So I’ve had about 12 hours to think about what happened last night in Oklahoma City. Here are a few thoughts, seven to be specific on what the loss on Wednesday night could mean for the rest of the series.
1. This team and state misses Russell Westbrook. It’s hard to see him sitting in a luxury box at Chesapeake Energy Arena.
2. I still think OKC is going to win this series, but it’s not going to be easy to close out the Rockets. OKC has stopped playing defense, a big part of “Thunder basketball,” allowing the Rockets to create easy shots on the offensive end. That, along with the struggles on the offensive end the Thunder are currently going through, and you’ve got a recipe for problems in the playoffs.
3. Oklahoma City attempted 33 3-point shots on Wednesday night, making only eight. That’s 24.1 percent. OKC missed 14 of its first 15 attempts from behind the line. Last time I checked, shooting 24 percent from anywhere is bad news. Somehow Scott Brooks has to find a way to get these guys easy shots on offense. I’m not sure how that is going to happen without running a real offensive system, but anything is possible I guess.
4. This quote from Kevin Durant explains everything that went wrong Wednesday: "They don't really care about anybody else on the team," Durant said. "So, when I have the ball, there's like four guys guarding me sometimes and I've just got to make the pass. Tonight, we didn't make some shots, but I trust that we're going to make those wide-open ones. I've got faith that we're going to make those shots."
5. The turning point for me was the play near the end of the third quarter when James Harden let the ball roll down the floor, past half-court, before picking it up and hitting a three-point shot in front of DeAndre Liggins. Liggins has to be aware that Harden has the ability to hit that shot and not give him the space. Wouldn’t it be better to not allow the three point shot, but give up a possible layup? Also, watching James Harden drop bombs on the Thunder is really hard to watch.
6. More Reggie Jackson, please. Jackson in 32 minutes of game action scored 20 points, pulled down four rebounds, dished out three assists and accounted for two steals.
7. This might be too much doomsday talk after only two losses in the series, but has the Thunder front office overvalued the rest of the talent on the team? Aside from Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant, what does OKC really have to offer? What we saw last night from some of the other players on the Thunder was dreadful, Kevin Martin specifically. Have we seen the best this team has? How good can they be? I don’t have answers for those questions, but if OKC wants to advance beyond the first round of the Western Conference Playoffs, they need to find some answers quickly.
