Game Preview: Win-less OKC Thunder hopeful Russell Westbrook returns in home opener
By Alex Mcewen
The win-less OKC Thunder host Sacramento in their home opener hoping it also marks the return of Russell Westbrook. Game day breaks down keys to winning.
In their first two games of the season, the OKC Thunder have yet to live up to their preseason expectations. Throughout the entirety of the preseason, the Thunder brass preached ball movement. Yet, through two games Oklahoma City is averaging 241 passes per game, 12 fewer than their 2017-18 average.
Since the NBA made passes per game public at the beginning of the 2013-14 season, the Thunder have never placed higher than 27th in passes per game, often ranking 30th. For many years pundits have looked to Russell Westbrook as the reason behind the Thunder’s lack of ball movement.
Despite this fact, Russ has ranked outside the top-25 in passes per game only once, since the 2013-14 season. The Thunder through two have not moved the ball well and Russ has yet to step on the hardwood for OKC this season.
OKC identity crisis
Basketball is all identity, take the New Orleans Pelicans for example. After their first game head coach, Alvin Gentry said the team would play to their identity and continue playing big. Contrary to the majority of the league going small.
The Pelicans defeated the Rockets wire-to-wire in their first game, leading by as many as 29 points. In their second game, they crushed the Thunder’s opponent tonight the Sacramento Kings. As they scored 149 points. It appears playing with a defined identity works very well for a team.
Right now the Thunder are embracing an identity that does not fit their roster. This goes beyond their lack of passing and more so exemplifies the teams excessive 3-point shooting. At the time of this writing, according to Basketball-Reference the league average of 3-point attempts per game is 30.4, the OKC Thunder are currently attempting 35.0 threes per game, 5.4 more than the league average.
Oklahoma City has been dealing with an identity crisis for years, only it was masked because Kevin Durant was and still is, such a gifted scorer. KD covered for many of the Thunder’s deficiencies on the offensive end. If the Thunder continue to play against their identity they will be facing an uphill battle all season long.