The Oklahoma City Thunder have grabbed several headlines during the NBA offseason.
After they were eliminated in the first round of the NBA Playoffs last season, OKC was determined to get Russell Westbrook some much-needed help. The star point guard averaged a triple-double last season thanks to 31.6 points, 10.7 rebounds and 10.4 assists per game, but his efforts were not enough. And the Thunder certainly landed some star power to help the reigning MVP.
The Thunder first acquired Paul George from the Indiana Pacers. George is considered one of the best two-way players in the league, and he should take some of the load Westbrook had to endure offensively. And OKC didn’t lose too much to land the small forward, as they sent Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis to Indiana. That’s far from an impressive haul. But the Thunder were not done. They wanted at least one more star player to fill their roster. And that’s what they did only a few weeks before the start of the season.
Only a few days ago, the Thunder made another major move and acquired Carmelo Anthony from the New York Knicks. The star forward wanted to leave New York before the start of the training camp, and ultimately got his way. The Thunder sent Enes Kanter, Doug McDermott and a second-round pick back to the Knicks. Losing Kanter might hurt, but there is no question Anthony represents an upgrade on the offensive side of the ball.
Many experts have debated the idea of the Thunder possibly having a good-enough roster to take on the Golden State Warriors. But whoever said that needs to get a reality check. Yes, the Thunder improved massively over the summer. But they are not even the second-best team in the Western Conference yet. They took several spots forward on their road back to contention, but they are not ready to challenge Golden State.
Oklahoma City should have an excellent starting five. Westbrook, George, Anthony alongside Andre Roberson and Steven Adams form a top-notch unit. But the talent level decreases considerably when we analyze the bench options. Kyle Singler and Patrick Patterson could represent decent options off the bench, but the rest of the roster is far from inspiring.
If we compare OKC’s backup lineup with Golden State, the differences might be massive. It would look something like this:
Thunder’s Back-Up Lineup: Raymond Felton, Alex Abrines, Kyle Singler, Patrick Patterson, Dakari Johnson
Warriors’ Back-Up Lineup: Shaun Livingston, Nick Young, Andre Iguodala, David West, JaVale McGee
As we can see, the differences are huge. And even if we put both starting units on the same level – which they aren’t – Golden State would still have an edge. And Oklahoma City would also have to battle with the likes of the San Antonio Spurs and the Houston Rockets solely to make it to the Western Conference Finals.
No one can deny the Thunder have improved massively over the summer. They should have one of the most potent starting lineups in the league as well. But they are not ready to challenge the Warriors yet. They might have to settle for a Top 4 seed and take it from there. Anything can happen in a playoff series, but at least on paper, OKC is still a few steps below Golden State in terms of quality and overall strength of the roster.