Post by eric on Oct 22, 2015 13:44:59 GMT -6
Dating back to the dark days of Perkins, the Oklahoma City Thunder have insisted on starting defense specialists. This year they are planning to start Steven Adams over max player 
Enes Kanter and Andre Roberson over Anthony Morrow. Both of the starters have very small career samples so far but look like plus defenders and catastrophic minus offenders. Adams shoots 53% from the line, Roberson is astonishingly even worse at 52%. Both finish well at the rim at 65%, but neither generate a lot of free throw attempts for obvious reasons. Each player has exactly one other shooting zone they exploit, both to disastrous results: Adams has a 35% post game from 3-10 feet, Roberson shoots 24% from three, and the rest of their zones combined comprise less than 10% of their attempts. And neither can pass.
So why on earth is either of them starting on an NBA team, let alone a team that has serious championship aspirations?
Because the Thunder already sport two defensive liabilities in the starting lineup.
Westbrook career defensive on/off: +2.8, only helped the team on defense his rookie year
Durant career defensive on/off: +2.1, only helped the team on defense in 2010
The thought process is clearly to hope that Westbrook and Durant's transcendent offensive abilities will be enough to unlock the quagmire on offense, that the combination of Adams and Roberson will keep them from being undone by Westbrook and Durant's transparent defensive abilities, and that the very good two-way play of Ibaka will push the mishmosh to championship level.
It's easy to see Roberson brick threes and Adams dent the backboard with jump hooks, but it's harder to see Westbrook space out and Durant get pushed around on defense. Just keep it in mind next time you ask the question... why does OKC start these bums?
Enes Kanter and Andre Roberson over Anthony Morrow. Both of the starters have very small career samples so far but look like plus defenders and catastrophic minus offenders. Adams shoots 53% from the line, Roberson is astonishingly even worse at 52%. Both finish well at the rim at 65%, but neither generate a lot of free throw attempts for obvious reasons. Each player has exactly one other shooting zone they exploit, both to disastrous results: Adams has a 35% post game from 3-10 feet, Roberson shoots 24% from three, and the rest of their zones combined comprise less than 10% of their attempts. And neither can pass.So why on earth is either of them starting on an NBA team, let alone a team that has serious championship aspirations?
Because the Thunder already sport two defensive liabilities in the starting lineup.
Westbrook career defensive on/off: +2.8, only helped the team on defense his rookie year
Durant career defensive on/off: +2.1, only helped the team on defense in 2010
The thought process is clearly to hope that Westbrook and Durant's transcendent offensive abilities will be enough to unlock the quagmire on offense, that the combination of Adams and Roberson will keep them from being undone by Westbrook and Durant's transparent defensive abilities, and that the very good two-way play of Ibaka will push the mishmosh to championship level.
It's easy to see Roberson brick threes and Adams dent the backboard with jump hooks, but it's harder to see Westbrook space out and Durant get pushed around on defense. Just keep it in mind next time you ask the question... why does OKC start these bums?
