The NBA Playoffs are here and Alex Theoharides explains why the Thunder are under the most pressure to win now.
There was
a time when the Thunder were the feel good story of the NBA. The team had just
moved to Oklahoma City from Seattle. While some bitterness lingered over
the way the team was stolen from the Emerald City—which had played host to the
Glove, the Reignman, and Niles Crane’s half court heave—most NBA fans were
quick to separate the young players that made up the Thunders’ squad from the
politics that brought them to the southwest.
Every
move the Thunder made seemed to work out beautifully. The decision to hire Sam
Presti away from the Spurs was a masterstroke, which gave the Thunder an
architect with a rare ability to find gems in the draft. Presti’s picks
included Jeff Green, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Serge Ibaka, and James
Harden. With these picks, the Thunder were able to build a nucleus that grew
from 23 wins in 2009 to 50 wins in 2010.
In the
lockout shortened season of 2012, Kevin Durant clearly became the second best player
in the NBA and the Thunder reached the finals. They lost in five games to LeBron
James and the Miami Heat. However, the overwhelming storyline was that the
Thunder were lucky to make the Finals. They weren’t seasoned champions yet. It
wasn’t their turn.
There was
no real harm in losing so badly to the Miami Heat. However, these story lines
belied both the talent of the Heat and the caliber of teams (Dallas,
LA Lakers, San Antonio) the Thunder beat to make the Finals. The reality was they weren’t lucky to get there; they just weren’t as
good as the Heat.
The
following season the storyline soured for Durant and the Thunder. Suddenly,
they were Western Conference favorites. For some reason, Presti panicked and traded James Harden to Houston.
Then Russell Westbrook blew out his knee in the first round of the Playoffs.
And in the second round, the Thunder were knocked off in five games by the Memphis
Grizzlies.
Even
though they have the second best record in the Western Conference, the Thunder
are no longer a feel good story. Instead, they are a team with expectations and
a limited window. Durant is signed until the 2016-17 season, when both he and
Russell Westbrook become unrestricted free agents. He is a terrific talent, who
remains the second best player in the NBA. However, his position is tenuous.
If the
Thunder win the championship, some pundits will elevate him above LeBron. If
they don’t make the finals, he will begin to feel the heat of the players just
a notch below him. Players like Chris Paul, Anthony Davis, and Blake Griffin.
Finally,
if the Thunder make the Finals but lose to the Heat once again, Durant’s
storyline will be dominated by comparisons to all the players who lingered in
Michael Jordan’s Herculean shadow.
IS DURANT THE NEW KARL MALONE?
CLYDE DREXLER TELLS
BLEACHER REPORT HE UNDERSTANDS DURANT’S PAIN.
PATRICK EWING REFUSED TO
BE INTERVIEWED FOR THIS STORY!
There will be a lot of fascinating
subplots to follow when the NBA Playoffs arrive on April 19th. However, the
team with the most pressure to win and win now is the Oklahoma City Thunder.
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