The Wild, Wild West: A Team-By-Team Preview Of The NBA Western Conference
By Matt Packer
Oklahoma City Thunder (Division)
Last year’s result: Regular Season (59-23). Lost in Western Conference Finals to San Antonio Spurs in 6 games.
Significant players added: Mitch McGary (Rookie), Anthony Morrow, Josh Huestis (Rookie)
Significant players lost: Caron Butler. Derek Fisher, Thabo Sefolosha
Projected starting lineup: Russell Westbrook, Reggie Jackson, Kevin Durant, Serge Ibaka, Kendrick Perkins
Analysis: Last season, the Thunder fell a step short of the NBA Finals in a Western Conference Finals rematch with the San Antonio Spurs. Sam Presti and Scott Brooks don’t seem convinced that they have to make any major changes to the current roster to compete for a championship. With the departures of veterans Caron Butler, Derek Fisher, and Sefolosha the Thunder appear to be a bit thin for an NBA contender.
It makes sense that Reggie Jackson will compete for the starting shooting guard spot left by Sefolosha, considering Jackson played 28.5 mins/game in the playoffs compared to Sefolosha’s 15.7. Jackson is not a natural 2-guard, but I don’t think Brooks is ready to start Jeremy Lamb, who only averaged 9.5 mins/game in the playoffs and 19.5 in the regular season.
Jackson’s stiffest competition will be recently acquired sharp-shooter Anthony Morrow. Morrow can shoot lights out and will be able to take pressure off Westbrook and KD. I imagine he’ll eventually play himself into the starting lineup after Brooks gets comfortable with his skill set. Another player who is definitely worth keeping an eye on is 3rd year player Steven Adams. Already one of the most physical players in the league, at 7-feet 255 pounds, he’s an absolute presence in the paint and he’s developing some offensive skills as well. Drafting McGary and Huestis didn’t make a lot of sense as they have similar skill-sets to incumbent Nick Collison. It would have been wiser to target a shooting guard.
Grade: C