Thunderous Thoughts: Depressing victories in OKC

Welcome to Thunderous Thoughts, your weekly look at the OKC Thunder where times are tough despite the victories.

The OKC Thunder are 3-1 after the All-Star break. Fans should be over the moon. The lone loss came to the Warriors, in Golden State. Given how the first two games played out, game three never looked promising. A refreshed Warriors squad, at home, looking for revenge following two embarrassing losses. They could have canceled the game, awarded the Thunder a loss, and saved everyone three hours.

But three wins. In a tight Western Conference, every win counts the same. And getting three wins in four games is a positive sign as the Thunder head towards the stretch run.

So why are we so depressed?

Let’s start with the facts. The three wins are against the Kings, Magic, and Mavericks. None of those teams are in the playoff hunt. These are teams that the Thunder should beat and beat with relative ease. They’ve won those three games by a combined 11 points. It’s tough to get excited when you’re playing competitive basketball with the worst run organization in the last ten years, Orlando at home, and a team who was explicitly told by their owner to tank.

Watching the games highlights more issues.

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Russell Westbrook is not the same player he was prior to the All-Star break. Maybe it’s because he doesn’t have Andre Roberson doing offensive dirty work for him. Maybe the friendship with Kevin Durant, which I joked about last week, has made him soft. Whatever the case might be, he’s playing like early season Westbrook right now.

He’s shooting 33 percent from the field and 11 percent from three. That fact that he’s back to taking 5-plus threes a game is particularly concerning. OKC had their best stretch when he cut out threes unless they were necessary. Now, he’s firing away. That’s not good for a guy who is a career 31 percent shooter from beyond the arc.

A lot of Oklahoma City’s current problems can be fixed if Westbrook starts playing more like Westbrook. The guy they’re getting right now is a detriment to the team.

Paul George’s shooting struggles from beyond the arc might be even more concerning. From the start of February to the All-Star break, George was shooting 47 percent from deep. Obviously, that was always unsustainable. Since the break, he’s shooting 26 percent from three. If George isn’t knocking down his long distance shots, he’s not Paul George. He’s still a good scorer who can get to the basket at will, but his three-point shooting gives him, and the Thunder offense, an extra dimension.

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And then there’s Carmelo Anthony. In the five games between injuries to Andre Roberson, Anthony was shooting 47 percent from the field and 43 percent from three. Since Roberson’s injury, he’s shooting 36 percent from the field and 31 percent from three.

Miss you, Dre. And thank God for Steven Adams cleaning up the mess.

This current stretch feels like that mid-December run where they went 6-2, but no victory felt satisfying.

Anthony Davis has put the Pelicans on his back. Damian Lillard has put the Trail Blazers on his back. The loss of Roberson stings, but every team is dealing with injuries. New Orleans doesn’t have DeMarcus Cousins. The Timberwolves are without Jimmy Butler. The Nuggets have been without Paul Millsap for the majority of the season.

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Someone on Oklahoma City needs to step up and take the reigns. There is no excuse for mental lapses at this point in the season. There is no excuse for a lack of effort against poor teams. Missing the playoffs is a very real possibility.

Save us Corey Brewer.