5 Adjustments That OKC Thunder Need To Make To Be A True Contender

In Paul George's first game back at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse, the arena where he was loved and adored, he was booed with every touch. The Oklahoma City Thunder held off a streaking Indiana Pacers riding high on the play of Victor Oladipo, their newest All-Star-in-the making.

The manner of the victory was not quite what the Thunder must have planned for, as their Big Three of Russell Westbrook, Paul George, and Carmelo Anthony combined to shoot just 10-of-45 from the field. In fact, the trio was so bad offensively that Steven Adams, a limited offensive player serving as their 4th option on offense, had more field goals than all three of them combined (he went 11-for-16 from the field in addition to grabbing 9 offensive rebounds).

Clearly, this franchise has been underachieving this season, as evidenced by their 13-14 record despite boasting a top-three defense.

Here are 5 adjustments that the Thunder could make to give themselves a shot in the arm.

#5 Run more pick-and-rolls with Carmelo and George

Carmelo Anthony

Both Hoodie Melo and PG-13 are large physical specimens who can efficiently set big-man screens in much the same manner that currently, only Steven Adams is setting when he shares the floor with Westbrook.

Involving these two elite scorers in pick-and-rolls as either the ball handler or the roll man will help to get them into the paint area, giving them a volume of easier looks that they haven't had this season.

Anthony, who has consistently been one of the most effective scorers in the paint through the course of his career, is not able to pick his way there. Making him a secondary pick-and-roll option should help him get over his shooting woes.

#4 Improve Their Bench Units

The Oklahoma City Thunder introducing Raymond Felton and Patrick Patterson (Image courtesy: nba.com)

Having the league's top assist-giver on your team is normally a reason for a player's shooting percentage to go up, but that has not been the case this season with many of the Thunder's role players.

Alex Abrines, Andre Roberson and Patrick Patterson, who are the Thunder's primary 3-and-D options, are all shooting below their career averages from beyond the arc. Patterson is, in fact, shooting about 10% below, which is part of the reason why the Thunder, despite being one of the best first-quarter teams, regularly falls behind their opponents in the middle portions of the game.

While Jerami Grant has never been a reliable spot-up shooter, getting the bulk of his points in the paint, rookie Terrance Ferguson has been a complete non-factor - unable to crack the rotation.

Raymond Felton's drive-and-kick game can only yield so many points for the Thunder, who are in sore need for a reliable scorer from their second unit.

#3 Setting More Off-The-Ball Screens

Paul George

This is a dicey issue because a number of players and teams in the league are guilty of neglecting this crucial component of a motion offense. While Billy Donovan has handed the reigns of his offense to the able hands of Westbrook, the reigning MVP is a virtual non-factor in the offense when the ball is not in his hands.

He is neither an effective cutter nor does he do any screening work for teammates. Instead, he settles at the corners or near the half-court mark when his other teammates have possession, leaving the man defending him free to go in help defense.

The rest of the team follows suit, as the bulk of the team's screen assists have come from Steven Adams' efforts, or during the limited timeframe of their bench players' minutes.

Thunder could pick up a cue from Golden State, who are adept at providing off-the-ball screens to get their shooters free of their marking men.

#4 Increase Their Ball Movement

Russell Westbrook

Watching the Thunder's offense is an exercise in patience, even for their most one-eyed fans. With their starters on the court, the Thunder offense is a predictable mix of a Westbrook/Adams pick-and-roll, Westbrook's drive-and-kick game and isolation play made by George and Anthony.

In addition, the Thunder rank dead last in passes per game and 25th in assists per game at 20.8, nearly half of which are made by Westbrook himself.

With added ball movement comes increased pace and more possessions per game. Given Westbrook's and George's ability to create driving lanes for themselves, as well as their transition play, greater ball movement and pace can only serve to boost their offense.

Carmelo Anthony's usage rate should also pick up in a scheme relying on heavy passing.In his 15th season in the league, he is averaging career lows across the board in the shooting. The average distance of his shots from the rim is now over 17 feet - the highest in his career. His field goal percentage is hovering dangerously close to the dreaded 40% mark, and he is hosting most of his shots from mid-range without connecting.

George and Westbrook have similarly anemic figures: Westbrook is, in fact, averaging a lower field-goal percentage over Thunder's last 8 games than much-maligned rookie Lonzo Ball. He shot just 3-of-17 yesterday, with most of his shots coming from the 10-18 foot region.

The Thunder need to be scoring more points in the paint (25th in the league), converting all those low-percentage mid-range looks into either 3-pointers (a contested 3 is better than a contested 2) or drives into the paint.

#5 Make More High-Percentage Shots In Clutch Time

Paul George and Russell Westbroo

Westbrook is Thunder's #1 option during the clutch time: a rather easy choice given his own prowess down the stretch added to George's and Anthony's below-par performance in the same time period.

However, this season, Thunder have lost many more close games than they have won, going 6-10 in games decided by single-digit margins. Other than Westbrook, whose usage rate skyrockets in clutch time, no Thunder player has been able to consist effect plays on the offensive end.

Against teams that ramp up their defensive alertness to max levels in the 4th quarter, Westbrook's pick-and-roll combination with Adams, as well as his kickouts to teammates yield far too few scoring opportunities for his teammates.

Carmelo and George are squandering a number of possessions on isolation plays even in clutch time, while Roberson and Abrines are both non-factors off the dribble. Only veteran guard Ray Felton is able to provide the spacing required of wing players in clutch time, and he is a porous defender.

Donovan would do well to field Felton and Westbrook together in the final seconds of games.