Thunder don't have enough (any) low post scoring to be legit title contenders

[rondohondo]

Ibaka  7 ppg
Perk   4 ppg

That is horrible for a starting PF/C tandem . I know that Westbrook, Durant and Harden are their go to guys and they should be, but they have no one they can throw it down low to and get a score when they need an easy bucket ( also helps get the opposing teams in foul trouble) . I don't see them getting by LAL, Lac and maybe Memphis (Rudy Gay didn't play in the playoff series last year and Memphis still pushed them pretty hard).

They need to try and move Ibaka IMO

Maybe Ibaka or Perk and Reggie Jackson could land them a legit scoring PF or C? Big Al would be a great fit I think.

[rondohondo]

and yes I made this post after seeing how ineffective they are tonight after reading the game thread that pointed out perk and ibaka only have 4 pts tonight

[GreenFaith1819]

After watching this Clips/OKC game it is certainly an area of concern for them.

I can see Gasol/Bynum, Gasol/ZBo exposing OKC if they aren't careful.

They got exposed a bit tonight, too.

[PosImpos]

Most nights their opponent is not going to burn the house down from three point land, so I think as long as their inside defenders can contain the opposing front court, they should get plenty of scoring from Westbrook / Harden / Durant.

[CelticSooner]

Still the favorites in the West but the Thunder frontcourt isn't that good IMO. They don't rebound that well and Perk is too slow to react in the paint.

This is how I see right now.

1. Miami
2. Chicago
3. OKC

[chambers]

Yeah this has been their most obvious leak.
I never understood why they went after Perkins and didn't move Ibaka for a scoring big.

They are horrible inside the paint and everyone is going to force them to shoot long.
Don't know how long their management will put up with playoff disappointment but it's due with this starting line up unfortunately.

[stylo617617]

come playoffs when all the attention is towards thier big 3(durant,westbrook,harden) guys like thabo & ibaka will be open

ibaka is a good mid range shooter & he'll have plenty of those in the playoffs 

right now other guys are just getting thier numbers

[ozman]

After watching this Clips/OKC game it is certainly an area of concern for them.

I can see Gasol/Bynum, Gasol/ZBo exposing OKC if they aren't careful.

They got exposed a bit tonight, too.

I agree with the original post, but not so much this.
Perk and Ibaka provide OKC with one of the best defensive big tandems in the league. In a 7 game series i cant see OKC being exposed by any big men tandom in the west. My pick is still OKC for the finals

[SHAQATTACK]

They got Perk....a scoring machine.  And now poster child for Blake Griffin

[Celtics4ever]

Neither do we.

[chambers]

Neither do we.

This is probably true for the most part, but it's funny to point out that our sixth man (Bass) alone averages more points than these two put together, hehe.

[Who]

I disagree, OKC have enough firepower on the perimeter to win without big scoring contributions from their big men. However, it's an absolute necessity that they get high quality defense and rebounding out of those spots ... which Perk and Ibaka are fully capable of supplying.

Ibaka and Perk are a key strength of that team. Not a weakness. And Oklahoma should be very cautious about any move to break them up in an effort to add more scoring.

[GreenFaith1819]

After watching this Clips/OKC game it is certainly an area of concern for them.

I can see Gasol/Bynum, Gasol/ZBo exposing OKC if they aren't careful.

They got exposed a bit tonight, too.

I agree with the original post, but not so much this.
Perk and Ibaka provide OKC with one of the best defensive big tandems in the league. In a 7 game series i cant see OKC being exposed by any big men tandom in the west. My pick is still OKC for the finals

Perhaps - especially with MEM. Marc/ZBo > Perk/Serge, but OKC got past them last May. I can still them doing so again.

But Perk can no longer contain Andrew. I started seeing this as time went on in 09-10 on into the Finals that year. And as long as Pau has his head in the game he can out-duel Serge.

When/if Kobe gets his bigs involved, the Lakers are extremely tough.

And after last night? I think that OKC had best avoid the Clippers in the playoffs. I don't know if last night was a fluke or not, but what I saw was one of the most complete efforts out of an NBA team (Clips) in a long time.

What the OP stated could be fixed, though - IF Westbrook got Serge more involved offensively. KG found ways to get Perk easy buckets while he was in Boston. But I don't see that kind of synergy with Serge and Perk yet.

And even with Westbrook or Durant trying to get Serge more involved in the offense, Serge is simply too raw right now.

The Thunder took a lot of folks by surprise last year - and are still doing so this year, too. It will be interesting to me to see if they can get farther.

Westbrook and Durant are maybe the most talented duo out there, but they can't score 90 pts every game themselves. Neither can Lebron or Wade. And Serge and Perk won't be able to control the paint defensively every game, too - they will alter/deflect/block shots, but I'm not sure if that same recipe will work this time around once the playoffs start.

[CelticG1]

Neither do we.

KG of still 10 times better in the post. He may not be spectacular down there but he is still good. And if he doesn't have a good defender  on him he can still expose a match up down there

[Moranis]

Neither do we.

KG of still 10 times better in the post. He may not be spectacular down there but he is still good. And if he doesn't have a good defender  on him he can still expose a match up down there

KG doesn't play in the post.  He is an excellent mid range shooter, but he isn't manning the middle.