Should The Oklahoma City Thunder Play More Small-Ball?

With small-ball seemingly taking over the NBA, should the Oklahoma City Thunder jump on the bandwagon and downsize their starting lineup?

In the 2012 NBA Finals, with the Thunder taking on the Miami Heat, the answer to that question was a resounding yes. Yet it fell on Scott Brooks‘ deaf ears.

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Even though the Miami Heat were running away with the title, on the back of a small unit featuring Chris Bosh at center, the Thunder were stubbornly still trotting out the big pairing of Kendrick Perkins and Serge Ibaka and getting killed in the process.

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That would have been a great time to go small and play Kevin Durant primarily as a power forward. It’s something Scott Brooks had done sparingly, prior to and after the Finals, usually when closing out games, but for whatever reason he wouldn’t alter his game plan at the most critical time.

Last season, the Golden State Warriors completed what the Heat started by winning a championship using an ultra small lineup with Draymond Green playing center.

Of course that was an unusual circumstance and it’s expected Green will shift back to power forward to start the season, but even in that spot, at 6-foot-7 he’s still undersized.

With that success, naturally other teams will start to trial similar lineups. The Indiana Pacers have downsized, shipping Roy Hibbert off to LA and if Larry Bird has his way, Paul George will be moving up to the 4-spot – whether he likes it or not.

Far be it for me to second guess the wisdom of Larry Legend, but that doesn’t seem like a wise move. It’s hard work for perimeter players like Paul George to move to power forward at the best of times, especially so when coming back from a hideously broken leg.

Just because Draymond Green makes it look easy doesn’t make it so. He has that rare combination of strength and quickness most players his size don’t have — strong enough to hold his own in the post, quick enough to keep up with guards.

While it would work on some nights, you don’t want Paul George wrestling with someone like Zack Randolph for 30 minutes a night.

While it works for the Warriors, it won’t work for most teams.

Can It Work For The Thunder?

The Thunder also don’t have a Draymond Green on their team but they do have Kevin Durant. While he’s not quite at the same level as Green defensively, he’s not far behind either.

One only has to point to the drop-off in OKC’s defense after KD went down for proof of how much he means to this Thunder team on the defensive end.

For the Thunder to play small-ball, it requires Durant to play the Draymond role as the playmaking 4.

Here’s What The Line-Up Would Look Like

C: Serge Ibaka
PF: Kevin Durant
SF: Anthony Morrow
SG: Andre Roberson
PG: Russell Westbrook

This is a killer offensive unit. Featuring three fantastic outside shooters in Durant, Serge Ibaka and Anthony Morrow, plus two super playmakers in Russell Westbrook and Durant. This lineup would be a nightmare to defend, even with the offensively challenged Andre Roberson included.

Not only would they be a nightmare to defend, they’d be a nightmare to score against. With three great shooters on the floor, it’s easier to insert defensive specialist Andre Roberson and his wonky jumper.

It would be even easier if he could bump up his three-point percentage, from 28 percent last season to somewhere in the 30 percent range. Roberson only has to hit one out of every three shots from behind the arc for defenders to start respecting his jumper.

With Roberson in this lineup, the Thunder have four above-average defenders on the floor at one time, with Anthony Morrow being the exception.

Jan 21, 2015; Washington, DC, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant (35) dribbles the ball against the Washington Wizards at Verizon Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

There’s just a great mix of offense and defense with this unit and it should be able to cause major damage to most lineups in the league.

However, as with Paul George, you don’t want KD getting harassed by bigger dudes in the post night in and night out all season long. As with most small-ball units, it’ll be a case of picking your spots when to use it.

Of course, come playoff time, with more rest days, all bets are off. While the regular season is more a marathon than a sprint, in the postseason with the finish line in sight, it’s pedal to the metal.

Durant might be asked to guard the Blake Griffins and the LaMarcus Aldridges for an entire game, whatever it takes to advance to the next round.

The decision to go small will largely depend whether the Thunder believe a defensive unit with KD at 4, will work better than a lineup which includes Enes Kanter.

That’s a decision Billy Donovan will have to make but he has all season to figure that out. We’ll get an idea of which way he wants to go early in the season by seeing what unit he uses in closing out games.

Don’t expect to see Kevin Durant playing too many minutes at power forward during the regular season, but my guess is when the games really matter, that’s exactly where you’ll see him.

Next: Oklahoma City Thunder: 2015-16 Season Outlook

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