The OKC Thunder are in a bit of a pickle as the month of December gets rolling. However, not all hope is completely lost. There is still time for the Thunder to right the ship.
The OKC Thunder super team is having a tough go to begin the 2017-18 season. The run to the NBA Finals is starting to look less and less likely with each passing game. Some would even argue the Thunder were cursed on the night of Halloween, as the struggle became real for OKC. They strung together multiple losses that completely baffled the imagination. In fact, Saturday’s victory in Memphis is the first road victory the Thunder have had since winning in Milwaukee against the Bucks on Halloween.
I, like many Thunder fans, have had conversations with other Thunder fans. As we rant, vent and expressed our frustration with this team, the overall narrative is unanimous. This season wasn’t supposed to be like this. There wasn’t supposed to be this lackluster play, offensive confusion, misshaped identity that no one can seem to solve. Oklahoma City should be a high-powered offensive juggernaut capable of putting up 120 points a night. Instead, the OKC Thunder barely score 100 points a night. Which is crazy considering the fact that they have three strong offensive weapons.
So, whats the deal? Seriously, what is going on? If you frequent Twitter and love NBA Twitter as much as I do, you’ll see that many OKC Thunder fans are calling for head coach Billy Donovan’s head. They want David Frizdale to take the ropes of the Thunder attack. However, is that wise? Is Donovan really the problem? Sure, Donovan’s rotations are amazingly complicated and this staggering lineup thing just doesn’t work with this team. But, Donovan is a smart playoff coach. Something this team will need and value come playoff time.
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Consider this: the OKC Thunder are 3.5 games behind Minnesota, who sits 4th place currently. It’s not as if OKC is already in danger of not making the playoffs. This early season struggle will be good for this team when May comes. They have time to figure things out. Granted, that window is starting to close on this season. Still, the Thunder have time to figure things out.
Of those things, one thing is abundantly clear. The Thunder need more fast-break points. I was shocked to find out the OKC Thunder only average 14 fast-break points a game. That’s extremely low. Oklahoma City has arguably one of the fastest players in NBA history in Russell Westbrook. They have to run more. As a result, this will create more shots close to the basketball and eliminating the need to shoot three-point shots.
The month of December will be somewhat kind to the OKC Thunder as they don’t have a difficult schedule. However, that doesn’t mean they should take any team lightly.