Stop Looking for the Next Thunder People

As you can tell by the title, I'm a bit exasperated from all the media coverage being devoted to trying to find this years version of the Thunder, or in other words, a young team that didn't win that much last year, but is really set to surprise teams this year and make the leap into the playoffs.  I've heard this comparison be given to the Kings, Clippers, Grizzlies (doesn't totally make sense as they won 40 games last year), Warriors, Sixers, Pacers, and pretty much every team that's young and sucked last year.

But in reality, what the Thunder did last year was almost unmatchable.  They managed to more than double their win total (from 23 wins to 50) despite only really adding James Harden and Serge Ibaka (both rookies).  This team benefited most from the ridiculous improvement of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, as well as a team effort to focus on and improve the defense (they went from 20th in Defensive Rating in 2008-09 to 9th last year).

The team also had remarkable health, with Durant, Westbrook, Green and Sefolosha starting all 82 games, and the other starter, Krstic, playing 76.  That's in addition to 73 games played for Ibaka, 55 played for Eric Maynor (who played 81 all year when you factor in that he started the season with Utah), 75 for Nick Collison, and 76 for James Harden.  That's a steady 9 man rotation that the Thunder were able to count on pretty much every night last year, a luxury most teams never have.  Attribute it to their youth or luck, but its a rare feat for a team to be that healthy all year, and hard to match.

As I mentioned earlier, the Thunder also saw massive improvement from Kevin Durant, who jumped from being a darn good scorer, to possibly a top 5 player in the NBA in just his third year.  Russell Westbrook also saw a big improvement in his game, and became a great second banana to Durant.  A lot of the young teams in the league don't have even one player on their team that has the upside of a Durant or Westbrook, and even if they do, they don't have two, with a solid scoring option like Jeff Green as well.

So stop looking for the "next Thunder" with these young up and coming teams, because what you're likely going to get is the next Grizzlies instead (in terms of win-loss record thankfully).

2010-11 Season Previews: Oklahoma City Thunder

Kevin Durant calmly knocks down a three pointer while curing AIDS and ending poverty.

The NBA Season is fast upon us, so its time for the Pick and Scroll to begin previewing each team. We're going to go in order from worst previous record to best. We're on the Thunder, seemingly everyone's new favorite team (unless you're from Seattle).

2009-10 Record: 50-32
Additions: Cole Aldrich (Draft/Trade), Daequan Cook (Trade), Morris Peterson (Trade), Royal Ivey (FA)
Subtractions: Etan Thomas, Kevin Ollie, Kyle Weaver

Unsung Heroes: Northwest Division

Players are often described as being "overrated" or "underrated".  In the NBA, this often translates to overrated players being players that are good, but vastly overpaid for their abilities, or who get more media exposure than some other players, while underrated often means a player who is making a pittance for his current production (funnily enough, underrated players tend to become labeled overrated when they get new, bigger contracts).

I do think there are some underrated players though, players that aren't as widely known for their roles on their team, who don't often get mentioned for their contributions but are indeed integral parts of their team.

Over the next week or so, I'll be looking at each team to find one "underrated" player for each team in the league.  Last Tuesday, we looked at the Atlantic Divsion, Wednesday the Central, and Thursday the Southeast.  Friday we moved on to the Western Conference and checked out the Southwest.  After the jump, we venture on to the Northwest.