Billy Donovan: 5 Things to Improve the Thunder

Mar 22, 2015; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard

(2) attempts a shot against Miami Heat forward

(5) during the fourth quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Improving Offense

The biggest knock on the Thunder over the past few seasons is the unimaginative offense. The first inclination of every couch analyst is to blame the coach as it’s the easiest thing to do, but it’s possible that Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant break from the play call to isolate at their own discretion. It’s not plausible, but certainly possible.

The other thing to consider is that in the age of “Pace and Space”, as it is so eloquently described now, the Thunder only had four players that shot above 36 percent from the three-point line. One was Kyle Singler who played fewer than 18 minutes per game (37 percent and is a free agent), one was Serge Ibaka – who was immediately ridiculed every time he hoisted a shot from behind the line – (37.6 percent), one was Durant (we don’t need to discuss injuries again, 40.3 percent) and one was Anthony Morrow (43.4 percent). Comparing that to the remaining teams in this year’s playoffs shows the inadequacies that Oklahoma City has been playing with.

I’d love to break down how Donovan will improve the system that has a strong foundation thanks to Brooks, but someone has already done a great job of that for me.

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