Oklahoma City Thunder are finally playing Billy Donovan’s style and hitting their threes
By Joshua Lea
The Oklahoma City Thunder are turning another historic page since the All-Star Break. Just like last year, the Thunder are clicking at just the right time.
The Oklahoma City Thunder extended their winning streak last night. Playing the Utah Jazz, the Thunder looked like a playoff team. If you missed the game, you missed some noticeable differences within the Thunder offense.
The first thing you’ll instantly notice is the Thunder shot 68% from three. That’s not a typo or a misquote. The Thunder shot 68%, behind newly acquired sharpshooter Doug McDermott who went 4-of-6 from three. Alex Abrines also shot well last night, going 3-of-3 from three. Russell Westbrook chipped in 6-of-9 from the arch as well.
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The Thunder haven’t shot over 60% from three since November 10th of 2015. They shot 15-of-23 against the Wizards at Chesapeake on that night. It’s no secret that this season the Thunder have struggled from beyond the arch. However, in light of the recent moves that the Thunder made, they now have a player who can knock down the shot as well as spread the floor.
McDermott adds more than just shooting to Billy Donovan’s spread offense. Donovan loves to stretch out the floor with multiple shooters in their places. The reason behind this is so Westbrook or the post player can kick out the ball if the lane is cut off by the defense. Once the ball is in the paint, McDermott can free himself by coming off of a screen and take the open shot. Abrines is also coming into his own from behind the arch, making the Thunder dangerous.
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Taj Gibson adds more spacing as well. However, Gibson and McDermott pose as scoring threats, and the defense knows it. No longer will opposing teams leave players open in the corner. Teams are going to have to adjust to the Thunder having more weapons. In the past, you just had to worry about Westbrook, Enes Kanter, and Steven Adams on the pick-and-roll. Now, you have McDermott on the three and the emergence of Abrines on the three as well.
With the Thunder stretching the floor, the opposing defense is also having to stretch, Westbrook is no longer double-team as much as he was before the trade. Expect for the shooting numbers to climb for Oklahoma City. As the Thunder continue climbing the Western Conference, expect for the postseason to be electric with the Thunder being a dark horse.