Billy Donovan: 5 Things to Improve the Thunder

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Apr 15, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward

Nick Collison

(4) holds the ball in the fourth quarter against the Minnesota Timberwolves forward

Anthony Bennett

(24) at Target Center. The Oklahoma City Thunder beats the Minnesota Timberwolves 138-113. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

End of Game Situations

The final nail in Brooks’ coffin for Oklahoma City was his inability to produce a play in a key situation that wasn’t “get the ball to Durant or Westbrook and get the hell out of the way.”

Here’s a play from earlier this season:

In a game the Thunder needed for the playoffs, and one in which Morrow had shot 6-of-8 from three, the plan out of a timeout was for Morrow to inbound the ball to Westbrook and watch as Westbrook hoisted a three that had no chance from the time it left his hands.

Brooks had a few sets that he brought out that left even the top defenses confused.

Jeff Green isn’t the best defender in the league, but the slightest of movement from KD causes concern for every defender. Durant catches his former teammate cheating and Collison finds him for the easy back door pass.

This set is simple enough, but this HORNS set creates an easy dribble hand off for D.J. Augustin for three. The threat of Westbrook in the post is enough so his defender can’t help off on the shot.

This clip shows the reason the Raptors were playing so closely to Westbrook as he beats his man for an easy back door cut. Even though Roberson isn’t a good shooter from the outside, the Thunder alter the set so that Roberson curls around Westbrook causing confusion for the Blazers.

While these sets are all easy enough to run during the regular season, they are too simplistic for playoff teams to allow easy buckets off of. Donovan’s experience at Florida should be a stepping stone to what he needs to accomplish in Oklahoma City.

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