3 Signs of Growth Oklahoma City Thunder Must Display This Season
The Oklahoma City Thunder still have plenty of room to grow.
That's a scary thought, especially considering how well the team has played for the past five years. During that span, the Thunder have notched at least 50 wins every year except for 2011-12, when they won 47 games in a lockout-shortened season. That year, Oklahoma City ended up in the NBA Finals.
The presence of superstars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook has been both a gift and a curse. On the one hand, the greatness of the dynamic duo has transformed the Thunder into perennial title contenders. On the flip side, because Durant and Westbrook have been such an integral part to the team's success, it has masked many of the team's flaws.
That is why, for all of the talent on Oklahoma City's roster, there are no championship banners hanging up in Chesapeake Energy Arena. During their stretch among the NBA's elite, the Thunder have found as many reasons to disappoint as they have to succeed.
Key injuries have derailed the last two promising seasons. In the 2012-13 playoffs, Russell Westbrook's knee injury in a first-round series against the Houston Rockets hindered Oklahoma City's best shot at redemption, following their loss in the 2012 Finals. Last season, a late injury to Serge Ibaka hurt the team's chances of overthrowing the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals.
This season, there are no excuses. The Thunder must atone for past mistakes and emerge as a better team. More specifically, they must become a championship team. To do that, they'll need to show development in key areas.
Here are three signs of growth the team must display this season.
Better Ball Movement
This season, Thunder head coach has put an emphasis on moving the ball around more, per Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman.
""We’re athletic. We’re quick-hitting. We have attack players,” Brooks said. “But we want to be able to have the ball swing from side to side, body movement from side to side. We still want to take a shot when it’s open and not worry about making it or missing it along as it’s a good shot."
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Of course, a commitment to getting others involved starts with the guy charged with bringing the ball up the court. Fortunately, point guard Russell Westbrook is on board with his coach's demand to become a better passing team, per NBA.com's Jeff Caplan.
""I think that’s key. Moving the ball is definitely a big part of our improvement as a team,” Westbrook said. “It’s something that we made a conscious effort to be able to go into this year trying to do. There should be something that you see new from us."
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The Thunder averaged 21.9 assists per game last season, which was tied with the Memphis Grizzlies for 13th in the NBA. That's actually a step up from the past two seasons, when they finished 21st and 30th, respectively.
According to NBA.com, Oklahoma City was 26th in the league with 268.3 passes per game. The team also finished 15th in points created by assist per game (51.2). Despite their unwillingness to move the ball around, the Thunder still scored 106.2 points per game, which was good for fifth-best in the NBA.
This is a good example of how Westbrook and Durant's excellence overshadows the team's problems. On the surface, it's hard to notice any problems with the Thunder's offense because their two best players can score so effortlessly.
While Westbrook has averaged 6.9 assists per game during his six years in the league, he still tends to call his own number a lot. Imagine how much better this offense could be, if he decided to spread the ball around a little more. With the talent around him, Westbrook could be a double-digit assist guy on a nightly basis.
With an increased effort to distributing, the Thunder could finally move into the top 10 in assists per game. The extra passes will also open up opportunities for the whole team, which takes some of the scoring pressure off Durant and Westbrook. That will make an already-explosive offense even more efficient.
Development In Young Role Players
This offseason, the Thunder lost some quality veterans. Small forward Caron Butler signed with the Detroit Pistons. Perimeter defender Thabo Sefolosha opted to join the Atlanta Hawks. Point guard Derek Fisher retired and became the head coach of the New York Knicks.
The Thunder have spent years stockpiling young talent in the hope that they'd eventually become key contributors. That time has to be now. The team doesn't just need their young players to fill the void of those key departures. They also need them to provide quality depth.
The lack of a proven bench has hurt the Thunder in recent years. We saw it when Serge Ibaka went down in last year's playoffs. The team didn't have anyone that could even pass as an adequate replacement.
This season, there are a number of young role players poised to break out. Reggie Jackson is playing for a new contract next summer, and has proven of being a dynamic scorer. Steven Adams could finally wrestle the center job away from long-time starter Kendrick Perkins.
Shooting guard Jeremy Lamb raised his scoring average from 3.1 points per game as a rookie to 8.5 last season. According to Mayberry, the player that has made the biggest impact in training camp so far has been second-year man Andre Roberson.
""Perhaps it’s time we start focusing on what the second-year guard can do rather than what he can’t do, because after Sunday’s performance Roberson appears to be the favorite for the starting shooting guard position. His length, perimeter defense and rebounding ability are real weapons."
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Roberson's emergence helps the Thunder in a number of ways. First, his ascension to the starting rotation keeps Jackson on the bench, where he's best suited to be the team's sixth man. It also gives Oklahoma City a solid perimeter defender in the backcourt, which allows Westbrook to focus more on the offensive end.
As for Adams, his continued development will be huge as well. The Thunder have managed to get by with Perkins manning the middle. The problem is, for all of Perkins' prowess as an interior defender, he limits what the team can do offensively. Adams is still growing as a scoring option, but he has the speed and athleticism to be better than Perkins by default.
Lamb's shooting (35.6 percent from three last year) and McGary's toughness will come in handy as well. When you throw in veteran shooter Anthony Morrow and combo forward Perry Jones III, the Thunder's second unit has the potential to be exponentially better than it has been in years.
However, that is contingent on the young guys stepping up. If they do, there will be few teams that can compete with the Thunder's balance. If they don't, it will put a lot more pressure on the team's core to carry the load.
Better Coaching
Of course, the key to the Thunder's championship hopes starts at the top. No matter how great a team is, they will only go as far as the man leading them. Do you know why the San Antonio Spurs have managed to stay on top for so long? They have Gregg Popovich. How have the Chicago Bulls survived with Derrick Rose missing most of the last two seasons? Tom Thibodeau doesn't let them get complacent.
In Oklahoma City, head coach Scott Brooks has taken his share of criticism for failing to make a champion out of one of the most talented rosters in basketball. Bleacher Report's own Kelly Scaletta may have said it best when he tweeted "Brooks is not a good coach. He's Kevin Durant's coach."
One of the biggest knocks on Brooks is his reluctance to adapt, particularly when it comes to making changes in his starting lineup. His bullish refusal to steer away from Perkins as his starting center, despite the big man having one of the worst seasons of his career (3.4 points, 4.9 rebounds), was like Rocky Balboa refusing to throw in the towel while Ivan Drago pounded on Apollo Creed in Rocky IV.
To his credit, Brooks has earned the respect of his players. During the team's exit interviews in June, both Durant and Westbrook showed support for their beleaguered coach, per Young.
"That's our guy. I'm riding with him." Durant said.
Westbrook added:
"Ever since I’ve been here and Scotty became the coach, he’s done a great job in having confidence in me personally. There’s times where things have gone south and he’s the only that always, always had my back, regardless of what happened. People saying I was doing this or doing that, being selfish, being that, he was always the first person to step up and have my back and support me regardless of what’s going on. I think he does a great job of always staying positive and trusting in our guys and trusting in our team."
It's easy for Durant and Westbrook to defend Brooks. His offensive philosophy over the years has been to put the ball in their hands and pray something good happens, as ProBasketballTalk's Kurt Helin pointed out over the summer:
"There are a lot of voices around the NBA suggesting it is time for Scott Brooks to go, for a new coach to see if he can lift this team to the next level. There is logic to the argument — the Thunder run pretty simple offensive sets, ones that rely heavily on the creativity of Westbrook and Durant, but that leave the other players without as much of a defined role. The role players on this team sometimes play their role, sometimes, step up, but their definition of what to do is more nebulous.
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Brooks has also shown a Dusty Baker-esque need to run his star players ragged. Durant played a combined 130 minutes in the final three games of the regular season, 45 of which came in the meaningless finale against the Detroit Pistons. Is it any wonder that KD complained a fatigue this summer?
The Thunder will only go as far as Brooks takes them. If he evolves as a coach, Oklahoma City could finally bring home an NBA championship. If he sticks to his guns and the team falters again, he could be looking for a new job. His ability to learn from past mistakes will be the most important factor for the Thunder this season.
Like any young team, the Oklahoma City Thunder must show some growth this season. Scott Brooks has to grow as a coach. Russell Westbrook has to grow as a passer. Ibaka must continue to become a more complete forward. Steven Adams, Andre Roberson and Reggie Jackson must grow as role players.
It's possible that this team has only scratched the surface of their potential. That begs the question: If the Thunder are already among the NBA's elite, how great will they be once they put it all together?
(All statistics courtesy of basketballreference.com, unless otherwise noted)
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