Oklahoma City Thunder: Who Should Start At Center?

The Oklahoma City Thunder‘s Big Three of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka are entrenched in the starting lineup, but the question facing new head coach Billy Donovan is who he wants to start beside them.

That will depend on what style of lineup he wants to play. He can stick to the traditional two-big man lineup — either starting Enes Kanter or Stephen Adams next to power forward Serge Ibaka or go small-ball and play Kevin Durant at the 4 spot.

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It’s expected the Thunder will go the traditional route — two bigs and Durant at small forward — with their starting lineup, but playing small-ball is a definite option for the Thunder in certain situations.

Today’s NBA is trending toward speedier, smaller lineups with the goal of playing a fast-paced offense and spacing the floor with shooters — in other words, pace and space. While defensively the thought process is that a smaller, speedier unit will be able to switch on pick-and-rolls and generally be more aggressive on that end of the floor.

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That’s great in theory, but you can’t expect Kevin Durant (who’s undersized at the 4) to bang in the post against bigger and stronger power forwards for 30 minutes a night, 82 games a year. It’s too taxing.

While players like Durant, LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony are probably more dangerous playing power forward on the offensive end, during the regular season most coaches will only use them in that role sparingly — usually in crunch time and/or at the end of quarters.

Come playoff time though, with more rest between games, and coaches can start to get funky with their lineups. For example, the Golden State Warriors playing Draymond Green at center in the NBA Finals last season was a series-changer but you can bet on Andrew Bogut returning to the starting 5 next season.

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So who should the Thunder start at center?

Considering Oklahoma City just gave Enes Kanter a $70 million contract, the expectation is for him to start but that might not be the case. Some people like the look of a second unit with Kanter as the focal point. In this scenario, the starting center would be big Kiwi Stephen Adams, along with his man bun.

Man bun? Nailed it.. pic.twitter.com/z9alolC9qH
— Steven Adams (@RealStevenAdams) June 29, 2015

Remember, this is a team that has been starting and winning with a well-past-his-prime Kendrick Perkins playing center for the past few years. It’s fair to say Adams is an upgrade over that version of Perk.

There’s certainly merit in the thinking that Kanter’s offensive prowess is best utilized off the bench, rather than in the starting unit; it’s not as if the pairing of Durant and Westbrook is in need of help on the offensive end. But the Thunder didn’t give Kanter $70 million to be a rotational player.

Even if we forget the contract for a moment, Thunder general manager Sam Presti traded for Banter for a reason. Remember the rumors of Brook Lopez being traded to Oklahoma City last season?

Sources: Brooklyn, OKC could have traction on Brook Lopez talks again -- if Nets believe they can convince Reggie Jackson to sign extension.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 19, 2015

They were all based around OKC’s want for a big man with a post game. While they missed out on Lopez, bringing in Kanter was a move based on the same premise. Whether they needed a strong post presence is another story, but the Thunder offense with Durant and Westbrook had been rolling along nicely for years.

Sadly, due to Kevin Durant’s foot problems last season, we weren’t able to see how the addition of Enes would play out, but you’d think an offensive talent like that could only improve things. We did see a nice pick-and-roll game emerge between he and Russell Westbrook, which should be even more dangerous with KD on the floor.

Of course with Enes, the problems lie on the defensive end. It’s probably not a coincidence that after the Utah Jazz traded him, their defense became a lot better while the Thunder’s got worse.

It’s not all doom and gloom though, and there’s still hope for Enes defensively. He’s only 23 years old and if he’s committed, has plenty of time to improve his game. Even if Kanter only tops out as an average defender, with his offensive game that makes him a very dangerous player.

Whether it’s Stephen Adams or Enes Kanter starting, it won’t probably matter too much in the regular season. As long as Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are healthy, Oklahoma City should make the playoffs as a top seed. That’s when Billy Donovan can get creative with his lineups but until then, hopefully Enes Kanter can show enough defensively to earn a starting spot.

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