Oklahoma City Thunder: 5 obstacles to contending in 2017-18

1. Defeating top teams in the West

The OKC Thunder didn’t fare poorly against Western Conference teams in 2016-17. They posted a 29-23 record against the West, but against the Rockets, Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs, it was a totally different story.

The Thunder went a combined 2-9 against the Rockets, Warriors and Spurs last season. The Warriors outscored them by an average of 19.7 points per game in their four meetings with newly acquired forward Kevin Durant. There was a ton of animosity between the teams, but Golden State won with relative ease in all four games.

They beat the Spurs and Rockets once during the regular season, but the two teams still won the overall series. The Thunder also lost to the Rockets 4-1 in the first round of the NBA Playoffs.

Paul George and Carmelo Anthony have given OKC new life against the top three teams in the West. They may not stack up well against the trio of teams individually, but as a new Big Three, they open up new possibilities.

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Westbrook, George and Anthony should be able to coexist in 2017-18. If they do, look for them to contend for the top spot in the West. Westbrook should look to his playmakers a whole lot more as he continues to be a top player in the league.