It’s time OKC Thunder make a change – Top 5 reasons to fire Billy Donovan
Superstar talent – lackluster results:
Not once, not twice, but debatably in all four seasons, Billy Donovan has taken two superstars to the playoffs. Granted, Donovan never had Victor Oladipo playing at the level he ascended to in Indiana but whose fault is that?
In his inaugural season, Donovan had unquestionably the horses to win the race and led the Western Conference Finals 3-1 prior to succumbing in what hurts worse than losing in in five games in the NBA Finals.
Even if the players are the ones on the court who didn’t get the job done at least one of those losses falls on Donovan. To this day, Thunder fans are still hearing Durant’s departure could’ve been avoided. Even as recent as this week, former player Kendrick Perkins opened a can of worms about why Durant left (note: see post later this morning for more on this).
"OKC didn't do a great job of making KD feel wanted. ... OKC needs Russ, and Russ knows that. You have to get Russ to the point where he listens to a coach that he believes in, or that he's going to respect. I mean you have Monty Williams sitting out there." — @KendrickPerkins pic.twitter.com/HHPPuqm6sP
— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) April 30, 2019
Paul George, Russell Westbrook, and Steven Adams were all healthy last season playing a team with a single star and a rookie at that. And yet, they didn’t just lose they got their hats handed to them.
This season, the Thunder returned to gain another full year of Russ, PG, Adams, Grant, and Ferguson playing together, had overall team constancy and were bolstered by Dennis Schroder, Nerlens Noel, and Markieff Morris. Making matters worse they were playing a squad missing the third member of their Big 3, with a second member returning after an extended injury absence.
And worst of all, the same player Billy Donovan famously got caught calling out for being unplayable (Enes Kanter) not only filled in for Jusuf Nurkic, but played well enough for some to suggest he outplayed his fellow stache brother, Steven Adams.
Consider the fact San Antonio pushed the inexperienced Nuggets to seven games. Granted, Gregg Popovich is the master, but he accomplished this with All-Stars DeMar DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge and a non-typical lackluster Spurs defense.
Meanwhile, Donovan had two superior superstars and lost in the first round getting outplayed on both sides of the court!