Who Wins the West in 2024: Thunder, Mavs, or Wolves?

[@dallasayers2212]

Jefferson obviously hasn’t watched much OKC basketball. He talks about the depth of the mavs and wolves but OKC has a legitimate 12 man roster of hustlers. The 12th man is consistently putting up the same effort level as 3 and 4. Also, his last comment about hartenstein needing a backup… 1)he will very likely come off the bench 2)can we stop underrating jaylin Williams? Dude has the makings of a nick collison/al horford type of stretch big. OKC now has 3 deadly options at the 5 and you could play any 2 of those guys together and it works with the lineup. Sam presti doesn’t get near enough credit being in such a small market organization. This is a masterfully organized roster filled with likeminded ball players. No egos, no stat chasing. Just legit, pure basketball. OKC Celtics in the finals for sure

[@ezekielespinosa7762]

Not a chance. Especially if yall meet Dallas or Minnie

[@adamf24]

I think RJ understands that OKC has depth, but they have inexperienced depth compared to Dallas and minny. Mavs just went to the finals and added a 4x champ, naji who's a good role player, and dinwiddie who went to the WCF with them. All that experience gives them a slight edge imo. This was before the KAT trade, but minny has good vets that have been far in the playoffs or have been in multiple playoff series

[@OCLProductionz]

Mavs added Klay Naji & Grimes. All amazing 3poimt shooters and defenders even though klay obviously isnt in his prime anymore but he’s still averaged 18ppg on 39% 9 3pt FGA a game. Great roster and one of the deepest bench ITL. Also spence, great ball handler and can create shots and clutch and was a huge part of that 2022 WCF run. Also a 7’5 defensive stopper. They were just a few pieces away from beating Boston and I think they’ll be able to this time with hopefully a HEALTHY Luka and Kyrie getting over the hump. Whoever they meet, I think they will beat. They should be the favorites in the west, no doubt💯💯

[@CarsonCarpenter-c6x]

Klay is 34 years old an he’s not the same klay an he’s not a good defender

[@justap7164]

@@CarsonCarpenter-c6xhe’s decent at most. Not bad but not great. Mavs should be fine in that area next season no need to worry to much about it

[@josiahpadfield5040]

@@justap7164Derrick Jones was their top defender leading the way. Who are they going put on the beat player each night now? Klay?? That’s not a good idea.

[@justap7164]

@@josiahpadfield5040 Klay’s not his replacement even tho he’s taking his starting spot. His replacement is Naji Marshall. Quit acting like the Mavs lost an All-Star player when he looked like he would’ve been out of the league within the next few years before the Mavs picked him up on a minimum deal. Naji is a better defender and shooter than him so they should be fine without him.

[@Text_Book]

​@@josiahpadfield5040 pj or naji im guessing

[@jasonmabalod8608]

if luka is like atleast 90 percent healthy in the playoffs there will always be a chance..

[@TheMyersFamilyy]

I think people forget about Jaylin Williams, the center for okc, he’s been very productive in his playing time, he’s physical and can pass and knock down shots. They have the bigs they need in my opinion

[@Jasthetic2.0]

Jefferson bro, Chet is gonna be their starting center and hartenstine is the backup 😂

[@saadwani9175]

They could easily play chet at the 4 and Hartenstine at the 5

[@kentymashmilo758]

Bro dallas literally got finals last season and now they are upgraded

[@imdbtruth]

Dallas should definitely be favored to come out of the West imo. The Mavs are the only Western Conference team to be in the Western Conference Finals in 2 out of the last 4 seasons, and this is the best roster of Luka's career. Also Denver should never be disregarded because of the Jokic factor.

[@Kaybaptista]

This is one of the few sport shows I can just play and listen too. N its entirety.

[@jackastor5265]

OKC and the T-Wolves, as we've already seen, cannot handle Luka/Kyrie, and the Mavs upgraded as well with Grimes, Marshall, Dinwiddie, and Klay Thompson. If the Mavs don't come out of the West its a failed season.

[@CarsonCarpenter-c6x]

🤣🤣🤣 Caruso an Dort 🔒🔒🔒🔒 close to white and holiday

[@jackastor5265]

@@CarsonCarpenter-c6x They aren't locking Luka up, nobody locks up Luka, not ever. Kyrie can be hit or miss.

[@erensmith4116]

​@@CarsonCarpenter-c6x it's not proven yet but the okc lose to mavs was already proven right? 😂

[@DarkKnight-ko8lq]

@@jackastor5265Kyrie was amazing until he faced the Celtics. They boo him too much it’s in his head the negative energy he’s all about that positive stuff

[@kendallpugh6670]

This right here

[@SuperSikarlo]

It's pretty easily Dallas. They got better and Luka isn't bleeding out of both knees.

[@southernvikes81]

The Mavs are the defending WC champ until they are dethroned. These analysts are clowns. Did they predict the Mavs making it to the Finals? I bet not. Must see their predictions from last season to prove me wrong. The only analyst that got it correct early and consistent throughout the playoff was Tim Legler. The rest jumped on the bandwagon after the Mavs showed success. None of the Western conference teams have improved in the off season as much as Dallas by adding Thompson, Marshall, Grimes, and Dinwiddie. These are two-bit analysts just going with namesakes to cover themselves and purely subjective. There is not any insight analysis to prove those other teams are better than the Mavs.

[@mclovin2k12]

PREACH‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️

[@awethinic8379]

Boston beat the mavs and legler was wrong, Boston beat the mavs with 5 out basketball because 3 starters can not play defense and 5 out pulls the bigs out. Hurt or not Luka is slow. The only reason Dallas beat okc was 3 things. Abnormal 3 % and the +\- when Chet was sitting and giddey. They covered all their problems with ihart and caroso. Okc will beat Dallas if they meet in the playoffs this year. 100%

[@Thatboiontop]

@@awethinic8379y’all said that last year as well about okc (6) 😂😂

[@Joeshiesty286]

@@awethinic8379Boston beat the Mavs in the FINALS cuz the Mavs had no shooters (other than Kyrie and Luka). Now replace those mediocre players with Grimes (40% 3 pt) who locks SGA down to 29% FG percent. Naji Marshall(38% 3 pt) who is a better version of DJJ, and Klay F’n Thompson. OKC should’ve lost in 5 if the Mavs don’t just miss 20 free throws. Luka was hurt. If you wanna see what a healthy Luka did to the Thunder, just go watch when they played right after the trade deadline. Luka toyed with Dort and whooped the thunders ass by 30 😂 Luka is a 5X All FIRST Team in 6 seasons, 2 WCF appearances and a Finals appearance by the age of 25. This will be the first year Luka has a good roster. I can’t wait for all yall to look like idiots 😂

[@playboicartissock2340]

Bud if Shai doesn’t make a dumb foul at the end of game 6 the series goes to game 7 at home for OKC and the only reasons they lost that series is because they didn’t have a big to matchup with lively and gafford and they didn’t have a 5th guy who can make shots and play defense on Luka and kyrie which they addressed both those problems with Caruso and hartenstein.okc is only getting better

[@aBasicKid]

People keep forgetting that the Mavs singed Grimes and Marshall who are both really good defenders. So I don't understand this narrative that the Mavs lost some defense when those two are both improvements over DJJ and Josh Green

[@bo0gi3]

Mavs replaced DJJ with Naji Marshall from NO and also brought in Grimes to replace Josh Green. Marshall isn’t as quick as DJJ but he’s more equipped to handle Ant/JT type SF’s. Do want to see who will guard the opposing teams best guard

[@jordantaylor3570]

Dallas literally just beat OKC and wolves in 6 and 5 with an injured luka and got better !

[@bondinho6114]

Facts

[@OCLProductionz]

Fr😭💯

[@CarsonCarpenter-c6x]

@@jordantaylor3570 then got exposed against Boston 🤣🤣🤣🤣 got there ass kick 🤣🤣🤣

[@coltondodd3086]

@@CarsonCarpenter-c6x acting like Boston wouldn’t have swept the thunder and wolves

[@lando9670]

@@CarsonCarpenter-c6xLiving vicariously through other teams, your a loser

[@healthfadsfade]

I’m a Mavs fan so obviously Mavs are coming out of the west. However I think Minnesota got better if Randle stays healthy. Donte and Dillingham are also exactly what Minn needed

[@sin842]

Luka was hurt after the Clippers series and OKC couldn't stop him. They were pulling on his shorts the whole series and he was banged up LMAO. You gotta be kidding me. That series wasn't going to game 6 if Luka was a 100. game 5 at best. And this year they just got x5 better. MY GOD.

[@Zrich98]

We can call theoretically all you want, but Okc and Dallas was a close series lmao

[@chacharose3643]

Fluka flopic with the fake injuries

[@stevenmonte7397]

The MAVS are too deep now. They will be back in the finals easily.

[@Kaybaptista]

Love y’all 3 man ❤❤❤❤

[@Rickkysimo]

Mavs beat these bums already, and they got better, its gonna be Mavs vs Boston round 2

[@playboicartissock2340]

Barley beat OKC if Shai doesn’t foul at the end of game 6 that series goes to game 7 at home for OKC only bum is you 😂

[@michaelperez5292]

@@playboicartissock2340 I agree with you! OKC got 10x better. They will be #1 coming out the West

[@sin842]

@@playboicartissock2340 nah that series got to game 6 only because Clippers hurt Luka. I think you got it twisted boy. Ya'll can't stop a hurt Luka, you'll be pulling Luka's shorts trying to stop him this year again.

[@playboicartissock2340]

@@sin842 excuses bud everyone is injured in the playoffs Luka is just a cry baby that complains about everything

[@sin842]

@@playboicartissock2340 Pass the copium bud, you've had enough. "Everyone is injured in the playoffs" lmao

[@danmoreman954]

Dallas and Denver. OKC has great pieces but hasn’t put them together yet. The Wolves are a mess now. Randle will cause spacing issues that will hamper Ant.

[@J-Hue]

Denver more than anybody has to prove they can beat a 50 win team come playoff time.

[@lucasyourk5190]

RJ has no clue what he’s talking about with OKC with all due respect, I Hart will come off the bench and will likely stagger minutes with Chet, they also have J Will to take a solid 8-10 min as a 5

[@leoreoibardo9294]

you do realize if they stagger chet and hart playing time then the lineup will compose of 1 center and a bunch of guards which ain't gonna work against luka or other teams out there who actually have a bigger pf.

[@Internut1985]

Minnesota was inexperienced and ran out of gas after massive exhausting series vs Denver

[@CarsonCarpenter-c6x]

Oh an it’s funny how people are bragging about the Timberwolves getting Rob when the thunder also got topic who was gonna be a top 3 pick before he got injured like what 🤣🤣🤣

[@Damianoutlaw]

The 24-25 OKC Thunder might be the greatest team of all time. They smoked everyone last year when they finished #1. The team that exposed OKC in the playoffs last seson got worse while Caruso and Hartenstein are borderline all star players.

[@Sonnel_James]

OKC got the biggest upgrade fs. Not just by acquiring Hartenstein, but by experience itself to go with their youth is their biggest upgrade

[@justap7164]

Still don’t see this as enough to get them to the finals not when the Mavs will be in there way to get back there. When it comes to experience in that area, safe to say Dallas will win there unless OKC would prove otherwise

[@todd6798]

Watch OKC with million draft picks getting veteran bigs before the all star break plus the buy out market.

[@JamarionWest-s8v]

The Mavs will be in the NBA finals and the play in tournament and the playoffs this season 👍💯🤩🎉

Mavs have Luka, KAI and Klay which are as experienced as they come and I do not understand how could one pick any other team.

[@dorsiandouglas9240]

OKC got rid of Giddy who was their starting pg that means SGA will have to play fulltime pg are you guys sure he's capable of doing that...check the suns when dbook was asked to play pg fulltime how did it work out

[@Jasthetic2.0]

R u high? SGA is always the pg, giddey is a sg as the role, he is just not a good shooter, but he is indeed their playmaker when he’s on the court, but Shai is always the pg for this team

[@dorsiandouglas9240]

@@Jasthetic2.0 I guess you're higher than me or you're just responding just to respond...SGA is always looking for his shot

[@Jasthetic2.0]

@@dorsiandouglas9240 wym?? SGA always dribble down the court unless someone like giddey got the rebound and they would run plays for SGA. But regardless, Shai should be fine playing next to caruso since he plays some pg for Chicago as well

[@ajbased44]

they have Alex Caruso to replace Giddey. He's a good ball handler/passer as well. It won't all be on SGA

[@J-Hue]

Seeing what NY traded to get Mikal Bridges, I do think they should've been looking to get a player like that instead. He's a Swiss army knife type player who doesn't need plays called for him like that to give you 14pph, gives you good defense, shooting, etc. And can be the third scorer for stretches in a series where one of your stars is struggling. Time will tell if Sam Presti is repeating some of his old mistakes of drafting well, but letting some of that talent go for too little. I also would've liked to see them sign a Kyle Lowry to help JDub and others develop passing and floor general ship.

[@chinhong4578]

Richard Jefferson be saying OKC will be in bad shape once Hartenstein goes down, I’m sure it’s the same with the Wolves or Mavs bro 😂 if the reason why a team sucks is if they’ll suck if their (non injury prone) player gets injured it’s not really a reason

[@J-Hue]

For what OKC had to deal in trade assets, Hartenstein and Caruso was far from a homerun, imo. A lot of ideal developments have to happen for this yo play our in the best case scenario, imo. For a talent like Giddey, with OKC s picks stach, Mikal Bridges would've been the ideal target imo. I get what Caruso brings, but they could teally use a 4th clear double digit scorer and a swiss army knife type of guy.

[@awethinic8379]

3 things stopped okc from beating Dallas. 1. The +\- when Chet was sitting, inexperienced affected the 3 point %, and Giddey. Okc style is like Boston, 5 out offense. Pull out the bigs, shoot 3’s, drives and cutting. ISO isn’t needed much. Okc filled in all their weaknesses. Their rebounding is not great but their defense makes up for that.

[@J-Hue]

​@awethinic8379 I'm not thinking about iso. Just the overall talent and potential of the team. They could've knocked it out of the park with Caruso, instead they didn't. Now they have to be concerned about Dallas if the Mavs pickups workout well, they could have the offense to eek out a win vs OKC again, where getting a more potent, elite glue guy like Bridges may have put them over the top either way.

[@coltondodd3086]

Mavs and thunder are clearly the top two in a teir of their own. Denver and wolves fighting for 3-4. Rest of the west is a bloodbath.

[@CarsonCarpenter-c6x]

Jefferson Okc isn’t starting Isiah hartenstein

[@uruser119]

how do yk that?

[@Zrich98]

Okc supposedly is. IHart at the 5 and they are moving Chet to the 4

[@elgato9595]

For you okc fans trying to wrap there head around what Rj is saying about chet lol its hilarious reading the crash outs in the comments lol but they know ball and still don't understand what and why he said he said about their lack of bigs

[@CarsonCarpenter-c6x]

Bro this man Jefferson is talking about depth hello okc has Cason Wallace Isaiah Joe Aron Wiggins jay will an Isaiah hartenstein coming off the bench 🤣🤣🤣 what is this man talking about depth to me okc is the deepest team in the west

[@OCLProductionz]

Bullshit! They still aint shit for dallas😂💯

[@CarsonCarpenter-c6x]

Dallas who’s Dallas I don’t remember Dallas OH Dallas who make the finals an got exposed an got there ass kick 🤣🤣🤣🤣 got clamped up 🔒🔒 that Dallas yeah that Dallas is cancelled they don’t have a team anymore because they got shit 💩 on in the finals

[@CarsonCarpenter-c6x]

Luka an Irving retired after that finals because they got beat so bad in the finals 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@coltondodd3086]

Mavs got Dinwiddie Naji Marshall QGrimes Exum Hardy Maxi Kleber Gafford Omax off the bench. Add that to Luka Kai Klay PJ Lively. Mavs got depth too brother.

[@OCLProductionz]

@@CarsonCarpenter-c6x that same team owned yo thunder so thunder is shit😂💯

[@CarsonCarpenter-c6x]

Don’t forget the Thunder added Caruso not just Isaiah hartenstein

[@awethinic8379]

The thunder now has the most versatile team in the NBA. If rebounding is the problem, add j will , if shooting is the problem, Joe, caroso, Wallace, if driving is the problem, shai, j dub, Wiggins, if 2 bigs is the problem, Chet and ihart, everyone on this team is a dog on defense. Okc filled their problems spots, the mavs are hoping their fill ins will work. Okc will win the west.

[@leoreoibardo9294]

@@awethinic8379 ain't versatile enough. okc already have a bunch of guards and a center and they added another guard and a center. okc don't have bigger wings.

[@awethinic8379]

@@leoreoibardo9294 hahaha 😂 at least have an informed opinion. There is a reason that the majority of NBA insiders are picking the thunder. But none know basketball like you. I will assume that you are a mavs fan.

[@leoreoibardo9294]

@@awethinic8379 informed what now? 😂 how many of those nba insiders you're talking about picked the mavs coming out of west last season? 😂you ain't winning series in nba playoffs by having majority votes. 😂 OKC still have the same problem. Don't have personnel who can guard pf 1-on-1.

[@Damianoutlaw]

@@awethinic8379OKC fans are acting like your team accomplished something last year

[@assaf8016]

I don’t get the people who bet on the wolves

[@JustTweakin]

Harteinstein is the back up big hes not gonna start

[@marksines1246]

luka will have a lebronesque run in the west, 8-10 years of dominance, only jokic is a bad match up to them

[@karmaonline8815]

Lakers vs Knicks

[@Zrich98]

In the regular season yes this will happen

[@daj_leo4417]

fuck this topic, what happened to Zach Lowe?

[@hemanthkumar1967]

Denver coming out of the west essy answer

[@J-Hue]

They gotta be able to beat a 50 win team in the playoffs first. They won't be getting a cake walk of nothing but 45 win and worse teams.

[@imdbtruth]

Heard that last season too.

[@erensmith4116]

Media in US be like: wolves and okc other teams with black star players added role players become contender. meawhile in dallas added stars and good proven role players not a contender cuz luka is white and not american. 😂😂😂

[@J-Hue]

Luka didn't really add a star. They added a former star. That said, a white player MVP while averaging 15pts and 11 asts. Don't go thinking white players aren't getting unfair love, too.

[@cameronquarles9610]

Tired Of Y’all Bringing Up Last Years Playoffs. Dallas Got LUCKY And Won Because Wolves Were Gassed From Finish A 7 Game Series With Denver And Beat OKC Because Of Rebounding Plus The Inexperience Of The Young Team, If U Watched The Series PJ And DJJ Were Hitting Open 3s Because We Had Luka And Kyrie Locked Up For The Most Part

[@Damianoutlaw]

Mavs were already superior to OKC and Minnesota and they upgraded their roster

[@Damianoutlaw]

Luka is younger than SGA. OKC is overrated

[@jaredpurcell3982]

The nuggets will beat all 3 of them

[@MDB465]

With what bench 👀

[@MillanGamesPlay]

​@@MDB465Nah fr, and Kyrie hit that buzzer against the NBA MVP Jokic 😂😂😂

[@boblully5053]

@@MDB465bench don’t matter

[@MDB465]

@@boblully5053 if that’s what you think then you don’t know much about basketball

[@boblully5053]

@@MDB465 most teams play a 8 man rotation bench literally does not matter

[@JuanRomo-vl4hj]

Mavs