For the Oklahoma City Thunder, the 2018-19 season has been a roller coaster. After starting the season 0-4, the Thunder went on a seven-game win streak to get the season back on track. The most inconsistent part of the Thunder’s play throughout this season has been their offense. They currently sit at 16th in the league in offensive rating, although that has fluctuated all year.
In the 36 games the Thunder played in 2018, they had the 10th worst offensive rating in the
In the 21 games from January 1st through the NBA All-Star break, the Thunder offense was clicking on all cylinders, with the 7th best offensive rating in the league. This included the 2nd best 3-point percentage in the league at 40 percent. Over this 21 game stretch, Oklahoma City went 14-7.
Since the NBA All-Star break, the Thunder offense has collapsed once again. In the 18 games since, they have the 2nd worst offensive rating in the NBA, shooting a league-worst 42.4 percent from the field, including 33.4 percent from three. This stretch of stagnant offense has resulted in a 7-11 record over this span. Oklahoma City also has the worst free throw shooting percentage since the break, at 70 percent.
Throughout the season, there were also many roster changes that affected Oklahoma City’s offense and chemistry. Alex Abrines, one of the Thunder’s best perimeter shooters left the team due to personal reasons after playing in just 31 games this season.
Markieff Morris was signed in the buyout market, earning $573,295 to play the rest of the season in Oklahoma City. Morris has appeared in 17 games for the Thunder and is still finding his role on the roster.
Andre Roberson, who was uncertain on playing this season after he suffered a ruptured patella tendon 14 months ago, has still not played a game this season. Last season, before the injury, Roberson was a key starter for Oklahoma City starting all 39 games he played in.
Through all of the roster changes, winning streaks, losing streaks, and offensive struggles, the one thing that has been consistent is defense. Last season, Oklahoma City was 11.2 points per 100 possessions better defensively with Andre Roberson on the floor. One of the biggest questions coming into the 2018-19 season was how the Thunder’s defense would hold up with him sitting out due to injury.
Even without Roberson this season, Oklahoma City currently has the 4th best defensive rating in the NBA at 105.9. That is even better than last season, in which they finished the season 9th in the league with a defensive rating of 106.3.
A large part of Oklahoma City’s defensive success is due to an elite defensive starting lineup as well as a couple of key defensive pieces off the bench.
Paul George leads the league in steals with 2.2 per game with Russell Westbrook not far behind with 2.0 per game, good for 4th in the NBA. George is also 3rd in the league in defensive win shares. When it comes to deflections, George leads the NBA with 3.7 per game, while Russell Westbrook has the 7th most at 3.2 per game.
Jerami Grant uses his length and versatility to guard multiple positions and Steven Adams is a strong anchor in the paint for the Thunder. Terrance Ferguson has also made a huge jump on the defensive end this season as he becomes a true 3-and-D player for Oklahoma City.
Off the bench, Nerlens Noel is in the top 30 in the league in blocks at 1.2 per game, despite only playing 13.8 minutes per contest. Deonte Burton, who was recently converted from a two-way contract to a full-time contract worth roughly $1.54 million per year over the next two seasons is also making an impact defensively. Although a small sample size, averaging only 8.5 minutes per game, Burton has an incredible individual defensive rating of 92.6 when on the floor.
With these key defensive players leading the charge, Oklahoma City is currently 1st in steals per game, 1st in deflections, 2nd in points off turnovers per game, 9th in defensive rebounds per game, and 11th in blocks per game.
As we near the NBA playoffs, it is clear that the Oklahoma City defense will show up and make an impact in playoff games. The biggest question is whether the Thunder offense will be efficient enough to make a run. If Oklahoma City can shoot even close to how they did from January until the NBA All-Star break, they will be poised to make a push for the NBA Western Conference Finals. If their offense struggles the way it did to start the season, or how it has looked in the past few weeks, Oklahoma City could be facing another first-round exit.
