Editor's Note: As the NBA season approaches and with NBA training camps opening up at the end of the month, Timberwolves.com wanted to give fans a little refresher on what has been a busy offseason. For the next two weeks, we'll be releasing season outlooks for teams throughout the NBA.
Overview: When you have the league’s best offensive player, 50 wins per season doesn’t seem so hard. The team won nearly 60 last season and that was mostly due to MVP Kevin Durant’s historical season. The forward averaged a career-high 32 points per game to go with 7.4 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.3 steals. Durant can certainly do a lot, but he can’t do it all.
The Thunder also has Russell Westbrook (missed 36 games) and Serge Ibaka to take some of the pressure off Durant. The thing is, after that, Oklahoma City really doesn’t have a whole lot else.
The team was giving crunch time minutes to Derek Fisher (!!!) in the Western Conference Finals before falling to the San Antonio Spurs in six games. To put things in perspective, Fisher retired after the season and took the New York coaching job. He should not have been playing big minutes, if any at all.
There also has to be concern for Westbrook, who has undergone two knee surgeries since April 27, 2013. If Oklahoma City wants to make a major run, it needs Durant, Westbrook and Ibaka at full strength – especially with a below-average second unit.
Record Last Season: 59-23 (2nd seed in West)
Key Additions: Guard Anthony Morrow, Forward Mitch McGary
Key Losses: Forward Caron Butler, Guard Derek Fisher, Guard Thabo Sefolosha
How They Did Against the Wolves: Oklahoma City was 3-1 against Minnesota in the four-game series.
The Wolves won the first game before the Thunder rattled off wins in the final three. It was no surprise who led the way for Oklahoma City. Durant averaged 29.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and 6.8 assists in four games. And he tore the hearts out of every fan in the Target Center in a 115-111 win over the Wolves.
The Slim Reaper strikes again.
Durant’s wingman Russell Westbrook played in just one game against the Wolves, due to knee injuries. In that game, the Wolves held Westbrook to 19 points and five assists.
The final member of the team’s three-headed monster, Serge Ibaka, was also somewhat held in check. In four games, Ibaka averaged 12.5 points (2.6 below his season average), 6.8 rebounds (2 below) and 1.7 blocks (1 below).
Nikola Pekovic played in just three games, but he was pretty dominant in those games, averaging 22.7 points and 10.3 rebounds. Point guard Ricky Rubio played solid against the Thunder, averaging 13.5 points, eight assists, 4.5 rebounds and three steals per contest. Sharpshooter Kevin Martin struggled against his former team, averaging just 14.5 points in four games while shooting 41 percent from the field.
Projection: Is this the year Oklahoma City finally wins the NBA Title? Judging by free agency and the draft, the answer is no. Morrow should give the team some scoring from the bench, something it didn’t have at all last season. But is that enough of an upgrade over Caron Butler? Who knows.
Durant is a top-two player in the NBA. He’s going to get this team to at least 55 wins and to the playoffs. For this team to win the championship, though, it will need Westbrook and Ibaka at full strength.
This team was only two wins from the Finals last season, but having to rely on Durant, Ibaka and Westbrook so heavily throughout the course of the season ultimately hurt them in the playoffs. That will have to change for OKC to win its first ring.