NBA Power Rankings

[RamiTheBullsFan]

cole aldrich appears to be 60% chance to be a bust. green is just so mediocre at everything . i dont think he's a pf. if either collison and kristic played for the bulls they would be playing minutes as the 4/5 guys off the bench.

having a starting center who'se bound apt to be a bust, a glorified 6th man sf as a starting pf, and 2 4/5 bigmen hardly seem as if it's depth.

You're looking at it from a glass-half-empty perspective with Green. He makes intelligent decisions and is one of the most versatile players in the league. He can defend the high-block and the perimeter very well. He can hit the three-point shot at the PF position. And he's athletic for a man his height. Plus, he's a good passer.

Krstic is a very solid center, and does everything he needs to do. Sure, he's not an all-star, but he has no holes in his game. He has a 18-20 ft shooting range.

Serge Ibaka is like 22? And he has all-star potential. Very athletic, and can play the 4 and 5. And he can flat-out get to the free-throw line.

Collison is a solid bench player. He fill in like 15-20 minutes pretty effectively.

And I don't know much about Cole Adrich, but it can't hurt having a big man who was drafted high. It's likely he will grow into a formidable player.

Not to mention they have Durant, Westbrook, Harden, Sefolosha, and Maynor along their perimter.

 

[JustinTCB]

Hopefully Aldrich leads the league in "dunked on".

I agree with Rami though, they have solid depth at the 4 and 5, no stars, but solid. What they need is a big man to get upset in his current situation and demand a trade. Bosh would have been perfect for them. Heck, Boozer might have been a decent fit as well.

It might not matter though, because Durant and Westbrook could carry them pretty far with their current big men.

 

[TheStig]

That's not true. Serge Ibaka, Nick Collison, Nenad Krstic, Jeff Green, and now 11th pick Cole Aldrich provide them with tons of depth at the 4 and 5.

Crap, crap, crap and decent poor mans lamar odom. They suck. Kristic, is q shell of his old NJ days, 15 and 6 are sf numbers not pf numbers (jeff green) and the rest are crap. Its no wonder Durant leads the teams in rebounds. They need a front court to compete.

 

[TheStig]

You're looking at it from a glass-half-empty perspective with Green. He makes intelligent decisions and is one of the most versatile players in the league. He can defend the high-block and the perimeter very well. He can hit the three-point shot at the PF position. And he's athletic for a man his height. Plus, he's a good passer.

Krstic is a very solid center, and does everything he needs to do. Sure, he's not an all-star, but he has no holes in his game. He has a 18-20 ft shooting range.

Serge Ibaka is like 22? And he has all-star potential. Very athletic, and can play the 4 and 5. And he can flat-out get to the free-throw line.

Collison is a solid bench player. He fill in like 15-20 minutes pretty effectively.

And I don't know much about Cole Adrich, but it can't hurt having a big man who was drafted high. It's likely he will grow into a formidable player.

Not to mention they have Durant, Westbrook, Harden, Sefolosha, and Maynor along their perimter.

Point blank, when your starting sf leads your team in rebounds by 1.6 brds a game, you have no real front court. Name one other team that doesn't have a guy who can get 8 rebounds a game?

 

[RamiTheBullsFan]

Point blank, when your starting sf leads your team in rebounds by 1.6 brds a game, you have no real front court. Name one other team that doesn't have a guy who can get 8 rebounds a game?

You aren't acknowledging that OKC actually has legit pro guys playing those 4 and 5 positions. Krstic can hold it down on defense in the low-post and can post and shoot. Even though injuries have slowed him down, doesnt mean he's "crap."

Ibaka is far from "crap." He's going to only get better over the next 5 seasons. He's already a guy who can get hustle posts and rebound. Ibaka's stats per 36 minutes: 12-13 pts, 10-11 rebs, at 54% FG shooting. Still think he's crap? Didn't think so.

Krstic, Ibaka, and Collison are all better rebounders than Durant.

You obviously don't know what you are talking about... OKC was 3rd in total rebounds last season and were like +2.5 in differential. Yeah... that doesn't suck at all.

 

[RamiTheBullsFan]

The reason that OKC doesn't have anybody who averages over 8 rebounds-per-game is because of their DEPTH - direct contradiction to somebody who said they didn't have depth in their front-court...

They have like 5 big men sharing lots of minutes. Name me a team that has that many players averaging 6+ rebounds per game? You may not find any, and I'd be surprised if you did.

In my opinion, Oklahoma City is way better than Chicago. I find it absurd that the Bulls are ranked higher in ESPN's Power Rankings. It won't stay that way for long. OKC = 2 seed.

 

[houheffna]

The reason that OKC doesn't have anybody who averages over 8 rebounds-per-game is because of their DEPTH - direct contradiction to somebody who said they didn't have depth in their front-court...

They have like 5 big men sharing lots of minutes. Name me a team that has that many players averaging 6+ rebounds per game? You may not find any, and I'd be surprised if you did.

In my opinion, Oklahoma City is way better than Chicago. I find it absurd that the Bulls are ranked higher in ESPN's Power Rankings. It won't stay that way for long. OKC = 2 seed.

I don't know about that WAY better stuff...

Everybody is riding OKC's bandwagon, fact still remains that they have 1 allstar and solid players around him. I have seen this before...the results have to equal the hype before I say that OKC is WAY better than Chicago.

 

[RamiTheBullsFan]

I don't know about that WAY better stuff...

Everybody is riding OKC's bandwagon, fact still remains that they have 1 allstar and solid players around him. I have seen this before...the results have to equal the hype before I say that OKC is WAY better than Chicago.

As a team, OKC has proved a ton more than the Bulls. They won over 50 games last season, as the youngest team in the NBA. They had a lot of Lakers' fans scared last year... the only team that gave L.A. a better fight in the post-season last year was Boston.

The Bulls only have 1 all-star from last season, too. So that argument doesn't hold water.

Until the Bulls go out there and prove me wrong, I'm sticking with OKC is better than Chicago by a noticable margin.

Offensively... easily the Thunder. Durant and Westbrook and all of their complementary guys are much better, as a whole, than the Bulls.

Defensively... the Thunder again. The Bulls are a lot more likely to prove me wrong in this category. But the addition of Boozer isn't exactly a step up from Taj Gibson and Tyrus Thomas when it comes to quality D at the PF position. Thibodeau will definitely help. But how much? Last season, OKC was a great defensive team. Thabo Sefolosha, James Harden, Jeff Green, and Kevin Durant are all dedicated defensive players. Krstic, Ibaka, Collison, and Westbrook are all solid as well in OKC's schemes.

Durant+Westbrook combo is a better 1-2 punch than Rose+Boozer... sorry, Bulls' fans... The Bulls are definitely a better rebounding team. But OKC has rebounding, too. I just don't envision the Bulls being better than Oklahoma City. I think OKC can potentially be the 1-seed (far-fetched), and will most likely end up 2nd. They might be title contenders next season.

Yes, I said it... OKC Thunder: 2011 NBA Champions is a possibility.

 

[pinkizdead]

You aren't acknowledging that OKC actually has legit pro guys playing those 4 and 5 positions. Krstic can hold it down on defense in the low-post and can post and shoot. Even though injuries have slowed him down, doesnt mean he's "crap."

Ibaka is far from "crap." He's going to only get better over the next 5 seasons. He's already a guy who can get hustle posts and rebound. Ibaka's stats per 36 minutes: 12-13 pts, 10-11 rebs, at 54% FG shooting. Still think he's crap? Didn't think so.

no. kristic can't play defense. he'd be a great back up center, but he's absolutely turrible as a starter. legit pro's can still suck in reference to other legit pro's, and these guys suck.


with regards to ibaka, he has almost no offense game. he's joahkim noah lite.

 

[pinkizdead]

say there better than chicago than referencing stats from the hinrich era of bulls basketball is a faux pas.

right now, i'd take the bulls over okc. we have our second scorer, and the rest of our role players.

 

[RamiTheBullsFan]

no. kristic can't play defense. he'd be a great back up center, but he's absolutely turrible as a starter. legit pro's can still suck in reference to other legit pro's, and these guys suck.


with regards to ibaka, he has almost no offense game. he's joahkim noah lite.

Krstic can't play defense? And Ben Gordon could? I remember you had that opinion too. Krstic is solid. There are no holes in his game, aside from his speed.

Ibaka is a pretty damn good player.

Bulls' fans need to get their heads out of the clouds. OKC>CHI.

 

[pinkizdead]

quit being dumbass no one brought up ben gordon.

grow the **** up.

 

[RamiTheBullsFan]

quit being dumbass no one brought up ben gordon.

grow the **** up.

Relax. I'm just confused that Krstic is for some reason bad on defense, when you said before that Ben Gordon was 'average.' I just don't see where you are drawing those conclusions from.

 

[houheffna]

As a team, OKC has proved a ton more than the Bulls. They won over 50 games last season, as the youngest team in the NBA. They had a lot of Lakers' fans scared last year... the only team that gave L.A. a better fight in the post-season last year was Boston.

The Bulls only have 1 all-star from last season, too. So that argument doesn't hold water.

Until the Bulls go out there and prove me wrong, I'm sticking with OKC is better than Chicago by a noticable margin.

Offensively... easily the Thunder. Durant and Westbrook and all of their complementary guys are much better, as a whole, than the Bulls.

Defensively... the Thunder again. The Bulls are a lot more likely to prove me wrong in this category. But the addition of Boozer isn't exactly a step up from Taj Gibson and Tyrus Thomas when it comes to quality D at the PF position. Thibodeau will definitely help. But how much? Last season, OKC was a great defensive team. Thabo Sefolosha, James Harden, Jeff Green, and Kevin Durant are all dedicated defensive players. Krstic, Ibaka, Collison, and Westbrook are all solid as well in OKC's schemes.

Durant+Westbrook combo is a better 1-2 punch than Rose+Boozer... sorry, Bulls' fans... The Bulls are definitely a better rebounding team. But OKC has rebounding, too. I just don't envision the Bulls being better than Oklahoma City. I think OKC can potentially be the 1-seed (far-fetched), and will most likely end up 2nd. They might be title contenders next season.

Yes, I said it... OKC Thunder: 2011 NBA Champions is a possibility.

You overanalyze man...I would take Noah over the third best guy on OKC. I would take Deng over the 4th best guy on OKC...and so on and so on...There is no sizable margin when it comes to difference in level of talent between those two teams.

 

[pinkizdead]

the role of a big man on a team and the role of a wing player is completely different. his rebounding and and blocks are comparable to a guard. That's really really really bad if you big man is rebounding and blocking like a guard.

i'm not saying he's as good as a guard, because he is a big body. That's good. you can't teach big. You need a big body, but Kristic's defensive abilities are severely limited due to his lack of athleticism. his talents are ideal for a bench player, but his role as a starter is a serious flaw in this team. if cole alrdich can be good enough to merit where he was drafted, they'll be okay.

okc has a phenomenal backcourt, but i dont think their front court is nearly good enough. If taj gibson was on okc, i think he'd a starter.

ibaka is a good defensive pf, but he lacks the size to play center. Aslo he really doesnt have a go to offensive game. I think he could be a good defensive bench player, but he doesn't really have the offfensive game to be an all star. he's getting a lot of garbage points, which is great for a big guy, but he'll never have a dominate game of an all star. If okc can do something to get better at the pf position, i think they're a force. They have all the depth in the world IFF they get a starting pf. ibaka and krstic can play minutes at center. Cole alrich could be a decent starting defensive center. Both durant and green can play minutes at pf. Ibaka is a great player to bring off the bench to play at pf, but they really really need solidify one of their big men positions with a starting caliber player.

 

[TheStig]

You aren't acknowledging that OKC actually has legit pro guys playing those 4 and 5 positions. Krstic can hold it down on defense in the low-post and can post and shoot. Even though injuries have slowed him down, doesnt mean he's "crap."

Ibaka is far from "crap." He's going to only get better over the next 5 seasons. He's already a guy who can get hustle posts and rebound. Ibaka's stats per 36 minutes: 12-13 pts, 10-11 rebs, at 54% FG shooting. Still think he's crap? Didn't think so.

Krstic, Ibaka, and Collison are all better rebounders than Durant.

You obviously don't know what you are talking about... OKC was 3rd in total rebounds last season and were like +2.5 in differential. Yeah... that doesn't suck at all.

They are good at rebounding because Westbrook and Durant are very good for their postions. It helps make up the short comings. Durant alone gets about 2.5 rebounds more than the average sf.

Are you watching the same Nenad Kristic I am? Even in his prime days in NJ he was never a good rebounder or defender. Ibaka is a nice shot blocker but too raw still (he may become something) and collison is a over payed scrub. If they got some good bigs, they'd be contender.

 

[TheStig]

Relax. I'm just confused that Krstic is for some reason bad on defense, when you said before that Ben Gordon was 'average.' I just don't see where you are drawing those conclusions from.

If Nenad Kristic was a good defender and rebounder the nets would have won a title. He also isn't the same guy that he was preinjury.

 

[RamiTheBullsFan]

the role of a big man on a team and the role of a wing player is completely different. his rebounding and and blocks are comparable to a guard. That's really really really bad if you big man is rebounding and blocking like a guard.

i'm not saying he's as good as a guard, because he is a big body. That's good. you can't teach big. You need a big body, but Kristic's defensive abilities are severely limited due to his lack of athleticism. his talents are ideal for a bench player, but his role as a starter is a serious flaw in this team. if cole alrdich can be good enough to merit where he was drafted, they'll be okay.

okc has a phenomenal backcourt, but i dont think their front court is nearly good enough. If taj gibson was on okc, i think he'd a starter.

ibaka is a good defensive pf, but he lacks the size to play center. Aslo he really doesnt have a go to offensive game. I think he could be a good defensive bench player, but he doesn't really have the offfensive game to be an all star. he's getting a lot of garbage points, which is great for a big guy, but he'll never have a dominate game of an all star. If okc can do something to get better at the pf position, i think they're a force. They have all the depth in the world IFF they get a starting pf. ibaka and krstic can play minutes at center. Cole alrich could be a decent starting defensive center. Both durant and green can play minutes at pf. Ibaka is a great player to bring off the bench to play at pf, but they really really need solidify one of their big men positions with a starting caliber player.

I'm not saying OKC is fantastic at the 4 and 5. But Krstic is solid. Let me just say that his rebounding is average for an NBA big man (7.9-per-36 min) and so are his blocks (0.9-per-36). But defense cannot be measured in blocks and defensive rebounds. That is a mistake. He doesn't have any holes, and is very capable of being a starter at the C position.

Green and Ibaka are both well above average NBA PFs. If OKC needs to address any position, it is the C spot. I'm not even going to defer to Cole Adrich to make the case that OKC is very solid and deep in the front-court.

 

[RamiTheBullsFan]

They are good at rebounding because Westbrook and Durant are very good for their postions. It helps make up the short comings. Durant alone gets about 2.5 rebounds more than the average sf.

Are you watching the same Nenad Kristic I am? Even in his prime days in NJ he was never a good rebounder or defender. Ibaka is a nice shot blocker but too raw still (he may become something) and collison is a over payed scrub. If they got some good bigs, they'd be contender.

They rebound well as a team. Ibaka is an above average rebounder for his position. Krstic is an average rebounder for his position. Green is about as good of a rebounder as Krstic, but I'd say his frame gives him a disadvantage rebounding against the biggger PFs in the league. Krstic is a solid defender. He can block shots pretty well and he gets a lot of help defense to help him too in Scott Brooks' system. He's a big body who is fundamentally-sound on both ends, and can hit the open shot.

OKC is pretty decent in their front-court. They probably need an Al Horford type of player to beat Miami or L.A., but then again... maybe they already have what they need. They are a year older than last year.

 

[RamiTheBullsFan]

If Nenad Kristic was a good defender and rebounder the nets would have won a title. He also isn't the same guy that he was preinjury.

That's a huge stretch. Vince Carter was extremely overrated throughout his career - and especially in his NJ days. Richard Jefferson was never a great player either. Kidd had to carry that team. I don't even think they made it to the second round of the playoffs when they had that team together.