Oklahoma City Thunder's Biggest Red Flags Entering This Season

The NBA preseason could have been worse for the Oklahoma City Thunder, but not much worse. Exhibition play exposed a number of red flags that could hinder the team's potential. 

The Thunder crawled out of the preseason with a 2-5 record. Injuries mounted up. The most notable was Kevin Durant's fractured foot, which required surgery and is expected to sideline the reigning MVP for six to eight weeks. In his absence, the team went 1-4, including losing its last four games. 

In those four games, the Thunder lost by an average of 21.2 points (per DailyThunder.com's Royce Young). Three of those four losses came at the hands of teams that didn't make the playoffs last season (New Orleans Pelicans, Minnesota Timberwolves, Utah Jazz). Even without Durant, those are games Oklahoma City should have won. 

As the team's focus shifts to the regular season, here are a few troublesome issues that need to be worked out. 

Defensive Woes

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While offense has typically been Oklahoma City's calling card, the Thunder have been solid defensively as well. In the past two seasons, the team hasn't finished lower than 12th in points allowed per game. Last season, they gave up 99.8 points a night. 

In this year's preseason, opponents gouged the Thunder's defense to the tune of 110.8 points per contest. After the team's 105-91 loss to the Utah Jazz, head coach Scott Brooks had this to say, per The Associated Press:

"We have some things that we have to tighten up on," Brooks said. "Defensively, we've got to get better within this next week before we start our first game."

That would be an understatement. Jazz center Enes Kanter went for 27 points and seven rebounds. Point guard Trey Burke added 23 on 9-of-16 shooting, including 3-of-4 from behind the arc.

Yes, it's the preseason. Yes, the team was without superb interior defender Kendrick Perkins, but giving up nearly 111 points per game has to be a little concerning, no?

Serge Ibaka and Steven Adams, who will likely be the team's starting frontcourt for this season and years to come, were out there together for most of the preseason. Andre Roberson, a second-year defensive stopper out of Colorado, also logged significant minutes as he tried to lock down the starting shooting guard spot. 

None of that seemed to matter to opposing offenses. It certainly wasn't an issue for the New Orleans Pelicans, who scored 120 points en route to their 34-point victory Oct. 14. The Pellies also shot 55.4 percent from the field, compared to Oklahoma City's 39.1 percent. 

The defense will improve once the team gets closer to full strength. The question is, by how much? Are young role players like Adams and Roberson ready for prime time, or will the defense continue to suffer as it goes through its growing pains? 

Uncertainty on the Wing

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The Thunder came into the preseason needing to solidify two positions: center and shooting guard. Then, Kevin Durant went down with a foot injury, and the need for an interim starter at small forward became a priority as well. 

Now, Oklahoma City's preseason is in the books. Steven Adams' strong play (66 percent from the floor, 12.7 points and 6.8 rebounds per game) combined with Kendrick Perkins' quad injury pretty much locked down the center spot for Adams. 

The shooting guard and small forward spots aren't as certain. 

Anthony Morrow is a sensible replacement for Durant, but unfortunately Morrow sustained a sprained MCL and is expected to miss the start of the regular season.

The other option is Perry Jones. At 6'11", Jones has the size advantage over a lot of his opposition, and he's coming off back-to-back 20-plus point performances. 

At shooting guard, Andre Roberson appears to be the favorite to win the job. He gives the Thunder's backcourt a defensive presence, and his ascension to the starting lineup is likely aided by Jeremy Lamb's poor shooting (24-of-79 from the field, including 4-of-28 from behind the arc). 

Poor Three-Point Shooting

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The Thunder struggled mightily from three-point range during the preseason. In seven games, the team went a combined 47-of-155 from beyond the arc (30.3 percent). Anthony Morrow (13-of-29), Serge Ibaka (3-of-6) and Nick Collison (2-of-2) were the team's only saving grace from deep. 

With the team needing to replace Kevin Durant's offense, it can ill-afford to have its outside shooters go cold. Russell Westbrook, who is supposed to lead the offensive charge in Durant's absence, went a putrid 1-of-10 from deep.

Jeremy Lamb was even worse, going 4-of-28.

Three-point shooting was an issue for Oklahoma City last season too. The team shot 36.1 percent from downtown, which was 14th in the NBA. That's why they brought in Morrow, a career 42.8 percent three-point shooter, but he won't be able to help until after the regular season begins. 

The Durant injury has exposed the team's lack of dependable shooters. After Morrow, who is the next Thunder player you want taking a three? Westbrook, and his career 30.5 percent from deep? Ibaka, who has never attempted more than 60 threes in a single season?

With Durant out and the three not falling, the Thunder need to come up with alternatives for putting points on the board. Morrow can't save them every night, and he can't do anything until he's back from his injury. They may need to pound the ball inside with Steven Adams or run even more isolation plays for Westbrook.

Otherwise, things could get ugly until Durant returns.

Lack of Depth

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Preseason injuries have decimated the Thunder's roster. As a result, the team's lack of quality depth has been exposed. 

First, Kendrick Perkins strained his quad before training camp. Then, rookie Mitch McGary suffered a fracture in his foot during the preseason opener against the Denver Nuggets. Next, guard Reggie Jackson injured his right wrist in a game against the Dallas Mavericks. 

Most notably, there was Kevin Durant's Jones fracture and subsequent foot surgery that could keep him out until December, maybe longer. 

Beyond those injuries, Serge Ibaka, Anthony Morrow and Nick Collison all dealt with sprained ankles, and now Morrow is sidelined with his sprained MCL for the foreseeable future.

The misfortune with injuries can be interpreted one of two ways. You can choose to believe that, since we haven't seen the team at full strength, we don't know its true potential yet. After all, how much can you learn about a team playing Michael Jenkins for 21 minutes, like the Thunder did in the finale against the Jazz? 

On the flip side, what does it say about the team's depth that it had to play Jenkins in the first place? Jenkins logged 17.7 minutes per game during the preseason, mainly because injuries forced him on to the floor. When Jackson comes back, Jenkins will be lucky to see the floor. 

Still, the team looked sloppy at both ends of the court with Durant sidelined. What will another key injury do to this team? Who takes over the offense if Westbrook goes down? Who plays power forward if something happens to Ibaka? 

For a team with championship aspirations, the Thunder are very star-dependent. Beyond Jackson, there isn't anyone on the team's second unit that you can trust to provide a spark. If Westbrook's knee gets balky, the team will be forced to turn to Sebastian Telfair to play heavy minutes. 

Russell Westbrook's Disappointing Numbers

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The basketball world never got a true taste of what life would be like if the Thunder suddenly became Russell Westbrook's team. After all, Kevin Durant had been so durable during his seven-year career in the NBA that Westbrook being the lead dog in Oklahoma City seemed like a fantasy. 

Until now. 

When Durant went down, the weight instantly fell on Westbrook's shoulders to carry the Thunder. There was so much optimism, too. With Durant out, the offense now ran solely through one of the league's most dynamic playmakers. It was going to be Must-See TV. 

Bleacher Report's own Ric Bucher wrote a piece about how Durant's injury could put Westbrook in the MVP conversation.

However, Westbrook struggled mightily in the preseason. He shot 36.9 percent from the field, including a paltry 10 percent from three. He averaged 4.1 turnovers per game, including committing seven against the Memphis Grizzlies on Oct. 14.

Without Durant, Westbrook contributed 13.7 points and 6.7 assists per game. Those aren't the kind of numbers one expects from an MVP candidate. He also took just 65 shots in six games. Is he saving his best for when the games actually matter? Time will tell.

Regardless, if someone told you Westbrook would be the leading the Thunder offense without Kevin Durant and score just 13.7 points per game, you'd probably be disappointed. Oklahoma City needs Westbrook now more than ever, and what we've seen so far isn't going to cut it.