Oklahoma City Thunder: Handing Out Christmas Gifts
Merry Christmas, everyone. If you’re an Oklahoma City Thunder fan then you have plenty of reason to celebrate as the team has been rolling in December, compiling a 9-2 record in the month. Since the players have been so giving to us fans, I thought that I’d give back to the players, handing out Christmas gifts that they’re unlikely to find under their tree this year.
Kevin Durant – A New Contract: Let’s go ahead and get this out of the way. Thankfully, the media has been pretty kind to Durant this year, rarely mentioning his upcoming free agency. I suspect that will change as we inch closer to July, but so far things have been rather mum. I’d like to just shut everyone up now and hand KD a new contract. He can fill in the blanks himself, asking for any amount of money or any incentives that he would like.
Russell Westbrook – Consistent Defense: Because he leads the league in steals and he has an alpha personality, people just assume that Westbrook is really good on defense. The truth is, he’s very flakey on defense. He doesn’t fight through screens and he takes far too many gambles that don’t pay off. However, when Russ is locked in on the defensive end, he can make life hell for any point guard in the league.
Serge Ibaka – More Dunks: Remember when Ibaka was strictly a dunker? Me neither. Now he’s a stretch four, a very good one mind you, but I miss those times when Ibaka would use his super-athleticism to terrorize opponents in the paint. He doesn’t have to give up his mid-range game, he just needs to dunk more.
Steven Adams – Softer Hands: Adams has turned into a serviceable player on offense, but he’s still flawed. His biggest flaw is his inability to handle passes in the post. He often times bobbles the pass, leading to turnovers. Softer hands would allow him to catch the pass and smoothly finish around the rim.
Andre Roberson – A Three Point Shot: If Roberson could shoot like Steve Novak, the OKC starters would have almost no weakness as a group.
Dion Waiters – A Ticket to Philadelphia: I tried to like Dion Waiters. I really did. He’s a talented player, he’s just not a very good player. He doesn’t get to the basket often despite being a very good athlete, he doesn’t pass well, he has no clue how to use a screen, and he takes a lot of jump shots despite the fact that he’s a terrible shooter. Sam Presti gambled when he dealt for Waiters and he lost. Time to cut ties with him and try something new.
Enes Kanter – The Second Team Offense: When Kanter plays, he produces. Unfortunately, he’s just not playing a lot. I know all about his bad defense, but that could be offset if the second team offense ran through him, leading to easier points. Sure, they second team might give up 100 points when he’s on the floor, but if they score 100 because he’s getting a ton of points in the paint, then at least it comes out even. It’s far better that giving up 100 and only scoring 2 because Waiters is taking all the shots.
More from Thunderous Intentions
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- 3 OKC Thunder players who can step up in Aleksej Pokusevski’s absence
- Aleksej Pokusevski sidelined approximately 6 weeks with ankle injury
- Damian Lillard does not fit with the OKC Thunder
Anthony Morrow – Quick Feet: We all know about Morrow’s quick release, but if he had quick feet and could actually stay with his opponent on defense, Billy Donovan would have to play him more than five minutes a game.
Kyle Singler – A Haircut: Cheapest gift on the list.
Nick Collison – Nothing: He just signed a new contract and he’s playing solid rotation minutes of a championship contending team even if Mitch McGary has a higher ceiling. I’d say he’s doing pretty well for himself.
D.J. Augustin – A Dribble Limit: I’d like to see him travel more.
Cameron Payne – Minutes: Can he be any worse than Waiters or Augustin right now? I would think not.
Mitch McGary – Cooler Celebrations: I miss the days of Jeremy Lamb and Perry Jones III celebrating on the bench of a big play. McGary should use all of energy to celebrate since it doesn’t look like he’ll be getting playing time anytime soon.