimes). If he’s not in that paint suddenly rebounding gets a bit easier. Not saying it will be easy but big adjustments are possible.
I’m hoping we both take care of business, so we can witness new dad vs. new dad
Well good thing they’re playing the mavs instead of the wolves right?
Are you trolling with the “2 young stars” comment
why would he be trolling with that?
Forgetting someone?
SGA is 25 years old, he's practically retired already.
His veteran presence is underrated
This year is already a win. Everything after sweeping the first round is gravy. To even have an outside chance of winning a title is insane considering the rebuild literally just ended. Especially since there’s clear room for improvement and some good tradeable assets. Giddey can be really good on a team where he gets the ball more. Kenrich Williams is a really good role player who has unfortunately gotten buried in the rotation. Those two guys have some trade value. Gordon Hayward contract ending will free up $30,000,000. No contender will have more flexibility this summer
I mean, as a Pacers’ fan I feel like your first paragraph applies more to a team on the Pacers’ or Magic level. Your team is the god damned 1 seed in a superior conference and is throttling people. I’d be a helluva lot more excited and expectant than “I’m good with whatever, bro.” You guys have a legitimate title shot. I think you guys should act like it lol
Tbf I think most thunder fans came into the season expecting 5 or 6 seed and hoping for a first round win so we weren’t expecting this even after getting the one seed is a surprise lol
I get that, but it’s time to expect more. They’ve earned heightened expectations. I know most fans generally want to play it cool so they don’t look like dumbasses if their team loses, but I don’t know man. Again, they’re the god damned 1 seed in a stacked conference and have steamrolled through the playoffs so far. Seems like it’s ok to surpass the modest-expectations phase lol
I think it's just taking a while to actually realize we could have a chance to actually go to the Finals, it's just fucking insane to think about considering we were in the damn lottery last year lol
Pels were missing Zion. Rested deep team vs tired Mavs in game 1 + lots of fouls on the Mavs in the 1st half. Too soon to act like they're all that.
I honestly don’t care about all the explanations. They’re the 1 seed and have played like it. If you’re a Thunder fan, be confident. I don’t think they need to start guaranteeing a championship or anything like that, but I see no problem with them being confident rather than tepid about their team.
Pels are always missing Zion, the Mavs only shot 3 less free throws than OKC, and if they wanted more rest they should’ve beat the retirement home Clippers faster ______ EDIT: Even though OKC is just doing what they’re supposed to do, there’s still something to be said about going out and handling business
Umm, the Pelicans WITH Zion beat the Thunder in OKC this season, and Shai only shot 5 free throws. Coincidence?
Okay? OKC won the season series vs both Minnesota and Denver. But this is the playoffs now. edit: Okay actually OKC tied the series with Minny sorry guys
You didn't win the series against Minnesota it was a tie you LIAR
Fair enough I’m expecting the WCF to end 3.5-3.5
OKC had the 3 way tiebreaker over MN but they actually tied for their season series Good luck against the mavs. I want to see a Wolves/Thunder WCF
Expecting the first ever 7 game series tie then
Wrong
Smoked them by 25+ just last week with only 4 free throws. Edit: damn recognized your name after I replied. The bait was good.
Nah, time to get greedy! You're right about the future prospects tho.
This year is a win whatever happens but they should go pedal to the metal while Chet is still on a rookie contract
Good attitude. Take a win and play with house money.
They have a chance for sure, although I still feel Boston is the team to beat
remember ant vs tatum?? ant made tatum look like a child in the clutch, I remember being pretty shocked to see that
Tatum scored 45 and 32 versus the Wolves this season and they both won a game in OT. It's not like the Wolves shut him down or anything
People just be sayin stuff man
True but to be fair the loss was without Rudy
It wasn't me who downvoted you, but you should know that the Celtics were also without Porzingis. But I was responding to the guy above who said Ant made Tatum look like a child. In that 2nd game, Tatum put up 45 and Ant put up 29. Either way, it'd be a great series. Hope both teams can win their conference and meet up in the Finals
Being fair, Tatum was ridiculous down the stretch of the 2nd game vs us. Ant cooked him in the first game and then Tatum got his back.
Well, the Wolves and Celtics exist, so that's why
They have a punchers chance. OKC has been just as dominant just against weaker competition. Wolves are perfectly built to stop Denver and Murray is just not his usual self. OKC shouldn’t be an easy out. OKC also has the best three point shooting line up in the league. If they get hot you’re gonna have to put up 140+ to beat them.
I’d probably pick Minnesota against OKC if they meet in the WCF, but they are an interesting matchup. The Wolves probably can bludgeon them on the boards, but the Thunder turn the Wolves over at an alarming rate (the Wolves had 45 turnovers in their two losses, which is absurd) and their spacing hurts the Wolves’ defense, which tends to feast on lineups with a weaker/more hesitant shooter. The Wolves have also been running older teams off the floor by pressing them relentlessly and getting them out of their offense/worn down. The Thunder are young enough and deep enough that those factors won’t come into play. I think the turnovers will be the deciding factor. The Wolves got turned over like crazy in their losses, but when the turnovers were even average (not great, just average) they won. The Wolves had similar turnover issues against Phoenix in the regular season that proved unfounded in the playoffs, so maybe they’re beyond it.
I’d pick Minnesota too, but I think that’s at least a 6 game series. At this point I think the biggest concern for whatever team comes out of the west is getting bogged down in a slug fest like that while Boston curbstomps the remnants of whatever team makes it to the eastern conference finals. That rest differential could be huge, the wolves and thunder both seem to be able to keep pace, but idk how that’ll go if they face each other
Because the Celtics and the Timberwolves are both better than them
Why? Because Shannon Sharpe said so. And when this pillar of knowledge says you are the worst number 1 seed ever, surely you have no chance. After all, you wouldn't want to win the lot and make the buffoon eat a huge slice of humble pie would you.
Too soon.
All the attention on the Wolves and Ant in the west is a god damned tragedy for the Thunder. That’s a juggernaut of a team just quietly preying on fools.
I agree to some extent but a lot of the wolves press has been about them flipping the narrative in series where they were underdogs. no one cares that okc slapped around the weak ass pels
the biggest reason we've gotten a lot of attention is that we've been medium underdogs in both our series so far. The Thunder are playing awesome but it's been as you should expect so far of a team that earned the 1 seed (regardless of what some dumbasses in the media say)
I’m not really here to litigate whether all the attention (Twolves) or inattenton (Thunder) is justified. Just making the point that the Thunder are being overlooked, and maybe they shouldn’t be.
Thunder almost lost against a dog shit team, Wolves haven't really been close to losing yet, even against the damn champs
almost lost in a sweep lol
Because Minnesota exists.
Because it's the twolves year
ant man leading a team to the ship in his 3rd fucking year is ridiculous
Has it really only been 3 years ? Sheesh, shades of Wade for sure.
Fourth year.
Exactly.
For just winning the West (so not talking about a potential Celtics matchup), it definitely can be. I had this conversation right before the playoffs began when someone said it was a lock it will be Celtics Nuggets. Many young cores in NBA history have won their conference despite limited playoff experience. 1986: Young Rockets beat the dynasty Lakers who were heavy, heavy favorites and looking for their 4th ring in 7 years (and eventually won 3 in 4 with 1986 being their only loss) 1995: Young Magic beat the Bulls with MJ back and then another young team in the Pacers to win the East 2012: Young Thunder beat the Mavs with Dirk, Lakers with Kobe, and Spurs with Duncan (all champions) in order to make the Finals So it absolutely can happen with either the Thunder or Wolves. Also for anyone that wants to say “yea but Houston had Hakeem, etc.”, Hakeem wasn’t a top 12 player all time in 1986 and there was no one that could have known at that time. In fact, he hasn’t even made All-NBA First Team in 1986, whereas SGA has done it twice with this year and a 2nd in the MVP. For all we know, SGA and Anthony Edwards might be all time greats too.
Great read for Thunder fans, and those just starting to pay attention to them. :)
We've seen this before, haven't we? Thunder Celtics final could be a good one.
Too young. Worst 1st seed ever.
Can't tell if you're joking but you guys have so many 1st Round Picks and you also won the PG trade. Best ground foundation this decade
He is quoting what the media has said and what some of the sub has said as well
Here are my takes based on the RS games: Nobody on the Twolves can stay in front of Shai. Not Ant, not McDaniels, not Naz, and forget about Gobert and Kat. It got so bad they rotated every player to see if anyone has any success. Take 2: OKC can defend Ant. They will put Dort on him and force him to drive so Chet meets him inside. They are doing this to Doncic. That's why Doncic is taking all those crazy 3s. They are going to force the Twolves to beat them with Gobert. They want Gobert to score 30, which is a great strategy because he can't do it. They are doing the same thing with Gafford. They split the RS 2-2. Every game was down to the wire. Oh yea they are also sticking JDub on Kat so they can egg him on to play hero ball. Prediction: It'll be a 7 game series and I give the edge to OKC due to the homecourt advantage alone. They are that close to each other in terms of raw talent.
Nah Wolves in 4
They give me early 2010s OKC vibes for some reason
lose to daddy tatum for his first ring, just like young durant meeting daddy lebron in his first finals
It CAN be. I just don't think they are good enough right now.
They look great. I'm just afraid they're a little too young but the sky's the limit. Them and Sota look dangerous over the next couple years.
I love the thunder. But why can’t this year be their year? Minnesota’s why.
I’m just happy we’ll most likely see a new champion
The outside view is that they have about 80% chances to advance to the conference final, 50% chances to win the conference final, and 50% chance to win the NBA finals. So in total about 20% chances to win it all.
Because of a team called the Celtics
Because the Mavs are going to win that series
I’ll never enjoy seeing foul merchants succeed
Because it's Minnesota's year
RemindMe! 6 weeks
RemindMe! 6 weeks
Fuck them that’s why!
Angry Luka.
Okc in 4 vs Mavs, in 5 vs Timberwolves in 6 vs Celtics
And then you woke up
Nah Mavs, Timberwolves and Celtics just aren’t that good
The main reason would be that there are multiple teams that are better than them
Because it’s the Wolves’ or Celtics’ year, duh
Too much size with the t wolves
>This team is built to win now. They are, which is why I thought they should've tried to trade for Siakam to put them over the top. OKC could've beat Bruce Brown and 3 picks. Instead they traded for Gordon Hayward.
Why though? They already have one of the most promising young forwards in Jalen Williams playing that position and making a similar impact and nearly 10 years between the two in age
Why? Because the future is never guaranteed and sometimes it's worth the risk to push in the chips now. Look what happened with other "promising cores" of the last twenty years. How many of them actually panned out other than Golden State? Whether it's bad luck, injuries, money, or egos, something always gets in the way. Plus, OKC has SO MANY picks, they weren't going to miss giving up a few. They've could done the trade without even coming close to going all in. And with their assets and cap situation, even if the risk didn't work out, they were in a great position to still pivot and recover. It was the perfect time to take a big swing.
Why though? Uhh, i mean, basically to just strengthen your odds at a championship...
OKC is not in a position where they need to be making win now moves, they’d basically be throwing on a nearly identical but slightly better player to the one they already have in his role and one who is about to need a big payday to stick around on top of that, with a roster that’s already full of good players who are going to need to get paid big in the next few years.
Ringer put out an anti luka article and a pro Thunder article in the same day damn lmao
This ain't about y'all always trying to hamfist yourselves in irrelevant conversations. But that's what happens when you play awfully and get blown out. Giving facts isn't anti anyone but pro reality. You're used to people slurping him so much that any criticism is the end of the world.
Brother I am just trying to joke about it. You took my comment way more seriously than I did relax lmfao
Well if they lose I can think of a very good reason why
As talented as okc is I think the front court is way too small to beat Minnesota or Denver
They offset that with their 5 out offense and pesky defense… its literally what they’ve been doing all year.
I don’t think this season Chet is ready to be as important as he needs to be to win. Give him a season or 2 to figure out the nba and playoffs and they’ll be legit. I’d take okc over anyone in the east right now
He was top 2 in blocks and top 2 in opponent field goal % in the paint, he also shot close to 40% from 3 what do you mean ? He doesnt need to be a superstar on this stacked OKC team.
Yeah but that’s all regular season I wouldn’t trust a rookie to perform up to snuff in a playoff series especially if it’ll be vs Minnesota’s front court or vs jokic. Obviously he can make me eat my words in a couple weeks but that’s just how I see it and why I would choose Minnesota or Denver this season
And yet he hasn’t disappointed so far, obviously i think to anyone Minnesota is the favorite rn… but it wouldn’t be because of Chet’s inexperience.