Thunder in the News: Feels like the season slipped away

A third straight OKC Thunder loss leaves a less-than-desirable taste in our mouths. Hopefully the players and coaches feel the same way.

That one hurt. So much so, it might have been in the top three losses in OKC Thunder franchise history. This pain is different though. It’s not Game Seven of the 2016 Western Conference Finals, the kind that appears after you just narrowly miss the goal you set your sights on. No. This pain is the culmination of a season-long feud with ourselves.

We chose (rightfully so) to believe this team had the potential to make noise in the Playoffs. But because of the lack of a system, the lack of creativity, he lack of team cohesion, we sit here today down 3-1 to the up-and-coming Utah Jazz.

A major media member finally addresses the problem

Finally. Finally we have somebody in the national media calling out Billy Donovan for his inability to put this team in winning situations. The players assuredly deserve blame for their effort, but it’s not their job to make in-game technical adjustments, it’s not on the players to diagram an offensive system that doesn’t rely on isolation basketball. Donovan sat back and allowed this team to remain comfortable in the styles they’ve played their entire career instead of forcing them into different situations.

Donovan may be a great human, a great person and a great friend. But he’s not an NBA coach. At least not for this Thunder team.

"I feel like, just from watching and observing, that they’re just coming out and playing and hoping that they get good shots and that they make shots."

Quin Snyder makes the defining point of the series

Luckily for us (and hopefully Sam Presti), Quin Snyder is doing a great job of showing Oklahoma City what a true coach looks like. Snyder’s team has been aptly prepared for how the Thunder play on both ends of the floor, and they’ve done a great job of highlighting OKC’s poor attributes while negating their best skills.

It’s this quote right here that sums up Snyder’s philosophy perfectly. Unlike the Thunder, Utah utilizes each other on both ends of the floor. They play off one another’s skills to create a team 1000X more deadly than an Oklahoma City team with three All-Stars.

I really hope Russell Westbrook is taking notes this series. He’s got to make some changes this offseason, and it starts with buying into this concept.

Turning our attention to the offseason

Speaking of the offseason – let’s prematurely take a look at the state of the Thunder! As you can guess, it’s not great. Paul George may be on his way out yet the Thunder still might have over $80 million dedicated to three players that include Carmelo Anthony. Sam Presti might have to complete another roster overhaul this offseason, or he could run it back with this roster and hope they learn from their mistakes.

Who knows what Presti does?

"The next domino to fall could be the departure of Paul George. He does have a player option to exercise that’s worth $20,703,384 if he wants to put his decision off another year. But, the idea of him staying if the Thunder lose to Utah seems far fetched."

Next: Grading the Thunder's third straight loss of the series

That’s it for today;s issue of Thunder in the News. That’s right – no ‘!’ from me today. Because like Oklahoma City, I don’t feel the energy/excitement to give the people what they want.