NBA.com’s John Schuhmann gets you ready for the 2016-17 season with a key stat for each team in the league and shows you why it matters. Today, we look at the Oklahoma City Thunder, who have flourished offensively despite a lack of ball movement.
THE STAT
According to SportVU, the Oklahoma City Thunder averaged just 2.67 passes per possession last season, the lowest mark in the league.
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Fewest passes per possession, 2015-16
Team
Pass/G
Pass/Poss.
Oklahoma City
264
2.67
Sacramento
282
2.77
Detroit
276
2.84
L.A. Lakers
282
2.87
Houston
288
2.89
via SportVU
THE CONTEXT
As the San Antonio Spurs and Golden State Warriors have taught us the value of ball movement over the last four seasons, the Thunder have reminded us that you don’t need to move the ball to have a potent offense. Over the last six seasons, the Thunder have had the league’s lowest assist percentage … and the league’s most efficient offense.
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Thunder efficiency & AST%, last 6 seasons
Season
OffRtg
Rank
AST%
Rank
2015-16
109.9
2
55.8%
21
2014-15
104.5
11
52.8%
29
2013-14
108.1
7
56.2%
25
2012-13
110.2
2
56.1%
28
2011-12
107.1
2
49.7%
30
2010-11
108.6
4
54.5%
24
TOTAL
108.1
1
54.4%
30
OffRtg = Points scored per 100 possessions
AST% = AST / FGM
When you have two of the league’s best individual talents and put the ball in their hands, it often stays there. Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant have ranked first and 11th, respectively, in unassisted field goals over the last six seasons.
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Most unassisted field goals, last six seasons
Player
FGM
Assisted
Unassisted
%Assisted
Russell Westbrook
3,494
799
2,695
22.9%
LeBron James
4,272
1,616
2,656
37.8%
Chris Paul
2,756
528
2,228
19.2%
Monta Ellis
3,387
1,291
2,096
38.1%
Carmelo Anthony
3,462
1,408
2,054
40.7%
John Wall
2,770
728
2,042
26.3%
James Harden
3,098
1,083
2,015
35.0%
Stephen Curry
3,386
1,402
1,984
41.4%
Dwyane Wade
3,141
1,180
1,961
37.6%
Tony Parker
2,711
787
1,924
29.0%
Kevin Durant
3,870
2,046
1,824
52.9%
Kobe Bryant
2,747
1,050
1,697
38.2%
Durant was one of only two players with an effective field goal percentage of better than 50 percent on at least 200 pull-up jump shots last season. Westbrook wasn’t nearly as good on pull-up jumpers (though his effective field goal percentage was better than the league average), but he’s the most explosive player in the league. He led all guards in baskets in the restricted area by a pretty wide margin.
Westbrook also ranked second in the league with 10.4 assists per game last season. His 255 assists to Durant were the most any player had to any teammate.
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THUNDER 2015-16 FOUR FACTORS
eFG%
Rank
OREB%
Rank
TO%
Rank
FTA Rate
Rank
Own
52.4%
4
31.1%
1
15.9%
28
0.292
8
Opponents
48.4%
5
24.0%
17
13.0%
27
0.271
13
eFG% = (FGM + (0.5 * 3PM)) / FGA
OREB% = % of available offensive rebounds obtained
TO% = Turnovers per 100 possessions
FTA Rate = FTA / FGA
He also recorded assists on a league-high 18 percent of his passes. According to SportVU, Westbrook passed the ball to the screener 35.3 percent of the time when coming off a ball-screen, the second highest mark in the league (behind Ricky Rubio) among players who used at least 500 ball screens last season.
His passes are effective. But his passes are meant more to create shots than they are to spur more ball movement. The Thunder recorded three or more passes on only 45 percent of their possessions last season. The league average was 56 percent and only one other team (Sacramento) passed the ball three or more times on less than half of its possessions.
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THUNDER 2015-16 SHOOTING
Area
FGM
FGA
FG%
Rank
%FGA
Rank
Restricted area
1,534
2,528
60.7%
12
35.7%
4
Other paint
421
912
46.2%
1
12.9%
23
Mid-range
739
1,697
43.5%
1
24.0%
16
Corner 3
208
585
35.6%
23
8.3%
9
Above-break 3
470
1,354
34.7%
14
19.1%
21
%FGA = Percentage of total FGA
Westbrook probably isn’t going to change who he is. But without Durant, the Thunder can’t rely on individual talent as much as they have in the past. And in order to make the most of Westbrook’s supporting cast and remain one of the league’s best offensive teams, they may have to move the ball a lot more.
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THUNDER PACE & EFFICIENCY, LAST 5 SEASONS
Season
W
L
PCT
Pace
Rank
OffRtg
Rank
DefRtg
Rank
NetRtg
Rank
2015-16
55
27
0.671
99.4
9
109.9
2
103.0
12
+6.9
3
2014-15
45
37
0.549
98.3
6
104.5
11
103.1
16
+1.3
13
2013-14
59
23
0.720
97.9
9
108.1
7
101.0
5
+7.1
3
2012-13
60
22
0.732
95.9
10
110.2
2
99.2
4
+11.0
1
2011-12
47
19
0.712
95.7
6
107.1
2
100.0
9
+7.2
4
Pace = Possessions per 48 minutes
OffRtg = Points scored per 100 possessions
DefRtg = Points allowed per 100 possessions
NetRtg = Point differential per 100 possessions
10 MORE THUNDER NOTES
Oklahoma City led the league in offensive rebounding percentage (grabbing 31.1 percent of available offensive boards) and second chance points per game (15.8). Enes Kanter was the top individual in regard to offensive rebounding percentage, grabbing 16.8 percent of available offensive boards when he was on the floor. Steven Adams ranked 11th at 12.4 percent.
According to SportVU, the Thunder contested 25 percent of their opponents’ jump shots and 15 percent of their opponents’ 3-point attempts. Both marks were the lowest in the league.
The Thunder shot 0-for-13 from 3-point range in overtime, but went 3-2 in overtime games.
Oklahoma City was outscored by 10.3 points per 100 possessions in the fourth quarter after the All-Star break, the second worst mark in the league. It only went 3-12 (only the Sixers were worse) in games that were within five points in the last five minutes after the break.
The Thunder shot 43.6 percent from mid-range, the best mark in the league. But Durant (49.5 percent) was the league leader among 86 players who took at least 200 shots from mid-range and Serge Ibaka (45.5 percent) ranked 12th. All other Thunder players shot 40.3 percent from mid-range, a mark which would have ranked 14th among the 30 teams.
Westbrook led the league with 18 triple-doubles and the Thunder were 18-0 in those games. They also won the one playoff game (Game 4 vs. Golden State) in which he recorded a triple-double.
Westbrook led all guards in rebounding percentage, grabbing 12.3 percent of available boards while he was on the floor.
Kanter had an effective field goal percentage 58.3 percent last season, up from 52.8 percent the year before. That increase of 5.5 percentage points was the third biggest increase among 124 players with at least 500 FGA both in 2014-15 and 2015-16.
Westbrook led the league in postseason usage rate, using 33.7 percent of the Thunder’s possessions while he was on the floor. In the regular season, his usage rate was 29.6 percent with Durant on the floor and 36.8 percent with Durant off the floor. He was actually a more efficient scorer with Durant on the bench (55.5 true shooting percentage) than he was with Durant on the floor (55.3 true shooting percentage).
Adams, Ibaka and Kanter ranked first, third and fourth in true shooting percentage among players who took at least 100 shots in the playoffs.
NBA TV’s Thunder preview premieres at 5 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Oct. 5.
John Schuhmann is a staff writer for NBA.com. You can e-mail him here and follow him on Twitter.
The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA, its clubs or Turner Broadcasting.
