At the midseason break, the OKC Thunder are in position to make another playoff run. How are their grades shaping up for next semester?
All-star Weekend has come and gone, which means the NBA has reached its unofficial halfway point. The playoff picture is becoming clearer as the days go by, and the contenders are distancing themselves from the rest of the pack.
The Oklahoma City Thunder have been able to avoid the injury bug long enough to get off to a 40-14 start, good enough for third place in the Western Conference.
Kevin Durant gave the Thunder a scare when he was forced to miss six games due to a strained hamstring. Since returning from injury, he has regained his MVP form by putting up 27.7 points, 7.9 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game on .483/.380/.882 shooting splits.
Russell Westbrook is having another superb season while shooting with career-best efficiency and should be considered a dark horse MVP candidate. Other than Rajon Rondo, nobody in the NBA has more assists than Westbrook, and he is leading the league in steals.
Rookie head coach Billy Donovan has handled the ups and downs of a typical NBA season in stride, but has made his fair share of mistakes. Rotations have been questionable at times, and the team still resorts back to its old habit of playing iso-ball in crunch time.
The Thunder are usually one of the best students in the class, but are their grades up to par at the end of this semester?
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