Lightning Report: Analyzing why the OKC Thunder offense is exploding

The OKC Thunder offense has been on fire lately. Here’s how they’re doing it.

Ever since Kevin Durant left the OKC Thunder a few years ago, Oklahoma City reinvented themselves as a defense-first squad, suffocating teams with their length and athleticism. Occasionally, they had some incredible offensive performances but they relied almost entirely on their defense to win games on a nightly basis.

Lately, though, things have started to change.

OKC has morphed into an offensive juggernaut after ranking dead last through the first month and a half of the season. While some are skeptical of its sustainability, the offensive explosions have become regular with the transformation a product of the team’s growth. Aside from their seeming inability to miss three’s, they’ve implemented a few new elements into their system that have made them a significantly more dangerous offensive team.

What makes their development so surprising is that the new quirks of the offense don’t really involve their main creators. Obviously, the offense would be in shambles without them, but the things that are catalyzing the team’s production have more to do with the way Billy Donovan is using the role players to create space.

Whether it’s the revamped transition attack that no one appears to have an answer for or the more altruistic half-court offense that improves floor spacing, everything seems to be changing out in Oklahoma City.

Without further ado, here’s how the offense is changing and why it’s so important.