Is Billy Donovan Better Off Without Kevin Durant?
Billy Donovan was given a team last season with two superstars and a supporting cast, which he was given a season to mold into a championship team. Could he be better off this year without Kevin Durant?
Last season, head coach Billy Donovan was given a cursed gift. He was given charge of the Oklahoma City Thunder with two of the top five players and the understanding that one of those players would most probably leave if they did not win that championship.
Well, they didn’t win the championship and because of this, Kevin Durant did in fact leave Oklahoma City. He went to the Golden State Warriors, championship chasing,
From a coaching standpoint, is Billy Donovan better off without Durant? Is he able to show more of his coaching style without being forced to bend to Durant’s wishes?
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With only one superstar left, Donovan has to be more inventive with his lineups and more inclusive of his non-star players down the stretch of close games.
Under Scott Brooks, Durant and Russell Westbrook played a lot of hero ball — isolation basketball that sometimes worked, and sometimes didn’t.
Last season under Billy Donovan, there was still some evidence of hero ball, but there was also a glimmer of plays being run for other players at the end of games.
This season Westbrook will take the lion’s share of the pressure shots, including the ones that Durant used to take, However, there is a difference.
Westbrook has just signed a three-year extension. As a result, Billy Donovan does not have to bow to Westbrook’s desires because he is not holding the franchise to ransom.
Donovan will also be able to develop other players. No one player is going to replace Durant, but as a team the Thunder have a chance to improve their mid-tier players.
Billy Donovan will be able to put more of his stamp on the team. With Durant there, Donovan was not able to really differ too much from the status quo. Because the team has a single leader, who has a stronger supporting cast, Donovan needs to show his coaching nous.
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Being in his second year, Donovan has seen what the NBA is about. He has seen how the grind of a season can affect players. He has also seen the different teams around the NBA have different strengths and weaknesses.
While we can all see it from the outside, from a seat in the crowd or our own lounge room, nothing can compare to seeing the game from the bench, experiencing the entire NBA season.
Donovan showed us that if he was given a playoff series, he could usually come up with adjustments to make a difference in the series. Who can forget the turnaround from Game 1 to Game 2 against the San Antonio Spurs?
He helped create history by Oklahoma City being one of the very few teams to come back from a 32-point loss to win a playoff series.
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This season is the one that Billy Donovan will be judged on. If Oklahoma City stays relatively healthy and still misses the playoffs, then questions will be asked.