Ric Bucher Likes OKC Over Blazers In A Few Years

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Nikolokolus said:
What's not to like about a mature core of?
Westbrook
Sefalosha
Durant
Green
'Mystery Big Man'
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Biggest potential problem, unless MBM is a stud - is that Durant is not a good defensive superstar - and when your superstar is an offense only machine - you usually do not win it all.

T-Mac (a better defender than Durant) - never made much noise in the playoffs.
'Melo (a better defender than Durant, with a team that had a defensive stud at the big position) - never made much noise in the playoffs - but he is trying a lot more this year.
A.I. - 'nuff said
Dirk Diggler (a much better defender than Durant) - Same old.
Steve Nash - a joy to watch - but they could never stop the good teams when it matters - and there you go...

I think Presti is too good a GM not to address this problem someway, somehow. I will be shocked if they do not take Thabeet if they have a chance in the draft.

At the end of the day, however, I still like the Blazers more from a defensive point-of-view. Aldridge is becoming a very good defender. Oden has all the tools to be a dominant defensive anchor. Nic looks like a prototypical perimeter defender in the Pip/Prince mold. Roy is a very good defender when he puts his mind to it - and I am wiling to bet that once this team's other offensive options mature and the pressure on Roy to score is down - he will become a more consistent good defender. Add Bayless and his potential to be a strong defender - and this team looks a lot more like a prototypical ring contender than the Westbrooks look to me.
 
JE said:
So Brandon Roy is up there with Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, and Dwight Howard? Those are the league's superstars.


I hope you don't answer yes to this.
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Is Durant?
 
It's not fashionable to say so now, but I actually think Utah is a bigger short and long-term threat than Oklahoma City. Green and Durant play the same position, and Westbrook is nice but not a true PG.

I'd rather have Deron Williams (who actually is a point guard) than Kevin Durant. Boozer and Millsap are each better than any big man on the Thunder roster, and one of them likely gets traded for something of real value. There's a good player in Kirilenko, and I think a team who could actually use him will eventually trade with Utah something of value.

Portland is still the most promising team in the league, but if you want to talk about potential, Utah intrigues me a lot.
 
Seriously, I want our guys to read that article before tonight's game. Perfect chalkboard material.
 
JE said:
So Brandon Roy is up there with Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, and Dwight Howard? Those are the league's superstars.


I hope you don't answer yes to this.
Click to expand...

You can argue that if you want. I don't think Howard belongs on that list yet. He has never played in a major series or gone far into the playoffs, and part of that is becasue he pussed out in the first round of the playoffs last year. The only reason I think Wade should be on that list is because he led a team to a championship before. But otherwise, he is a good scorer on a bad team, so that inflates his stats. Kobe and Lebron don't even play the 4th quarter in a lot of games. Both of them have sat out some number in the teens of 4th quarters this year because they were not needed.
 
Batum needs to be all over KD tonight to make a point. B ROY after the game should thank Bucher after he gets 50! GO should also go off on that non existant defense the OKC has!

As for the Thunder getting Thabeet...... GOOD! I saw a 6'10 player from Pitt push Thabeet around twice this year like it was free. Trust me GO will impose his will on Thabeet!
 
The Thunder ARE going to be nasty. They scare the shit out of me. Not to say they'll be better than Portland, but it's going to turn in to a GREAT rivalry.......that was once a GREAT rivalry. :dunno:
 
Brandon Roy, has played in 2 all-star games in his first 3 seasons, but he's not the superstar Durant is, even though he hasn't made it out of the rookie/soph game?

Yeah, ok...
 
The proven formula for winning an NBA title is simple, and it goes back 50+ years. You need either:

a) a dominant big man - this helps with both defense and rebounding

or

b) two, or more elite defenders

Go back and look at all the championship teams over the last 50 years, and see if you can find ONE that does not fit this formula. Even the Jordan Bulls, with 2 (or more) elite defenders (Jordan, Pippen and Grant/Rodman) fit this equation. They were also great rebounding teams.

Sure, it helps to have a great scorer, but great rebounders and elite defenders are more likely to win championships than guys who lead the league in scoring. Another way to look at it is, for a great scorer to win a championship (unless he's also a great rebounder/defender - which usually translates into dominant big man - Duncan, Shaq, Hakeem, Kareem, etc.), he needs a lot of help. Surround Durant with great defenders and at least one top notch rebounder and he has a chance to win a title. As the rosters stand today, Portland has ALL the pieces to contend for multiple NBA titles. OKC has one of the pieces (possibly 1.5 if Westbrook becomes and elite defender).

BNM
 
OKC does have a very talented team....but does anyone really expect Durrant to stay there long term???
 
Is Durant?
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Of course not because their seasons are not even close in terms of who is better and its Roy by a long shot. I also think that only the top 5 players in the NBA (LeBron, Wade, Paul, Kobe, Howard) are superstars. But B-Roy has been the 6th best player in the NBA this year according to stats, being selected to the all-star game and team record in the West! The ESPN article that said Roy is the 7th best player in the league was right on, but I think he is having a better year than Tim Duncan this year (and Hollinger's new stat reflects that as well). Its also funny that Roy is only 24 years old... I can't wait for him to hit his prime.

Anyway, what our team is missing is a PG. I also agree that our future dynasty is extremely dependant on Greg Oden's development... but i'm more confident than ever that he will develop into a beast. To be honest, you put Greg on that Orlando team Dwight had his rookie year, give him Dwight's minutes and lets say he doesn't have foul problems, he is more productive than Howard his rookie year. But Greg is wayyy more scrutinized in the public eye than Howard was.

Edit - come on though, don't argue with JE. He is the guy who said that Devin Harris is better than Roy and that NJ would never trade Harris for Roy (even though Roy is better AND younger... lol). He has a thing against Roy and the Blazers and is probably more bias than us. You can't take him TOO seriously, though sometimes he makes good points.
 
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MIXUM said:
well thats the one thing we have they dont... Paul Allen.

With that said... make no mistake about it.... Thunder have a great future ahead and will def be a thorn in our side and many others. In a few years teams like the Blazers and Thunder will be top 4 in the west for quite a few years. Teams like SA, Phoenix, Dallas, and maybe Houston will be rebuilding.

3 Years from now...

Blazers
Lakers
Utah.... but they coud also slide
Thunder
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I'm sorry your favorite team is going to be second in the West.
 
Meh, he's just trying to be a contrarian and nice to the local folks in OKC. He sniffs Kobe's jock more than Basel57; I don't take his analysis seriously. People need to recognize the difference between scoop-getters and analysts. Bucher is the first; he's not the second.
 
Rastapopoulos said:
But apparently Durant is. And a pretty unique one - I can't think of another superstar who has a net negative effect on his team when he's on the court.
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Find the post where I said Durant is a superstar and get back to me.
 
like i said yesteray... hope OKC doesnt get Griffin. If they do.... bucher might be right.

Roy
Oden
Aldridge
Rudy

OR

Durant
Green
Westbrook
Griffin (likely thatbeet)

JUST HOPE OKC doesnt win the lotto. Then we are in trouble. Blake will be the first pick.
 
With or without Blake Griffin, they will not be better than us. They made a gigantic mistake in the 07 draft taking Green with Durant who play the exact same position, now Green plays an undersized 4 and where would Blake play, the 5? Shit, Greg would eat him alive. And that right there is the x-factor. In the upcoming years, it will be Greg and Dwight as the lone centers in the league. If Greg stays healthy. he separates us from the pack. His potential is higher than Durant.
 
I think a better comparison for OKC is the Bulls from a few years ago. Great young perimeter players but no big men. If they don't win the Griffin sweepstakes or convince a good PF/C to sign with them this summer I don't think they will go very far. However if they can get a good PF/C they will be a force.
 
It isn't just the current OKC roster you need to consider. They have a ton of cap space and several extra 1st round picks they acquired in trade.

Over the next couple of years, the Blazers will be lucky to add one good vet. Our "core" is largely in place. OKC can add a good vet AND several good young players. Their talent pool is still growing. It isn't as if Wally Walker is still running the show there! It isn't safe to just assume they will piss away their opportunity.
 
We have a coach with NBA experience and is doing well with his roster.
2nd Youngest in the League
Richest owner in the league
Great fan base
Cap Space and Flexibility for trades for vets.
System in Place
Borderline Elite player in Roy...definitely a superstar.

Right now, Aldridge = Durant...and Aldridge is getting better and better too...so he can keep up with KD....Roy is just above Durant in everything....while Durant is a great offensive player, what else.


Roy > Thunder
LMA = Durant

Then we have ODEN, RUDY, BATUM...each of which can just dominate at their given positions in the future....Rudy will be a consummate 6th man..Batum is a defensive stud with an offensive game developing and Oden is getting better once he learns the game he is dangerous.


Its not even a competition...the Thunder will be lucky to make the playoffs in the next 5 years and even luckier if they happen to keep Durant. They are going to be more Memphis Grizzlies than Portland Trailblazers in teh future.

Rich Bucher is a fucking moron. We are much more stable than that joke of a franchise.
 
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LMA is not = Durant.

He might be playing as well as him this month, but his value isn't near Durant's.
 
He's entitled to his opinion and I think OKC has some great pieces that could be pretty good in the future. However, I like our owner, GM, coach, supporting cast, and the intagibles that our core guys have more than OKC. And I think our big-3 has more balance, height, and defensive ability. I could be wrong.

But I had to laugh though when Bucher actually brought up chemistry as part of his argument. I mean, whaa....?

And I agree, if Roy isn't a superstar, then neither is Durant, and so the entire article is pointless.

oldmangrouch said:
It isn't just the current OKC roster you need to consider. They have a ton of cap space and several extra 1st round picks they acquired in trade.

Over the next couple of years, the Blazers will be lucky to add one good vet. Our "core" is largely in place. OKC can add a good vet AND several good young players. Their talent pool is still growing. It isn't as if Wally Walker is still running the show there! It isn't safe to just assume they will piss away their opportunity.
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Of course. But we shouldn't just consider Portland to be done either. Beyond Roy, Aldridge, & Oden (rookie), Portland has Joel, Batum (rookie), Rudy (rookie), Webster, Outlaw, Blake, & Bayless (rookie). Portland has picks, trade exceptions, an owner who isn't afraid to spend money, and an extremely aggressive, creative, and intelligent front office. And a coach that the team has improved steadily under for 4 straight years. I just don't think we've plateaued yet either... :dunno:
 
just hope they dont win the lotto and we will be ok
 
oldmangrouch said:
They have a ton of cap space...
OKC can add a good vet...
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I'm curious to see what kind of free agent drawing power OKC has. I don't see a lot of top level free agents (or vets looking for a ring) lining up to play in Milwaukee or Memphis and OKC is a smaller market than both of those cities.

If they can keep their core together, I think they have a promising future. However, I think getting Durant to re-sign could pose a problem.
 
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