Author Topic: Melo trade puts OKC in superteam conversation  (Read 3430 times)

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Re: Melo trade puts OKC in superteam conversation
« Reply #15 on: September 25, 2017, 04:45:16 PM »

Offline GreenShooter

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The spurs aren't a threat and haven't been a threat for about 6 years



he's kidding right? please tell me he is

6 years, 3 straight finals of GSW vs CLE, right before that was 2 straight finals appearance by the Spurs vs Heat with Spurs winning one of it

and last year they made ECF without their superstar

lol I don't think he is

Spurs are still one of the top teams from the west.  A healthy Leonard and the Spurs win that game vs GSW....who knows what happens the rest of the series
Yup, was thinking the same thing last year when KL got hurt with Spurs in control of the game at the time.

As for OKC, not sure they're a super team. There are going to be some [dang] good games out West this year. 

Re: Melo trade puts OKC in superteam conversation
« Reply #16 on: September 25, 2017, 04:50:34 PM »

Offline Tr1boy

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stephen A smith says OKC can beat the GSW?? 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7b6QtunpFk

Re: Melo trade puts OKC in superteam conversation
« Reply #17 on: September 25, 2017, 04:55:15 PM »

Online BitterJim

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Dang, that makes it two superteams for Melo in the past two years. How many other people can say that?
I'm bitter.

Re: Melo trade puts OKC in superteam conversation
« Reply #18 on: September 25, 2017, 05:04:09 PM »

Offline GratefulCs

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Dang, that makes it two superteams for Melo in the past two years. How many other people can say that?
lol

TP

DRose!
I trust Danny Ainge

Re: Melo trade puts OKC in superteam conversation
« Reply #19 on: September 25, 2017, 05:58:25 PM »

Offline kiwiceltic

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Here is the roster (some of the deep bench players could rotate)

PG - Westbrook/Felton/Christon
SG - Roberson/Abrines/Ferguson
SF - George/Huestis/Singler
PF - Anthony/Patterson/Grant
C - Adams/Collison/Johnson

Very strong starting 5, but a very weak bench, and I worry about them defensively.  Roberson is an elite defender as is George, and Adams is very good against a traditional big, but Anthony and Westbrook will be problems on that end, and Adams is useless against a team like the Warriors (he can't guard Green at all).  So in a small ball situation, Patterson is probably in at center and he is a problem defensively as well.  Maybe they find something with Grant as a small ball center.

At the end of the day that is a great team, but they aren't all that close to the Warriors either.  Though, all it takes is one injury or one exploitable matchup, so they would certainly have about as good a chance as anyone.

That starting line up is an iso/PnR dream team...
The bench isn't horrible, if you look at a 9 man rotation of Russ, Roberson, PG13, Melo, Adams, Patterson, Abrines, Felton & Grant, the only glaring weakness is at backup center. I agree, they may use Grant there as he can rebound a bit. They could also look to a FA center like Sully or D.Lee as a cheap back up

Re: Melo trade puts OKC in superteam conversation
« Reply #20 on: September 25, 2017, 06:00:05 PM »

Offline Tr1boy

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If Cavs faced OKC in a series ...who would win?


Re: Melo trade puts OKC in superteam conversation
« Reply #21 on: September 25, 2017, 06:05:30 PM »

Offline mctyson

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http://www.tsn.ca/nba/video/melo-trade-puts-okc-in-superteam-conversation~1216235

Do you agree?

Is OKC a legit threat to the Spurs, Rockets and GSW in the west?

Yes. Melo will be completely unchained from having the 'star' role in OKC and will get looks at the basket he has never had before.

PG-13 gives OKC almost everything KD game them, maybe like 85%.  It is important to remember that team was up 3-1 on the 73-win GSW squad 2 years ago.

I would not be shocked if OKC comes out of the West.

Re: Melo trade puts OKC in superteam conversation
« Reply #22 on: September 25, 2017, 06:12:53 PM »

Offline gouki88

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If Cavs faced OKC in a series ...who would win?
My money would be on OKC. Paul George always seems to play his best against LeBron, and there is no way IT, JR and DRose can guard Russ.
'23 Historical Draft: Orlando Magic.

PG: Terry Porter (90-91) / Steve Francis (00-01)
SG: Joe Dumars (92-93) / Jeff Hornacek (91-92) / Jerry Stackhouse (00-01)
SF: Brandon Roy (08-09) / Walter Davis (78-79)
PF: Terry Cummings (84-85) / Paul Millsap (15-16)
C: Chris Webber (00-01) / Ralph Sampson (83-84) / Andrew Bogut (09-10)

Re: Melo trade puts OKC in superteam conversation
« Reply #23 on: September 25, 2017, 06:33:06 PM »

Offline CelticsBR

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I guess the main oposition to GSW's next title is not a specific team, but the possibility of facing a REALLY tough playoff path, that could exhaust their stars.

Imagine, they could face New Orleans in the first round and then 2 of OKC, Spurs and Houston! No way they could win all those series in 4 or 5 games

Re: Melo trade puts OKC in superteam conversation
« Reply #24 on: September 25, 2017, 07:47:05 PM »

Offline crimson_stallion

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Absolutely - this OKC team has undoubtedly got the talent to knock off any team in the NBA.

1. Russel Westbrook finished top 3 in scoring last year AND averaged a triple double AND won league MVP.  He is a guy who is very capable of dominating on both ends of the court (there were years in the past where he was one of the better defensive PG's in the NBA.  Bringing in Melo and George will take a great deal of the offensive burden off Westbrook, potentially allowing him go back to being a dominant two-way player.   If this happens he could give both  Curry and CP3 nightmares on both ends of the floor - and nobody in San Antonio will be able to touch him. 

2. Andre Roberson is a defensive specialist who won't do much offensively, but can make things very difficult for Klay Thompson.  With Klay being the 3rd best scorer in Golden state, you'd hae to put Roberson on to him. There are many statistics to show that as Klay goes, the Warrirors go.  Curry and Durant will always have big nights, but it's when Klay also goes off that they become a real nightmare - if Roberson can slow him down, then that can help turn the tide in the Caltics favour.  He can also do a strong job against RudyGay in San Antonio.

3. Paul George is a legit two-way player who has been known to have monster games against bit time players.  He's probably one of only a handful of guys in the NBA (Kawhi being another) who has the combination of length and quickness to be able to bother Kevin Durant defensively, while simultaneously making him work extremely hard on the other end of the floor as well.

4. While he is starting to decline a little, Carmelo is legitimately one the most talented scorers this league has ever seen.  Like Pierce and Kobe, he's the rare offensive player who can score from anywhere, in any way - midrange, three, foul line, in the post.  He's also the type of talented who can explode for 50 or 60 points - and for OKC this guy is their THIRD scoring option.  While Melo has a reputation as a terrible defensive player, he actually is capable of playing very good defence when he's motivated to - I've seen him play guys like Lebron and Paul Pierce in their primes about as good as anybody ever has - he's more mobile/athletic then he's given credit for, he has good length, and he's one of the physically strongest wings in the game.  We really haven't seen Melo play with anything close to an All-Star calibre player since he played with Amare early in his Knicks tenure, and that Knicks team was a force.  He's always been the long star surrounded by crap, and so his need to handle all of the offense has likely made it difficult for him to reserve energy for the defensive end.  With much of the offensive responsibility being taken off his hands, Melo can save some of his energy for his defence and rebounding.  His All-Star and Team USA performances are proof that Melo can be an absolute elite team player (and a true winner) when he's motivated and when he has help. 

5. I've never been a huge fan of Steven Adams simply because he seems to have an ugly personality.  But he is the absolute perfect guy to top off this team.  An extremely tough, physical and aggressive player, Adam's defensive versatility and rebounding proficiency make him the perfect complement for Melo up front.

This is on of those teams that could got amazingly well or horribly badly  depending on whether the three core guys are willing to sacrifice for the team.  If there's one thing they won't be lacking it's motivation.  Melo is getting older and this could be his last opportunity to win a title - he's going to be hungrier then he's ever been before.  Paul George is also without a ring, so he'll be motivated.  Russel Westbrook comes across to me as being a bit more selfish, but after Durant's recent sly comment towards OKC, you know he's going to be more motivated then ever before to knock off Golden state.

This team is a very real threat to anybody and everybody if they can get on the same page.  Rockets aren't a challenge to those big 3 teams IMO. I can't see either CP3 or Harden playing a major role without having all of the offense run through them.
« Last Edit: September 25, 2017, 08:22:44 PM by crimson_stallion »

Re: Melo trade puts OKC in superteam conversation
« Reply #25 on: September 25, 2017, 08:00:40 PM »

Offline PhoSita

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At best I'd say it puts them on about the same level as the Rockets.
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Re: Melo trade puts OKC in superteam conversation
« Reply #26 on: September 25, 2017, 08:18:01 PM »

Offline crimson_stallion

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At best I'd say it puts them on about the same level as the Rockets.

What makes you say that? 

The Rockets really only have two noteworthy players in Harden and CP3 - both of those guys play the PG position, and both of them really NEED to have the ball in their hands in order to be effective. Harden's best talent is his ability to score in isolation (which he requires the ball to do) while Chris Paul's best talent is his elite playmaking ability (which he requires the ball to utilise).  Take the ball away from either of those guys and you are taking away a large portion of what makes them so effective as players.

Melo, Geroge and Westbrook are all used to having the ball in their hands, but Westbrook is really the only one of those three who NEEDS it in his hands in order to be effective as an NBA PG.  Paul George and Carmelo Anthony both have skill sets that are very well suited to playing off the ball (both are good catch & shoot guys) and both have shown during team USA play that they can play together and excel together.  Whether they will is another matter altogether, but the potential is there.

Re: Melo trade puts OKC in superteam conversation
« Reply #27 on: September 25, 2017, 08:38:49 PM »

Offline crimson_stallion

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If Cavs faced OKC in a series ...who would win?

Westbrook
Roberson
George
Anthony
Adams

vs

Rose/Thomas
Crowder
Lebron
Love
Thompson

The only way Cleveland wins that series is if they win every game by a blowout (which isn't going to happen), because the Thunder's trio of Westbrook/George/Melo is just too [dang] clutch.  You can't stop either one of those guys with single coverage, so if the game is close and comes down to the wire there is no way Clevleand can cover all three of them. 

It's the 2016/17 Golden State Warriors all over again...but worse.  I say worse because the Warrior's 3rd option is Klay Thompson and the Thunder's 3rd option is Melo - and if I had to choose who I'd rather try to defend with single coverage at the end of a game I would choose Klay over Melo EVERY TIME

The thought of either Isaiah or Rose trying to defend Westbrook makes me laugh so hard I cry...and the thought of Kevin Love trying to guard Melo is equally laughable.  The only hope Clevleand has is to put Crowder on George (he's good, but he can't guard George) and then Lebron would be forced to have to guard Melo, which leaves him in the same situation he was in against Golden State last year (too tired after trying to do all the scoring AND guard Durant). 

I'm going to be bold here and say Cleveland gets destroyed in a pretty heavy blowout in 6 games.  They'd win one or two close games by sheer fluke, but over a 7 games series I think they have no chance.

Re: Melo trade puts OKC in superteam conversation
« Reply #28 on: September 25, 2017, 08:42:36 PM »

Offline Onslaught

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stephen A smith says OKC can beat the GSW?? 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7b6QtunpFk

Well now that he said that I'm not sure OKC can make the playoffs.
Peace through Tyranny

Re: Melo trade puts OKC in superteam conversation
« Reply #29 on: September 25, 2017, 10:20:25 PM »

Offline Phantom255x

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If Lebron and Wade join OKC (on paycuts) next season, THAT is a superteam.

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