In the following two seasons, Westbrook and Harden became the two shining stars in the regular season. Then in the season, Harden reached the peak of his individual career. He was the scoring champion, the MVP and the franchise player who helped the Rockets claim the highest 65 wins in team history. In the playoffs, he and Chris Paul almost defeated the Warriors in the Western Conference Finals as they once led in the series.
However, Durant was still the biggest winner of the three. They came close enough establishing their own dynasty. The season became another turning point for the three, and, again, it's a bad one for all of them. Though Westbrook dropped his third consecutive triple-double season, his image in people's eyes began to change from OKC's loyal hero to a stats-stuffer because his performance could not bring victory to the team. Harden continued to leave scoring records but the loss against the Warriors broke various reports about him lacking competitive spirit; Durant was the unluckiest as he suffered a ruptured right Achilles in Game 5 against the Toronto Raptors.
The injury not only cost him the third title in a row, but also placed his future career under shadow. Summer witnessed the most shocking offseason in NBA history.
Losing Eric Maynor at the beginning of the season was a big blow for an Oklahoma City Thunder team that was aiming at an NBA title during that season. However, he has not gone back to being the Eric Maynor we all remember and loved watching play. With career lows in points per game and field goal percentage, Maynor is struggling to make his contribution on offense.
Meanwhile, there are younger players hungrily waiting in the wings. Reggie Jackson and Jeremy Lamb are both looking for minutes at guard and both have shown great potential. If Maynor does not return to his usual form, look for those guys to possibly get more minutes. While one would have expected that to be bad, it has been very good for Serge Ibaka.
The year-old power forward is averaging career highs in points After being an enigma and usually a disappointment offensively, Ibaka has burst onto the scene as one of the most dependable offensive threats on this Thunder squad.
The Thunder did not have those added points last season. They also did not have such an effective pick-and-roll duo as Russell Westbrook and Ibaka. The Oklahoma City Thunder are on an amazing streak right now. During their last 11 games, the young team is beating opponents by an average of 14 points per game. They are on a tear right now, firing on all cylinders. Basketball is a game of streaks, both in games and in stretches of the season.
No team stays hot for an entire season and at some point this team will have to come back down to Earth. The Thunder are heavily invested at this point and so he is going to be out on the court as much as humanly possible. If this is his fantasy floor, his ceiling could be a lot of fun. Dort finished with 27 points FG, 3Pt, FT , five rebounds and two assists in 34 minutes during Wednesday's victory over the Pelicans.
Dort led the way for the Thunder , guiding them to an impressive victory. Often viewed as an inefficient source of points, Dort was dialed in from both the field and the line, ending with a season-high 27 points. Despite this strong effort, Dort is more of a back-end team asset due to his lack of peripheral upside.
The Thunder continue to alternate starting centers based on matchups, and they'll go with Favors to combat a more traditional big man in New Orleans' Jonas Valanciunas. In his last start Thursday against the Lakers, Favors posted 10 points and 12 boards in 28 minutes. Jeremiah Robinson-Earl will shift to the bench Wednesday. Robinson-Earl and Derrick Favors continue to take turns in the starting five.
As a reserve, the rookie is averaging 3. He had two points FG, 3Pt , three rebounds and two assists across nine minutes before getting injured.
It is unclear whether Mann will be forced to miss additional game time due to this injury. The Blue play again on Friday. Wiggins was very solid off the bench as the Blue beat Salt Lake City for the second time in three days.
The rookie forward out of Maryland could become a significant player on this team as he develops this season. Roby was arguably the best player on the court in his first G League game of the season, which is what you would expect from someone who made 34 starts with the Thunder last year.
Watson was once again reliable with his shots on Sunday, and he's shooting 50 percent from three through two G League games this season. He's seen limited minutes in the NBA across the last two seasons, but Watson has shown some potential and could make his way back to the top level if he continues playing well for the Blue. Bazley finished Sunday's win over the Spurs with 11 points FG, 3Pt, FT , 11 rebounds, four assists, one steal and one block.
They have lost back-to-back games once this season and responded to that mishap by running off seven straight victories and winning 11 out of their next This group appears focused and ready for championships as in more than one.. As well as the Thunder have played one still cannot help but wonder if they can elevate when levitation is needed.
Will Durant set up his teammates when it matters most or will he continue his trend of more turnovers than assists? Will Kendrick Perkins and Serge Ibaka find a way to stop opposing bigs from building condominiums in the paint late in games or will they just fill out the rental applications for residency? The answer to these questions will go unknown until playoff time.
What is certain now is OKC has delivered on the promise to be great. This season has given us all reason to not just say we think they can win but to believe this group and this city can be champions. Throughout history so many promising careers and players have fell short of perceived imminent greatness. The Thunder have not only avoided this pitfall but they smacked the fire out of anyone who may have pondered it.
As the season goes forward we all need to respect the Thunder for their ambition to be champions and for transferring that dream into expectancy. In life we all chase greatness but only a select few honestly expect to obtain it.
OKC has proven their talent is limitless and their dream is now a goal. The excuses of small-town proximity that have been bestowed upon them have fallen on deaf ears.
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