The OKC Thunder fell to sixth in the Western Conference after a loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday at home. After bad defense in recent games, the Thunder are missing Andre Roberson.
For the Oklahoma City Thunder it is simple–they have to find consistent play and win games that they should win and compete in games against more formidable opponents. That formula has not been realized at this point in the season. The OKC Thunder have two recent losses that show it.
Bad losses against a bottom-feeder Phoenix Suns team and a Portland Trail Blazers team without Damian Lillard show the inconsistency that OKC has displayed so far in the season.
Before the Phoenix Suns game, the Thunder were 8-2 in their last 10 games and in the fifth spot in the Western Conference, preparing to make a surge up the standings. Three straight losses later, they are in the sixth spot and are back to the inconsistent play that hindered them earlier in the season.
There has been a lack of energy and Carmelo Anthony spoke about that after the game against the Blazers, telling ESPN‘s Royce Young:
"“To sit here and try and pinpoint that is … I think the easiest answer is, it happens. It’s happened to us these past two games, and we’ve got to figure out a way to not allow it to happen. Maybe know that it’s there, maybe understand it happens throughout the course of a season, but try to do some things where we do bring the energy, where we do bring the effort. We should never have a lack of effort out there.”"
Russell Westbrook was frustrated after the game as he left via a back door in the locker room before the media was available. After Westbrook’s MVP season and having dominating all around season last year this may feel like new territory.
Russell Westbrook left the arena tonight before the locker room opened without speaking with the media.
— Royce Young (@royceyoung) January 10, 2018
The Thunder have flip-flopped their play from being defensively elite to getting the offense back on track. The problem is that they have not been able to get both the offense and the defense on the same page.
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Since Dec. 16, the Thunder have had the best offense in the league, scoring 114.2 points per 100 possessions. During that same time, they are 19th in the league in defensive rating, giving up 108.7 points per 100 possessions.
Five weeks ago in a Paul George article, the OKC Thunder were second overall in defensive rating. Now at this point in the season, they are sixth.
At that point in the season, Paul George was averaging 2.8 steals a game now he is averaging 2.3. Averaging 2.8 steals was ridiculous, but this is just another way to show how things have fallen off from the first portion of the season.
To be fair to Paul George, he is still first in the league, which means everybody else’s numbers are falling too, but the point still stands: The defense is not the same from the beginning of the season as a team.
Not having defensive stud Andre Roberson for the past five games with left knee tendinitis has not helped the Thunder’s defensive efforts.
The players that Roberson would be defending in those games numbers were off the charts. In the game against the Trail Blazers, C.J. McCollum had 27 points and shot 57.9 percent from the field.
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In the game Sunday against the Suns, Devin Booker had 26 points in a rather easy win. Getting Roberson back will be necessary for the Thunder to be back to where they were during the 8-2 run. In the game against the Minnesota Timberwolves Jimmy Butler ended up with 26 points while shooting 53.8 percent from the field.
Roberson’s length and defensive skills make him the ultimate perimeter defender and if the Thunder don’t have him, then they are missing a big piece of their success.
Rookie Terrance Ferguson showed out in the game against the Los Angeles Lakers with 24 points, but in the four games since, he’s scored a total of 16 points.
If the Thunder will not get offensive production out of the shooting guard position, then they will need the defense that Roberson gave them. After the Timberwolves game, the Thunder have three days of rest and then they will play Saturday against the Charlotte Hornets.
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Roberson may be able to play that game. Josh Huestis at his 6’7″ frame can try to replicate the same length that Roberson did at the shooting guard position, which could be another route to go if the Roberson injury is prolonged and the defensive play is still where it is at now.