Loud Links Weekend Fast Break: 2010-2011 NBA TV Preview
NBA TV's Rick Kamla, Kevin McHale and Dennis Scott give a preview for the Thunder for the upcoming season.
They project the starting lineup this season to be Durant, Westbrook, Sefalosha, Green and Krstic, however I would not be surprised to see Harden replace Sefalosha as the starter on more than one occasion.
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I think Ibaka might take Green's spot by game 41
And Green transitions into a super-sub with minutes at 2, 3 and 4. I’m also intrigued by people talking about Durant at the 4. If he can show up on the defensive side a little bit more I would love that move.
Will Krstic be ready to start the season?
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by ElectricPencils on Oct 16, 2010 5:14 PM CDT reply actions
Probably...
When he had his surgery, he was expected to miss training camp but be fully healed in time for the opener against Chicago.
I think the question is should he start? I haven’t heard any timetable for Collison to return from his knee injury, and even if Krstic is ready to go health-wise, I’m of the opinion that the start should go to Ibaka since Krstic wasn’t active in the preseason.
I'm of the opinion that we should get rid of Krstic.
I’ve never been a huge fan.
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by ElectricPencils on Oct 16, 2010 7:43 PM CDT up reply actions
I'm not so sure about that...
I’m not sure about getting rid of Krstic since we don’t have a lot in the way of true, game-ready centers. Despite Krstic’s mercurial shooting, Collison hasn’t been markedly better at the position, and I don’t think Aldrich is ready to start. It would have to depend on what we could get for him in a trade.
In my personal opinion, I’ve always been more comfortable with trading Green, especially if Harden continues to develop the way he has.
In my assessment, Krstic is a terrible center in the traditional sense
Can’t really rebound or play defense. Pretty much useless against big men and brings no toughness, despite his chair throwing escapade.
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by ElectricPencils on Oct 16, 2010 10:19 PM CDT up reply actions
Probably not
However, getting rid of Krstic is like upgrading your car. Until you do get that Hummer, you don’t want to throw away your ’76 Duster.
Looking purely at true centers, Aldrich is out of consideration for lack of experience, so it comes down to Collison, BJ Mullens and Krstic at center.
BJ Mullens played in 13 games last season, averaging a little over 1 point on .368 shooting, so while he may have improved since last season, I doubt it’s enough to unseat Krstic or Collison as a starter.
Now, between Krstic and Collison, they played roughly the same number of minutes per game. Collison had slight edges in shooting and 3-point percentages. Krstic had the advantage in RPG and free throw percentages, as well as PPG. Krstic is also two inches taller.
Can we do better than Krstic? Absolutely. However, getting rid of him without a viable replacement would leave us with someone who’s a little injury-prone, a rookie and an untested, undeveloped D-leaguer.
Oh, I definitely don't think the answer is already on the roster
at the moment…Aldrich will be sooner than later.
I don’t like Mullens and would also deal him away.
Collison brings a lot more to the table than Krstic. The charges he takes alone make him more valuable, but no, I don’t think he’s the answer at center either.
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by ElectricPencils on Oct 17, 2010 12:56 AM CDT up reply actions
Krstic is Starting......This team won 50 games last year
There is no need for wholesale changes. Yes we need some help but there is nothing like having a 7 footer who can stretch the defense and give you a solid 20 mpg. Krstic won’t hurt us , he is solid as a center and we currently don’t have anyone with his size or shooting ability. He is not a strong rebounder but he is 7 foot and we were tops in the NBA last year in rebounding. We rebound by committee and defend the same way. I think that Serge is 1 year away from becoming a option to start at PF and i jus think that he will be a undersized center . Cole is simply not ready yet. He can help but he will be brought in slowly like Serge was last year.
Collison is in the last year of his contract this year so don’t be surprised to see him traded around the trade deadline . So therefore the thunder won’t start him because his future is cloudy .
Krstic is our best option at Center and we can look for a upgrade at the end of the year but i think that he will be our starter this year.
One position that could change sooner than later is the SG position. I think that Thabo will start atleast at the beginning but his offense will make him a liability if he can’t atleast knock down wide open shots.
The thunder have some interesting decisions to make with Green, will he be resigned by nov. 1 (i doubt it ) which means he will be Unrestricted FA at end of year. I think that some team will overpay him but if the thunder make noise he may chose to stay. If he does leave, I think that Serge will be ready to assume the starting PF position , which could finally give DJ White some playing time or allow the thunder to Resign Collison.































