Enes Kanter Proving to Be Permanent Fixture in OKC Thunder's Starting Lineup

With each impressive performance, Enes Kanter is making it harder for Steven Adams to reclaim his spot as the Oklahoma City Thunder's starting center. Kanter's offensive contributions and chemistry with Russell Westbrook are a large part of why the Turkish Tower should remain with the first string.

The case can be made that Kanter is one of the NBA's most improved players since the start of the season's second half.

In 18 games, the 22-year-old is averaging 17.3 points, 10.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists, all of which would represent career highs if established over the course of a full season. By comparison, the big man contributed 13.8 points, 7.8 boards and 0.5 dimes in 49 games with the Jazz this season prior to being traded.

The small sample size plays into the inflation of Kanter's stats, but there are other reasons for his transformation as well.

With Kevin Durant (foot) out for the season and Serge Ibaka (knee) sidelined until at least the playoffs, Kanter gets to play a bigger offensive role behind Westbrook and is receiving a lion's share of the playing time as the team's pivot man.

The big bruiser is attempting 12.4 shots and logging 30 minutes per game, both above his averages during his time in Salt Lake City.

The other factor is the sheer joy Kanter gets from playing in Oklahoma City. Any time he's asked about his new surroundings, it seems he can't control his giddiness, per ESPN.com's Royce Young. 

"It's everything," Kanter said. "The fans, the coaches, the team, the atmosphere is amazing. Everything is falling into place and I've never felt anything like that before. It's so different."

So, how is playing in OKC different from your time in Utah, Enes?

"

I think the difference is, I like playing basketball there [in Oklahoma City]. I think that's the most important thing. I never liked playing basketball before in my NBA career, and this is the first time I felt like playing basketball there, for my team, for the fans, for my teammates for my coaches, for everybody. So, that's the first time.

"

With that bad experience behind him, it seems he has rededicated his career to becoming the interior scoring force the Thunder have never had.

Since his arrival on Feb. 19, Kanter has given OKC everything it could have hoped for—and then some. After notching 14 doubles-doubles in 49 games for the Jazz, Kanter has 12 in his first five weeks with his new squad, which is evidence of the immediate impact the big guy has made.

Kanter has needed to impress on offense to compensate for his defensive shortcomings. The Thunder post an offensive rating of 107.9 with Kanter on the court but give it right back on the other end with a defensive rating of 108.3. He also has a plus/minus of plus-2.8 when he's on the floor.

Still, Kanter's presence adds a new dimension to the Thunder offense. As seen below, the franchise has never had a center who is a threat as both a scorer and a rebounder before:

The key to Kanter's offensive improvement is the team's commitment to keeping him around the rim, where he's a 66.6 percent shooter.

In Utah, he was occasionally moved out to the three-point line and Derrick Favors was used as the battering ram inside. In Oklahoma City, Kanter has yet to attempt a trey, and that doesn't seem likely to change.

In the paint, Kanter exhibits an uncanny blend of speed, power and quick feet. In this clip from his recent return to Utah, the big man gets not one, not two, but three different Jazz defenders off their feet with a series of slick moves.

When is the last time the Thunder had a center who could do something like that? I'll go on a limb and say plays like that won't be found in Kendrick Perkins' career highlight reel.

Rookie Mitch McGary is impressed by Kanter's work inside, per Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman. 

"He's just really skilled, knows how to finish around the rim and has good footwork," McGary said. "So when he gets deep in the paint, there's really no stopping him. Dude's an ox."

Another benefit to having Kanter inside is it allows him to showcase his excellent work on the glass.

Kanter is posting a total rebounding percentage of 19.2 percent with the Thunder as well as 17.8 percent on the offensive boards. The Detroit Pistons' Andre Drummond is the only starting big man with an offensive rebounding percentage above 18 percent.

The presence of Kanter has had a positive impact on Adams. Oddly enough, with defenses keying on the other "Bruise Brother" and less pressure to be a scorer, the big Kiwi has put together some of his best offensive performances of the season.

After scoring in double digits just 15 times in the first 50 games, Adams has achieved the feat in seven of his last nine contests playing alongside Kanter.

Prior to re-entering the starting lineup in place of Ibaka, Adams was doing well in a bench role. In three games as a reserve, the 21-year-old put up an offensive rating of 104.3 and a defensive rating of 93.4.

Kanter is also quickly forming a bond with Westbrook, giving the team a nice inside-outside combination. Westbrook has dished on 51 of Kanter's 126 makes in OKC, which is more than any of the big fella's other teammates all season. The two have only been together for 16 games.

In a weird twist of irony, Kanter and Westbrook have become a new-age, hipster version of Karl Malone and John Stockton, dazzling as an effective pick-and-roll duo.

The Thunder have utilized Kanter as the roll man on 20.3 percent of his possessions, and he's responded by ranking in the 69.0 percentile. He's also scoring on 51.7 percent of those plays and averaging 1.05 points per possession.

"He’s a big fella that likes to roll, and obviously he can finish,” Westbrook said, per Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman. “He can knock down the 15-footer as well so it’s a double threat for him. And we’re just going to create better chemistry as the season goes along."

The connection between Kanter and Westbrook couldn't have come at a better time for the Thunder. With Durant and Ibaka out, Oklahoma City desperately needed a tag team partner for its star point guard.

The club can survive Kanter's defensive shortcomings by utilizing an enforcer like Adams, but it wouldn't be able to remain competitive without Kanter becoming the Robin to Westbrook's Batman.

Melissa Majchrzak/Getty Images

At one point, it seemed Kanter was just keeping the seat warm for when Adams returned from a broken hand. Instead, Kanter continues to solidify his spot by being the interior scoring presence the Oklahoma City Thunder never had in past eras with Adams, Perkins, Nick Collison and Nenad Krstic.

With injuries limiting the team's ceiling, the Thunder likely won't make the postseason impact they could have made at full strength.

However, Kanter's emergence lays the groundwork for an impressive future of basketball in Oklahoma City.

Unless otherwise noted, statistics courtesy of NBA.com and Basketball-Reference.com.