Remember Us?

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusmail
Facebooktwittergoogle_plus

The 2014-2015 NBA season was a tough one for the Oklahoma City Thunder as they succumbed to injuries. And in spite of not having the services of point guard Russell Westbrook or small forward Kevin Durant for lengthy periods of the season, the Thunder were still able to win 45 games. Typically 45 wins should be enough to get a team to the postseason in the NBA, but the Thunder fell one win short of qualifying for the playoffs. In a surprise move after the season, the Thunder would fire Scott Brooks as their head coach who had led Oklahoma City to five consecutive winning seasons. Thunder general manager Sam Presti would then go to the collegiate ranks to hire former University of Florida head basketball coach Billy Donovan to lead this team in Oklahoma City. In 19 seasons at Florida, Donovan had immense success as he went 476-186 with four Final Four appearances and a pair of national titles. Presti brought Donovan to Oklahoma City due to his ability to work with different personalities and so far it is paying off.

Donovan has benefitted from having a healthy Durant and Westbrook this season along with coaching in the weakest division in the NBA. The Thunder are the only team in the Northwest Division that currently have a winning record. Overall the Thunder are 24-10 while they are 6-0 within their division. And barring any setbacks, the Thunder should finish this NBA season with one of the top records in the Western Conference.

Coming into this NBA season, the Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs were the talk of the Western Conference as they were the main title contenders; and rightfully so as the Warriors are the defending NBA Champions while the Spurs are five-time NBA Champs that are always a contender. The foot injury that limited Durant to just 27 games last season had some people skeptical about the Thunder’s chances this season as it was unsure of how healthy that he would be. And once you factor in that Durant, Westbrook, and, Donovan, along with the rest of the Thunder players had to learn how to co-exist with one another, it was going to be wait and see in regards to things in Oklahoma City.

But the Thunder have been up to the challenge which is evident by their record while they’ve also put a strangle hold on things in the Northwest Division as all signs point to their fifth division title since 2011 as the calendar has just shifted to 2016. And the cherry on top is that Durant and Westbrook are both healthy while they are co-existing in Donovan’s system.

Billy Donovan

And for Donovan, his brain power has been on display more than ever. It would have been very easy for Donovan to walk in from his first day on the job and try to force feed his style of coaching on the Thunder which could have been a recipe for disaster. But instead of forcing his style, Donovan has adapted as he has simply become the ship’s captain that was hired to keep the S.S. Thunder in calm waters while simply staying out of the way of the crewman.

Throughout Westbrook’s career, some people have labeled him as an enigma due to the fact that he can take over his game. By title, Westbrook is the Thunder’s starting point guard even though he never played the position until he got to the NBA. Some have questioned the fact that Westbrook doesn’t always get his teammates involved enough which is a myth as he is third in the NBA this season in assists with 9.3 per game. Westbrook is doing this while he is still managing to average 25.6 points per game along with leading the NBA in steals per contest with 2.5. For Durant, he isn’t quite yet on the level that made him the NBA’s MVP in 2014, but his play isn’t shabby either as he is currently third in the league in scoring at 26.6 per contest.

Donovan would be a fool to attempt to reign in the style of Westbrook or the scoring ability of Durant because this is what could potentially get him to the promised land as far as winning an NBA Championship. But as Donovan has stayed out of the way of his stars, his presence will come in handy in those key, late game situations coming down the stretch of the regular season and into the postseason where his decision making will be on display.

The Thunder possess one of the deepest teams in the NBA as they can defeat opponents in a variety of ways. Aside from Durant and Westbrook, the Thunder have power forward Serge Ibaka who is one of the better shot blockers in the NBA along with improving his perimeter shooting. It was almost a great train robbery when the Thunder acquired center Enes Kanter from the Utah Jazz last season and he now gives Oklahoma City a legitimate scoring option in the post along with the fact that he currently leads the team in rebounds with 8.1 per contest. Center Steven Adams continues to develop for the Thunder as a player that isn’t afraid to do the dirty work to win while shooting guard Dion Waiters gives Oklahoma City a solid scoring option coming off of the bench.

Donovan has kept everyone on the Thunder happy this season with the amount of touches that they are getting along with also attempting to appease Durant who is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer. And with a healthy Durant, along with Westbrook’s explosiveness to go along with a deep supporting cast, the Thunder are shaping up to be the biggest threat to both the Warriors and Spurs in the Western Conference.

 

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusmail
Facebooktwittergoogle_plus

About the Author:

Leave A Comment