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

#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.