And that's coming off the embarrassing cross-over fall from Kyrie at the rookie game during AS weekend.

You do realize their record is better than it was last year? I agree I would rather have Harden(especially come playoff time), but it's not like they are the Lakers fighting for the 8th seed. Still a very good team with a bright future. No one can convince me that Harden would be the difference against the main hurdle which is the Heat. He wasn't last year, and he wasn't going to be this year. I do wish we could have traded he and Brooks for Doc Rivers though. That's the difference this team needs.

I forgot about that one. Hasn't been a good month for him.

im not talking about record. I'm looking at what the team needs. Having a big creator that can get his own shot or get to the line (outside of the big 2) would be huge for this team. He would improve the team, which is what one would want when trying to win a championship.

No kidding and I admit I was kind of surprised. They basically have a nicer newer version of Kemper Arena. I did eat some pretty good food though so that is always a plus.

As far as the game goes the Celtics could have the won game but at the same time it felt like the game was never in doubt. The Celtics would close the gap and then it would jump up to 8-10 pt lead again. They had a chance going into the 4th on a mini run and only down by 3 but it just wasn't meant to be. Garnett wasn't feeling it outside of the first 4 minutes and I think he had tired legs. It seemed Doc sit him for long stretches and the team as a whole missed some wide open shots.

Westbrook and Durant don't create, and get their own shots? Wow, I don't know what to say to that. What the team needs to do to win a Championship is better utilize the lineup to match teams strengths/Weaknesses and tighten up the defense. Harden is a better player at creating his shot than Martin but he was a sixth man in OKC.

Harden was the best player on the team at doing what you are saying, but he was still limited in opportunities becuase he was playing with 2 all-stars. Go back and watch some games from the last few years, and most of the time you will see him uninvolved in crunch time. Martin is a better spot up shooter than Harden, and that is mostly what Harden became with games on the line. What OKC, and everyone else needs is LeBron James not James Harden :) There is one team stopping them and go back and look at what he did against that team last year. The move was about sustaining a talented roster around Westbrook and Durant for a long time. I would suggest moving on or becoming a Houston fan. Nothing wrong with either option.

I'll have to assume that parenthetical notations don't show up on your computer, because I'm not sure I could have been clearer regarding Durant and Westbrook (the big 2). Harden is exactly what this team needs, in that he IS that creator (like Westbrook and Durant) for the second team. When he's not doing that, he IS that spot-up shooter for Durant and Westbrook. He gives you both in one player that meshes well with whomever is on the floor.

Thinking long term is fine, but I don't think it's ever a good idea to eschew the present when you are a team with a legitimate shot at a championship. I'm an OKC fan, but I'm not the kind that feels the need to agree with or rationalize every move Presti makes.

Damn OKC taking apart the Spurs early

I don't rationalize every move Presti makes. In fact, I feel like im pretty unbiased in my takes. I watch this team as much as anyone and understand how it all fits together. Trading up for Cole Aldrich was a terrible move. Extending Brooks 4 years was a terrible move. Bringing in Derek Fisher was a questionable move. All I do is suck Presti's dick though.

Reggie Jackson is developing into a playmaker much like Harden did his second year. Lamb is going to develop in to a wonderful scorer. What people seem to forget is the Thunder player development has been sensational. Harden was ahead of Reggie at this point, but he was forced to play more. Martin is a great sixth man option for now.

You can't make your sixth man a max guy and sustain any depth. Harden wasn't going to be the difference in the Thunder beating the Heat. James Harden isn't coming back so i'll look at what we have now which is still a team that can compete for a title. I like Harden, you like Harden, lots of people like Harden. I have watched almost every minute of basketball this team has played the last five years, and understand we will be OK. Would keeping Harden this year had made us a little better this year? Probably. Do we still have a chance without him? Yes. I'm sorry that doesn't jive with the sky is falling Chiefs planet vibe, but it's my honest, informed opinion.

Spurs take the lead after OKC was up by 15 +

Leonard just embarrassed Perkins

Easy, cowboy, I never said that you rationalize every move they make; I've seen you complain about Brooks enough to know that you don't. I also never said that you suck anyone's dick. I'm not sure why you feel the need to continue putting words in my mouth (or leave words out, as was the case with Westbrook and Durant earlier).

Regarding player development, the Thunder are CLEARLY top-notch. They developed Green, Harden, and the players that are still on the roster. While Aldrich was clearly a horrible mistake from the get-go, they rectified it by dealing him away. I'm also not sure the Perk/Green trade was a win, but Perk has served a role.

While the other players will hopefully continue to develop, I'm too much of a Royals fan to appreciate trading away top talent for what could be. Harden is a top-10 player in the league.

To say I rationalize every move is the same to say I'm sucking his hypothetical dick IMO. I'm not mad at ya. Im just pointing out i don't blindly defend him. I'm a Royals fan as well, but that isn't a good comparison in my opinion. They still have talented players on the roster, and feel they need something besides Harden to get them over the top. I tend to agree, and understand that piece may not be there yet. I don't think we are winning the title this year, but I don't feel Harden would have made a difference in that regard. However, we still have a punchers chance, and will be set up very well for the next 3 years.

If we were the Royals everyone would be gone :)

This last few weeks I've been thinking we could use KD to shoot like KD more than anything.

In my very limited NBA Salary Cap knowledge the Harden trade was all about money and their unwillingness to pay the new luxury tax isn't that correct? They could have paid him and it wouldn't have effected the salary cap since they drafted him ...

Of course they are paying Perkins $26 million