This article is part of our Charlie's NBAngle series.
The Oklahoma City Thunder have lost so many games to injury, Sam Presti is going to add Greg Oden and Brandon Roy just so he has some healthy bodies.
(No, no he isn't. Please, no waiver claims on either of them.)
The high-profile injuries to Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are trouble enough. But those are compounded by the fact that most of their supporting cast – Anthony Morrow, Jeremy Lamb, Reggie Jackson, Andre Roberson – have missed significant time as well. Heck, the fact that Perry Jones limped off the court in Toronto this week caused a minor panic.
Perry freakin' Jones.
In fairness, Jones has been excellent thus far, and assuming he's healthy, both he and Jackson should be excellent plays for the next month or so. Durant and Westbrook should both return in early-to-mid December. Even in the brutal Western Conference, a rough first month shouldn't prevent the Thunder from returning to the playoffs. (And won't it be entertaining if they wind up as a six or seven seed?)
That said, I can't help wondering if the Oklahoma City team we're watching this week – one relying heavily on Jones and Sebastian Telfair – is a preview of things to come. Durant has two more seasons left on his deal, and several teams – including his hometown Washington Wizards – are courting him fairly shamelessly. If Durant bolts, will Westbrook and Serge Ibaka – both of whom are scheduled to hit free agency in
The Oklahoma City Thunder have lost so many games to injury, Sam Presti is going to add Greg Oden and Brandon Roy just so he has some healthy bodies.
(No, no he isn't. Please, no waiver claims on either of them.)
The high-profile injuries to Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are trouble enough. But those are compounded by the fact that most of their supporting cast – Anthony Morrow, Jeremy Lamb, Reggie Jackson, Andre Roberson – have missed significant time as well. Heck, the fact that Perry Jones limped off the court in Toronto this week caused a minor panic.
Perry freakin' Jones.
In fairness, Jones has been excellent thus far, and assuming he's healthy, both he and Jackson should be excellent plays for the next month or so. Durant and Westbrook should both return in early-to-mid December. Even in the brutal Western Conference, a rough first month shouldn't prevent the Thunder from returning to the playoffs. (And won't it be entertaining if they wind up as a six or seven seed?)
That said, I can't help wondering if the Oklahoma City team we're watching this week – one relying heavily on Jones and Sebastian Telfair – is a preview of things to come. Durant has two more seasons left on his deal, and several teams – including his hometown Washington Wizards – are courting him fairly shamelessly. If Durant bolts, will Westbrook and Serge Ibaka – both of whom are scheduled to hit free agency in 2017 – stick around?
Worth noting: pro basketball in the Oklahoma City market has always featured a superstar… first Chris Paul, during the then-Hornets hurricane-inspired residence, then Durant. What happens when OKC becomes just another small-market club?
FARTDOG Follow-Up
Last week, I talked a bit about FARTDOGs – a term coined used by one of my favorite bloggers to describe the 2013-14 Knicks' near-total inability to defend opposing guards. My theory was that the 2014-15 Lakers would prove to be even more generous this season.
A couple of readers asked if there was a good source of numbers to show which teams allowed the most fantasy points to specific positions, and as luck would have it, a source exists right here at RotoWire: 2014 NBA Defense vs. Position Stats. The listings are geared specifically toward FanDuel's scoring system, but they're a pretty good at-a-glance source for other scoring formats as well.
Incidentally, on a season-to-date basis, the Lakers are allowing the most points to opposing guards and opposing forwards. They're second-worst against centers.
Lane Violations
On a scale of 1-10, my concern about the Cavs is about a four. A team integrating that many new faces will always struggle to find an identity – we saw this with LeBron's Heat and, more recently, with the 2013-14 Nets. And they have plenty of time for a course correction. That said, some of the problems we're seeing – particularly the horrible perimeter defense – were totally predictable when this roster was assembled. (The Cavs are fourth-worst in allowing fantasy points to guards in the FARTDOG rankings. The Kyrie Irving/Dion Waiters combo is definitely a problem.
Also – I can't help wondering if LeBron James is still adjusting to the fact that he's playing about 20 pounds lighter than he did last season. In years past, James has been absolutely devastating when shifting to power forward in small lineups. After this summer's paleo diet, he's a lot slimmer, which is supposed to help him stay healthy for the long haul. But is playing a more perimeter-oriented game hurting his production?
Same question applies to Carmelo Anthony, who also lost a lot of weight this summer, and who just turned in absolute stinkers in consecutive games. But I'd attribute Anthony's issues more to the Knicks' implementation of Phil Jackson's triangle offense. Right now they're like a rookie quarterback, playing with a slimmed-down version of the playbook; they aren't comfortable enough in the triangle to adjust when some of their favorite options are taken away. The Bulls and Wizards, in particular, did a good job with that in recent wins over New York. Getting Jose Calderon back will help a lot.
The Knicks are also playing at a positively glacial pace – they're dead last in ESPN's Pace Factor rankings this season. That will hurt Anthony's numbers over the course of the season, assuming they don't pick things up a bit as they become more comfortable in the new offense.
Kobe Bryant has the same contempt for efficiency stats he once held for Smush Parker.
The Pacers were reportedly set to sign ex-Mav Gal Mekel, but ran into a roster deadline and visa problems, so they opted for their old pal A.J. Price instead. He could be a decent short-term play, as the Pacers can't keep any of the backcourt players healthy.
Speaking of which, how does one sprain both ankles on the same play? At this point, Derrick Rose's ligaments and tendons are about as durable as my daughter's rainbow loom bands.
