Sizing up the Oklahoma City Thunder against the rest of the West
By Joshua Lea
The OKC Thunder roster is set with 15 players. Now with the NBA season beginning in less than three months, how does the Thunder measure up to the rest of the West?
The Oklahoma City Thunder will begin the 2017-18 with a different look. The trade involving Paul George to the Thunder is obviously a game changer. The additions of Patrick Patterson, Raymond Felton and Terrence Ferguson gives the team an extra edge they didn’t have last year.
The Thunder weren’t the only team that made some strong moves this offseason. Houston and Minnesota made drastic changes to improve their rosters. The Golden State Warriors somehow found a way to improve. So what are the chances that OKC can steal a title this season?
Offensively, Oklahoma City did quite well last season, averaging 106 points per game. Almost half of those points came in the paint. This, of course, was due to Westbrook attacking the rim and Enes Kanter being the post player that he is. The addition of George will not affect the points in the paint. George is a predominant mid-range jump shooter by nature. Plus, Patterson will provide the number 4 option on the perimeter that Serge Ibaka once was.
The biggest improvement the Oklahoma City Thunder will need to make is three-point shooting. Last season, the Thunder shot 32.6% from three. This will also change with George as he is a career 37% three point shooter. PG will demand the ball more this season than Victor Oladipo did last season, therefore taking away shots from below-average shooters like Andre Roberson.
Defensively, the Thunder guarded the three moderately well. They held opponents to 35% shooting. However, their opponents shot 50% from the floor last season. Oklahoma City had trouble in the post. The loss of Serge Ibaka was troubling for the Thunder on the block. However, the addition of Patterson paired with Adams, should change that percentage easily.
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Oklahoma City led the league in rebounds last season with 46.1 boards per game. That is a monstrous stat. Between Westbrook, Adams and Kanter, OKC should continue that trend this season as well.
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OKC has a chance to be one of the top defensive teams in the Western Conference. These guys compared with Billy Donovan’s spread offense coach style could mean trouble for the Western Conference.
Another important factor in Oklahoma City’s chances to compete next season is their bench depth. The addition of Raymond Felton at the backup point guard position is a huge upgrade. Felton averaged 21 minutes a game last season, shooting 41% from the floor. For a backup point guard those numbers are impressive. He’ll also have better bench options with Kanter and Alex Abrines then he did in LA.
All these factors could propel the Thunder into the top three of the Western Conference. It’s likely the Thunder are capable of competing with any team in the West. However, Golden State remains the one team Westbrook and company want to beat desperately. As the Thunder are constructed now, expect for those games versus Golden State to be a lot closer than last season.