To Tank or Not to Tank? The Curious Case of the Oklahoma City Thunder

            Mark Cuban raised some interesting thoughts about whether or not Oklahoma City should shut down Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook to land a lottery pick in next year’s draft, and those thoughts have inspired us to introduce a new series called, “To Tank or Not to Tank?”. Naturally, our first team is O.K.C.

The Team = Oklahoma City Thunder

Current Record = 3-6, tied for eleventh in the West

Situation = Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are both out until late November, leaving the Thunder with Serge Ibaka, Reggie Jackson, and a bunch of other dudes.

The Case to Tank = I can’t think of another championship contending NBA team that was so ravaged by injuries to start the season. O.K.C’s entire offense literally revolves around their two star players. There is no fancy motion offense, and few set plays. For the most part, Durant and Westbrook take turn jacking jumpers or driving to the basket.

            If they were in the East, it would be much more likely that they could stay within shouting distance of the eighth seed until their star players returned, but their place in the Western Conference makes that much more unlikely. Let’s say they have to go eight more games without Durant and Westbrook. If they were to go 2-6 in those games, that puts them at 5-12. 49 wins was what it took to make the playoffs in the West last year, and the Thunder would have to go 44-20 the rest of the way to match that. The talent is there to do it, but by the time they got to the playoffs, they might not have anything left in the tank for their first round series against the first or second seed.

            Tanking gives the opportunity for the Thunder to develop young players like Perry Jones (who was sensational before going down with an injury of his own), Reggie Jackson (a restricted free agent next season who the Thunder should keep), and Steven Adams. Add a lottery pick to this group, and the Thunder suddenly are a significantly deeper squad in 2015-16. A team this talented hasn’t been in the lottery since the Spurs drafted Tim Duncan in 1997, and that only happened because David Robinson was shut down for most of the season.

The Case to Not Tank = Can you say “Kevin Durant will be an unrestricted free agent after the 2016 season”? Enough has been written about the James Harden trade that we won’t rehash it here, but the seeds for Durant leaving may have been sown when The Beard was shipped to Houston. The Thunder’s notorious penny-pinching ways could be enough to convince Durant to flee to greener pastures. Throw in Russell Westbrook’s free agency a year after that, and you could be talking about a starless Thunder team that opens the 2017 season. The best way for the Thunder to convince Durant to stay is to win a title in one of the next two seasons. They are talented enough that they could make a deep playoff run regardless of which seed they end up with, and with some of the valuable experience earned by some of their younger players, they should be better equipped to give their star players rest during the playoffs. Last year the Thunder played Derek Fisher during the last ten minutes of their season, which is insane when you consider Fisher is now COACHING the Knicks. Replacing him with Perry Jones or Steven Adams would be a major talent upgrade.

No Credentials Final Verdict = We wouldn’t mail it in if we were running the Thunder. Plenty of contending clubs are stumbling out of the gate (as of this writing, the Spurs and Clippers would also be on the outside looking in if the playoffs started today), and as long as they get one of their star players back before Thanksgiving, there will be enough time for the Thunder to solidify their playoff position. A team that four years ago looked like it had a bright long term future is now less than two years away from facing Kevin Durant hitting the open market, so they need to maximize every opportunity to win a NBA championship. 

No Credentials Summer Recap

            I wish I had a better excuse as to why No Credentials has been less active over the pass six months, but really it boils down to two things.

1.      I was without Playstation 3 for five months.

      2.      I bought a new one, and play a game of my Madden franchise when before I would be writing blog posts.

To make up for our lack of production, we’ll take a quick peak at stories I briefly thought about tackling before deciding playing another game with my son at quarterback of the Kansas City Chiefs was more exciting.

MLB

Ryan Braun Surrenders

            There’s no other word for it, as Braun defiantly took on MLB for almost two years before essentially accepting a plea deal. One wonders if Braun backed down partially because his team is terrible, and he’s been nursing a sore thumb the past two months that hasn’t improved. He’ll come back with no marketability in 2014, but he will be healthy, and quite possibly a top-10 fantasy asset next season.

Mariano Rivera Wins the All-Star Game MVP

            Evidently, a scoreless eighth is more valuable than a scoreless ninth. This game was further proof of why an All-Star Game should have nothing to do with determining home-field advantage for it’s championship series.

The Yankees Stink

            That statement is a little strong in realistic terms (they are over .500, and would gave a one game lead in the NL West), but compared to the usual excellence produced by the Yankees, it’s an accurate one. The offense is abysmal, only generating 125 less runs this season than the Red Sox have. C.C. Sabathia looks to be in desperate need of a switch the National League, and Alex Rodriguez still hangs over the club like a black cloud. While not supporters of the Bronx Bombers, we here at No Credentials are always fans of roster building, so here’s our on the fly, not well thought out fix for the New York Yankees that they can begin implementing before the trade deadline.

1. Give up on the 2013 season – It would be one thing if they were just seven games behind the Red Sox, but they also trail Tampa Bay and Baltimore (by 6.5 and 4 games). The Rangers and Indians are also ahead of them in the Wild Card standings.
2. Trade Robinson Cano – By all accounts, it appears Cano is going to ask for eleventy billion dollars this winter. If George Steinbrenner were still alive, he would never make it to free agency, but unfortunately for Yankees’ fans his kids aren’t as willing to open up the checkbook. Rather than let him walk in free agency (and only soak up draft picks), they should try to push for a blockbuster trade now. Where could he go you ask? My money if he hits free agency is the Washington Nationals, but you could never count out the Detroit Tigers from making an aggressive trade.      
3. Blackmail Mariano Rivera into returning for the 2014 season – Sure it would be awkward after all of the retirement gifts Rivera has been getting all season (my all-time favorite “retiring” person that ended up not retiring was Mark Martin, who swore up and down 2005 would be his last season, only to return in 2006. He’s still racing a part-time schedule today) if he came back next season, but who cares. I think he could throw that ridiculous cutter until he was 65 years old.
4. Frame A-Rod, Sabathia, and Teixeira for a bank robbery – These guys are earning $75 million (!) combined this season, so coming up with some clever scheme to void their contracts would be advantageous.

NFL

Von Miller Potentially Facing a 4-Game Suspension

            It’s a good thing Miller plays a sport where it’s fans don’t give a shit about statistics, because he will not come back with the same stigma as Ryan Braun.

NBA

The Dwightmare Ends…Howard Chooses Houston

            If I weren’t so addicted to playing my Madden franchise I would’ve dropped a 4,000-word piece about Howard shortly after he joined the Rockets, but you’re going to have to settle for bullet points.

-         Shaq was wrong when he accused Howard of not being able to play in a big city. For one, Dwight was working on a way to weasel his way onto the Clippers to play with his buddy Chris Paul. The last time I checked, the Clippers still play in Los Angeles. Howard leaving the Lakers had more to do with him not wanting to put up with Kobe Bryant than him not being able to handle L.A.

-         Of all the teams that were trying to land Howard, the Rockets were the best fit for him. With Howard in the fold, they are fielding a more athletic version of the Orlando team Dwight carried to the 2009 NBA Finals. Even better for the Rockets, they still have a valuable trade asset in Omer Asik that can be used to improve the roster. You can’t make Houston the clear favorites in the ultra-competitive Western Conference, but they’ll have a reasonable chance at playing for a championship the next two or three years.

-         The Lakers are going to suck balls. It would make tons of sense for them to tank the season like the Celtics are going to do (more on that in the next bullet point), but instead, they’ll field a mediocre team based around a physically limited Kobe Bryant. Pau Gasol should be better utilized, but that won’t be enough for them to be better than .500.

Danny Ainge Blows Up the Celtics

            Is it going to suck watching Paul Pierce (a Celtic since 1997) and Kevin Garnett (the catalyst for the 2008 championship winning team) play for the Nets? Yes. Is it going to suck to watch Doc Rivers coach the Clippers? Yes. The “Ubuntu” Era was responsible for the rebirth of Celtic pride in the northeast, but it was wise to turn the page on this group of players. When you have the chance to land one of five potential franchise players in next year’s draft, the most logical thing to do is to suck as much as humanly possible and improve your lottery chances. The team implosion will be complete if they are able to showcase Rajon Rondo for a 10-game tryout after he returns from injury and then ship him off to a contending (hopefully with Gerald Wallace’s horrendous contract, but that’s probably wishful thinking).

NHL

Bruins Give Up On Seguin

            Because you know, any time you can prematurely give up on a 21-year old phenom, you have to do it. This deal will hurt when Tyler Seguin wins a Hart Trophy in Dallas.

NASCAR

Jimmie Johnson is Better at NASCAR Than Any Other Athlete is at any Other Sport Right Now

            It hasn’t been fair this season. If not for some bad luck with pit stops and restarts, Johnson could very well have eight wins right now. Unless Joe Gibbs Racing finds some durability with their Toyota engines, the Chase for the Cup could be over in eight races.

10 Awesome Things That Happened This Weekend (11/2-11/4)

10. NHL Cancels the Winter Classic
            You can kiss the 2012-13 season goodbye with the announcement that their biggest moneymaking event (even more so than the Stanley Cup Finals) has been eliminated.

9. The Hammer of God Will Return

            It would’ve been a shame for Mariano Rivera’s career to end while shagging foul balls in batting practice.

8. Fear the Beard

            James Harden’s start with the Houston Rockets would’ve been #3 on this list if it weren’t for him running out of gas against Portland Saturday night, mostly because he’s on both of my fantasy teams.

7. Jimmie Johnson Wins Slugfest Over Brad Keselowski at Texas

            Let it be known that Keselowski had this race in the bag if he didn’t slide too far into his pit box with 58 laps to go. Who know that pitting behind Danica Patrick could be so treacherous.

6. Oregon and USC Combine for 113 Points

            For those unfamiliar with the game of football, that’s a lot of fucking points.

5. Ray Allen Completes Game-Winning Four Point Play

            Allen’s game-winning shot was a sum of all fears play for the rest of the NBA. Lebron James drove to the basket, Allen’s man left to help, and James hit him for a wide-open three. Allen doesn’t even need to move on this team.
          
4. Lori and T-Dog Bite the Dust on “The Walking Dead”
            If we can get confirmation that Carol croaked, that’s the three most unlikable characters killed off. The only thing that would've made Sunday's episode better was Lori's fetus being a zombie and eating her from the inside. 

3. Notre Dame Prevails in Triple Overtime
            There isn’t a more compelling team week-to-week in college football than Notre
Dame. Expect the fun to last two more weeks before they get their doors blown off by USC.

2. Down 10 in the Fourth, Steelers Make a Statement Against Giants
            Ben Roethlisberger served Eli Manning a piece of his own medicine, engineering some fourth quarter magic. Pittsburgh has reestablished themselves as legitimate Super Bowl contenders.

1. Alabama Makes Stunning Comeback at LSU

            Les Miles was the unofficial MVP of the game for Alabama. If it wasn’t for multiple horrendous decisions, LSU pulls off the upset.

10 Awesome Things That Happened This Weekend (10/26-10/28)

10. Marcus Lattimore Might Still Be Able to Play Football
            This is great news, considering his knee injury was one of the worst leg injuries we’ve seen in years on a football field. 

9. Vick Ballard Does His Best “Matrix” Impersonation

            We’ll let the video do the talking.

 

8. Jimmie Johnson Dominates Martinsville, Takes Chase Lead

            Jimmie Johnson did exactly what No Credentials predicted he would a week ago, but the bigger story was Brad Keselowski only being down 2 points with three races to play. A sixth place at one of his least favorite tracks has to feel like a win.

7. Oregon Hangs 70 on Colorado

6. Notre Dame Dominates Oklahoma
            Scoring 70 points on a fellow D1 (or bowl sub-division, or whatever the elite division of football is called) school is impressive, but walking into Oklahoma’s field and coming out with a 17-point win takes the cake. Notre Dame deserved to leap frog Oregon in the polls.

5. Rob Gronkowski Celebrates Two Touchdowns

            I’ll take his reenactment of a little nutcracker duder over his pelvic gyrations.

4. Giants Sweep Tigers
            Kudos to the Giants for winning a second World Series in three years that no one other than Giants fans will remember in a decade.

3. Merle Returns to “The Walking Dead”
            No one is more excited about it than my wife.

2. Thunder Trade James Harden to Houston

            I’ll say this about Oklahoma City General Manager Sam Presti…the man has big onions. I personally think that Durant and Westbrook are talented enough to initiate the offense without Harden, and if the draft picks they get prove to have value, the Thunder’s long-term outlook will eventually look brighter.

1. Giants Survive By Mere Inches Against Dallas

            You can add having an apparent game-winning Hail Mary getting overturned to the ways the Dallas Cowboys have lost a game. In all honesty though, they had no business winning, so perhaps it was karma.