Why An Unleashed Russell Westbrook Isn’t Really Good News For The Thunder

Now that Kevin Durant is no longer with the Oklahoma City Thunder, the team will struggle mightily to win a title under the leadership of Russell Westbrook.

During the early part of the summer, it appeared like things were really coming together for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Sam Presti, the team’s general manager, completed a genius draft-day deal for Victor Oladipo, Domantas Sabonis and Ersan Ilyasova in exchange for Serge Ibaka.

After this trade, many figured that Kevin Durant would end up staying at least one more season with the Thunder. They had come so close to knocking off the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Finals this past season.

With a new combo guard in Oladipo, combined with a rock solid big man rotation including Steven Adams and Enes Kanter, the Thunder were looking strong once again.

That is, until Durant pulled the rug out from underneath them and ditched them for those same Warriors that had just defeated them in a grueling seven-game series.

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Now, the team belongs to Russell Westbrook. The explosive guard was already a nightly triple-double threat for the Thunder when Durant was with the team. Many thought he played like an MVP last year. Now that he has full control, many are predicting an MVP-caliber season from him once again.

Unfortunately, outside of Oladipo, the Thunder don’t really have any guys that are offensive threats. The only players on the team that can create their own shots are Westbrook, Oladipo and Cameron Payne. That means more looks for Westbrook, and an opportunity to show he has what it takes to be “the man.”

This is great news for Westbrook, but is it necessarily what you want to see if you’re a Thunder fan?

Per StatMuse, with Durant by his side, Westbrook had a win percentage of nearly 63 percent. He averaged 20.7 points, 7.5 assists, 5.4 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game. He shot 43 percent from the field and 31 percent from downtown.

Without Durant, Westbrook’s individual statistics shot up. He averaged 28 points, 8 assists, 7.1 rebounds, and 2.0 steals per game. However, his win percentage (54.1), field goal percentage (42) and three-point percentage (29) all took a hit.

He also jumped up from an already high 3.6 turnovers per game with Durant, to 4.7 turnovers per contest when he was riding solo.

So the question needs to be asked – is an unleashed Westbrook really beneficial for the Thunder?

Granted, in some of those games when he was playing without KD, the Thunder were dealing with other injuries as well. And yes, there will of course be a drop-off when a player of Durant’s magnitude is no longer on the roster no matter what.

In terms of this coming season, one has to factor in that the Thunder still have some terrific prospects. These include Oladipo, Adams, Sabonis, Kanter and Payne.

With that being said, they still have a gigantic hole at the small forward position. The only players listed currently on the team’s depth chart who play that position are Kyle Singler and Josh Huestis.

Ouch.

Individually, Westbrook wil have another sensational season. He might even come close to averaging a triple-double. But it is fair to wonder if the Thunder will benefit as a result.

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Most importantly, he has to keep his turnovers down. Averaging nearly five a game like he was before is awful, and indicates a lack of control on his part.

A lot of responsibility will also fall on head coach Billy Donovan to develop his offense. The Thunder are a team that still relies too much on isolation sets and bail-out plays from their superstars.

Now that they only have one on the roster, Donovan must flesh out his playbook with more detailed, intricate sets that effectively create open shots for his guys.

Everyone is expecting Westbrook to chuck up a ton of shots this year. What he should do instead is concentrate on making his teammates better and passing the rock around as much as possible. When this happened, the Thunder were a super dangerous team — even when Durant wasn’t on the court and it was just Westbrook leading the charge.

It is tough to see him doing this every game though. If he tries to shoot 30 or 40 shots a night, their chances of winning aren’t nearly as good. Sadly, Westbrook won’t be able to help himself most of the time. It’s in his nature to want to dominate, which at times leads to him being reckless and careless with how he manages the offense.

Ultimately, the Thunder will be a middle of the pack team that gets either the fifth or sixth seed (maybe lower) out West this year. With Westbrook paving the way, it’s easy to see them remaining competitive.

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But he still needs another elite talent by his side to help him. Without one, the Thunder will not come even close to bringing a championship to Oklahoma City.