The OKC Thunder are on a three-game losing streak and have fallen from fifth in the West to sixth. Their inconsistent play has a high seed looking improbable.
For the Oklahoma City Thunder, this season has been up and down. They have been on winning streaks and right after gone on losing streaks. The play has been inconsistent. Early in the season the OKC Thunder were defensive juggernauts. Now the offense has picked up with Andre Roberson injured and out of the starting lineup, but the defense has fallen off.
Russell Westbrook is nearly on pace to average a triple-double this season. He is averaging 25.1 points, 10 assists and 9.6 rebounds. Last year the Thunder managed to win games solely on Westbrook’s efforts.
Victor Oladipo was not the player he was this season and the bench was dismal. Westbrook was able to average a triple-double and lead OKC to a playoff berth. Although they lost in the first round after winning just one game in the series, the Thunder were able to build a team in the offseason they thought could compete.
After acquiring Paul George and Carmelo Anthony via trade, it seemed this team was on the right track to become a real threat in the West. So far, the Big Three has not been able to find its groove.
The OKC Thunder’s biggest winning streak has been six games. From Dec. 18-27 they beat the Denver Nuggets, Utah Jazz, Atlanta Hawks, the Jazz again, Houston Rockets and Toronto Raptors. The team seemed to be on the right page going into January.
The game against the Milwaukee Bucks was the turning point for the Thunder. Since a controversial call where it looked like Giannis Antetokounmpo stepped out of bounds and traveled but neither was called, the Thunder have gone 2-7 in their last nine games.
Paul George went into the season claiming that an MVP Award was in his sights, but the Thunder have failed to feature him and that has been part of the reason for their lack of success.
In a league where the small forward is probably the most important position, George has not been able to be the main player that the Thunder rely on to produce offense.
The last six Finals MVPs have been small forwards. Kevin Durant won in 2017, LeBron James in 2016, Andre Iguodala in 2015, Kawhi Leonard in 2014 and then LeBron James for two consecutive years.
The Thunder will have to run more of their offense through Paul George, who plays the small forward position for this team. George is averaging 20.9 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. Carmelo Anthony averages 17.9 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game.
For George, his 20.1 points this year are the lowest since the 2014-15 season, where he averaged 8.8 points because he was returning from the gruesome leg injury he suffered in the USA exhibition before that season started.
For Anthony, his 17.9 points a game this year is his lowest since his first year in the league where he scored 21 points a game. Anthony has not had a season where he scored less than 20 points a game.
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The Thunder as a team are middle in the pack when it comes to field goal percentage at No. 18. They make 45.3 percent of their shots a game. In terms of pace, the Thunder are at 97.73, which is good for 22nd in the league.
The shots are not falling and the pace that the Thunder are playing at is too slow. The team is just not moving the ball and getting players in position for success.
It seems like running Westbrook down teams’ throats offensively works for the Thunder, but for this team to be successful they will have to move the ball on offense and get Anthony and George better looks.
Clearing the floor for George and Anthony to create one-on-one and make fast decisions will help generate better offensive possessions. Finding George slashing to the hole will give him easy baskets when his shot is not falling.
From now until the All Star game the Thunder will have 17 games. Except for two games against the Cleveland Cavaliers and one game against the Golden State Warriors, the schedule looks favorable for OKC.
They have three games against the Los Angeles Lakers, two games against the Memphis Grizzlies, an upcoming game against the Charlotte Hornets, a game against the Brooklyn Nets and a game against the Sacramento Kings.
As of right now, none of those teams are playoffs teams.
If they can win one game against the Cavaliers and the game against the Warriors while winning more than half of the rest of the games, they should be able to survive until the All-Star break.
As of right now though, a high seed does not look likely for the Thunder. It will take extreme attention to detail in every game for the Thunder to be able to move into the fourth seed or miraculously snag the third seed.
The play of the teams ahead of them is one of the factors. The Portland Trail Blazers were able to beat OKC without Damian Lillard and now they have him back while in the fifth seed. Minnesota just decisively beat OKC at their home court and have had the fourth seed on lock for a good part of the season.
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The San Antonio Spurs are one of the most consistent teams not this season but ever since the dawn of the 21st century. The Houston Rockets and the Warriors have been two of the most elite teams this year.
The difference between the OKC Thunder and the teams ahead of them is the fact that they have been able to overcome their bumps in the road to maintain a high level of play.
Stephen Curry has been out for the Warriors for periods of time during this season with an ankle injury but they have been able to keep the number one seed in the west. The Rockets were without Chris Paul for a stretch with a knee injury and now they are without James Harden, but have been able to maintain the second seed.
The Spurs have been able to handle not having Kawhi Leonard as he was dealing with a right quadriceps ailment for the beginning of the season and are in the third spot.
Next: 2017-18 Week 13 NBA Power Rankings
OKC will have to handle the adversity that an NBA season brings forth to truly be the team it was designed to be.