Prior to the start of the 2014-15 NBA season, several people asked me who to put money on for this year’s NBA title. Time and time again, my response was always the same: The Oklahoma City Thunder. Seriously, could you blame me? They possessed all the pieces in place to win.
They had the reigning NBA Most Valuable Player in Kevin Durant leading the way, along with his right-hand man Russell Westbrook — who you could easily make a case for being the best point guard in the game.
They also had great complimentary pieces in Reggie Jackson and Serge Ibaka, in addition to a few others such as the young, up-and-coming Steven Adams. Plus, despite being such a young team, OKC still has experience competing for championships having already been to the Finals back in 2012.
That’s before you even mention the hard-nosed coach Scott Brooks and his staff.
Then the injuries came and changed everything.
First Durant went down with broken bone in his foot. However, there was still some hope and it was arguably a blessing in disguise for Westbrook since he could now take as many shots as he damn well pleased — until he was also grounded by a broken bone in his shooting hand.
All of a sudden, the Oklahoma City Thunder have gone from championship contenders to Western Conference casualties.
At 3-12, all signs suggest that the Thunder’s hopes for the playoffs, let alone the championship, are all but dead because out West, the race for post season places is a year long struggle.
The slightest of dips in results could spell doom since something close to the 50-win mark is recquired to even stand a chance. Heck, last year, the Phoenix Suns had 48 wins but still missed out.
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This time around, the conference has gotten even stronger with Anthony Davis looking like an early MVP candidate as he leads the New Orleans Pelicans to the new heights.
Meanwhile DeMarcus Cousins spearheaded the Sacramento Kings back into the playoff chatter, with the high-powered Los Angeles Clippers currently on the outside looking in.
Furthermore, even if there is some truth to the reports that Durant and Westbrook’s return could be sooner than expected, the team will most likely still have to endure a rough patch as the duo get acclimated once again.
Even if they do, Oklahoma City will still need to get close to the 50 win mark, which means going roughly 47-20 — kind of like what they did back in the lockout shortened 2011-12 season and that’s going to be one very tall order.
Yet, with that said, there is always at least one overly optimistic person who is ready to argue against the general perspective. Today, that’s me and there are a few reasons why:
1). Despite what the record says, the Oklahoma City Thunder have actually been competitive in the majority of their games. Just look at the past 10 games where the record is 2-8 but when you look at the final score, only one of those losses has been by double digits.
Essentially, the team has been keeping pace with the likes of Memphis (12-2), Golden State (10-2) and Houston (11-3), but simply ran out of steam or lacked that little something extra down the stretch. Those are three of the best teams in the NBA (according to their records), yet OKC lost by an average of just 3.6 points against them.
If they can keep up that level of competitiveness once Durant and/or Westbrook return, then they should be able to win. Even if the superstars aren’t at 100 percent.
The mere presence of either player, no matter how much they are struggling, is still enough to garner the opposing defense’s full attention. So theoretically speaking, that should open up some looks for others and help the Thunder close out games.
2). Let’s face it, even though they are currently doing well right, holding on to playoff spots, but we’re all expecting Sacramento and New Orleans to drop the ball at some point.
Cousins’ fiery temper is likely to land him in some hot water, or Rudy Gay is going to start hoisting up a ridiculous amount of shots again — either way, the Kings will screw up.
As for the Pelicans, at some point their ball dependent players (i.e. Jrue Holiday, Eric Gordon, Tyreke Evans) will eventually try to be a hero and that will ultimately be their downfall.
Admittedly, it is somewhat presumptuous, and quite frankly unfair, to assume reasons why the teams will struggle. However, one thing is for sure: because they are young, inexperienced teams, they are bound to have a testy periods where they’ll go through the motions and that’s when Oklahoma City will strike.
3). While I did say Durant and Westbrook will likely come out misfiring and struggling in the first few games as they get back into the swing of things, there is actually a strong chance they will come out all guns blazing and dominate right from the get go.
After all, these are two players who possess a great deal of confidence in themselves, therefore don’t be too surprised if they come out swinging and connect.
Coach Brooks will certainly have the utmost confidence in his superstars and won’t be afraid to through them right into the deep-end, should the situation require him to. And let’s face it, that’s probably what it will come down to since OKC don’t have a lot of play-makers.
Bottom line, the Oklahoma City Thunder will not only make the playoffs in the meat grinder that is the Western Conference, but they will also compete for this year’s NBA title as arguably the most dangerous eighth seed in history.