[Inbetweengame]

24 to 10 in the first oh boy.

[Inbetweengame]

The Thunder might be the west's top team and right now we're getting our asses beat unmercifully. Oh boy I hope they take this whipping as motivation.

[Inbetweengame]

Why do they have so much quality off the bench?

[Inbetweengame]

Jonas Jerebko is hustling.

[Inbetweengame]

Lots of fouls and bad passes. I'm hoping we get an extended look at Vernon Macklin tonight.

[mn3]

We're like a college team against these guys. This is gross.

[mn3]

They are much longer, stronger and more athletic. The only guy on our team playing at their level is Stuckey.

Westbrook and Durant are extraordinary. And I love Harden.

[Inbetweengame]

James Harden is the man. I'd trade Rodney Stuckey and Austin Daye for him in a heartbeat.

[Inbetweengame]

Are we going small and weak on purpose? WTF??

Austin Daye this is your time to prove the doubters wrong and show us a real Kevin Durant impression.

[Inbetweengame]

Knight to Daye for the start of a comeback.

[Inbetweengame]

Greg Monroe's working out there doing well with the passes not so well with the shots right now.

[Inbetweengame]

Jesus! Can we call it at half time and let both teams get some extra rest? They're just givin' us an ol' fashioned butt whuppin'.

[ThaMaestro]

This game sucks so bad we needed two game threads to bitch about it.

[Inbetweengame]

We have two threads? I didn't see the other one. Since they've doubled our score maybe twice as many threads isn't the answer.

[Inbetweengame]

You know it's bad when Austin Daye is your best player.

[Inbetweengame]

It is good to see that clown showing signs of life though.

[Inbetweengame]

And now he's sitting. Brandon Knight has a long way to go. I love the kid but he needs to put in major work over the summer, major work. He needs a shot coach for one thing and then he needs to study game film and learn to be a real point guard.

[Inbetweengame]

This whole season is practice and more practice all of these games are practice games and we're going to be better for it next year if we can with stand the pain this year.

[Inbetweengame]

I'm about to get out of here. I'm getting cold sitting here in my apartment next to the window which won't close properly so it's time to head out for a walkabout. "Enjoy" the second half y'all.

[mn3]

The disparity in developed talent between these two teams was amazing:

1. Westbrook vs. Knight. The question I have is: What will Knight look like at Westbrook's age (23) in 3 seasons? Westbrook is a sensational athlete, not a true point. Can Knight catch him as a player? Knight has great talent, but he's just not on the same level of Westbrook right now.

2. Monroe vs the big men of Oklahoma. Not a contest tonight. Perkins, Ibaka are top defenders with great length. Durant is the best offensive PF in the game - without question, IMO. They just overwhelmed Monroe. Again, in 3 years and surrounded by way better talent, will Monroe be at that level - (Obviously not Durant's level, who might be the best player in the league right now) - but in terms of being a great player who can compete?

3. Stuckey vs. Harden. I think this is a push. Stuckey's really a heck of a player. He will never be the best player on a championship team, but when he's healthy (hell, he's playing well now on an obviously troublesome groin injury) on a top team he'd be a major plus. Harden gets to play with a super team, and he's making the most of it. Stuckey would be really good on this team too. Unless both were playing on a top team, it's not possible to say which player is better.

4. Jerebko is being asked to play power forward against players who are much stronger and bigger than he is. Not fair. Ibaka overwhelmed him tonight - or was it Durant? Maxiell and Ben Wallace vs the Oklahoma City bigs --- all I can do is shake my head and be sad. Our big men trying to support Monroe are guys who shouldn't get much if any PT on this league.

5. Daye. I swear, we should play him at SG. If we did, he'd always have clean looks from long distance and he is a great shooter. But he's a mess defensively right now on a team which is a mess defensively. I have no idea (still) about whether he'd be an asset on a really good team.

We have an unbelievably long way to go to turn this around. It's going to be quite a few years before we can prove that we have.

[ghandi]

Dumars has to receive some of the blame for losses like tonight.....He knew the team defense was a disaster on the interior and did nothing about it (we actually got smaller)..... Like you said Matt, Jerebko should be playing SF or PF only against other undersized PFs.... Asking him to defend much bigger guys isn't fair to him or the team really, but coach Frank doesnt exactly have alot of other options either.....As for Daye, offensively he could maybe play SG. but he is very poor at putting the ball on the floor (especially against a decent defensive guard), and he probably couldn't stay with about 95% of the SGs in the league because his foot speed is too slow.....THe only positive he has is his length really.....It looks like the pre draft scouting report on him is probably going to ring true that he jsut doesn't ahve the athleticism to do well in the NBA.

[Kstat]

Kevin Durant is truly a hall of fame power forward. No other power forward can match him...

Daye also should see a lot of time at SG, so commentators around the league can all get a big laugh out of how weak and pitiful he is on defense....

[mn3]

Daye can still be an outstanding offensive player in this league. And I think that offensive ability would more than offset his D issues - plus his length would absolutely bother any SG he plays against.

I don't know if he's going to make it - but don't give up on him yet.

[Mel Kiper Jr]

That's just it though...for being nearly 7 foot tall, dude should be a much better defender and shot blocker.

[mn3]

The thing I'm wondering is how Daye will play when our team is more seasoned, acclimated to the new system and playing like a more unified team. Maybe everyone is a step or two slow to react or there are so many breakdowns that they're leading to everyone looking bad and playing confused.

I guess we'll see over time.

[Inbetweengame]

My worry with Austin Daye is that he wasn't good in college against slower, smaller weaker players he was known for doing something brilliant and then taking a few plays off. The limitations he has athletically are nothing compared to the limitations he seems to have mentally.

Compare him to Kevin Durant for example Durant is faster, stronger, jumps higher but he's not that much better than Austin physically. In many ways they've similar body types the difference is that Kevin Durant is a gym rat and isn't afraid of anyone. If Austin had a similar attitude he'd draw legit praise as a homeless man's Kevin Durant and be a good sixth or seventh man for us.

One step closer to a lottery win.

[Mel Kiper Jr]

Originally Posted by Inbetweengame

Compare him to Kevin Durant for example Durant is faster, stronger, jumps higher but he's not that much better than Austin physically.

Dude...faster, stronger, jumps higher, etc are ALL PHYSICAL advantages.

You could lock Daye in a gym and force him to practice 16 hours a day and he isn't going to turn into Kevin Durant. He just doesn't have it. Just because they are the same height and weight roughly doesn't mean they have the same capabilities.

[hack]

Well I think it's fair to say that Durant's game isn't based on all those advantages as much as it is about his mindset. I agree that Daye once was viewed as potentially a lite-lite-lite Durant Lite, in that his game starts with the ability to get off a long-range shot at any time because of length and that that opens up other ways to score. But it just hasn't panned out that way for Daye. He has neither the secondary skills nor the mindset.

[Billl]

Well, I think the point was that Durant is not a jump-out-of-the-gym athlete and is still the best scorer in the NBA. If Daye played with a fraction of the intensity and consistency that durant brings, he'd be a solid player. With his length and touch, he should have no problems putting points on the board, but he floats and tries to be a playmaker vs scorer.

[DYNOMITE]

.....or the long range shot.

[Whiteman]

Its all about confidence. Hell look at David Harris, dude has so much talent but has lost all confidence and is now in a time share with Earl Watson. Once Daye gets it back he can score almost at will. Last season he hit many big shots for us. Its just confidence. There's no question if the lock out hurt anyone on our team, it was him hands down.

[DYNOMITE]

Maybe they are showcasing him for a trade with a team that wants more lotto balls?

[Orwellian O.]

Originally Posted by dynomite

maybe they are showcasing him for a trade with a team that wants more lotto balls?

lol!....

[Inbetweengame]

Billl and Hack understood my point perfectly.

[Mel Kiper Jr]

Originally Posted by Inbetweengame

Billl and Hack understood my point perfectly.

I get what you are saying...you don't have to be a premier athlete or have the most muscular body in the world if you have length.

Durant's skill level is WAY higher than Daye's too. I think comparing him to a lesser player would be more apt. Like, hmmm....let me see...maybe...Tayshaun Prince?

[Inbetweengame]

I said he could be a homeless man's Kevin Durant which I thought was fair. I don't think the Tayshaun Prince comparison fits that well since Daye is a natural shooter and Prince's form is fuct up. Also Prince knows and plays the whole game fairly well while Daye is more of a one dimensional shooter/scorer. Any way...

[Mel Kiper Jr]

I get what you are saying. I feel you brother. :-)

[Inbetweengame]

Cool. Hopefully Austin Daye is reading this and it gives him something to aspire to, ; )

[Mel Kiper Jr]

Really you never know what these guys are capable of until they get minutes. Look at Afflalo. He was the PAC-10 Player of the Year at a time when the PAC-10 was loaded with quality teams. There was really no room to play him at the time, but I think most people regarded him as a Bruce Bowen-type defensive stopper.

While Daye hasn't looked good most of the season, it would suck to not atleast see what he has during a season when we are going deep into the lotto. If he ends up on some other team and atleast starts doing some of what Afflalo did it would be bad.

[Inbetweengame]

I know what you mean. I always hope that the coaches can tell what their players are capable of doing by watching practice but there's no guarantee of that.

My tendency is to err on the side of the tough player, the hustler but not the idiot (Mateen Cleaves) who brings only hustle without skill or intelligence or talent. Arron Aflallo is the kind of player I like (though I didn't know his game well when we drafted him). Austin Daye reeks of weakness and it's not just that he's skinny he seems mentally soft to me but hopefully he's a late bloomer who can turn that around for us.

If he's going to be a shooter he needs to do a few things 1) put in the work the way Ray Allen puts in the work 2) come into games looking for blood 3) eliminate the other weaknesses in his game or at least minimize them. To my mind he should be able to get 5 rebounds every game, shoot a high percentage since he's got the size to get his shot off and use his length to bother people defensively we'll see.

[Kstat]

The sooner Daye is gone, the better. His minutes would be better spent on a player that isn't so mentally fragile.

[Inbetweengame]

I want to believe in Daye but you may be right about his mental fragility.

[Kstat]

I'd take Kyle Singler over him right now with zero hesitation. And that's taking into account Daye's 2+ years of NBA experience and Singler's zero.

[Inbetweengame]

I'm with you Kyle Singler has some limitations but he's played in and won high pressure games under the glare of the national spotlights and he didn't wilt. He played four years at a school that used him in a variety of roles and he made them work. That's more than Austin Daye has accomplished by a long shot.

I would love for us to be able to turn Austin Daye into another draft pick this year so that next year we can add Kyle Singler, our own pick, hopefully one of the top bigs and then the best talent available with the pick we get. I'm partial to Festus Ezili if he's there.

[B.I.G.]

I like Austin Daye, but his mental toughness concerns me. He make to many bad plays. He's the type of person that would lose us game 7 of the east finals because of his bone headed plays. I hope we trade him before the deadline to get another low first round pick or high second round.

[Inbetweengame]

I wonder if we're being unrealistic to hope for that much out of him. I hope we're not. Ideally we will move Ben Gordon in a deal that brings us one pick and Austin Daye in a deal for another pick then we'll be set to either move up for the one guy we really want or to pick up several prospects.

[hack]

Move our undesirables in order to get the ammo needed to trade up in the draft for the chance to get a franchise center? If Joe can manage that then he's the best GM ever.

[DYNOMITE]

This is not sarcastic, but we need to move Gordon. If he could net us a 1st in this next draft I would do flips. Hopefully some GM calls Joe and offers a trade for Ben. Assuming the phones have been fixed.

[Stefan S]

Originally Posted by DYNOMITE

This is not sarcastic, but we need to move Gordon. If he could net us a 1st in this next draft I would do flips. Hopefully some GM calls Joe and offers a trade for Ben. Assuming the phones have been fixed.

I agree.

Knight and Stuckey are developing some good chemistry and have quite complimentary skills. And it's lots of money tied up in someone coming off the bench.

[Kstat]

We don't "need" to move Gordon. If we can, great. If not, then he's an excellent scorer off the bench, and we "need" that pretty badly.

Far as his salary, we are below the cap by a pretty good margin even with him if we amnesty Villanueva this summer, with Maxiell coming off the books the following year when we have to extend Monroe.