Time for OKC Thunder to Shake Up the Starting Lineup?
By Jake Fielder
May 7, 2014; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) is helped off of the court floor by Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant (35) and Oklahoma City Thunder forward Serge Ibaka (9) after being fouled in action against the Los Angeles Clippers in game two of the second round of the 2014 NBA Playoffs at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
When fully healthy, the Thunder’s starting lineup (Westbrook, Andre Roberson, Durant, Serge Ibaka, and Steven Adams) has posted a fairly solid +3.3 (in +/-). That’s good for roughly 15th in the league among starting lineups despite a distinct lack of continuity with Durant’s injury woes (per NBA.com).
Unfortunately, that’s probably not good enough for the Oklahoma City Thunder to push into the playoffs.
When Durant has been out of the lineup, the lineup has been almost tragically bad. Substituting Perry Jones III for KD has netted an abysmal -0.7 in +/-; substituting Dion Waiters for KD a slightly better 0.8. Altogether, the numbers aren’t good but don’t look entirely horrible, either…that is, until you consider Phoenix’s starting lineup is posting a +6.3 and New Orleans is posting a +5.6. Clearly, something’s gotta change.
The vast majority of the blame is being heaped on Roberson. While his defense has been strong, posting a strong +2.8 in defensive +/-, he’s been essentially unusable on offense, shooting a nearly unforgivable .216 on three-pointers despite being uncovered on most possessions. If defenses are simply packing the lane to deny Westbrook and Durant and Roberson is incapable of keeping them honest, it’s hard to justify starting the kid, no matter how solid he is defensively.
That being said, the Thunder do have options. Between Waiters, Reggie Jackson, and Anthony Morrow, there are three capable players that could be inserted and still allow for Roberson to come in and defend as the team sees fit.
The real question is, what’s the best option for the Thunder?
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