Jalen Williams on potential Spurs-Thunder rivalry: “It’s honestly crazy playing them because it feels like we’re playing a version of ourselves”
I mean….that seems fairly accurate? A pretty obvious analysis of why the Spurs had so much success against them early this season is that they were doing a lot of the same things but better.
Namely their guard depth and ball pressure. Obviously there are unique things about the way each team plays due to the superstars and their role players arent perfectly 1⁄1 but the similarities are there.
How many deflections did SAS have early on last night? It was like watching OKCs run last year all over again. No pass was safe.
yes that’s why they match up so well. people were talking about it during the december beatdowns. it’s not just wemby being wemby, castle and harper are also way too good this early on. okc can outpace everyone and here’s a younger team that can do the same on top of their 7 footer being much better than theirs
They dont match up well spurs kicked their ass all year
Younger isn’t correct. The Spurs average age is 25.5. OKC is 25. So they are technically older.
What people mistake is that the leading SUPERSTAR on the Spurs is younger than OKCs, but the supporting cast for both is about the same age.
Spurs starting 5 is quite a bit younger than OKC’s. The average takes into account vets that are only playing garbage time.
Yeah biyambo, olynyk, and plumlees age don’t matter in this an average age of the team. Do average age of players who played more than 5 minutes a game this series.
I did, 22 for Spurs, 23.5 for OKC
So spurs are younger. You were wrong in your previous post.
Not really. Average for Spurs Starting 5 is 22 years, while OKC starting 5 is 23.5
1.5 years is a solid gap
Eh, I suppose. I’ll concede.
It’s also at one of the 2 points where that gap is most meaningful. 1.5 years is basically nothing if you’re comparing a 26 to a 27.5 average year team.
Most players on those rosters will have filtered to a contract reasonably reflecting their abilities, and you’re not really worried about age until enough years have passed that the rosters will have seen significant natural turn over. Players will keep improving but you’ll see less significant leaps.
But 22 to 23.5 is bigger due to how rookie contracts aren’t at all reflective of abilities, and have a higher potential for larger bursts of growth/development. Then the opposite tail end, once you start pushing averages towards the 30s 1.5 years starts mattering a lot more.
Bro’s dying on a hill nobody gives a fuck about 😂😂. Seek employment
Mfer it’s 1030pm…ain’t nobody working at 1030pm except night shift. I don’t do night shift. Shut ya bitch ass up.
Crashing out over the tiniest things possible 🤣🤣. My bad seek a community college degree homie
This is such a smooth brain misrepresentation of the truth lmao
the average age is due to the uncs like olynyk and biyombo that aren’t actually in consistent rotation. okc only really has one (caruso) but they also have shai and Ihart playing major minutes while spurs were literally starting the youngest wcf team since the original baby thunder of kd russ and harden
Has the record, yeah for sure.
the downvotes are bc while technically correct, you’re wrong
It is, what it is.
I just woke up from a nap and I read this comment and it took me like 30 seconds to try and figure out if Steven A Smith was playing legendary defense last night.
I mean, it’s pretty true, there’s a lot of stylistic similarities. Both teams are guard-heavy, have defenses anchored by a great rim protector that can shoot (obviously of different caliber but still), are at their best playing up tempo and feasting off turnovers, have some rugged perimeter defenders to pressure the point of attack, mostly young.
Probably shopping for similar types of players to improve going forward, too. Both teams could use more of a real 4 man.
I’ve always said that the Wemby/Fox combo is very similar to the Chet/SGA combo
Wemby is just a better version of Chet and SGA is just a better version of Fox.
Interesting perspective lol which gap is bigger?
prolly the sga fox gap but it can always change. victor is gonna get better and fox older
The gap that matters is Wemby / Chet. Not only does Wemby negate Chet completely, he closes off the inner rim for OKC/Shai to drive. It’s way easier to find two way wings that can make Shai work for his buckets compared to finding a center that can keep up with Wemby.
I think the gap in ability between SGA and Fox is larger in terms of total talent level, but the gap between Chet and Wemby is more impactful. While SGA and Fox have similarities in their play styles, they’ve still got differences in their game and strengths. Fox is more focused on playmaking while SGA gets solo buckets (and not trying to dig at SGA’s playmaking, it’s great) much more frequently.
Wemby vs Chet have their strengths almost exactly overlap. I couldn’t name a single thing Chet has going for him that Wemby doesn’t have as good or better (admittedly I haven’t watched tons of Chet, around 20-25 games this season). He’s not as far ahead in those things as SGA is above Fox, but because of that overlap it leads to a more overwhelming head to head advantage.
Agreed on all counts.
Idk it’s hard to say. I think the gap between Chet and Wemby might be about the same as the gap between SGA and Fox
But yeah you’re right. Fox is 28 and Shai is 27, which is like early “prime years”. They won’t get much better than they are now, but they still have a few “prime years” left before we’ll start seeing them decline. The gap between them is going to stay the same. Meanwhile Wemby is improving faster than Chet and the gap between them will probably grow over the next few years.
I’d say Chet and Wemby more because Chet’s young and inconsistent, whereas Fox always provides a reliable steadying hand
Aren’t SGA and Fox like 2 years old apart tho ?
Easily Wemby Holmgren
maybe offensively but defensively chet is still really fucking good
Chet isn’t in the same stratosphere as Wemby defensively or offensively. If he were even close the Spurs guards would have been completely shut down the same way OKC’s guards were for extended stretches
Normally definitely Fox-SGA. But when they match up, Wemby goes into Chet’s mind so much that I think the gaps become comparable.
SGA/Fox gap is bigger in a vacuum but Wemby/Chet gap feels bigger on the court specifically when they play each other. Fox settles into his role nicely and holds his own when he has to guard SGA while Chet shrinks and stands in the corner
This guy is fucking awesome, wish he was healthy this series.
The vitriol is just insane, im glad theres people with reasonable opinions around here
I hate it when people talk about this guy. Bringing up a on/off WL record when this guy experienced multiple hamstring injuries and a wrist injury which you literally can’t practice on in a single season. After a championship run where he dropped 40 points in the fucking finals.
Swear this guy is literally made for Redditors. Can score at all levels, is a willing passer, and can play elite defense. But he still gets hate.
There are real life people on this sub telling me Dub wouldn’t matter because Cason or McCain would’ve played fewer minutes lmao.
People have short term memories. They’ve forgotten how good he is and how he legitimately earned his All NBA and All Defense nods last season prior to injury.
I mean idk about hate I think he’s really good I’m just sort of concerned for him maybe never being healthy. Already has an injury that continues to return and has been suffering through various other issues even during the championship they won
He hasn’t really been injury prone outside of the hammy stuff, the i jury in the run last season his hand got jammed and wrenched in a loose ball scrap that tore his wrist muscles, that’s just random chance with a contact injury
i think with a full summer or rehab he’ll be back better next season, 5 months got to do the trick
I don’t think anyone should have any issues with Jalen Williams
nobody hates jdub. your flair, on the other hand…
I learned to make peace with the fact that fans of other teams dont know what they are talking about after this season.
i heard the ref discourse so much… Every single time OKC won the refs had something to do with it, 50 posts on what can the NBA do to make officiating better and what not, but every time the spurs won It was the most fair game theyve ever witnessed and the refs did nothing wrong.
Dort has made some questionable things in the past and he deserves his reputation after so many times, but I witnessed every single Spurs dirty play being celebrated because “okc deserves it”.
Im glad i get to tune out basketball after this for a while, because it was the most toxic season in terms of fans who have no idea what they are talking about chiming in to the point the media and sports betting apps were doing it to fuel the fires because it became such a trending topic and they just wanted the clicks.
He’s had a rough year with injuries and I couldn’t believe he was out there to play game 6 thank God he didn’t aggravate his injury. Hopefully he comes back healthier next season
Yeah I mean that’s fair. MVP guy, good depth, a clear 1 2 3 hierarchy.
tall lanky dude on defense, obviously different tiers of player but same physical archetype
young af roster in comparison to the rest of the league as well
Similarities are actually kinda crazy. Young but incredible coaches with historically great front offices.
And the young up and coming stars guards too.
McCain and Ajay Vs Castle and Harper (though imo Harper looks like a young superstar, and Castle a consistent all star while McCain and Ajay looks more the Jamal Murray and Conley type)
it’s pretty wild because Chet is a unicorn. 1 in a million type player, in regards to his archetype.
Insanely unlucky for him that the better version of him exists in his lifetime LMAO
Damn there are 8000 Chets walking around the planet and only 1 in the league.
The Thunder need to see if the other ones can slow down Wemby.
Wemby clearly is stronger than Chet though.
You think so?
Yeah exactly, it really did feel like OKC-lite in terms of how they junked up the passing lanes.
Spurs were flying around, tagging everything, and the Wolves looked shocked that they couldn’t just throw those lazy swing passes anymore.
Once they get even like league average shooting around that chaos, it’s gonna be a problem for a lot of teams.
how are we getting called okc lite after beating them lmao
… theyre injured?
We didn’t have David Jones Garcia so that evens it out
Yeah how dare they disrespect Luke kornets legacy like that.
Oh stop I know injuries are part of the game but you guys had everyone while they were missing their second and third options on offense for the majority of the series. Stop acting like y’all won in convincing fashion or something.
fox missed first two games and harper missed 1.5. both came back injured. it is what it is.
To act like their health was the same is disingenuous despite it being what it is
Yall won 65 games with the same injuries. You have the deepest roster by far in the league. You were the better team and the favorite in game 7
We were not the better team for game 7. Dub and Ajay being out would be like Castle and Fox both being out. Stop this.
Bro yall won game 5 with them out. We also won game 1 with your whole team healthy without fox.
Do you agree or disagree that OKC was at a disadvantage for games 3-7 given that Dub and Ajay were out simultaneously while everyone on SAS was available?
No they weren’t because they still had crazy depth. This is why people wouldn’t be surprised if they won. They were the best team in the league despite injuries all season. They were favorites to win before the series and in game 7. We won despite that and dealing with our own injuries.
Deal with it.
OKC probably got culture-shocked they also cannot throw lose lazy passes anymore coming from the series with the Lakers.
So many guys on this team with a good head on their shoulders. These guys love the work.
Something interesting to note is that there’s only one person who gets real minutes for either team that’s listed between 6’7 and 7’0 (Jaylin Williams)
Get this guy on the raptors we need more wings
he’s too good of a shooter (above 30%) to be a raptor
Lolll
angry upvote
Is the raptors trading Barnes bc OKC not answering
yall not tryna get saboner?
no we are not
Honestly I am excited watch these two teams play for the next several years!
hopefully it’s like that 2020-2024 run of celtics and heat matchin up every year
JDub is going to make an amazing color commentator or studio show personality when he’s done. Like someone is going to throw $5M/year at him to start, so long as he has a fruitful career. He’s so charismatic
I wasn’t expecting his voice to sound like that lol
he sounds like a white guy
😂 that’s what I was as thinking, there is nothing wrong with it but it threw me off, I was expecting some kind of rhythm and slang, not straight up proper. lol
Lmao
Was not expecting him to sound like that
They did to OKC what the rockets couldn’t do to the rockets warriors. Nip the dynasty in the bud before it could take off.
Truth
Ever see that Seinfeld episode of “The Bizarro Jerry”?
If you take out the flopping, the comparison makes sense
No way. Wemby is the future GOAT. Chet is already the WOAT(Worst Of All Time).
I could be wrong but isnt Jalen one of the few ethical player in this okc team, dont remember him having a bad rep and nothing come to my mind of him floping or anything.
Lol dumb narritive told by weak minded idiots who dont actually watch the games.
i dont even know why u got ragebaited so hard by this but since ur a okc fan i take the W i guess
Its hilarious cause you can tell its just because hes been out injured so hasn’t been involved in the mass clipping propaganda. J-Dub is probably the only guy in the team who actually complains to the refs asking for fouls
It’s true, one can only be clipped multiple times by the things one is caught doing.
Take Wemby off plug in Kornet, and yeah, pretty close.
Sybau!
Just better. Especially at center.
Huh? Spurs flop as much as OKC too? 🤥
Yes? Have you watch any of the 7 games that just happened?
It’s an even game then. No wonder about the outcome.
The only likable player on that team
shameless
Sounds like an insult
how so? he was givin props
I understood it wrong. I thought it was a flopping reference
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Watching these exit interviews, you just wish they stopped all of the other non-sense.
They would be a as likable as we all kind of thought they would be a few years ago when they started this run.
Unfortunately, might be too late for them at this point lol
they act the same and play the same, they just got better and started to win 66 games instead of 40
No, completely disagree.
They didn’t just “get better” and ONLY that caused everyone to start hating them.
You are delusional as SOME Thunder fans if you think that’s the reason why lol
Spurs obviously much dirtier but I see what he’s saying.
You forgot your /s
That’s cute. One is ethical. The other is not
Strange.
He does realize that their literal GM came from the Spurs - and established the OKC to have the same family-type organization that the Spurs have had for decades.
It is a copycat league after all. But no, OKC’s culture came from San Antonio, not the other way around. Thanks for trying though.
he’s talking about how they play on the court, they play alike and was complimenting yall
That selfless, strength-in-numbers, was the type of basketball Pop taught his players way back - hence Steve Kerr and even Presti and co. adopted it.
Mostly true to a degree I guess. The big difference is that they don’t have someone on their team with goat potential. We do.
SGA just won two MVPs
Nash got 2 MVPs. he’s not even the goat in his position.
Nash was 5 years older than Shai when he won his MVPs
Don’t bother him he’s either a kid or Shaq burner that’s salty Nash won MVP over him twice.
Yeah and he’s 27. He’s not on goat trajectory, nor does he have goat potential.
Curry was 27 when he won his first MVP and ring
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obtuse
yes, you are.
You’re talking about future timeline Jalen Williams is talking about today
I’m talking about right now as well. The current spurs have a 22 year old who won unanimous dpoy and came 3rd in mvp voting. No one on OKC’s team has done that.
No one on the Spurs has won back to back MVPs
Not yet anyway. Give it time, we have one of the youngest rosters in the league.
Okc does too….
You don’t even know if you’ll win a chip this year lol, chill
wtf does that have to do with the difference I stated lol.
facts, their best guy is great but he’s a guard he can’t do anything about wemby. only thing ppl can do now is understand his current flaws as a still young player before the 2030s aka when he turns 26 because by that point shits genuinely over cuz
Pending injuries sorry
Potential is potential. Injuries don’t really change that.
Unless he only plays 5 years
You really don’t know the meaning of the word “potential”, do you?
I do, it’s French for wemby is a pussy
That changes if he actually achieves his potential or not. But you can’t change potential after the fact. He’s had it since before he was drafted.
Don’t try to explain the meaning of basic words to r/nba nephews
true, most of these dudes ain’t even old enough to drive.
So have a lot of other players
Not really. Jordan, Lebron, Shaq, Zion, and Wemby. These are the players who have had goat potential.
There’s a lot more than that
nope. The other guys you are thinking of had potential to be tier 1 all time greats. Not the goat.
Ralph and oden straight from AI, you smarter than a computer?
dude you’re so corny
dude this is so stupid
Ralph Sampson and Greg oden. Wiggings
You are citing Andrew Wiggins as a potential goal looool
he was hyped up like crazy
I don’t think you’re old enough to remember to post Jordan, they were fucking fishing man
yeah, I thought about it a little more. You got Magic, Bird, Hakeem as well. But compare that to the thousands of players that have ever played in the nba and you’ll see how small the pool is.
Look up Emoni Bates
What does the undersized, under athletic, T-Rex armed chucker with no bag have to do with this?
Bates never had GOAT potential, the internet just got too hype off of HS film
No comparison whatsoever to 22 y.o. Wemby
Lol get this shit outta here
The spurs are the better team.
Honestly probably the most insulting thing he could’ve said.
two young teams that have been propped up as future dynasties. gee I wonder why anyone would think they’re similar
Honestly probably the corniest thing you couldve typed
if it stings it’s because it’s true
Honestly, get Daigneault in there to teach them some of the moneyball new age flopping and gaming the refs and I could see it
Did we watch the same series cause Spurs were fighting fire with fire the entire series
Careful we’re on r/nba here
Yeah you’re intellectually superior, right?
Lmao what? I’m just saying right now it’s not cool to point out spurs had floppy moments too.
Floppy moments is a good way to put it
A lesser degree than whatever clinic OKC put on this entire playoffs
Yeah but folks here have acted like they’ve been innocent the whole time is all. You’re too sensitive about this thread my man
Never saw one person on here say the Spurs weren’t flopping btw
And if it looks like I’m sensitive then I’ve baited correctly
I don’t recall any Spurs players on the ground for 3 minutes holding their face until a play got reviewed while their coach is screaming at the refs waving his finger around like it’s gonna give him lift off
Both teams sell contact, both teams hack on ball and off ball my guy. Both coaches yell at the refs.
One just has way better pr.
The people will realize it when the “good guys of the NBA” narrative wears away.
Yeah that’s all it is, PR
Everyone is wrong about the Thunder, fans and media, except the tiny minority of fans who are intellectually above the rest of us
I actually think the instagram/reddit/tik tok clip watchers are dumb as shit, yeah.
Bill Simmons? Jay Williams? Current and former players and coaches who complain about the discrepancy? Everyone not on social media who also bc complains about it? Everyone is dumber than you?
What about the former and current players that think Shai’s criticism is blown out of proportion? Are they wrong?
I could list a ton of coaches, players, and media ballots showing OKC is respected as well. Listing a handful of dudes means nothing to me brother.
The cognitive dissonance around OKC because you and others don’t like them is incredibly obvious. Sorry they swept your team. Spurs nearly did the same to mine. These teams play exactly the same.
Lol the fact that bill simmons and jay williams are the 2 best names you got isnt a good sign
Must have missed it then. Wemby faked face contact multiple times when the player was not tall enough to make contact with his head
Are you talking about the one where he was driving and JWill forearmed him in the face and the OKC fans were yelling “Flopper” ?
No. When McCain put his shoulder into his chest and he fell to the ground, head whipped, and grabbed his mouth. His head was a foot out of range
Oh the one that didn’t even get a whistle? Lmao ok stay mad at that
Try reading your own message lol. I’m not mad at all, he plays the game too it’s just part of it
Probably when he snapped his head back and acted like McCain hit him in like G2
Ahh yes and I’m sure Wemby got the call right?
Both coaches got a tech.
Can’t remember finger wavers tech but Mitch Johnson got one because they literally wouldn’t let him review a play lmao
And Mark got a tech because he had to use a challenge on a play that got overturned when it was the most obvious foul of all fucking time, bordering on flagrant 1.
I remember Mitch Johnson using both his in the first half of Game 1 because the refs missed the most obvious shit of all time too! But Mitch Johnson didn’t finger wave himself to a tech!
Because his players didn’t get injured, and coming off a game where the Spurs were intentionally trying to injure the Thunder in garbage time, I can understand him being a little irate. You’re just mad your shitty little franchise got the belt as the 8th seed. Get the fuck over it, you guys were never gonna go anywhere. Be happy you even made the playoffs.
I don’t recall Shai telling bums on his team to hard foul Spurs starters in garbage time
I don’t recall Wemby flopping while facing the crowd and being awarded three free throws