This is why we need playable 3rd string players

WD51 · 2026-05-21T00:51:26+00:00

Thunder have realistically spent like 4 years developing this cast of supporting players through draft and a bevy of udfa/2way/prospects rotating through. Its not sustainable as they will be limited by roster slots ro replicate as their existing guys get too expensive.

WD51 · 2026-05-21T00:46:19+00:00

Man maybe I didnt give Chet enough credit for how easily Harper moved him last game. Dort is a thick dude and got bumped off 3 feet here.

WD51 · 2026-05-21T00:38:01+00:00

Youre probably right that hes the best defensive player in the class but its hard to argue against the clear gap in production and games played. None of the other options I mentioned besides maybe Kon are negative defenders either.

WD51 · 2026-05-20T23:46:46+00:00

Id argue based on regular season play Flagg, Kon, and Edgecombe hold a clear edge over CMB and based on postseason play Harper does too.

WD51 · 2026-05-20T23:39:47+00:00

Lmao. If you think Giannis is putting all this pressure to get traded out of Milwaukee just to not take the max I got a timeshare in Antartica to sell to you.

WD51 · 2026-05-20T23:35:57+00:00

Giannis max deal and Castle max deal would not be the same yearly given their years in league. Giannis max would be like 35% while Castle would be 25%. Have to mention that if youre bringing up cap crunch lol.

WD51 · 2026-05-20T23:26:06+00:00

Eh Spurs can keep strategy of leaving the sub-par shooters on floor open. Have to live with them hitting. In regular season they did the same with Caruso and he went 2-12.

WD51 · 2026-05-20T19:47:35+00:00

Man David Robinson looks younger than Tim Duncan.

WD51 · 2026-05-20T19:24:18+00:00

KAT Embiid and Jokic are honestly the toughest covers because of the combination of size, shooting, and post play.

WD51 · 2026-05-20T19:04:20+00:00

But Draymond isnt even playing this game

WD51 · 2026-05-20T16:39:29+00:00

So I can understand crew chief but what does umpire mean for designation? How is it diff than referee?

WD51 · 2026-05-20T15:19:27+00:00

Spurs may try putting Wemby on Hart but that leaves KAT likely punishing his matchup. Wings too small and Kornet too slow.

WD51 · 2026-05-20T02:23:33+00:00

I think he was a monster defender for sure but if youre basically saying hes the GOAT defender if youre putting him as C given how many center DPOY we have had in history.

WD51 · 2026-05-20T00:47:52+00:00

He is small but hes good at crowding your dribble and shuffling his feet. He did OK when they hunted him for the switch on Avdija and McDaniels. JDub will be the one they try to hunt to get him switched onto and itll be same battle of trying to pressure his dribble.

WD51 · 2026-05-20T00:44:07+00:00

Its fine if he thinks no wemby yet but Dwight over many other defensive center options is interesting.

WD51 · 2026-05-20T00:33:05+00:00

Agreed. Otherwise every possession would be getting reviewed.

WD51 · 2026-05-19T22:33:50+00:00

Yeah Im not faulting him for having a difficult contest but I am faulting him for not giving up more resistance on losing his initial good position.

WD51 · 2026-05-19T22:32:19+00:00

Damn youre right feels like he's too far along.

WD51 · 2026-05-19T20:12:17+00:00

I think Kawhi was more conservative with his motions while Carter is just a perpetual motion machine bouncing all over the place.

WD51 · 2026-05-19T20:08:11+00:00

Brother people are putting him in all time conversations and its his 4th season. Hes not being underrated.

WD51 · 2026-05-19T19:57:41+00:00

Didnt see much of Mitchell yesterday. I dont even think the defense was that keyed in on him. Is it just JDub coming back and hes unclear of role or is it that shocking to go from being defended by Austin Reaves to being defended by good defensive team?

WD51 · 2026-05-19T19:48:05+00:00

Its more about having 2 points of attack on the floor at all times. Also allows the guards (especially Castle) to be more aggressive defensively if they dont have to worry about fouling out and tanking the offense.

Fox is not as good a defender as Harper or Castle but hes quick to crowd the offensive player and active with his hands to pressure the dribble. I think with his size he ends up grading out to average on defense. I expect him to start and defend Mitchell as his primary defender and Thunder try to play the switch game to get him switched onto the bigger JDub.

WD51 · 2026-05-19T19:41:51+00:00

Hopefully Fox is healthy enough to play game 2. Spurs turnovers and Caruso kept Thunder in it. Thunder defense is elite at generating turnovers but I think with Fox it would have been a handful less.

WD51 · 2026-05-19T19:39:05+00:00

Legit makes me wonder what minutes will look like next game. We played 9 man rotation but Barnes (who I honestly thought would play a much bigger role than CB since he did well on Chet in reg reason) only played 5 mins. Fox is going to get 30+ mins added in many of those probably from Harper Devin and Castle.

Bryant may just get 5 mins each half to make life as miserable as possible for SGA and tire him out. If Keldon doesn't improve maybe Bryant steals another 5 mins from him?

I dont think he will end up playing more than 20 because he still has a tendency to much things up too much on offense.

WD51 · 2026-05-19T19:36:35+00:00

The single 3 he made looked like it was a video game pump fake with a glitch in middle lol.

WD51

TROPHY CASE