Oklahoma City Thunder Breakdown: Atmosphere Still Too Dry For Thunderstorm To Erupt

[Erick Blasco]

 

 

That the Oklahoma City Thunder are talented is unmistakable. However, as the mediocrity and stagnation of so many past up-and-coming teams have taught us, the Thunder still have a lot of work to do in shaping their roster before they’re considered part of the NBA’s elite. Let’s examine Oklahoma City’s 99-95 win over the Dallas Mavericks to discover what the Thunder have and what they still need in order to trap the NBA in a ferocious thunderstorm.

 

Kevin Durant is an explosive scorer, and one of the best shooters of recent NBA history. He took 22 field goal attempts against a sturdy Dallas defense making 11.

 

 

• Three of his makes came on three transition opportunities, where his speed, hops, and long strides make him virtually unstoppable.
• Nine of his attempts came on various isolations in which he made five baskets.
• Three of his five free throws also came as a result of isos, which yielded two points.
• He curled to the hoop once and bricked a layup.
• He took one shot in the post and airballed a stepback jumper.
• The rest of his attempts came on various catch-and-shoots. In tandem with Russell Westbrook, he faded after setting a screen and missed a jumper.
• Shooting off of down screens, he connected on one of three attempts.
• He maneuvered around a brush screen once for a made jumper.
• Simply standing and shooting the ball as soon as he received it yielded a basket on three attempts.

In the halfcourt, Durant only shot 8-19—respectable, but hardly dominant. Most concerning was how many times he got into the middle of the paint. He only attacked the hoop three times in the halfcourt, leading to an explosive driving layup plus foul, a foul and two made free throws, and a missed layup.

 

 

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