Despite the OKC Thunder extending their win streak to seven games, there is a huge hole with Russell Westbrook out injured. Episode 4 examines how OKC weather the storm.
After a rocky start, the OKC Thunder were finally starting to hit a grove. Then, as it seemingly does every year, the injury bug hit and Russell Westbrook went down with an ankle sprain.
The good news is that it’s only an ankle sprain and OKC finally has a worthy backup point guard. The bad news is that the Western Conference playoff race is a dogfight right now and losing Westbrook for any amount of time could be the difference between a three-seed and ending up out of the playoff picture entirely.
Having Dennis Schröder to fill in for Russ is great, but that still leaves an enormous hole. This means the rest of the Thunder are going to have to step up their game, especially Paul George. Luckily, for George, this is nothing new, but the Thunder need consistency. And while Paul George has been brilliant at times this season, consistency isn’t the word that springs to mind.
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While the meat of the Thunder’s schedule doesn’t come until after the all-star break, loosing now is only going to put added pressure on those late-season games, and with seven out of their next ten games coming against lottery teams, it would behoove them to get some wins under their belt while they still can.
Moreover, this gives some of the younger players the chance to prove their worth. With guys like Alex Abrines, Terrance Ferguson, Nerlens Noel, and Hamidou Diallo all still trying to find their footing, these will be pivotal games.
Although this stretch of games will be huge for the players, it’s an even bigger stretch for Billy Donovan. Donovan’s tenure in Oklahoma City has been up and down, to say the least, so weathering this storm would go a long way.
On today’s episode of Where the Buffalo Ball, we talk about this and more. Click on the link below and have a listen.
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