Oklahoma City Thunder frustrations and fixes
Dissecting the Oklahoma City Thunder’s frustrating four-game losing and how they’ve righted the ship in the last two games.
The Oklahoma City Thunder have won two straight games, beating two teams ahead of them in the standings. Sure, Kawhi Leonard had a malfunction in the Spurs game that forced him to miss the fourth quarter, and the Jazz started somebody named Jeff Withey at center and Joe Johnson at power forward. But wins are wins, and the Thunder desperately needed wins following four straight losses.
These victories just make those losses all the more infuriating and frustrating.
Following the February 28th victory over the Jazz, the Thunder looked to be in prime position to challenge for the four seed. They had four games coming up against sub-.500 teams. At worst we figured they would go 2-2. Maybe Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum would get hot in one of the Portland games, and maybe they slip against Dallas in their third game in four nights on the road. But there was no way they could lose twice to Portland and that defense or to the lowly Phoenix Suns.
But these are the Oklahoma City Thunder. Satisfaction rarely guaranteed. They lost all four games in more or less the same fashion. The main source of frustration in those losses came courtesy of Russell Westbrook and the defense.
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Westbrook averaged 45 points on 32 shots in those four games. He shot 41 percent from the field, just below his season average of 42 percent. It’s not like he shot the ball poorly. He took too many shots and didn’t do the other things that we’ve come to expect from him this season. In the four losses, he averaged just eight rebounds and six assists. A 45-8-6 line would be a dream for most point guards, but this is Russell Westbrook we’re talking about. Those numbers aren’t how the Thunder have managed to win throughout the season.
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The Oklahoma City Thunder are at their best when Westbrook ends the half with something like 13-7-8. A line like that shows that he’s engaged and looking for his teammates. It means he’s not shooting too much, he’s rebounding and pushing and he’s getting his teammates involved.
In fairness to Westbrook, he tried to get his teammates involved in some of those games. They just simply missed shots or bobbled the ball. But there were other games, specifically the second Portland game, where he was on a mission to do everything by himself.
It’s no secret that, despite claims of “stat padding” or “hurting the team” with his triple-doubles, the Thunder are a better team when Russ has a triple-double. Oklahoma City is 22-6 when Westbrook gets a triple-double. That’s a pretty good record. If he were to record a triple-double in every single game of the season, the Thunder would be 65-17.
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On the flip side, when Westbrook takes 28 or more shots and 9 or more threes – that’s four more shots and three more threes than his per game average – the Thunder are 2-8. He recorded a triple-double in both victories.
This is why it’s baffling and worrying when he’s shooting and scoring so much in the first half. It means other guys aren’t involved and it’s not going to get any better in the second half when Westbrook is relied upon to close the show. When Westbrook is playing like he played against the Jazz and Spurs, OKC look like a professional basketball team that can challenge just about any team in a seven-game series. But when he’s taking 28+ shots and 9+ threes, they’re a one man show with four viewers.
While Westbrook’s excessive shooting was an issue in those four losses, the bigger issue was the defense.
In the four losses, OKC gave up 50 points per game in the paint and allowed their opponents to shoot 50 percent from the field. You don’t win basketball games when your defense is that bad. Sure, the Blazers, Suns and Mavericks were hitting tough shots at various points throughout the game, but you don’t shoot 50 percent and get 50 points in the paint if the defense is tough for 48-minutes.
Alex Abrines was routinely torched in the three games he started prior to Victor Oladipo’s return. Teams attacked Abrines and Domantas Sabonis in the pick-and-roll from the jump and didn’t think twice. Oladipo was on a minutes restriction and didn’t quite look like himself in his first game back. Andre Roberson seemed a step behind, and someone replaced Steven Adams with a wild-haired pylon.
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The good news is that Billy Donovan recognized the struggles and took the initiative to change things. He swapped out Sabonis for Taj Gibson, giving OKC a more balanced starting unit on both ends of the court. With the return of Oladipo and the insertion of Gibson, the starting five suddenly became a unit with few holes on defense.
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All five men, when engaged and playing with high-level intensity and effort, can force long possessions with crisp rotations and defend one-on-one. Teams can no longer attack a weak Abrines or slow-footed Sabonis, both of whom resort to fouling far too quickly.
Against the Spurs and Jazz, the Oklahoma City Thunder defense gave up less than 50 points in the paint and held both teams to less than 50 percent shooting. In those two games, the only starters to score in double figures were Kawhi Leonard (19) and LaMarcus Aldridge (17). No starter on either team finished with a positive in the plus/minus category.
Gibson in the starting lineup appears to be a permanent change that should boost the defense as the Thunder head into the stretch run. But for them to have any shot at climbing up the standings and pulling off a first round upset, Westbrook has to realize that it’s easier to play five-on-five.