Oklahoma City Thunder's 7 Biggest Challenges for the 2011-12 NBA Season

Expectations are high for the Oklahoma City Thunder going into this shortened NBA season. The incredibly young team secured a Western Conference Finals berth last season, just two years removed from a 23-59 regular season record. Anything less than a Conference Finals berth this year will be deemed a disappointment.

Managing the expectations will be just one of many challenges facing this Thunder squad, whose oldest starter is just 27. Despite being clearly one of the best teams in the league, the Thunder do have the potential and room to improve. Here are the seven biggest challenges the Thunder must conquer this season.

Manage the Hype and Expectations

The Miami Heat struggled at first with this last year. The Thunder are not playing together for the first time, but they are facing the same time of big expectations after a fantastic season last year.

This young team will have to deal with the idea that they are considered by many to be one of the favorites to win the Western Conference and play in the NBA Finals. Kevin Durant and his teammates are all very mature players for their ages, but they are young. Facing this kind of hype will be the biggest mental hurdle they'll need to overcome.

Play Better Defense

The Thunder gave up 101 points per game last season (18th in the NBA). That won't win championships.

Unlike their first playoff run when they based their attack on strong defense, last year's team was better offensively, especially with the emergence of Russell Westbrook as an All-Star and James Harden and Serge Ibaka as solid third and fourth scoring options.

Good offense is great, but defense wins the shiny stuff. Oklahoma City needs to play better defense to stay at the top of the Western Conference.

Solve the Durant-Westbrook "Problem"

Please notice the quotation marks. There is no real problem between Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. Not one based in reality, anyway.

There is a problem in perception. Durant admits that there was tension last season at times between he and Westbrook. But just as he says in the linked article, there is always a bit of tension between two really talented guys on the same team. Just like coworkers at any other job, they had disagreements.

So what do the Thunder need to solve? They simply need to keep winning and continue improving. Durant and Westbrook will do the same as a duo.

Share the Ball

The Oklahoma City Thunder averaged 20.4 assists per game last season. Only six other NBA teams had fewer assists per game. The Thunder must share the ball more and create better balance on the offensive end.

I know someone out there is ready to blame Russell Westbrook. He averaged 8.2 assists per game last season, which ranks ninth in the NBA (and above reigning MVP Derrick Rose). The problem isn't Westbrook—it's the rest of the team. No one else on the team averaged even three assists per game.

According to head coach Scott Brooks, "It's not a point guard issue, it's a team issue."  Brooks is absolutely right. It's on Kevin Durant and all the other Thunder players to share the ball. Better ball movement will lead to a more balanced attack that will work better overall.

Make Better In-Game Adjustments

In last year's Western Conference Finals, Thunder coach Scott Brooks was out-coached by Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle. Carlisle manipulated his lineups to exploit the Thunder's weaknesses, and Brooks was unable to adjust effectively.

That can't happen this year. Brooks must be flexible enough with his lineup to tweak at times it according to the opponent. Not all the time, just when it is really necessary.

The players also must make better adjustments, specifically the two superstars. Durant needs to do a better job of reading his defenders and adjusting to their defense; while Westbrook needs to read overall defenses better and employ the best way to get the whole team involved. If the two of them can do that, the Thunder will be unstoppable.

Keep Perkins Healthy

The Thunder went 13-4 during the regular season last year after Kendrick Perkins entered the starting lineup. That was with a 60-percent healthy, 30-pounds-overweight Perkins. Doesn't it make you wonder how well they would have done had Perkins been 100 percent healthy?

Don't worry, you won't have to wonder long. According to the Associated Press, Perkins has healed nicely and had lost 31 pounds by the time training camp started. He's also still as grumpy as ever, which is what the Thunder need according to coach Scott Brooks.

Keeping Perkins healthy will be a big part of the first point in this slideshow—the defense. During the regular season, the Thunder's opponents' points per game decreased by three point after Perkins entered the lineup. He'll have an even bigger impact when healthy.

Signing Westbrook to an Extension

It's not that Westbrook doesn't want to sign with the Thunder. The lockout and has forced teams and players to shove contract negotiations into a six-week period, when they'd normally discuss such things for months leading up to the season.

Westbrook and the Thunder organization have both been clear about how each party wants to get the extension done. They need to get it done as soon as possible. Both sides say it isn't a distraction, which is great. But it doesn't need to become one either.