This was supposed to be the year the upstart Oklahoma City Thunder would make the NBA's Western Conference their oyster. After a 50-win season last year, the Thunder were supposed to be one year older and one year more explosive. Thus far this year, though, it hasn't happened. After a 117-104 loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday night, the Thunder are just 5-4 on the season, and frankly, they should be much worse, seeing as they have two tight wins over an injured Portland squad and close wins against lowly Detroit and Philadelphia.
What’s Wrong With Oklahoma City? Thunder’s Defense Falls Apart In 117-104 Loss To Spurs
The Spurs used a fourth-quarter offensive explosion to pull away from Oklahoma City on the road. Matt Bonner hit seven-of-seven from three-point range for 21 points, as the Spurs blitzed Oklahoma City from deep despite the Thunder rolling out a tiny lineup with Kevin Durant at center. Tony Parker added 24 points to lead the Spurs to the win. As SB Nation's Thunder blog Welcome To Loud City wrote:
The odd thing about the fourth though is that the vast majority of it was spent smallballing, with Durant at Center. Yet, the Spurs weren't owning the Thunder on the inside (though they certainly did the few times they tried). Rather, they managed to make three after three. I was having flashbacks to pickup games I play where I have to guard a guy who can actually shoot beyond 12 feet. It was a travesty.
The Thunder's defensive struggles in this game are ones they've had all year. They rank just 28th out of 30 teams in points allowed per 100 possessions, which is staggering because they ranked ninth in that category with pretty much the same cast of players. The loss of defensive assistant coach Ron Adams hurts, as does the injury to Nick Collison (who returned last night), but that alone can't explain such a huge drop.
So what's the problem? Yahoo! Sports' Kelly Dwyer tried to diagnose that in this must-read feature, and has trouble coming up with many solutions besides giving Serge Ibaka more minutes. Ultimately, without Adams, it will require a much better effort from the players. That's simple analysis, but that's about the only thing that I can say.
See More:
