Despite suffering their first defeat of 2011-12 to Dallas on Monday night, the OKC Thunder are still looking like the cream of the NBA’s Western Conference.
Kevin Durant is off to a fast start, and at the ripe old age of 23, is already in his fifth season, and is still three or four years away from what should be his prime. With a career scoring average of just under 26 points per game, Durant has already shown he has the ability to score points from anywhere on the court, and defenses have yet to find a way to stop him from doing so. The Thunder is far from being a one-man show however, with mercurial PG Russell Westbrook, just in his fourth season, directing OKC’s offense and contributing 16.3 points a night. Third-year SG James Harden is poised for a breakout year, and is the only other OKC player averaging double figures (16.0), while big men Serge Ibaka (7.3 ppg, 6.3 rpg) and C Kendrick Perkins (6.3 ppg 5.7 rpg) provide rugged defense and rebounding. Off the bench, OKC utilizes SGs Daequan Cook and Thabo Sefolosha effectively, while veteran big men Nick Collison and Nazr Mohammed provide plenty of experience and physicality up front. Head coach Scott Brooks, now in his fourth season guiding the Thunder, is a skilled offensive tactician, and is young enough (46) to relate to his young players.
The balance of power in the NBA’s Western Conference has shifted with OKC’s emergence, and with the Thunder being so young and hungry, the path to the NBA Finals may indeed go through the Northwest division for the near future.
The Lakers are rebuilding, while the Clippers, with their potentially devastating tandem of PG Chris Paul and PF Blake Griffin, are poised to surpass them, although counting out any Kobe Bryant-led squad would be a mistake. The Mavericks, although ancient by NBA standards, are still loaded with mega-experience and savvy (Nowitzki, Kidd, newly-acquired Lamar Odom), and are still a force. San Antonio is another team loaded with greybeards (Duncan, Ginobili, Parker), while Portland and Denver appear to be the Thunder’s biggest divisional threats. The Memphis Grizzlies are rising fast, but still appear to be a couple of years away from being serious contenders.
Reaching the Western Conference finals last season was a quantum leap for the Thunder, and barring injury, should return in 2012. An unwritten rule-of-thumb in the NBA says that championship-caliber squads need a potent threesome to succeed, and with Durant, Westbrook and Harden all nearing their prime, plus an energetic, innovative coach in Brooks, this appears to be OKC’s time.
