It’s time OKC Thunder make a change – Top 5 reasons to fire Billy Donovan

Lost games due to poor in game management:

Whenever someone asked why the ball stopped moving it seemed obvious – it’s because it’s not something the team formed as a habit and in stressful situations, players will organically return to their habits. For the Thunder that meant getting stuck in quicksand while everyone stared at Westbrook or George – ‘your turn – my turn’  offense.

Even if you earmark Donovan’s strengths of being a defensive tactician why then were the Thunder put in situations far too often where opponents found easy advantages? Sure, you could point to the increase of small ball but again, Donovan didn’t adapt to using Grant more (and sooner) nor did he even consider using Morris or Patterson to offset part of this problem. Again, this speaks to Donovan’s poor game management and it’s a critical failing of the coach.

The most telling statistic which points to a lack of game management is the sheer number of times the Thunder were in close games and their win percentage never belied a top level squad. For a team with two superstars and well into the luxury tax they shouldn’t be competing with teams like the Kings for the number of times they enter clutch time within five points.

That speaks to Donovan’s inability to manage the game and thereby his inability to adjust in game. Of the 46 games the Thunder entered clutch time within five points they converted on just 47.8 percent or 16th in the NBA. Putting this into perspective the three teams ahead of the Thunder were the Kings, Lakers, and Hawks and the three just behind were the Pistons, Magic and Heat. Now, look at those clubs salaries and rosters compilation.