It’s the beginning of a new era in Oklahoma City. The life without Kevin Durant will be tough, but Russell Westbrook is still on this team, and he just re-signed. This Thunder squad is still looking good, they have added Victor Oladipo, and their front court had a breakout playoff run. OKC is still one of the best in the West, but not quite a team that will contend for the championship.
Even though the hole that Kevin Durant has left won’t be filled, they have enough firepower and depth to make it work and get to the Playoffs this season. It will be interesting to see who is going to start for them at small forward. You know Westbrook and Oladipo will be their backcourt, while they can mix it up in the front court.
If they want to stretch other defenses, Ilyasova will star at Power Forward. But, they can also go with Adams and Kanter up front just like they did against the Spurs and Warriors. And it actually worked. Everybody is talking about small ball and how great it is, how the Warriors have found a lot of success by going small. But, this is still a game of tall people and two big guys can make the difference if they are versatile enough.
Well, you can easily play Adams and Kanter against a team like Golden State and really not worry about them abusing your big lineup by putting Draymond Green on the perimeter. Steven Adams is going to handle that just fine. He moves great for a big man and can defend.
But the key for this team is Russell Westbrook. He is going to put up monster numbers all season long. Triple doubles will come every other game. This man will just go all out and is our leading candidate for the MVP award. As a matter of fact, we are picking Westbrook to win it.
This team is Playoff bound. We pick them to win 49 games and finish the season with a record of 49-33. They will be somewhere around 4th or 5th seed and will battle for the 2nd round. But that is their maximum. If they make it to the 2nd round, that should be considered as a fantastic season for this team. Clippers, Spurs, and Warriors will most likely be in the Top 3. Thunder will battle with Jazz and Blazers. First round exit is more likely than them making it to the Conference Semifinals.
