After injuries forced him to sit out over half of last season, Kevin Durant may have actually benefited from the long absence.
During the 2014-15 season, Kevin Durant was only able to play 27 games. Naturally, when a team loses one of their superstars, it is going to struggle to make the playoffs. Russell Westbrook also missed 15 games at the start of the season while Serge Ibaka missed 18 games at its end.
When Westbrook came back from injury, he displayed a superhuman effort to carry the Oklahoma City Thunder on his back to get into the playoffs, ultimately falling short at the last day of the season by a one-game differential to the New Orleans Pelicans. While I was heartbroken as a supporter of the team, I think that Westbrook was likely more upset at missing the postseason.
With the 2015-16 season in full swing, the Thunder has returned at full strength. Durant is once again a top-ten scorer with 27.8 points per game and Ibaka has gone back to being an elite rim protector, averaging 2.1 blocks per game. An unexpected bonus from their missing significant playing time is that Stephen Adams has grown and now Enes Kanter, Dion Waiters, Andre Roberson and Nick Collison are required role players. Additionally, I can see three positives for the Thunder in the long term.
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The first is that by slipping into the lottery, the Thunder were able to select Cameron Payne with the number 14 pick. Payne played his way past the now-traded D.J. Augustin and shown an energy and desire off the bench which the Thunder were occasionally missing. He will likely develop into the reliable backup guard that the Thunder seem to covet. At this point, he does not have to dominate the ball to have an impact like James Harden did, nor does he have Reggie Jackson‘s attitude, who ultimately forced the team to trade him because of his divisive presence in the locker room.
Payne has now given the Thunder options moving forward. If Westbrook decides to leave the Thunder in free agency in 2017, then Oklahoma City will have a quality point guard to take his place. If Westbrook stays, then Payne will continue to be a reliable backup. If Payne decides that his future is as a starter, then the Thunder have a valuable trade piece to help keep the team remain relevant in the Western Conference.
The other impact of Payne’s addition is that, by outplaying Augustin and making him expendable, this allowed the front office to acquire combo guard Randy Foye, While Foye is not going to propel the Thunder into the next stratosphere he is a career 37 percent three-point shooter who is a veteran leader and is reportedly a great presence in the locker room.
The second long term positive is the Mitch McGary factor. McGary was the 21st pick in the 2014 draft and played 32 games last season, 25 of them when Durant was injured. In that span, he averaged 6.2 points and 5.1 rebounds in 15 minutes per game. His highlights included a 20-point effort against Portland and 13-rebound outing against Dallas. Not a bad rookie season., even if that hasn’t translated to sustained success this year.
McGary has only played 15 games this season, averaging just four minutes per game, mainly in junk time. This could be a major comedown for someone who played so much more last year but McGary has taken it in his stride. By all accounts, he is patiently working on his game, improving it and being mentored by the father of all Sonics/Thunder forwards, Nick Collison, whose other protégés include Durant and Adams. If McGary can stay patient there’s the possibility that when Collison retires (possibly at the end of next season,) he might earn more playing time.
The third long term positive that I see is the growth of Russell Westbrook. Last season he was a one-man wrecking crew that changed the public perception of his ablities. He had 11 triple-doubles in just 67 games, winning the scoring title and posting career-highs in points (28.1), rebounds (7.3), assists (8.6) and steals (2.1). It was a historic season, one which would be nearly impossible for most players to improve upon.
Well, Westbrook has again done the impossible. While his scoring average is down, (24.1) that can be accounted for by the return of Durant. However, Westbrook has improved his field-goal percentage from 43 percent last season to 46 percent in this one, while still making nine shots per game, the same number as last year. Westbrook has also improved his rebounding (7.5), assists (10.1) and steals (2.3 ).
Statistics only tell part of the story, though, I believe the greatest area that Westbrook has improved in is as a leader. Not making the playoffs was difficult for him and the individual accolades meant nothing as his team had failed to make the playoffs. It was a big change from a player that had often been labeled incorrectly as a selfish one.
And while Westbrook’s constant energy hasn’t changed, his chemistry with the other starters has truly developed, something that might not have happened without Durant’s absence. Adams, in particular, is now much more involved offensively, meaning that other centers simply cannot leave him to help defend Westbrook or Durant, creating more space for the rest of the lineup. Westbrook has even managed to involve Roberson on offense, throwing up some awe-inspiring passes which the offensively challenged guard finishes with class.
More thunder: How Will Randy Foye Fit With OKC?
I will never say that losing Durant last season was a good thing – it was not. When one of the greats is sitting on the sidelines in a suit rather than on the court showing off his skill, the game loses a great deal. But there might be silver linings that came from his absence and the team’s chances for success are greater as a result.