National Basketball Association

Billy Donovan Must Address a Few Concerns

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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With the regular season around the corner Billy Donovan still has a few concerns to address.

Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

How will Billy Donovan play Enes Kanter?

Size is one of the Oklahoma City Thunder’s biggest strengths. But, playing Kanter comes with Pros and Cons. Billy Donovan wants to emphasize ball movement and playing with pace. This is a problem for Kanter who plays best in the paint, instead of off pick and rolls. When you play Kanter with Oladipo and Westbrook the only way for him to be effective is to slow down the tempo. This takes away from Westbrook’s biggest skill which is his athleticism. It would be better to play Kanter with the second unit. Especially, with the Thunder’s lack of scoring options off the bench. But, defensively Kanter’s a liability, and Sabonis looks like the better option.

Can Billy Donovan make Westbrook a pass-first point guard?

So far in preseason, Westbrook has played with a pass first mentality. But, can he stay this way? Billy Donovan has a lot of options offensively. Oladipo is a great cutter and plays off the ball well. Steven Adams is great in the pick and roll. But, Westbrook has had a tendency in the past to completely abandon any notion of team play and do everything himself. This is something Billy Donovan needs to avoid this season.

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Who will Billy Donovan’s second unit consist of?

Cameron Payne is still injured and will be gone for at least two months. Ronnie Price was signed in the offseason. But, is Price really going to be the backup point guard? Also, how will Alex Abrines fit into the roster? He’s still young but he could be an asset especially if he can spread the floor. Ersan Ilyasova is decent, but playing him anymore than ten minutes a game is asking way too much. We still haven’t seen much of what the newly acquired Joffrey Lauvergne can do with the Thunder. Mitch McGary is still suspended and has yet to show any type of improvement. The only person certain to see significant minutes off the bench will be Sabonis/Kanter depending on which one of them starts. Billy Donovan has a tall task ahead of him figuring out the Thunder’s rotations outside the starting five.

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