2014-2015 Season Preview Q&A: Oklahoma City Thunder
To help get ready for the 2014-2015 NBA season Pelican Debrief is going through each of the 30 NBA team’s with help from other Fansided NBA writers. Today, we are joined by Brandon Wendt of Thunderous Intentions, Fansided’s Oklahoma City Thunder blog to talk Kevin Durant, Mitch McGary, and more.
1. What will be the biggest impact of Kevin Durant’s injury?
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Brandon: The biggest impact of the Kevin Durant injury will be seen in late game situations. Honestly, I believe the Thunder offense will work just fine without Durant in terms of the first 40-44 minutes of games. As good as KD is, his style of play often slows down the game and hurts the flow of the offense because he will hold the ball as he works to create a shot. Westbrook on the other hand acts in the blink of an eye and attacks the rim causing defenders to collapse, leaving open shooters and cutters for easy looks. Because of this, I think the Thunder offense should be more fluid and effective as a unit.THIS DOES NOT MEAN I THINK THEY WILL BE BETTER WITHOUT DURANT. Because KD is so good, he makes up for the lack of flow and team play by putting the biscuit in the basket better than anyone else.
That is why his injury will hurt the Thunder most in late game situations. Although the offense will be more likely to click as a whole because it will be built around one star player rather than two, it often comes down to simple isolation plays late in games. This is where KD is the best and it will likely cost the Thunder a few games because of his absence.
2. With a lot of questions about the starting lineup, especially when Kevin Durant returns, what do you think the starting five should be?
Brandon:
PG- Russell Westbrook
SG- Anthony Morrow
PF-Serge Ibaka
The biggest question about the starting lineup to this point has been about whether or not Reggie Jackson should be moved in to the starting lineup. I’d like to see Anthony Morrow be the starter for a couple of reasons, the biggest being to solidify the Thunder bench. If Jackson is in the starting lineup, there wouldn’t be anyone on the bench with the ability to create for themselves. Also, with Durant out, the Thunder will be better off surrounding Russell Westbrook with shooters and although Reggie is a good shooter, he is known more for his skills off the dribble rather than spotting up like Morrow.
3. The Thunder drafted Mitch McGary, what do you think his impact on the team is this year?
Brandon: This is a very tough situation to gauge. I am very high on McGary and think this was yet another great pick by Thunder GM Sam Presti. McGary is the type of player that is a better fit for NBA gameplay than college basketball. The comparison to Kevin Love has been thrown around rather loosely but I actually think it is a decent comparison. Obviously McGary won’t have the same offensive impact as Love but I could see his per-36 rebounding numbers to be very similar and I think he will be a more competent defensive player than Love.
As good as I think he is, he will have a tough time finding minutes in the Thunder frontline rotation. With Perkins, Ibaka, Steven Adams, and Nick Collison taking up most of the minutes, he will be fighting with Perry Jones for power forward minutes and Jones may get the nod because of his experience, versatility, and better outside shot.
4. What do you expect from Russell Westbrook with Kevin Durant out of the lineup for at least a little bit?
Brandon: This just might be a little biased because Russell Westbrook is my favorite player of all time, but, I am expecting HUGE things from the Thunder guard while Durant is out. The counting stats will be off the charts, with Westbrook coming close to a triple-double every night. One major issue will likely be his turnovers. He’s been known to be turnover prone in the past but with Durant out the ball will be in his hands even more and the turnovers will likely go up. With that said, he should still be an early season MVP candidate assuming the Thunder are able to continue their winning ways with Durant out.
5. What is the best case scenario for the Thunder this year? Worst case? What do you expect to happen?
Brandon: Best case: NBA champs, worst case: first round loss. That’s a pretty big range in possibilities but that’s just how it is for the Thunder. With question marks in Scott Brooks’ offense and the inconsistent play that can arise with two star players, it is possible that they could lose out early in the playoffs. We saw what happened when the Grizzlies pushed the Thunder to seven games last year in the opening round and it is safe to assume that the Western Conference will be even stronger this year.
As for what I think will happen, I have the Thunder winning it all this year. With the trio of LeBron, Love, and Kyrie in their first season together and the Spurs likely to drop off after a long playoff run last year, it’s now or never for the Thunder. Add the fact that Westbrook has a full offseason to work on his game, KD should be fresh for the playoffs after taking the summer off and missing time at the beginning of the season, and the Thunder will be in their third year with essentially the same core, this could just be the year for OKC.