Yes. OKC doesn't have a Big 3. They have a Big 2.
Ibaka is a below average player (PER = 13.9). Although only 26 he peaked 4 years ago. He was once the best weak side shot blocker in the league, but his BLK% has declined five years in a row. When he was leading the league in BLKs, he was regarded as a great defender. Then, along came JaVale McGee and people started to realize there is more to defense than trying to block every shot. Ibaka is a weak low post defender. Bigger power forwards, like LaMarcus Aldridge kill him. Ibaka is so bad at guarding big men in the low post, for years, Scott Brooks would switch and have Kendrik Perkins guard Aldridge so he could hide Ibaka on RoLo or Hickson.
And, as others have pointed out, BOS woudn't have just a Big 3, they'd have a Big 4 with Isaiah Thomas (22.2 pp, PER = 21.5) to go along with Horford, Durant and Butler. If this happened, as described in the article, BOS would have the superior starting 5 and a much better bench than OKC. It's not even close. In the scenario described, BOS loses their starting center (Amir Johnson - replaced by Horford, a huge upgrade) and their 7th man (Marcus Smart - replaced by Butler - also a huge upgrade).
Of course, in the hypothetical New BOS vs. Current OKC scenario, Durant cancels out Durant. The real reason BOS would be better than OKC is they add two great two-way players. Al Horford is significantly better at both ends of the court than any OKC big man, and Jimmy Butler is a 21 ppg scorer that has made 2nd team All Defense each of the last 3 years. Butler averages as many points per hundred possessions as Dion Waiters and Andre Roberson combined. He's a much better, more efficient scorer than Waiters and a better defender than Roberson.
Plus, BOS would still have Avery Bradley, who is 1st team All Defense and widely considered the best perimeter defender in the league And, they also have Jae Crowder, who came in one vote shy of beating out Paul George for 2nd team All Defense. Horford is also one of the best bigs in the league at defending the pick and roll. A line up featuring Bradley, Butler, Crowder and Horford would probably be the best defensive unit in the league, especially in today's guard-centric, 3-point heavy, pick-and-roll era.
BOS would have the option of going big with Horford, Sullinger (or Olynyk), Durant, Butler and Thomas (or Bradley), or small with Horford, Durant, Crowder, Butler and Thomas. That team would crush the current OKC roster, and would also match up very well against GSW. Although they only played twice, because of their perimeter defense, the current BOS line gave GSW fits during the regular season (losing in overtime in Boston and winning in Oakland). They would lose the 6'4" Marcus Smart, but replace him with the 6'7" Butler, who is one of the few SGs in the league that doesn't have a size disadvantage against Klay Thompson.
Throw in Durant's scoring and Horford's solid, all-around play and that hypothetical BOS line-up would be true title contenders.
For the first three quarters. When it comes to the 4th quarter, I'd take any one of Thomas, Durant, Butler or Horford over Westbrook. There is a reason OKC blew 15 4th quarter leads in the regular season and why they collapsed and lost to the Warriors in the playoffs, and that reason is Russell Westbrook. He's the one with the ball in his hands, committing unforced turnovers and forcing bad shots with the game on the line. Game 6 against GSW, at home with a 4th quarter lead, was classic Westbrook. He missed 5 of his last 6 shots and committed 4 TOVs in the last 1:40 of the game. That summed up OKCs season and Westbrook's career. His brand of hero ball has been failing for years. I would take that theatrical BOS team over Westbrook's individual talent without hesitation. That BOS team is stacked with experienced 2-way players, great scorers and great defenders. OKC is a 2-man "team" whose leader chokes when the game/season is on the line.
BNM
