There comes a time in every athletes life where they start to second guess themselves. Granted Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and the rest of the Oklahoma City Thunder team have put up impressive win/loss numbers in their careers but everybody knows that success is defined by rings. Durant and Westbrook are both still only 25 years old but many experts would say their window for a title is either closing or has passed, with OKC at least. Durant will be a free agent in 2016 and it’s starting to look like him and Westbrook could both benefit from some time away from each other. Of course there’s one thing that could shake up those plans, a 2015 NBA Championship.
Rest Durant In Regular Season
Say what you want about great players in the NBA, but it’s hard to get them out of the game. Durant for example led the league in total minutes in 2013/14 playing in over 3100 minutes in 81 games, good for a clip of 38.5 per night. Durant has averaged 38.5 MPG or more in 6 of his 7 seasons and although his playoff PPG hasn’t suffered (28.9 lifetime) one would think those numbers start to take their toll. If the Thunder can rest Durant during the regular season (or if he’ll let them) it could mean the difference in pulling out some close playoff games.
Fire Scott Brooks
It’s hard to argue with Scott Brooks’ success this far with the Thunder. The coach has compiled a 293-170 record with OKC as they’ve rattled off four straight Northwest Division titles. That being said there are whispers around the league that Brooks might not have the gusto to be a championship coach and could be losing the team thanks to reoccurring playoff collapses. It might not even be an indictment on Brooks, just that a shakeup is sometimes what’s needed to make a NBA title breakthrough.
Maturity of Russell Westbrook
Russell Westbrook has had a heck of a career thus far in his six seasons in the NBA. That being said there are miles of room for improvement and Westbrook taking huge leaps as he enters the other side of 25-years-old could mean rings for the Thunder. Westbrook still plays too fast at times leading to turnovers and poor shots with too much time left on the shot clock. If Westbrook can defer at times instead of always being shoot-first he’ll actually see more success in the league.
With Boost From Roster Turnover
The Thunder lost perimeter defender Thabo Sefalosha in free agency but improved their inside-out presence by signing 3-point specialist Anthony Morrow and drafting bruising former Michigan star Mitch McGary. Those acquisitions plus the improvement of youngsters Jeremy Lamb and Perry Jones could take a lot of the burden off Westbrook and Durant.
With Spurs Injuries
The Thunder are by all rights the second best team in the West but they could take over the crown by default. Granted it’s a big “if” but the Spurs wouldn’t be the same team if they were to lose Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, or Kawhi Leonard to a significant injury, even with their great coaching staff.
For the latest sports injury news, check out our friends at Sports Injury Alert.
Thank you for reading. Ron Leyba is the lead editor of Fantasy Basketball Money Leagues, and a LastWordOnSports NBA Analyst. For more of his articles, follow his updates at Google+ or follow him on Twitter – @ronniedare. Support LWOS by following us on Twitter – @LastWordOnSport and “liking” our Facebook page.
