On September 28th of last year, I posted a blog where I analyzed a few NBA teams' off-season moves and predicted how these moves would impact their coming season, especially if they were to square off against Golden State in the finals. If curious, you can read the post in its entirety here - http://thekind-heartedsmartaleck.blogspot.com/2017/09/chasing-warriors.html.
In this blog, I wrote the following about the Oklahoma City Thunder:
"Oklahoma City Thunder
Off-season acquisitions: Paul George and Carmelo Anthony
Starting Line-up: PG Russell Westbrook, SG Andre Roberson, SF Paul George, PF Carmelo Anthony, and C Steven Adams
Projection: I'm probably in the minority on this, but I honestly don't see what all the hoopla is about regarding the Thunder's off-season moves. Yes, Russell Westbrook, Paul George, and Carmelo Anthony have all been stars in the league, and Westbrook was fully deserving of the MVP award for his efforts last season, but while the team will likely be quite exciting to watch this year, I can't see them posing much of a threat to Golden State. The reason for that is the fact there isn't a shooter amongst this big-3. They're all scorers. Westbrook, even in his MVP season a year ago, only shot 42.5% from the field. For his career, he's shot 43.3% from the floor and 31.3% from 3-point range. Carmelo Anthony shot 43.3% and 43.4% the past two seasons, is a career 45.2% shooter, 34.6% from deep. While Paul George is a better 3-point shooter than either Westbrook or Anthony, he's still only a career 43.2% shooter from the field. I hate to say it, but I think Oklahoma City is going to be a major disappointment this season, as I can't see them challenging Golden State for the top spot, San Antonio for the #2 seed, or even Houston for the #3 seed. At best, I can see them entering the playoffs as the #4 seed in the Western Conference, and getting ousted by Golden State in the second round. Putting three big names together doesn't necessarily equal a great team, especially when those three big names have trouble shooting over 43% for a season."
Sadly for the Thunder, they didn't even match my low expectations for them, as they fell to 5th seeded Utah in 6 games in the opening round of the playoffs. For the season, the "big-3" combined to shoot 43.0% from the field. Like I said before the start of the season, while Russell Westbrook, Paul George, and Carmelo Anthony may be fun to watch at times, without a solid, consistent shooter amongst them, it's going to be difficult for the Thunder to make a deep run into the playoffs, unless some much needed off-season changes are made.
In this blog, I wrote the following about the Oklahoma City Thunder:
"Oklahoma City Thunder
Off-season acquisitions: Paul George and Carmelo Anthony
Starting Line-up: PG Russell Westbrook, SG Andre Roberson, SF Paul George, PF Carmelo Anthony, and C Steven Adams
Projection: I'm probably in the minority on this, but I honestly don't see what all the hoopla is about regarding the Thunder's off-season moves. Yes, Russell Westbrook, Paul George, and Carmelo Anthony have all been stars in the league, and Westbrook was fully deserving of the MVP award for his efforts last season, but while the team will likely be quite exciting to watch this year, I can't see them posing much of a threat to Golden State. The reason for that is the fact there isn't a shooter amongst this big-3. They're all scorers. Westbrook, even in his MVP season a year ago, only shot 42.5% from the field. For his career, he's shot 43.3% from the floor and 31.3% from 3-point range. Carmelo Anthony shot 43.3% and 43.4% the past two seasons, is a career 45.2% shooter, 34.6% from deep. While Paul George is a better 3-point shooter than either Westbrook or Anthony, he's still only a career 43.2% shooter from the field. I hate to say it, but I think Oklahoma City is going to be a major disappointment this season, as I can't see them challenging Golden State for the top spot, San Antonio for the #2 seed, or even Houston for the #3 seed. At best, I can see them entering the playoffs as the #4 seed in the Western Conference, and getting ousted by Golden State in the second round. Putting three big names together doesn't necessarily equal a great team, especially when those three big names have trouble shooting over 43% for a season."
Sadly for the Thunder, they didn't even match my low expectations for them, as they fell to 5th seeded Utah in 6 games in the opening round of the playoffs. For the season, the "big-3" combined to shoot 43.0% from the field. Like I said before the start of the season, while Russell Westbrook, Paul George, and Carmelo Anthony may be fun to watch at times, without a solid, consistent shooter amongst them, it's going to be difficult for the Thunder to make a deep run into the playoffs, unless some much needed off-season changes are made.
Comments
Post a Comment