OKC Thunder's Supporting Cast Key to Surviving Without Kevin Durant

So far, all indications are that Kevin Durant's right ankle will be fine. The Oklahoma City Thunder's staff had to convince Durant to sit out the second half of the team's 114-109 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Thursday, and once again got their way on Friday, though Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com spotted the reigning MVP without any injury-related gear on. 

Still, after playing their first 17 games of the 2014-15 NBA season without Durant, the Thunder are likely well-prepared to keep their ship afloat in his absence. That, of course, will require Russell Westbrook to maintain more of his same excellence since returning from an early season hand injury. 

But even Westbrook, as great as he is, can't do it alone. The onus must also fall on the shoulders of those soldiers OKC has groomed to support its two superstars through thick and thin.

The Thunder got just enough from their role players to escape the Staples Center with a 104-103 win over the lackluster Los Angeles Lakers.

Steven Adams, OKC's newish starting center, accounted for nine points, 10 rebounds and one key coaxing of the Lakers' Nick Young into a flagrant-2 foul and a subsequent ejection. Andre Roberson chipped in 10 points and seven boards of his own while spearheading the Thunder's blanketing of Kobe Bryant (3-of-15 shooting, three turnovers).

"Andre Roberson did a great job of locking in and also us helping him a little bit," Westbrook told SportsCenter after the game. "Kobe, obviously, is one of the greatest to ever play this game. We got to beat him defensively as a team."

Serge Ibaka certainly had a hand in that—and the rest of OKC's defensive effort—as well. He swatted a game-high five shots, in addition to the 16 points and seven boards he contributed. 

But no member of the Thunder's second tier had a better game than did Reggie Jackson. The fourth-year guard out of Boston College scored or assisted on 12 of OKC's final 18 points of the game, including a pair of free throws to give the Thunder the lead for good at 102-101.

Indeed, Jackson's showing in L.A. was his finest since being relegated back to the bench upon Westbrook's return in late November. In fact, Jackson scored one more point against the Lakers (25) than he had over his previous four outings (24), and did so far more efficiently (60 percent from the field on Friday vs. 34.4 percent in his four prior games).

Of course, having a dominant talent like Westbrook on the court makes it that much easier for his teammates to thrive. Opposing defenses have to game-plan heavily for a guy who can fly around the floor to amass 31 points, 10 assists and 13 free-throw attempts, as Westbrook did against his hometown team.

"My job is to be able to find a way to get other guys involved," Westbrook said. "Tonight, I think we did a good job of that."

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OKC can take heart, too, in the room for growth among the rest of its role players. Anthony Morrow (seven points on 2-of-5 shooting) has scored in double figures 11 times in 20 games, but he didn't find his shooting touch in such high demand against the Lakers. Jeremy Lamb has been held to single digits in each of his last six games, though he's proven in the past that he can fill it up as well. Perry Jones needn't do much more than keep Durant's starting spot warm, so long as the Thunder can draw a bolt of lightning from elsewhere.

Then again, failing to register a single meaningful stat in 12 minutes of action isn't going to cut it against competition stronger than this sad Lakers squad.

Those guys will have their opportunities to shine if KD has to rest his ankle over an extended stretch. The Thunder will certainly need them to if that proves to be the case.

To some extent, getting OKC's supporting cast going now could bode well for Durant in the long run, as Bleacher Report's Alec Nathan noted:

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With Westbrook, Ibaka and a burgeoning supporting cast including Jones, Anthony Morrow and Steven Adams, among others, there's plenty of space for Durant to earn some added breathers while the Thunder carve out a playoff niche.

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The thing is, the Thunder can't start carving out that niche just yet. At 13-14, OKC remains a game back of the New Orleans Pelicans for eighth place in the impossibly crowded Western Conference. They can ill-afford to slip up for any amount of time from here on out, lest they subject themselves to a dogfight with the Pelicans and Phoenix Suns for a postseason berth come March and April.

The need for OKC's other players to perform won't be quite so urgent if Durant finds himself back in the lineup against the Pelicans on Sunday, or two nights later against the Portland Trail Blazers or whenever it is that he's able to play. At some point, though, the Thunder will have little choice but to turn to their non-KD-Russ contingent to contribute in a big way when their season is on the line.

In the meantime, then, the Thunder can parlay their need for strong play from their bit-part players now into a sturdier, more resilient squad that can withstand the rigors of the wild, wild West come spring, when the games really matter.

And OKC will really need KD.

Josh Martin covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter.

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