Melo Still Not Enough for OKC
The Carmelo Anthony trade is already shaping up the Thunder to be the perfect "rip your heart out and lose in the second round team." They will be a competitive team sure, but the trade still doesn't lock them in for the Western Conference Finals. Russ, George and Melo are a very nice trio. Say what you want about Melo, but I think he can still bring something to a team fighting in the playoffs. Will he be Denver Nuggets Melo in the playoffs? No, I'm not expecting that and I really hope you aren't either. If he can give them 20 points a night as the 3rd option, there's a lot of worse problems I'd rather have as a team.
I'm not that worried about there being three ball-first players on one team. Sure, it's not necessarily the best way to build a team. But if they can take notes on last year's Warriors team and their unselfishness, I'll give them more credit for being able to figure it out than most people are doing right now. Somebody write that down for Old Takes Exposed on Twitter.
The main issue I have with this team is their lack of depth after their Big 3. The Warriors second unit was an integral part of winning 2 titles in 3 seasons. After OKC's Big 3 their scoring options are Steven Adams and Andre Roberson, who averaged just 6.6 points last season. Yikes! Also, this team won't be a defensive team whatsoever, so don't try to give me your 'what if' takes. That being said, they're going to need more scoring options to keep up with the Rockets and Warriors. Billy Donovan won't be able to think about sitting the three of them at the same time like Golden State can do with their top dogs. The Warriors have Iguodala and Livingston to keep things under control with Draymond.
Don't get me wrong, I like the trade for Oklahoma City. It makes them a million times more competitive than they were last year. They will have a firm spot in the postseason and won't have to fight for a spot like last season. But lets say they get the 4th seed, following-GSW/SAN/HOU. That just sets them up for round two against Golden State and good luck.Then it's still back to the drawing board next season when Russ and George are both free agents.
