OKC Thunder Season Preview: Expect big things from Big Kiwi
By Yams
Breakout year
As previously stated, Adams averaged career-highs in points per game (13.9), rebounds per game (9.0), assists per game (1.2), steals per game (1.2), and field goal percentage (62.9) in the 2017-18 season.
On top of that, Steven Adams proved himself to be the Thunder’s most reliable player.
He had quite a few great games over the course of the season. The best one of them all was the “perfect game”, where he shot 100% from the field and the line en route to a season-high 27 points.
Adams’ countless contributions
Steven Adams gave the OKC Thunder a little bit of everything last season.
His super human strength and giant frame allowed him to average over five offensive rebounds a game. It also allowed him to lead the NBA in both contested rebound percentage (55.4) and box outs per game (11.4). It’s no wonder why the OKC Thunder led the league in offensive rebounds per game (12.5) and offensive rebounding percentage (32.0%).
He was also the Thunder’s second most efficient roll man (behind Jerami Grant), averaging 1.22 points per possession. His ability to catch lobs doesn’t really need any explanation.
The improvements he’s made in terms of court vision and understanding of the game meant that he kicked out of post ups more often. Adams has learned to make the right reads and make the right passes to open shooters. In turn, this has opened up more space for him down low because defenses can’t just swarm around him without any thought.
That, plus his gravity as a roll man, have caused him to emerge as a reverse floor-spacer for the Thunder last season.
His size enabled him to create space for his teammates, which is why he led the NBA in screen assists per game (4.7).
His hustle, plus his ability to read the game, played a key role in him being third among centers in steals per game (1.2), third in loose balls recovered per game (1.4), and fourth in deflections per game (2.3). As a result, the OKC Thunder led the league in all of those statistical categories.
His ability to switch on defense and alter shots at the rim are two things that make him extremely valuable to the OKC Thunder on the defensive end. In spite of blocking a mere 1.0 shots per game, it is worth noting that players shot 7.7 percent worse on shots that are within 6 feet of the rim when guarded by Steven Adams. He also contested 13.4 shots per game, which was good for third in the NBA.
Room for improvement
No one is perfect. Not even Steven Adams.
The two major areas where improvement is an absolute necessity are ball control and free throw shooting.
Steven Adams averaged 1.7 turnovers per game, which is pretty bad when you consider that he isn’t much of a passer.
As for his free throw percentage, it stood at a putrid 55.9.
Outside of that, there isn’t much else to talk about.