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I have a feeling Ibaka will be jumping up those rankings past 32?!?!

espically if he has another double double game.99

I hadn't though to comparing Ibaka to David Anderson becuase of some notable differences but I guess you could.

I might add Taj Gibson though as closer.

@dork
I think he's 32. David Anderson is 12.

Hence my gripe.

The high and low end ranks on stats for Ibaka even within this group picked because they were somewhat close to Ibaka shows he is pretty unique now and may well end up pretty unique. But the other 3 guys give three different versions of how he might turn, with more time.

@J.G.

o.0

and just where is Serge on the rookie rankings? (if you know off the top of your head if not.. I guess I'll have to stop being soo lazy)

Here is to hoping that Friday we see a full on youngsters duel. Weaver instead of Olie and more Ibaka :)

@J.G.

TBH i get the feeling if anyone gets moved its either Collison or DJ white. From what I have seen Ibaka has already passed DJ white on the depth chart. I like Whites game, just don't like the big ole log jam we have.

@Crow
Oh I'm with you on checking his stats and looking for comparisons (hence why I think he should be ahead of David Anderson in the rookie rankings as Serge has him beat on everything but points right now, but I digress), I just wanted to make sure that we were including some variability in the results. :)

@Crow
Hmmm, one would definitely think it was primarily to protect Nick from injury. But you could certainly argue that the luxury of having a young up-and-comer is that you don't have to rush veterans back from injury before they're 100% ready.

So it might be primarily to protect him from injury so that he can contribute on the court, but certainly the time spent out is influenced by other mitigating factors (still not sure they move Collison, he's the type of guy you immediately want to have on your team when he's gone).

It is a fair point J.G.
My disclaimer was related to the first comment about him at PF vs C but I would stretch it to the whole discussion and dork was kind enough to suggest the disclaimer covered that too though perhaps I should have said it again. I guess given this being a pretty sharp crowd, I might have assumed it.

I'll try to remember to do it later dork.

I wonder how much Nick not playing lately is protecting him from injury by itself and how much is changing of the guard or if it might be saving him from further injury that might affect his trade value, especially after Dec. 15.

@dork
Okay, whew. My apologies then.

For a minute there I thought we were getting a little ahead of ourselves.

@Crow

I don't know but I'll host at my house if they want to meet :)

Of course J.G. about small sample size. I just didn't want to wait a few months to check.

@J.G.

Yea I think he did disclaim that earlier :)

It is really the same story as overall except lowest PER compared to these guys today while his is better than Mensah-Bonsu in the first season.

Probably right about potentially stronger improvement in second season or even second half of this season Dork. And I'm all for having him spend time with Hakeem. Wonder if he has already met him or not.

@Crow

I wonder how much better Ibakas shooting stats are if you subtract out the tip in attempts? Crow put it on your calander to do it again at the end of the year :) lol

@Crow
You're prefacing all of this with the disclaimer of, "UNBELIEVABLY SMALL SAMPLE SIZE." Right?

I mean we're talking about a guy who's only played 81 minutes in 7 games for his entire career so far. A bit early to give any real merit or validity to straight up player comparisons and rebounding, passing, shooting, and blocking rates, don't you think?

First season comparison
http://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/tiny.cgi?id=9T3Mj

Ibaka is the best overall rebounder in the group, second weakest so far as a shooter, weakest as a passer and steal getter but tops on blocks, 2nd best on turnover rate but highest on fouls and just a bit better than lowest on points per minute.

@Crow

Interesting. Though I have a feeling his stats will continue to improve with more experience this year. My guess is next year he will have a pretty significant jump. Espically if we Thunder fans can convince him to work with Ibaka... (starts searching for the dreams e-mail)

I used career stats for the other guys. You can switch to first year comparisons if you want. Look especially at the per 36 and advanced sections.

Nick Collison will not play tonight, Oklahoman reports.

Ibaka slides in at backup PF (though surely he'll get time at C, too). So all of you who missed his game against the Lakers, will definitely see him tonight.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/tiny.cgi?id=ys2m6

Stat comparison

I could have mentioned Pops Mensah-Bonsu but I assume he will be more than that.

@Crow

Stat comparisons?

Probably a bit more similar to Tyus Thomas right now than Amir Johnson on several aspects.

Compared to the Josh Smith of this season that is.

Looking for early comparisons for Ibaka, among current players, two names that come to mind are Amir Johnson and Tyus Thomas. Josh Smith is out there too but I am more hesitant to go that far, this quick.

DJ White's PER is thru the roof right now due to his strong FG%.

In full disclose, I don't work for Amazon or ESPN. Just thought I'd help.

I FINALLY get to see the Thunder on tv tonight. Thank God for NBA TV. And ESPN listened to me and moved the Bucks-Thunder game to their late game on Friday. The NBA: its FAAAAN-TASTIC! haha

For anyone who requests Hollinger's rankings, rookie rankings, etc. from ESPN insider, the magazine w/insider is $5 now on Amazon. Way better than paying $2.50/month or whatever it is.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00007AX0N/ref=s9_simz_gw_s0_p153_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-3&pf_rd_r=0E9WEX11QAGDJ5H36Y9G&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938811&pf_rd_i=507846

Pregame Primer SHOULD be up by 4:30. I hope.

I probably should have said "strong" instead of "decided".

It is way too early to conclude anything but the early and decided lean is Ibaka better at PF than C.

Via Darnell (Thunder Rumblings)

QUOTABLE
“Deron is one of the best point guards in the game. Surprisingly, he’s never made an All-Star team. I voted for him. Make sure you tell him that.” — Thunder coach Scott Brooks on Jazz guard Deron Williams.

http://blog.newsok.com/thunderrumblings/2009/11/24/the-scene-at-shootaround-3/

@Bryan

and Ibaka at the 5? Oh c'mon you knew I was going to suggest this.

Bryan :
And I’m betting Brooks runs the small set some too, with Durant at the 4

I think you might be right, since Boozer is a bit undersized, and Okur is like Krstic, in that they don't play under the rim much for their size.

I'm looking forward to Etan vs Boozer. Boozer is a bruiser much closer to Etan's size and build. Should be a good matchup.

And I'm betting Brooks runs the small set some too, with Durant at the 4

Normally I would be bummed because the Thunder is heading on the road minus three rotation players... but hey, at least we will get to see more of Ibaka and Weaver

Those highlights make me warm and fuzzy inside. I can't WAIT for tonights game!

yeah its cause ollie is hurt and weaver is now the backup PG

Thanks Jax.

Alright thanks Bryan. Makes sense, just hadn't heard til now.

Over Under is 197

@Crow

http://www.nba.com/thunder/news/release_091124.html

@J.G.
It did, thanks.

I hope Weaver does well. A win would be nice for OKC here. Even if we just keep splitting road trips, it is still much better than we did last year.

Thunder an 8 point underdog in tonight's game:

http://www.vegassports-odds.com/200911241723/nba/headlines/nba-basketball-betting-odds-oklahoma-city-thunder-at-utah-jazz

@dork
I was in Philly partying it up... but thanks to Aaron I at least got some highlights

@Aaron

Nice... you totaly read my mind

@Bryan

How dare you miss Ibaka's minutes :P