Thunder roster vs Spurs Roster comparison

[$pursDynasty]

OKC are dominant champs and are deep but how deep? I might be biased but when I compare the top 10 players on their roster to ours. I see advantage Spurs. Since their top player and ours play such different positions. I went Shai vs Fox (adv Shai), but then Wemby vs Chet (adv Wemby), Jalen vs Castle (adv Jalen), Dylan vs Ajay (adv Dylan), Devin vs Aaron Wiggins (adv Devin), Barnes vs Hartenstein (push), Keldon vs Isaiah Joe (adv Keldon). Add in Champagnie, Kornet and Sochan vs Dort, Wallace and Williams. I don't see the Thunder advantage besides time on task. A fully healthy Spurs roster hasn't played one game together yet. Sure Shai is better than Fox but that difference is closer than the distance between Chet and Wemby, Jalen is better than Castle right now but after that one the Spurs win or push each comparison to me. Or am I wrong? Is it Thunder by a mile, Thunder but it's close, a virtual tie or advantage Spurs? Honestly I think slight advantage Thunder but only because of longevity. By the end of the year if healthy I say advantage Spurs.

 

[wemvp]

We shall see.

The advantage the Thunder have is fit. They've found a way to fit their pieces together into a well oiled machine. We are still a work in progress figuring out how to fit Wemby into the great team offense of the last 12 games, and how to properly defend the 3 pt line when Wemby's in the game to protect the paint. We're still a work in progress and only 24 games into getting the team developed with big pieces missing 40+ games so far combined.

The team last season matched up well with them. Lost to them on the road by 8 and beat them at home by 6 in Oct/Nov. Lost again in March, but Wemby was gone and the team was in tank mode so that tells us nothing.

Both teams are better this season, the Spurs drastically improved, but it should be a closer matchup than OKC has been having recently around the league. They're just so much farther along tbe development curve and are close to a finished product while we're just starting the development curve. If we manage to win 2 of these 3 over the next 3 weeks against them? That will speak volumes to the truly epic ceiling this team has and our matchup advantages against them no one else has.

 

[O_V]

SGA is twice the player Fox is. Nothing else matters.

 

[Biggems]

SGA knows how to draw fouls, get to the line and make FTs.....our guards do not.

 

[Exstatic]

SGA is twice the player Fox is. Nothing else matters.

Nope.

 

[Exstatic]

SGA knows how to draw fouls, get to the line and make FTs.....our guards do not.

Do you even watch?

Fox/Steph/Dyl 12.1/15.7

SGA/Ajay/Jalen 15/15.5 skewed by Jalen shooting 1.000 in 6 games

SAS 20.9/26.3

OKC 20.6/24.7

 

[O_V]

Nope.

I can't tell if you're agreeing that nothing else matters or that twice the player isn't enough.

 

[Ariel]

Short term the comparison is silly, as their depth is much greater and they all fit much better together. With that said, long term I do believe they aren't far ahead talent wise at the top, which is what matters because there is going to be a lot of roster turnover in the next couple of years. As long as Wemby remains healthy and Harper and Castle stay on track, I think the Spurs long term top 4 (Wemby, Harper, Castle, Fox) should at the very least be on par with OKC's counterparts (SGA, JDubb, Chet, Cason Wallace). Hopefully Spurs continue to grow and the front office takes notes on what Presti has been doing to put together a winning roster around their core via their low profile draft pickups (second round + undrafted), free agency and trades. That alongside great coaching and player development has been where they've separated themselves.

 

[$pursDynasty]

Ok back to this, if you were to HONESTLY rank the top ten players on either roster (Thunder or Spurs)how do the Spurs fare? Not to be prisoner of the moment but...I believe the Spurs roster is much better overall.

 

[tearsofmorningdew]

I was told the Thunder were an all-time team as constructed

 

[$pursDynasty]

I was told the Thunder were an all-time team as constructed

Narratives are about to change, but seriously if I give Shai #1, but I think it's Wemby, where does the next Thunder player rank? For me it's after Wemby, Fox, Castle, Dylan. Then JW and Chet...maybe and then two ( or three ) more Spurs. Four OKC' ers at best.

 

[Exstatic]

Narratives are about to change, but seriously if I give Shai #1, but I think it's Wemby, where does the next Thunder player rank? For me it's after Wemby, Fox, Castle, Dylan. Then JW and Chet...maybe and then two ( or three ) more Spurs. Four OKC' ers at best.

JW and Chet are high level role players, so I have no arguments with your list.

 

[bozhemoi]

The one thing I'll say against the Thunder is that they cannot shift between play styles. The one they play, on both sides, is truly dominant. Phenomenal defense that is disciplined yet turns the ball over. SGA as a dynamic offensive engine.

These losses to the Spurs show that they may need to find ways to switch things up if needed.

 

[DAF86]

SGA is twice the player Fox is. Nothing else matters.

What kind of analysis is this? What does it matter if SGA is twice the player Fox is? Fox isn't even the Spurs' best player.

Nothing else matters? By the look of things, other things do matter, tbh.

 

[Exstatic]

The one thing I'll say against the Thunder is that they cannot shift between play styles. The one they play, on both sides, is truly dominant. Phenomenal defense that is disciplined yet turns the ball over. SGA as a dynamic offensive engine.

These losses to the Spurs show that they may need to find ways to switch things up if needed.

Their entire offense is predicated on turning you over, and running off that. If they can’t do that, like against us, they will struggle a lot. I would call their overall half court sets pedestrian. I mean, you have SGA…and what else? Who else is going to create a bucket out of nothing? Our half court is better, and we can run off misses, where they need a turnover.

 

[spursistan]

Great discussion between Lowe & Goldsberry on their matchup and its wider league implications

 

[DAF86]

 

[STAT88]

Wtf

 

[wemvp]

I thought taking 2 of the 3 was possible and would send a message.

Spurs decided to not just send a message, but send one tied to a missile.

The problem the thunder have is if you remove the top 3 players on each team they just cant match up well with Harper, Keldon, Vassell, Barnes, and Kornet. They have very good defensive players but dont match the offensive firepower. Then when you add back in the top 3 players their defense is handled by the Spurs big and talented backcourt rotation plus Wemby.

 

[O_V]

I don't follow them well enough to know but they may not have shot well. I'm not ready to credit that 100 percent to the defense. It's great watching the team playing so well, but I hope they don't get cocky.

 

[O_V]

What kind of analysis is this? What does it matter if SGA is twice the player Fox is? Fox isn't even the Spurs' best player.

Nothing else matters? By the look of things, other things do matter, tbh.

Did you not read the first post in the thread? OP directly compared SGA to Fox and said "Sure Shai is better than Fox but that difference is closer than the distance between Chet and Wemby."

While I maintain that a chasm currently exists between SGA and Fox, Fox is better now than he was when I made that post, and if he can commit to winning team basketball, which includes defense, he can be every bit as good as SGA.

The difference in the Spurs and the Thunder that has given the Spurs the advantage is that they are deeper and play better defense without fouling.

 

[tearsofmorningdew]

Alright Carter Bryant shit is getting old

 

[DAF86]

Did you not read the first post in the thread? OP directly compared SGA to Fox and said "Sure Shai is better than Fox but that difference is closer than the distance between Chet and Wemby."

While I maintain that a chasm currently exists between SGA and Fox, Fox is better now than he was when I made that post, and if he can commit to winning team basketball, which includes defense, he can be every bit as good as SGA.

The difference in the Spurs and the Thunder that has given the Spurs the advantage is that they are deeper and play better defense without fouling.

But I thought "nothing else mattered".

 

[O_V]

But I thought "nothing else mattered".

Oh, I'm sorry. I guess I can't have an opinion on a sports message board if anything ever changes. Clearly playing good team defense matters. SGA was the straw that stirred the drink for a team that had only lost once.

 

[DAF86]

Oh, I'm sorry. I guess I can't have an opinion on a sports message board if anything ever changes. Clearly playing good team defense matters. SGA was the straw that stirred the drink for a team that had only lost once.

You can change opinions, what you can't do is comparing our 2nd best player to their best player and say "nothing else matters".

So the other players don't matter, our 7'6" alien don't matter, all the other aspects of basketball don't matter? It all came down to the specific matchup of our 2nd best player vs their best player.

You do see how that was a dumb comment from the get go, right?