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OKC Thunder: Let’s everybody just calm down and not panic

By Joshua Lea

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - OCTOBER 25: Head Coach Billy Donovan and Russell Westbrook #0 of the OKC Thunder talk during a time out during a game against the Indiana Pacers at the Chesapeake Energy Arena on October 25, 2017 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - OCTOBER 25: Head Coach Billy Donovan and Russell Westbrook #0 of the OKC Thunder talk during a time out during a game against the Indiana Pacers at the Chesapeake Energy Arena on October 25, 2017 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) /
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The OKC Thunder’s epic 2017-18 season has started off differently than expected. However, there isn’t any reason to panic.

For the OKC Thunder, this season might have started off differently than expected. It would seem that the Thunder super-team is seeing it’s fair share of hardships early in the season. However, this isn’t a bad thing, nor is it a reason to panic. The fact of the matter is this marriage of players takes time to develop. If you recall in 2011-2012 when LeBron James, Chris Bosh, and Dwayne Wade joined forces, they went 7-7 during the month of November. In December they went 15-1, so once it clicks, it clicks.

The same can be said for the Thunder. Once it all comes together and really starts to click, this team will be as unstoppable as they looked during the first half of the game against Boston on Friday night. The talent is there, the ability is there, it’s just figuring how to do it consistently like the Miami Heat did in the years that LeBron was there.

While OKC’s situation is somewhat different, it is still a process of figuring things out. They also aren’t the only team in the West who’s struggling to begin the NBA Season. A majority of the West is dealing with the same issues. The Spurs are 6-4 with Kawhi Leonard still nursing the quad injury. The Warriors started out slow early in the season. The Lakers, Pelicans, Jazz, and Nuggets are all 5-5, so the season is far from over.

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The OKC Thunder have to fix a couple things. One is on-the-ball defending. They must stop the point guards of the NBA’s elite teams. Kyrie Irving, Damian Lillard both torched the Thunder this past weekend. Irving went 10-22 for 25 points against OKC; however, he did most of his damage in the second half. Lillard went 10-18 for 36 points, including 15-15 from the free throw line.

So far this season, the OKC Thunder is averaging 104.3 points per game, two points less than last season. They are holding opponents to 97.1 points a game, which is fantastic. In fact, they rank 2nd in the league in opponents points per game. However, the OKC Thunder are not moving the ball, in fact, they are barely pushing out 20 assists per night ranking them 13th in the NBA.

We all know about their free throw percentage. It’s not good at 72%. However, that defensive line is something we as Thunder fans should be very encouraged about. Is the Thunder playing a lot of Isolation basketball? Yes, I mean, you have Carmelo Anthony. Although, Westbrook and Adams are operating way more in the paint than in years past. We cannot overlook that this team is showing us small glimpses of what they can and will do in the postseason. Yeah, the Thunder are 4-5 right now. The number one team in the West is only 4 games ahead of the Thunder. With 73 games left, It’s far from over.

So, let’s not panic just yet. In fact, let’s revisit this conversation in mid-January. The Thunder should have everything figured out by then. If not, then we can rest assure that Westbrook isn’t going anywhere.

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