How the OKC Thunder will survive without Westbrook: All hands on deck

With Russell Westbrook being ruled out for Wednesday’s game against the Cavaliers, it will take a team effort from the OKC Thunder to stay afloat.

The air was taken right out of Chesapeake Energy Arena on Monday after a gruesome injury to Russell Westbrook sent him hobbling to the locker room. Attention then turned to Twitter, as fans were perhaps more anxious to hear about the status of Westbrook as they were the game being played.

Despite excepting the worst after an ugly sight, Thunder fans were pleased to hear Westbrook was only diagnosed with an ankle sprain which will sideline him for at least one game. So where does Billy Donovan go from here? Much like the first two games of the season, it will be a team effort to say the least.

First and foremost, someone has to step up as the starting shooting guard while Andre Roberson continues rehab. This has been an ongoing issue regardless of Westbrook’s status, but the problem intensifies without him on the floor.

Billy Donovan appears fixed on Terrance Ferguson, but after a recent 25-point outing by Abrines and the emergence of Hamidou Diallo, it’s not like there’s a lack of options.

Grant’s role:

Regardless, the workload won’t just be resting on the shoulders of those three. The bench been problematic for OKC in recent years and has had flashes of good and bad so far this season. Another bright spot, however, has been the emergence of Jerami Grant who is building upon a solid season last year.

Although not a proficient shooter by any means, Grant appears comfortable shooting the ball, which suggests his teammates encourage him to fire away when he’s open.

He’s averaging 11 points a game, including a career-high 22 against Washington, and doing it while often defending at an elite level and making the hustle plays.

Forcing misses and creating turnovers is critical when offensive production is lacking, so having Grant on the floor will be more helpful than ever.

Hidden Gems:

Raymond Felton will also undoubtedly be seeing more minutes, while guys like Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot and Deonte Burton may get more of an opportunity here and there. Their minutes have been few and far between, but it’s worth keeping them in mind. Burton brought a lot of energy in the game against the Kings and TLC had a relatively strong preseason.

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Ultimately, winning without Westbrook comes down to Paul George and Dennis Schroder. Everybody’s role magnifies when Westbrook isn’t on the floor, but that’s especially true for George and Schroder who are leaned on to score the majority of the points.

With George and Schroder running the offense, the Thunder stayed competitive against Golden State in the season opener and rallied from a 16-point deficit in game two. Both games ended in losses, but Thunder fans had to be pleased with how the team competed without Westbrook.

Defense is key:

The biggest key for the Thunder playing without Westbrook is defense. Offense will be lacking, and there’s no way to get around it. This isn’t a case of “next man up” and the offense continues as usual. The only way to compete is to generate stops and turnovers, and turn defense into easy offense.

Yes, George and Schroder are more than capable scorers. But without much shooting on the floor as the NBA’s worst 3-point shooting team, the defense can almost focus exclusively on George or Schroder and collapse on drives to the hoop. Of course, the obvious solution is to shoot better, but until that happens, defense is what will keep OKC in games.