The Thunder are a really interesting team right now. I think it is safe to say that the main concern heading into the season was that there offense was going to pile up points, but there defense was going to be a big question mark considering they were starting two below-average defenders (Anthony and Westbrook). So far the opposite has been true, their defense has been very good (3rd in defensive rating so far) and their offense has been poor (21st in offensive rating). Despite adding two "elite" offensive players to the squad, OKC is worse offensively than they were last season (108 Ortg compared to 105 Ortg this season).
They are 11-12 right, but their expected W-L is 14-9 and so maybe it is just bad luck. What I have seen though from the eye test is on offense this team lacks a lot of things, mainly fluidity and they play very slow (24th in pace in the league) which is something you probably don't want to have when your best player is Russell Westbrook. Last year they ranked 9th in pace which I think helped get less-skilled offensive players (Roberson, Jerami Grant, etc.) more involved and on the board. Moving into the half-court might benefit George and Anthony (it definitely benefits Anthony) but it marginalizes some of the other role players.
The other major issue, one that dates back to last year, is that they once again SUCK from beyond the arc. Last season they were the worst team in the NBA from three and this year they are 27th, shooting a combined 34 percent from three. That number is really buoyed by George, who has been terrific shooting 40 percent on 7.5 attempts per game. Besides him everyone else on the team is shooting below the league average of 36 percent. Westbrook is at 32 percent and Anthony is at 34 percent.
Speaking of Anthony, I think so far he has been VERY bad for the team. His on/off stats are pretty neutral, but I'm not sure how good of an indicator that is considering OKC has only played 31 total minutes with Westbrook and George in the game and Anthony is on the bench. As far as the eye test goes, Anthony imo has not really bought into how a winning basketball team plays games. He appears to be a ball-stopper on offense and despite playing with his best supporting cast in years, he is averaging career-lows in assists per game and assist percentage. Westbrook, George and Anthony are respectively averaging 19,17 and 16 fga per game. That isn't that bad, but when you consider that Westbrook and George are scoring in transition and Anthony is almost a non-factor in that regard, it means that Anthony is controlling a disproportionate amount of the offense in the half-court. In addition, the team is playing much slower than in recent years, most likely to suit Anthony who grew accustomed to playing in a slow offense in NY.
Lastly, they lost Kanter and Gibson in the off-season which has hurt their rebounding. Last season they led the league in rpg per 100 possessions and this year they rank 12th. I think they will be better than they are right now, but I think the big issue that needs to be addressed is their crappy outside shooting and whether or not Anthony is a plus or a minus for them going forward.
