The Oklahoma City Thunder’s 2014-15 season began as a nightmare. Kevin Durant went down in the preseason with a foot injury, and Russell Westbrook quickly followed with a hand fracture in just the second game of the season. With both out practically all of November, the Thunder — playing a favorable schedule — dropped to 3-12. Playing in a brutally tough Western Conference, it would be a large hole to dig out of for anyone. However, a healthy Durant and Westbrook is exactly who you’d like to have around to climb out of said hole. They went on a tear from late November into mid-December, winning nine of ten to quickly creep up on the eighth seed.
Everything was humming along when the Thunder rolled into Golden State on December 18th. Durant went into God-mode, dropping 30 points in the first half. Then, this happened. What followed was a close loss to the Warriors, and another stretch of games without Durant. Durant has since returned, but, including the December 18th loss, the Thunder are 5-6 since the ankle sprain. The good news is they’ve beaten some playoff-caliber teams in that stretch: Washington, San Antonio, Phoenix. The bad news: their last two losses are very concerning (we’ll get to that in a second).
We already covered what type of performance they needed — starting in November — to reach the 50-win plateau most people assume is necessary to qualify for the Western Conference playoffs. Since Westbrook returned on November 28th, the Thunder are 13-7. While it’s a nice rebound, that’s not exactly what we’d call “setting the world on fire”. We can forgive them for dropping a couple games with Durant sidelined, but through 36 games, the Thunder are 17-19. To hit the hypothetical 50-win mark, they need to go 33-13 the rest of the way.
They are definitely capable of putting together such a run. They didn’t lose their 13th game last season until 56 games in. The problem is, there is just a very, very small margin of error when the eighth seed is on line (as opposed to the difference between a #1 or #2 seed). I say small margin because Phoenix, currently the eighth seed, is on pace for 47 or 48 wins, meaning 50 wins may not be required to make the playoffs. Also, the Spurs are heading in the wrong direction, but as we’ve learned time and time again, you can’t count them out of anything — especially with the injuries they’re dealing with at the moment. For fun, let’s say 50 wins is still the standard. The Thunder need to maintain a .717 winning percentage to feel comfortable about their chances (only three teams — Warriors, Hawks, Blazers — are winning above that clip right now).
Now that we have that out of the way, let’s talk about their last two games. The Thunder went into Golden State (again) on Monday and promptly got curb-stomped, 117-91. At no point was this game even close. Durant shot 3-for-16 from the floor for 22 points. Westbrook wasn’t any better, shooting 5-for-21 for 22 points. As a team, the Thunder shot 5-for-28 from three-point range. On the other side, the Warriors presented a balanced attack and beat the Thunder into submission. Stephen Curry had 19 points (along with 9 rebounds and 6 assists), Klay Thompson also had 19 points, while Harrison Barnes led the team in scoring with 23 points. The Thunder don’t get blown out often, but when it does happen, it’s usually to a good team. You know, like the 28-5 Warriors, who look like a 65-win juggernaut right now (technically, the Warriors are on pace for about 69/70 wins, but c’mon).
A team that is most certainly not a juggernaut is the floundering Sacramento Kings, which is one DeMarcus Cousins meltdown away from becoming a raging dumpster fire. It’s the perfect team to right the ship after a bad loss, right? The Thunder don’t lose consecutive regular games very often, and, when healthy, most certainly don’t get blown out in consecutive games. And definitely not by the Kings. Well, that’s exactly what happened Wednesday night. Durant shot a respectable 8-for-20 from the field for 24 points, and Serge Ibaka went full Iblocka mode in swatting eight shots. And that’s where the good part ends.
Westbrook has easily one of his worst games as a pro: 3-for-19 shooting (10 points) and 7 turnovers. The newly acquired Dion Waiters was of little help either, shooting 1-for-9. On the other side, DeMarcus Cousins was his All-Star self (23 points, 15 rebounds), while Rudy Gay had no problems putting up 28 points and grabbing 9 rebounds. Final score: 114-83, the Thunder’s second consecutive loss by more than 20 points. And that’s with a healthy Durant, Westbrook and Ibaka. To put that in perspective, the Thunder lost only one game by 20 or more points last season, one in 2013-14 and none in 2011-12 (the lockout-shortened season). You have to go back to the 2010-11 season, the first year they won the Northwest Division, to find the last time they lost multiple games by 20 or more points.
While it’s not a good sign, to be fair, we are talking about a two-game sample size. But, for a franchise that’s managed to maintain such consistency (even through various injuries), there is something troubling about their last couple of weeks. Tossing in Waiters — a guy who really needs the ball in his hands — just adds another wrinkle, and it’s up to Scott Brooks (lol) to figure out how he fits in. A couple weeks ago, when the Suns were stuck in the .500 mud, the task seemed much easier, but they’ve turned it on as of late, and the road to the playoffs appears to be as tough as predicted.
[photo: Layne Murdoch/Getty Images]
