Thunder suffer devastating loss to Knicks, in trouble in Western Conference
Everybody keeps waiting for the Oklahoma City Thunder to make their charge into the Western Conference playoff picture. Only, it hasn’t happened yet, and there continue to be setbacks that make people question whether it actually will happen.
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The latest setback was an awful 100-92 loss to the dreadful New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night. Kevin Durant didn’t play because of a toe injury, but that shouldn’t have mattered. The Thunder played the Knicks without Durant earlier in the year, and the game was a beat down in favor of Oklahoma City. But this time around, the Thunder couldn’t win despite 40 points from Russell Westbrook. The point guard got little help from his teammates, but he wasn’t without fault either, jacking up some terrible shots and turning the ball over four times.
Durant has missed two straight games with the toe injury, and he hasn’t been able to stay on the floor this season. Durant missed the first 17 games of the year because of a foot injury, and he has missed eight other games in addition to that. The guy has been a monster when he has been on the court, putting up 25.6 points per game and posting a PER of nearly 29. But those gawdy numbers don’t matter when you’re on the bench.
Westbrook has put up huge numbers as well this season, with averages of 25.2 points, 7.5 assists and 5.9 rebounds. But his efficiency has taken a huge tumble after a hot start when he returned from his own injury, and his penchant for poor shot selection and turnovers has hurt the team in recent weeks. You don’t want the electric point guard to be less aggressive, because that makes him who he is. But there are times where better decision making his needed.
The Thunder traded for Dion Waiters hoping he would add a spark to their bench, but it has mostly just been more of the same that we saw in Cleveland. Waiters is averaging 11.2 points in Oklahoma City, but he’s shooting just 37.7 percent overall and 27.0 percent from three. When the shooting guard has been on the court this season, the Thunder have scored just 100.3 points per 100 possessions, per NBA.com. So basically, his impact has been the exact opposite of what was hoped.
There are other problems on the roster. Serge Ibaka is having a fine season, but he hasn’t stepped up enough with Durant and Westbrook gone for long periods of time. Andre Roberson is a legit defender, but an absolute non-factor offensively. Kendrick Perkins is still taking up a roster spot. Anthony Morrow has been disappointing. There hasn’t been enough development in young players like Jeremy Lamb and Perry Jones. Reggie Jackson could be traded.
Add all these problems up, and you have a Thunder team stuck at .500 and 3½ games behind the Phoenix Suns for the eighth seed in the Western Conference. The New Orleans Pelicans are also ahead of Oklahoma City. While there’s still time for the Thunder to make a charge, they need to get right quick and get some help. Otherwise, head coach Scott Brooks might find himself in some hot water.
