Enes Kanter Becoming Russell Westbrook, OKC Thunder's Surprise Wingman

Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder are no longer in the market for a stat-stuffing sidekick to offset the untimely absences of Kevin Durant and Serge Ibaka.

They have Enes Kanter.

It's a turn of events no one could have foreseen. Kanter wasn't even on the roster until Oklahoma City struck a last-minute trade at the Feb. 19 deadline, and it has taken a legion of injuries and setbacks for both parties to reach this point, where they have a mutually urgent need for one another.

Ibaka will likely miss the remainder of the regular season after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his right knee. Durant, meanwhile, is out indefinitely after experiencing additional soreness in his twice-surgically repaired right foot. 

If general manager Sam Presti's comments are any indication, Durant has already played his last game of the season, per The Washington Post's Michael Lee:

Both players are impossible to replace. Durant is the NBA's reigning MVP, and those don't grow on trees or fall from the sky. Ibaka is the only player to average at least two blocks in each of the last five seasons and has developed into the consummate stretch 4.

Without them, the Thunder—relative to who they should be—are barely a Western Conference roadblock.

Still, the season isn't over. The Thunder continue to fight for a playoff berth—an eighth-place finish to which Westbrook could very well carry them himself, but one that's likelier to mean something if he isn't alone.

Kanter has ensured Westbrook isn't alone. That much has become obvious since his arrival and is only growing clearer by the game.

The Utah Jazz castoff is averaging 17.7 points and 10.9 rebounds on 57.2 percent shooting through 15 appearances. Oklahoma City's thorough deconstruction of the Miami Heat on Sunday saw him pump in 27 points on 12-of-20 shooting to go along with 12 boards. He followed that outing with a 25-point, 16-rebound, four-assist effort in a win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday.

So, what gives? What is the source of Kanter's sudden superpowers?

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Well, first off, his rise is not without strings attached. The Thunder offense is statistically better with him on the floor, but the defense is noticeably worse.

Playing beside even one megastar has also helped a great deal. He didn't have that luxury in Utah, where the best players are fringe stars (Gordon Hayward, Joe Ingles Derrick Favors, etc.).

When Westbrook is on the floor, Kanter is shooting nearly 10 percentage points higher than his success rate with him on the bench. He is more of a defensive afterthought in those situations, even with Durant and Ibaka on the sidelines, making it easier for him to slip through defensive cracks at the elbows and draw one-on-one matchups in the post.

There are natural benefits that come with additional playing time, too. And yet, Kanter's usage rate is down and his shot totals are only slightly higher.

He's not the featured scorer of a second unit instructed to feed him the ball. He's a secondary option who's sometimes relegated to third fiddle when both Dion Waiters and Westbrook are in the game.

Again, what gives?

Oklahoma City.

Much like the Thunder are allowing Westbrook to be Westbrook, they're encouraging Kanter to be Kanter, empowering him to be the player he wasn't in Utah.

Jesus Gomez of SB Nation has more:

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Playing closer to the rim has resulted in an increase in the number of offensive rebounds and free throws Kanter gets. Kanter is also posting up more and excelling, ranking in the 87th percentile in the league since joining the Thunder. To put it in simple terms, all he needed to unleash his potential as an offensive player was the opportunity to play like a traditional big man.

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Quin Snyder, Utah's rookie head honcho, attempted to groom the 22-year-old into a floor-spacing big man to little consequence. Kanter left firing away but shooting just 31.7 percent from beyond the arc.

The Thunder have done away with that philosophy. Head coach Scott Brooks has Kanter primarily operating on the block, where he's most comfortable and best suited.

More than 60 percent of his shot attempts are coming within three feet of the cup, and he's hitting 64.9 percent of them. Though the Thunder haven't completely eliminated his jumper—11.6 percent of his attempts come between 16 feet and the three-point line—his field-goal distribution is nothing like it was with the Jazz:

Most of his shots are coming closer to the basket, hence his drastic uptick in free-throw attempts and offensive rebounds.

It's that simple. He's being used as a traditional 4, mainly bodying up with his back to the basket. While his pick-and-roll usage is basically the same, he's scoring far more frequently within them because of those higher-percentage looks.

This style of play is much better for him, and it shows—not just in the box score, but in the way Kanter carries himself.

"He's just a lot more comfortable here I think," Steven Adams said after Sunday's win, per The Oklahoman's Anthony Slater. "He's just more aggressive. He just seems happy, playing more excited."

As long as the Thunder continue using him as more of a classic power forward, there's no reason to suspect this productive and engaged version of Kanter will change. Good thing, too.

Sue Ogrocki/Associated Press

Short on star power and hobbled beyond anticipation, they still have a three-game hold on the West's eighth and final playoff spot leading into Wednesday night's tilt against the San Antonio Spurs. Though that's a sizable lead, it's not an insurmountable gap. Not with their luck, and most definitely not with Anthony Davis still swallowing worlds.

Without Durant and Ibaka, the Thunder are neither legitimate contenders nor capable of feigning such status.

More than half of their final games come against opponents above .500, they haven't defeated a fellow Western Conference playoff team in over a month, and clinching a playoff berth only guarantees them a date with the Golden State Warriors—never mind a championship.

Survival is now the primary goal.

If they're to have a hope of salvaging this season, the Thunder need that X-factor, that potent force behind Westbrook who gives them the appearance of being more than a first-round formality.

And as it turns out, they have exactly who they need in Kanter.

Stats courtesy of Basketball-Reference and NBA.com and are accurate heading into games on March 25.