Oklahoma City Thunder Must Get Defensive
By Aaron Mah
When the month of December began, with Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant returning from their respective injuries, many expected the Oklahoma City Thunder to take the league by storm and ambush up the Western Conference standings.
And, for a while, they did — winning seven of their first eight games.
The question surrounding the Thunder quickly changed, from whether OKC would make the playoffs to how high of a seed the team could obtain, and if it was at all possible that the Thunder could actually challenge for home-court advantage.
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However, just when all was right and the real MVP rounded back into form, dropping 30 first-half points on the Golden State Warriors in his ninth game back, Durant would sprain his ankle on his surgically repaired foot, causing him to miss the second half and the subsequent six games.
Since then, OKC have been Thunderstrucked — playing .500 ball over their next 12 games (including their loss to the Warriors when Durant went down).
Certainly, part of their recent struggles can be attributed to Westbrook’s sluggish offensive play. Most notably, in Russell’s first ten games back from his most recent hand injury, he was playing at a level very few guards have ever reached in the modern era.
If taking statistics in college has taught me anything, however, it’s that otherworldly production usually tends to regress back to the mean. Accordingly, over the past ten games, in which the Thunder have gone 5-5, Westbrook’s efficiency has taken a deep nosedive.
While he is still averaging 24.9 points, 5.6 rebounds, 7.0 assists, and 2.6 steals per game during the aforementioned 10-game stretch; Westbrook is scoring at an anemic true shooting percentage of 47.3 percent while committing 3.8 turnovers per game.
Westbrook’s First 11 Games (Back From Hand Injury)
Westbrook’s Last 10 Games
*Stats courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com
In particular, his conversion rate at-the-rim is tumbling incrementally; consequently, his attempts from 0-3 feet are plunging along with his free throw rate, as Westbrook is alternatively settling for more long 2s.
With that being said, Westbrook’s on-court play is a direct representation of the Thunder’s performance as a whole — as their offense isn’t necessarily the most problematic issue. To be more specific, Westbrook’s, and OKC’s, recent lethargic defensive effort is the root of the team’s overall quagmire.
In fact, since welcoming back their two dynamic superstars, the Thunder’s defensive competency has gradually declined.
Over the past 10 games, OKC has relented a defensive rating of 103.8, allowing teams to score at an effective field goal rate of 50.4 percent, per NBA stats.
Comparatively, during the month of November, sans Westbrook and Durant in the lineup, the Thunder held teams to 99.7 points per 100 possessions, where opponents scored at an effective clip of just 46.8 percent.
To be completely fair, though, and taking context into account, the Thunder have faced the Warriors twice, the Portland Trail Blazers, the San Antonio Spurs, the Dallas Mavericks, New Orleans Pelicans, and the Phoenix Suns — six of the top 12 offenses in the NBA this season — during this stretch.
Much of their downturn in defensive efficiency can be explained by the usual tangible ailments that plague modern NBA defenses — such as, slippage in their defensive rotations, sloppy closeouts, fouling at a higher rate, and a lack of communication on screens, just to name a few.
More concerning, however, is the Thunder’s effort, or lack thereof, and discipline — two rudimentary must-have’s — on the defensive end of the ball.
Particularly, the Thunder are gambling too often in broken play and transition situations. Consequently, opposing teams are overwhelming OKC with uncontested lay-ins and transition 3s. In fact, opponents are averaging 15.2 fast break points per game over the last ten contests — significantly higher than the 10.8 fast break points per game the Thunder conceded in November.
The biggest culprit for their gambling ways is, perhaps, Westbrook, as their enigmatic point guard has been an avid gambler this season.
Most often, Westbrook has been too concerned with making the home run/momentum-changing play — whether shooting the gap on an outlet pass or deliberately allowing opposing guards to beat him off the dribble, in an effort to strip his man from behind.
Although Westbrook is capable of being an absolute monster on defense, with his combination of size, strength, and quickness — unmatched at his position — his disinterest in playing honest defense have often spearheaded the Thunder’s defensive breakdowns.
Specifically, too often does Westbrook get swallowed up on screens, particularly in pick-and-roll situations, relying on his bigs to stop dribble penetration as he plays the passing lanes for potential kick outs — making zero effort to recover back to his man.
Additionally, in an effort to curate optimal offensive spacing, Andre Roberson, the Thunder’s most potent perimeter defender, has experienced a sharp decrease in playing time, averaging just 16.3 minutes per game in the four Thunder contests in January.
Accordingly, the Thunder’s ability to contain dribble penetration and defend the 3-point line has suffered.
To make matters worse, OKC has been utilizing Reggie Jackson — who, by all accounts, has entirely checked-out post-Westbrook’s and Durant’s return, giving lackluster effort on the defensive end, looking off his two star teammates in transition, and jacking an inconsiderate amount of long 2s — as their crunch time shooting guard.
For the Thunder’s sake, with the acquisition of Dion Waiters, the Thunder can put a stop to their turnstile ways, as a reinvigorated Waiters is fully capable, much like Westbrook, of being a pest as a wing defender.
Nevertheless, we know this much: after six-and-a-half years at the helm as OKC’s head coach, Brooks will not suddenly change the Thunder’s offensive scheme. The offense will still run through Westbrook and Durant, where most of their possessions, after their initial action is contained, will resort in an isolation of some kind for their two perennial all-stars.
By adding Waiters, a notorious ball-stopper, management has seemingly signaled a sense of contentment for their dull offensive style.
As such, with the team currently sitting at 18-19, two-and-a-half games back from the eighth seed, the Thunder must ratchet up their defense and solidify their defensive principles in order to make a concerted run up the West standings.
The Western Conference is as competitive as ever, and parity within the NBA may be at its peak — as the consensus favorites coming into the year have all had their respective struggles.
With their championship window closing, the Thunder have to grow internally, in all the right areas, to fully capitalize on the wide-open NBA landscape.