The OKC Thunder have a prime opportunity to win big in the West, but to do so these four players need to improve next year.
For the OKC Thunder, the 2018-2019 season is arguably their best shot to legitimately contend for a Finals berth in the Western Conference. Their primary competition last year–namely the Houston Rockets–lost key role players and is poised for a big step back in the standings.
The conference’s top dog is the Golden State Warriors added yet another All-NBA big man in DeMarcus Cousins this summer, but they clearly had emotional and motivational problems last year that might re-surface again this season.
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Outside of a few young upstarts in the middle of the conference in the Utah Jazz and the Denver Nuggets, there aren’t many teams better equipped to make their way up the conference ladder.
However, if OKC are going to make the leap this year, they absolutely need to address some of the more glaring roster flaws.
For the past two years they’ve been one of the shallowest teams in the league, rarely having any impact players to fill in when one of the starters goes out. Furthermore, OKC’s complete lack of three-point shooting has made their offense far too predictable to advance in the bloodbath that has become the Western Conference. Seemingly the Thunder have the right players to address those problems, but for one reason or another, those guys just haven’t come through to their potential yet.
To that end, here are the four players on the roster who must improve next year for the OKC Thunder to succeed.