Return of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook Could Save the Thunder Just in Time
On the surface, it seemed like such simple-happy news: Following a frustrating first month of the season, the Oklahoma City Thunder could welcome back their superstar duo—Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook—as early as next week, according to The Oklahoman’s Anthony Slater.
Few doubt that the Thunder’s climb will be a trying one, especially after a 3-11 start puts them squarely in the Western Conference basement.
The question is whether Durant and Westbrook’s much anticipated return might be an avalanche too late.
Let's start with the obvious: With the gap between the conferences wider than it’s ever been, even securing the eighth seed in the Western Conference—currently occupied by the Los Angeles Clippers—is far from assured for the Thunder. Particularly not with upstarts like the Sacramento Kings (No. 9) and New Orleans Pelicans (No. 10) waiting willfully in the wings.
And that’s before you get to the murderer’s row of forces further up the ladder. The Phoenix Suns (No. 7), the San Antonio Spurs (No. 6) and Houston Rockets (No. 5) are just a few of the faces not liable to shy away anytime soon.
It’s never wise to project final pictures from 17 percent of the season, of course. Wider gaps have been surmounted under far weirder circumstances.
But the Thunder haven't done themselves any favors with their poor play or their cursed injury woes. With respect to the latter, the luck is almost ludicrous. Beyond Westbrook and Durant, Perry Jones and Reggie Jackson—stopgap starters both—have missed chunks of time with knee and ankle maladies, respectively.
That, it can safely be said, is beyond OKC’s control. How the team has managed in its superstars’ absence, however, has been far from encouraging.
Things started off innocently enough, as the Thunder plodded off to an eminently manageable 3-6 start. That’s when the wheels officially started flying off. In the five games since, OKC has registered the league’s 28th-ranked offense (92. 1 Offensive Rating) and 23rd-ranked defense (101.3 Defensive Rating) en route to its current 0-5 slide, per NBA.com.
With their depth demolished, it was only a matter of time before the Thunder started sinking hard. All the while, the play of Jackson—who currently leads the team in both points (19.9) and assists (7.7)—has become a much-needed silver lining around an ominous cloud, even while questions of chemistry loom large in the distance. From SB Nation’s Jesus Gomez:
"A more confident and aggressive Jackson is proving to be a great asset for this watered down version of the Thunder. In many ways, him embracing the role of leader is their best hope of remaining competitive while Westbrook and Kevin Durant are out. But how will the chemistry be affected when the superstars return and Jackson has to be reined in? Jackson's emergence could catapult OKC to a title or harm the delicate balance of the locker room. It's impossible to tell what will happen.
And it's because of that unpredictability that the Thunder and especially Jackson are so fun to watch.
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At this point, “fun” has become something of a relative term. Even with Durant and Westbrook raring for a much-heralded return, the road to redemption stands to be a rancorous one indeed for the Thunder.
After a three-game homestand the week of Thanksgiving, seven of OKC’s next 10 games are on the road—a stretch that includes away dates with conference foes the Pelicans, Kings and Golden State Warriors.
The big picture doesn’t look much rosier: With the 8-5 Suns currently on a pace similar to that of the eighth-seeded Dallas Mavericks a season ago (49-33), the Thunder would have to finish 46-22 (a winning percentage of .676) just to match that theoretical feat. And that’s before even knowing the exact date of Durant and Westbrook’s return.
For a team with a .708 win clip over the past four seasons, such a pace is more than doable, of course. It’s when you consider the X-factors—the shedding of injury rust, a recalibration of chemistry—that OKC’s prospects start to assume a murkier hue.
One thing the Thunder won’t entertain, however, is calling off the dogs in hopes of some draft-day coup.
"I don’t really pay much attention to other people’s thoughts on our team," Brooks said, per Sean Deveney of Sporting News. "I know what we’re about, I know what our organization is about. Everybody has their opinion and they’re entitled to that. Tanking is not something that we will consider.”
Had Durant and Westbrook suffered more serious setbacks, Brooks’ tune may well have been different. As it is, the Thunder—steep though the stakes may be—have more than a few factors working in their favor, from relative roster continuity to loudly loyal fans to their dynamic duo’s peerless basketball pedigree.
Indeed, for all the bruised bones and egos, there is scarcely another team (save perhaps for the Spurs or Chicago Bulls) better equipped to bring its foremost faces seamlessly back into the fold.
The story of the Oklahoma City Thunder over the past few seasons is one with no shortage of curious turns and dramatic detours. This year will be no different.
The degree of difficulty Durant and Westbrook now face—to not only scratch and claw their way back above the conference fold, but to exorcise years worth of late-Spring demons—is starker and scarier than perhaps any that have come before.
Good thing, then, that some of the best tales end with the heroes forever forging ahead, pages and pages after first being left for dead.
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