Quote:
Originally Posted by KC_Connection
And if Presti made this decision based on the small sample size of five NBA Finals games, he's a much worse GM than I think he is. But I don't think he did.
BTW, the fact that OKC started losing in the postseason when Harden started playing poorly should probably give you an inkling as to what his importance was to that team.
|
Of course he didn't make it off a small sample size. Every player for the Thunder with the exception of Durant, Westbrook and Collison played like junk in the finals. brooks did a poor job of managing the lineup in the finals. Im not putting the finals on Harden. im just saying he's not a max player. You are looking at a stat and not taking into account every game they play. Harden and Ibaka, for that matter, haven't been consistent enough through 82 games and playoffs to warrant max deals. Harden is a nice player and will continue to get better.
Maynor is back and very important to this team. Harden's role last year was a backup point guard more or less. In previous seasons he was asked to be a spot up shooter a lot more. Kevin Martin will be better in that type of role. PJ3 and Lamb also provide scoring potential. I believe they may take a step back initially, but by years end they'll be pretty tough.
Yes, OKC could have easily won the Finals LAST year, but the Lakers and Heat made significant moves THIS year. This roster needed to be tweaked to stay with them. It may not take effect immediately, but I'm ok with the hand they are sitting.
The bottom line is I was picking a Lakers/ Heat final before and after this.