Rebuilt Oklahoma City Thunder Put All the Pressure on Scott Brooks to Deliver
As the Oklahoma City Thunder get closer to full strength, the temperature beneath the seat of head coach Scott Brooks will continue to rise. The team has the talent and depth to be a sneaky championship contender, but it is up to Brooks to get the most out of his revamped roster.
Brooks has had a tremendous amount of regular-season success (328-198, 62.4 percent) since inheriting the Thunder 14 games into the 2008-09 season, but it hasn't translated in the playoffs (39-34, 53.4 percent). During Brooks' tenure, the team has made it to two conference finals as well as a trip to the NBA finals.
However, despite having two of the league's best players in Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, Brooks has failed to bring a championship back to Oklahoma City.
The former NBA point guard has been criticized over the years for his dependency on the team's dynamic duo, his unwillingness to adapt as well as having a simplistic offensive scheme that has become predictable.
Jared Dubin of Grantland.com pointed out these flaws last April.
"But it’s become increasingly clear — while watching the Thunder in their series against the Memphis Grizzlies, while watching play after play break down because of a borderline criminal lack of secondary action, while watching Durant and Westbrook play “your turn, my turn” with the offense for minutes at a time, while watching the same late-game sets they’ve been running for years and that everyone and their mother knows are coming — that Brooks has taken this team as far as he can, that this is the end of the line, and that it’s time to move on.
"
This season, Brooks has done an admirable job of keeping the Thunder afloat after injuries led to a 3-12 start and continued to be an issue throughout the year. The team has won seven of its last 10 and holds the tiebreaker over the New Orleans Pelicans for the eighth seed in the West. Brooks also earned Western Conference Coach of the Month after leading his men to a 9-3 record in February, per NBA.com.
The next step for Brooks is making a champion out of a roster built to win now . The team added center Enes Kanter and guard Dion Waiters via in-season trades to boost its interior offense and bench scoring, respectively. OKC is also getting an MVP-caliber season from Westbrook, who is averaging 27.4 points, 8.3 assists, 7.4 rebounds, 2.1 steals and has notched a triple-double in five of his last six games. With his recent increase in workouts, Durant could be nearing a return after missing the last nine games with foot troubles.
In order to finally reach the top of the NBA mountain, the Thunder will probably need to win four straight playoff series without the benefit of home-court advantage. Once Durant returns, the team should have the pieces in place to make a spirited run, but does Brooks have what it takes to put the championship puzzle together?
No Room For Failure
Critical injuries to Westbrook (torn meniscus, 2013) and Serge Ibaka (calf, 2014) have derailed the Thunder's championship hopes the past two seasons. Both setbacks exposed the team's lack of depth as well as Brooks' inability to adapt.
To help alleviate the first concern, general manager Sam Presti went to great lengths to address any potential needs. He upgraded the center position by swapping the slow, plodding stylings of Kendrick Perkins for a young, athletic post scorer in the 22-year-old Kanter. Since joining the team, Kanter has averaged 14.3 points and 9.3 rebounds per game.
He bolstered the second unit by not only adding a talented offensive creator in Waiters but also removing disgruntled point guard Reggie Jackson and replacing him with quality role players such as D.J. Augustin and Kyle Singler. The team also added Steve Novak, who holds a career 43.3 percent mark from downtown but is currently recovering from an appendectomy. Unlike Waiters and Jackson, Augustin and Singler are all capable of spacing the floor, as seen in the chart below.
| Name | Minutes Per Game | Points Per Game | Field-Goal Percentage | Three-Point Percentage |
| Waiters | 28.2 | 11.1 | 37.8 | 27.8 |
| Augustin | 27.3 | 10.3 | 40.3 | 39.0 |
| Singler | 19.4 | 4.0 | 30.8 | 33.3 |
With these moves, the Thunder now have a bench that can take pressure off the first string. The team already has one of the best triumvirates in Westbrook, Ibaka and Durant. Westbrook has been red-hot since the All-Star break, while Ibaka leads the league with 155 blocks and has spaced the floor with his 37.4 percent mark from three. Plus, the eventual return of Durant (25.4 points, 6.6 rebounds) will only make the team more formidable.
Of course, with all of this talent comes greater expectations, and Brooks knows his team doesn't have a crutch to fall back on this time around, according to the Associated Press' Cliff Brunt.
"The thing I love about our team — there’s no excuses,” Brooks said in February. “This is the season that we are dealing with. It’s not over. There’s plenty of games left. We don’t know how it’s going to end, but I do know — I’m positive about this — that our group is going to continue to play hard and for each other.
"
Presti has done his job in providing Brooks with a deep and talented roster that can pose problems for whoever draws the Thunder in the playoffs. Westbrook has compensated for the void left by Durant's injury by taking his game to another level. If Brooks can't turn this team into a champion, he has nobody to blame but himself.
Questions Left To Be Answered
Before they can be considered a legitimate championship threat, the Thunder have some loose ends that need to be tied up.
With the return of Steven Adams from a broken hand on March 8, the club now has a quandary at the center position for the first time in recent memory. Do they stick with Kanter or go back to Adams? Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman seems to favor the former.
"Kanter’s skills also have ushered in more balance to a starting lineup that has long featured two offensively-challenged players. Adams was an upgrade over Kendrick Perkins. Kanter now looks like a quantum leap over both. With Kanter on the floor as a legitimate offensive threat, defenses no longer can sag off the center position and dedicate more attention to Westbrook or Kevin Durant without paying a price. It could create the most potent attack we've ever seen from the Thunder.
"
The downside to going with Kanter is his lack of defensive chops. According to NBA.com, opponents are shooting 50 percent against the Turkish big man as opposed to 43 percent against Adams. Brooks could tailor his lineup depending on the matchup, but it is imperative he finds a way to keep both guys happy.
Next, Brooks is faced with the uncertain return of Durant and how he will reincorporate the reigning MVP back into the offense once he's cleared to play. KD was re-evaluated this week, but Brooks hasn't given his star forward the green light to step back on the floor, per Andrew Gilman of Fox Sports Oklahoma.
"Still not practicing with the group. He's still doing his rehab work and has to continue to reach those benchmarks before he steps on with the guys and has contact. He's coming along. He still has to go through all the steps along the way." Brooks said.
Durant's return will lighten some of the load on Westbrook, who leads the league with a usage rate of 38.5 percent, per Basketball-Reference.com. The former Texas star will only have a short amount of time to regain his rhythm and prove he can handle the grind of the postseason.
Fortunately for Brooks and Co., the upcoming schedule will cut them a little slack. Seven of the team's next eight games will be at home, where the Thunder are 21-8 this season. If there was an ideal time for The Durantula to find his form, it would be during this stretch.
Scott Brooks deserves credit for keeping the Oklahoma City Thunder in the playoff hunt despite a slew of injuries and roster shuffling. Much like Brooks during his playing career, the team has proven the doubters wrong by continuing to defy the odds.
However, with a loaded roster filled with potential, Brooks will have to do more than keep this team above water to keep those calling for his dismissal at arm's length. Much like Russell Westbrook, Brooks will have to push himself to another level to get the Thunder where they need to be.
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
