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Five biggest needs for the Thunder this offseason

By Casimir Cuffy

Apr 25, 2017; Houston, TX, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Billy Donovan talks in a pregame press conference before the Oklahoma City Thunder play the Houston Rockets in game five of the first round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 25, 2017; Houston, TX, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Billy Donovan talks in a pregame press conference before the Oklahoma City Thunder play the Houston Rockets in game five of the first round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports /
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Apr 7, 2017; Phoenix, AZ, USA; OKC Thunder forward Doug McDermott (25) with forward Jerami Grant (9) and center Enes Kanter (11) against the Phoenix Suns at Talking Stick Resort Arena. Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 7, 2017; Phoenix, AZ, USA; OKC Thunder forward Doug McDermott (25) with forward Jerami Grant (9) and center Enes Kanter (11) against the Phoenix Suns at Talking Stick Resort Arena. Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /

Improved bench play

The putrid bench play was put on display for everyone to see during the series against Houston. That series was only a microcosm of what it has been like throughout the entire season.

Whenever Russ hits the bench for a breather, things go awry. Blame it on coaching, blame it on the players or blame it on Russ. The fact is, everyone is at fault. Billy Donovan spent an entire season NOT creating an offensive scheme that doesn’t involve his superstar having the ball 99.9% of the time. At the same time, Russ’ teammates didn’t seem willing to attack when he was off the court.

What went wrong?

In the playoffs, when issues get magnetized, we saw what was happening all season. Enes Kanter, the main scorer off the bench, became unplayable because of his defensive woes. Donovan did not have a back-up plan that didn’t involve Russ or Kanter. We saw very little defense getting played while little-to-no points were being scored.

Westbrook also has this thing where he doesn’t get his teammates involved in the playoffs. He took all the shots and virtually did all of the dribbling/play-calling while everyone else just stood around waiting for directions. Suddenly, as soon as he goes to the bench, everyone else forgets how to play basketball and the Thunder suffer. It will take a group effort, along with a couple of offseason moves, to make this bench work. However, once this team is equipped, it’s on Billy Donovan to make changes.

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