Oklahoma City
Thunder
Northwest
| Team Rating | |
| Offense | Defense |
| 103.5 | 110.8 |
| 29th Overall | 21st Overall |
Statistics through 1/25/09
W
9
L
35
PCT
.205
GB
26.5
CONF
5-18
DIV
2-4
HOME
6-17
ROAD
3-18
LinksStatistics | Tickets
|
Category | Grade | ||
 SF Kevin Durant (24.7 ppg, 6.6 rpg) is a future All-Star who's taken a step up. PF Jeff Green (16.4 ppg) is coming along. C Nick Collison has struggled.
|
c+ |
||
 PG Russell Westbrook (14.4 ppg, 4.9 apg, 4.3 rpg) is proving he was worth the fourth pick. Desmond Mason and Damien Wilkins haven't shown much at SG.
|
c- |
||
 Other than rebounding, in the league's bottom third of nearly every major defensive category. Allowed at least 100 points 28 times in 44 games.
|
d- |
||
 G Earl Watson can't find his shot, C Chris Wilcox is an enigma and F Joe Smith is often hurt. Recently signed C Nenad Krstic was a nice pickup.
|
f |
||
 P.J. Carlesimo was let go after a 1-12 start. Scott Brooks has opened up the offense and smartly hired Ron Adams to work on the defensive problems.
|
c- |
||
d
Summary
Relocating from Seattle hasn't proven as difficult as the first half-season for Oklahoma's first permanent big-league pro franchise. The inexperienced Thunder hardly crackled during the first month of the season, with routs the norm.
The lack of progress cost Carlesimo his job, with his assistant, Brooks, taking over on an interim basis. The former scrappy guard immediately revamped the starting lineup in an effort to get smaller and quicker. Durant moved from shooting guard to small forward and Green from small to power forward. Collison, a natural power forward, shifted to center.
A modest but noticeable scoring surge followed, and that was hardly the only change. Promising rookie point guard Westbrook took the reins from veteran Watson. Durant, Green and Westbrook account for 58 percent of the team's offense and, for now, at least that much of its future. -- Art Garcia
Explanation of Marking System
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