OKC Thunder In the news: Anger, panic button, underestimating Westbrook

Instead of jocular ho-ho-ho’s the OKC Thunder bring in December with anger and frustration.

OKC Thunder In the news for December 1 focuses on the ever growing concern of when this team is going to turn the corner. All season the OK3, Head Coach Billy Donovan and the rest of the roster have played off the losses. It’s been a constant barrage of sound bites focusing on ‘when we click’, ‘we’re almost there’ and ‘we aren’t worried’.  Those optimistic refrains are gone following two embarrassing losses

Stepping to the front:

Replaced by leadership starting with the reigning MVP, Russell Westbrook and Billy Donovan who both stepped up to claim ownership for the losses.  To a certain extent they do share in the blame. Westbrook is still trying to figure out how to function with his two super stars and is forcing his game a little.

In Orlando his passes were noticeably thrown either too low or too hard. Perhaps the sore wrist contributed to these miscues. But, hey why not put the ball in Paul George’s hands more if that’s the case. It might even lead to confusing the opponent on defense.

As for Donovan his rotations continue to be head scratching. Why go out and get Patrick Patterson a historic top talent defensively and then play him sparingly? Note to Billy Donovan… the other historic fact is Patterson starts hitting from deep at a greater clip in December — hello it’s December Billy! Or why not utilize Josh Huestis who was stellar in the win over the Warriors? He had a DNP CD in the Orlando game and 2:27 in the Dallas game.

Angry Melo:

Carmelo Anthony chose a different stance. Of the triad Melo has arguably been the most chill about the integration. But, if we are to believe his post game stance he’s ticked off and rightfully so. Bleacher Report’s Tyler Conway offered more insight into Carmelo’s anger.

"Carmelo Anthony acknowledged something isn’t working with the Oklahoma City Thunder at the moment. He just has no plans to follow in his friend Dwyane Wade‘s footsteps and make a move to the bench. “Nobody is moping around, nobody is frustrated—I think guys are angry, I think guys are pissed,” Anthony told reporters Thursday. “That just comes from your competitive nature and wanting to win games, understanding the talent level we have over here and not being able to put it together right now.”"

Panic button officially will be pushed prior to trade deadline:

And, while the team hasn’t panicked they, Donovan and certainly Sam Presti are keeping a close watch on the situation. The loss in Orlando officially marked the quarter pole of the season. In any other season the Thunder might already be so far out of contention the situation would be dire. But a myriad of injuries to key players like Blake Griffin (Clippers), Rudy Gay (Jazz), Paul Millsap (Nuggets) and Mike Conley (Memphis) affects four squads who would normally be vying for playoff seeds.

The injuries and parity in the form of surprise wins is giving the OKC Thunder additional time to work things out. Rohan Nadkarni  of SI’s The Crossover believes the cut off date will occur shortly before the trade deadline.

"And 20 games into an NBA season isn’t exactly early anymore. Look around the league and teams are settling into where they stand in the hierarchy. Injuries and hot streaks can change things here and there, but the first quarter of the season has definitively not been a success for the Thunder.It’s not quite panic time yet for OKC. The organization still has reasons to believe this current group can be a success. But the clock is certainly ticking on how much of the team’s struggles can be attributed to an early-season adjustment period."

Finger pointing begins:

The new narrative is jumping all over Westbrook already blaming him for the OKC Thunder’s misfortunes. Thank Kevin Durant for planting that seed. As Nadkami points out Oladipo and Sabonis excelling in Indy and Kanter’s production in New York aren’t helping. However, let me just say this.  When pundits said Westbrook was a wasted pick at number four, he proved them wrong.  After Durant left, Westbrook single handedly dragged his team to the playoffs and did so in spectacular historic fashion.

What I find ironic is everyone knows for the OK3 to work someone has to compensate more than the other two. When Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce assembled in Boston it was Garnett who made the biggest sacrifice. Although Dwyane Wade adapted his role in Miami, it was Chris Bosh who made the greatest change.  Through the early games Westbrook was the one trying to adapt the most given he had the ball in his hands.  Arguably this situation is far different than the two above because each of these players have very similar assets.

Don’t bet against ‘Why Not?’

More from Thunderous Intentions

• Stealing one player from every Southwest Division team for the OKC Thunder
• Should the OKC Thunder chase after a disgruntled hometown hero?
• 3 OKC Thunder players who can step up in Aleksej Pokusevski’s absence
• Aleksej Pokusevski sidelined approximately 6 weeks with ankle injury
• Damian Lillard does not fit with the OKC Thunder

That said I’ll go on the record to state in this scribes opinion you don’t ask the most talented player of the triad to make the biggest change.  All three need to adapt, but Carmelo is the one who needs to buck up and accept he needs to play more frequently in the paint. George and Westbrook need to develop their short hand at an advanced speed, so they both handle the ball to throw off defenses and everyone needs to move their behinds more.

Perhaps my eternal optimism doesn’t allow me so spot the half empty glass. Then again, every time pundits have told Westbrook ‘you can’t’ or ‘he ‘won’t’ the result has pretty much been the same….. Westbrook responds ‘WHY NOT?’ and then goes out and proves them wrong!

That wraps up in the news for December 1st, make sure to catch TI’s game day preview, TIP3 with an opponent expert this afternoon, and check back for the TI scribes takes on your favorite team and players.