Views from OKC: Abrines and McDermott, please come back

Views from OKC is a daily diary about the current state of the OKC Thunder. Today we look at the uninspiring performance from Kyle Singler last night.

Yesterday was a historic day for Thunder basketball: Kyle Singler played in 34 minutes for the first time in his OKC career. Oh and Russell Westbrook broke some record, not really sure what though.

A look at his stat line shows that the former Dukie actually played well. He finished the evening with 8 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals AND a block. I mean this kid did it all for the Thunder. In fact, his performance prompted Oklahoma sports expert Berry Tramel to hypothesize that Singler may be needed in the Houston series.

Berry wasn’t alone either.

https://twitter.com/Teddy_P15/status/851193377056067584

Don’t get me wrong, watching Singler “ball out” was incredibly enjoyable (minus the ponytail) to watch. Singler did his best Andre Roberson impression by leaking out in transition, giving Westbrook easy assist opportunities. Besides one impressive offensive rebound and putback, all of Singler’s points were created by impressive full court passes by Russ. And looking back at the tape, three of his rebounds essentially fell in his hands.

I’ll give Singler credit where it is due though. Because of his experience the 28-year old has a better feel for the NBA game than both Alex Abrines and Doug McDermott, the injured shooters he was filling in for. Singler did a fantastic job of both finding the open man on offense (three assists) while eliminating the open man on defense (three steals).

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If “feel for the game” was as important as skill, I’d have a good chance of playing NBA basketball. But it’s not; in this day and age you have to have a specialty skill that makes you a weapon. Singler’s mediocre defense isn’t good enough to keep him on the court in the playoffs and his inability to create his own shot means he has to hit open threes to explain playing him at all.

So I show you this wonderful compilation from last night.

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That’s four open looks, one airball and three bricks. Not good.

Singler may be better on the defensive end than Abrines and McDermott, but his complete ineptitude on the offensive end makes him impossible to play in the playoffs. But with both players down with knee injuries, that proposition is becoming more and more likely.

I remind all you reactionary Thunder fans out there. This was one game. We’ve watched over two seasons of Singler now – we know how he plays. Don’t let one good game against a non-playoff team convince you he’s ready for Houston. If Abrines and McDermott ultimately can’t play, Russell Westbrook will be without a single pure shooter playing against a team dominated by shooting.

Abrines and McDermott aren’t going to win a series, but their absence sure could make them lose it. Rest up quickly boys, because Kyle Singler is patiently waiting in the shadows.