Why Oklahoma City Could Have the NBA’s Best Backcourt
By Shawn Woods
Now that you’re reading, I’ll happily admit that Oklahoma City probably won’t have the best backcourt in the league unless Billy Donovan decides to call upon P.J. Carlesimo’s coaching style and play Kevin Durant at the off-guard. However, with the differing skill sets among the players that will likely play for the Thunder this season, there is a strong possibility that the team will challenge some of the top backcourts for bragging rights.
More from Thunderous Intentions
- Stealing one player from every Southwest Division team for the OKC Thunder
- Should the OKC Thunder chase after a disgruntled hometown hero?
- 3 OKC Thunder players who can step up in Aleksej Pokusevski’s absence
- Aleksej Pokusevski sidelined approximately 6 weeks with ankle injury
- Damian Lillard does not fit with the OKC Thunder
I have a tendency to be too hard on Russell Westbrook at times. He’s a relentless competitor and one of the top players in the league but often only relies on just his competitiveness and not his incredible skill. The reason Westbrook is widely considered a top player isn’t because he’s a great scorer, although he led the league in scoring while maintaining an above-average true shooting percentage. And it’s not because he’s a fantastic passer, despite his 47 percent assist percentage being behind only Chris Paul (47.4 percent). Nor is it because he led all guards in rebounds per game despite not finishing in the top ten in minutes played. The reason Westbrook is a top player is because he has the ability to take over a game using any of these three areas.
Westbrook is a fantastic offensive player, but his defense sometimes suffers when forced to guard a quality player. Fortunately for the Thunder, there is another player on the roster that can carry that load.
I won’t make this another ode to Andre Roberson as I’ve done that plenty, but I will restate that he could be the perfect complement to Westbrook. In addition to his value on defense whether he’s guarding the player with the ball or in help defense, Roberson shot a putrid 25 percent from three last season, but that number increased to 32 percent on corner threes. Roberson is also one of the best finishers around the rim on the team converting on almost 67 percent of shots inside of three feet. If Donovan can incorporate Roberson in the offense in a way that suits Roberson’s strengths, Roberson could become a very good player.
One of the things that drove fans crazy about the Scott Brooks era in Oklahoma City was his love of lineups that utilized one player that could make a three-point shot, and usually that player (Durant) was charged with initiating most of the offense, thus collapsing the spacing for the team. The Thunder now have a player that can provide the ultimate space that Westbrook needs to operate around the rim.
Anthony Morrow averaged less than three rebounds, one assist and steal per game last season, isn’t known as the staunchest of defenders and hasn’t been a playmaker with the ball throughout his career. What he can provide is possibly the best three-point shooting in the league. According to NBA.com’s SportVU cameras, Morrow shot over 45 percent on three-point attempts in catch-and-shoot opportunities last season. Among players that averaged at least one catch-and-shoot three-point attempt last season, this ranked 10th behind players like Kyle Korver, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.
Morrow has the ability to increase that percentage significantly this season with the addition of a certain former MVP. Along with the incredible playmaking ability of Westbrook, Durant will now be able to shoulder the load when Westbrook is dragged to the bench kicking and screaming. Durant was one of the better passers in the league during his MVP season, and will now have a full season playing alongside the best shooter he’s ever had.
Dion Waiters will never be the player he was hyped up to be coming out of Syracuse, but I’m willing to admit that there is a possibility (albeit very, very small) that he could be a positive contributor to this backcourt. Waiters shouldn’t be trusted to initiate offense, but he was a 37 percent shooter from the three-point line two seasons ago and made almost 40 percent of his corner threes last season with Cleveland. In fact, it’s possible that Waiters should start full time.
The Thunder have never had to worry about who would backup Westbrook in the rare instances in which he tires. Durant was always able to initiate the offense at an elite level, and Reggie Jackson was more than acceptable as a backup guard. This season may be a different story as Durant could (and probably should) be on a minutes restriction to start the season. D.J. Augustin has previous history with Durant and was a decent player in limited minutes last season and while Cameron Payne could be a good player in the future, rookies generally have very difficult starts to their careers.
Curry and Thompson repeating as the best backcourt duo is the most likely scenario, but pair Westbrook with almost any competent guard and the two will be able to do some damage. Donovan won’t have the luxury of tinkering with lineups to see which Robin best fits Westbrook’s Batman in the backcourt. If the team loses more games than expected, pressure will begin to build and the rumors of Durant to any team not based in Oklahoma will continue to surface.
Fortunately, we’ve seen what destruction a relatively healthy Thunder team brings on the rest of the league in four of the past five seasons. Another season with similar success and it’s likely that we’ll see it for the foreseeable future.