OKC Thunder need offense to catch up to defense
The OKC Thunder offense has disappeared in recent games and they will need a consistent offense to help win games down the stretch.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are one of the top defensive teams in the NBA, as they are ranked eighth in defensive rating. On Saturday night against the Golden State Warriors, they were only able to muster up 80 points on offense though. Now the OKC Thunder are seventh in the Western Conference standings. Offense will have to be more of a focus.
OKC scored 108 points and 125 points in its first two games against the Warriors. They shot 45.6 percent from the field in the first game and 47.3 percent from the field in the second game. This game, however, they shot only 33 percent from the field.
Paul George only had five points, but in the first two games in had 20 and 38, respectively.
The Big 3 for OKC of George, Carmelo Anthony and Russell Westbrook didn’t have a player score more than 20 points.
Carmelo Anthony’s shooting problems have gone by the wayside since he has moved in a requested role, but he has not been his 10-time All-Star, six time All-NBA self in his first time being incorporated into a Big 3.
These type of games were the games that kept this Thunder team together during the trade deadline.
The Thunder were one of the best teams against the top teams in the NBA, but losing to the Warriors has put a dent in the armor of the team’s reason for being together still.
The Thunder have only lost to a top-two team in either conference twice. That was on Saturday night against the Warriors and a game early in the season against the Boston Celtics on Nov. 3. They have a 4-2 record altogether against the top teams in each conference.
In the wins they have scored an average of 117 points. In the losses they have scored an average of 87 points. In the wins they scored more than 100 points in all of the games. In the losses they have not.
So it’s pretty simple: Against the better teams, there cannot be a lapse on the offensive end.
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The best teams can do both. Offense and defense. The Houston Rockets are one of the top teams on offense, everybody knows that, but what might go under the radar is the fact that they are 10th ranked in defensive rating. The Warriors are ranked first in offensive rating and they are ranked fifth in offensive rating.
The Eastern Conference is no different. The Toronto Raptors are ranked top-five in both offensive rating and defensive rating. They take the No. 4 spot in both and are top team in the East.
On defense, the Thunder are one of the top teams in the league. They are ranked first in steals with 9.1 per game, and that translates to the other end when they go on fast breaks. The Thunder are fourth in fast break points with 14.6 per game.
The Thunder will have to make it into the top 10 in offensive rating to take the team to the next level. They are ranked 12th in terms of offensive rating as of right now, so they are not one of the worst offensive teams. They will need to pay attention to it moving forward though.
On offense the ball seems to stick. One of the Big 3 will usually go one-on-one and try to make everything happen themselves. They will have to move the ball around and utilize the fact that they have three superstars on one team.
That could be Westbrook creating and finding Carmelo Anthony for open shots, or it could be Westbrook finding Paul George after he slashes around for an open shot or layup.
Russell Westbrook is the team’s point guard and MVP, so it will be up to him to get the offense set and get players in position where they can be effective offensively.
The Thunder are also great on offense in terms of second chance points. They are ranked first in the league with 15 a game. It was what kept them in the game early against the Warriors.
What that also means though is that they are taking bad shots. They will have to limit bad shots. What helps with that is also moving the ball around to find the open man and making the extra pass for a better shot.
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The Thunder’s next marque matchup will be against the Houston Rockets on Mar. 6. Then we will see if they can keep defeating the top teams before the playoffs.