Hoops Habit
Fansided

Oklahoma City Thunder: 5 takeaways from 2017-18 NBA season

By Simon Smith

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - OCTOBER 27: Carmelo Anthony #7 and Russell Westbrook #0 of the Oklahoma City Thunder look on during the game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on October 27, 2017 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - OCTOBER 27: Carmelo Anthony #7 and Russell Westbrook #0 of the Oklahoma City Thunder look on during the game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on October 27, 2017 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 6
Next
(Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
(Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /

After being bounced in the first round of the playoffs, here are five takeaways from the 2017-18 season for the Oklahoma City Thunder.

For a season that commenced with such fanfare, the 2017-18 campaign concluded with enormous disappointment for the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Following the offseason acquisitions of Paul George and Carmelo Anthony, the Thunder seemed poised to legitimately challenge the elite teams in the league. However, despite these momentous changes, the Thunder improved by just one regular season win in posting a 48-34 record.

Overall, the Thunder performed commendably across the board, finishing 10th in offensive rating, 10th in defensive rating and eighth in overall net rating. However, their shortcomings became more and more pronounced as the season progressed. In short, a heavy reliance on their leading players, combined with a pronounced lack of depth all proved too much to overcome in the end.

Despite the increase in top-end talent, Russell Westbrook again dominated statistically in averaging a triple-double for the second straight season. However, it was the overall maddening lack of consistency that restricted the Thunder to finishing fourth in the Western Conference standings, which was accompanied by a six-game first round exit at the hands of the Utah Jazz.

In all, the Thunder lost 10 games by three points or less, and simply couldn’t put together a sustained stretch of success at any point of the season.

A perfect example began on Jan. 7, whereby the Thunder lost three games in a row. They followed this up with a season-best eight-game winning streak, only to follow it up by dropping the next four games in succession.

Furthermore, this offseason promises to be even trickier than this past regular season, with some enormous decisions to be made regarding key personnel.

However, before looking too far ahead, here are five takeaways from the 2017-18 season.

Home/Oklahoma City Thunder