National Basketball Association

Views from OKC: Thunder look to finish January strong

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 4:27 p.m. ET

Fansided, Tony Heim/FanSided via Thunderous Intentions

May 12, 2016; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker (9) drives to the basket in front of Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) during the second quarter in game six of the second round of the NBA Playoffs at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Welcome to Views from OKC, Thunderous Intentions’ daily roundup of the best OKC Thunder stories across the web.New to Views? Glad to have you here, and I hope you’ll make this a daily destination. Well, let’s get started!

Thunder travel to Big Brother San Antonio

“While Kevin Durant was a member of the Thunder during that stretch, with all three wins taking place in the playoffs, the Spurs also struggled to contain Westbrook. The NBA MVP candidate averaged 27 points and shot 47 percent from the field in the last three regular-season meetings, and he will rebound to keep OKC within double digits and cover the spread.”

This is going to be a really interesting game. San Antonio’s Achilles Heel over the years has been length and athleticism; even without KD gone, the Thunder still have a lot of that. The only Spur that can properly defend Russell Westbrook is Kawhi Leonard, but the Spurs need his offensive game too much. I predict a monster game from Russ but a loss for the team. So an L for Russ as well.

Related Story: NBA Power Rankings 14: where the Thunder rank

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Maybe the Thunder will not hurt from Kanter’s injury

“This obviously hurts Oklahoma City’s depth. The Thunder rely heavily on Russell Westbrook to score, and Kanter is one of his few teammates who can create offense on his own. On the season, he’s averaging 14.4 points and 6.7 rebounds in 21.6 minutes, shooting 56.3 percent. According to SportsLine’s Daniel Cypra, though, his absence does not mean that Oklahoma City will necessarily fall in the standings:”

HA. Now you HAVE to go and check out Daniel’s numbers. Seriously though, it’s interesting to hear just how little impact Enes Kanter has on a game. Sure he scores, but teams focus in on him when the Thunder are playing defense. OKC actually outscores teams by .1 every 48 minutes he’s off the court (it’s the same number when he’s on the court). More Jerami Grant only means more transition opportunities, and it may show Billy Donovan that the Thunder are better off without the Big Turk.

Views from Twitter

Oddly enough, Kevin Durant showed up on my desk today ???? pic.twitter.com/gn6mPINNiz

— OKC Thunder Gal ⚡⚡⚡ (@okcthundergal) January 31, 2017

IDK I just really enjoy pettiness.

Saw @johnschuhmann noted that Russ has shot below 40% in 7 of last 9 games. Checked to see how his eFG% was trending. pic.twitter.com/TslvapQBiD

— ThunderousIntentions (@thunderousint) January 30, 2017

The reply from our professional tweeter reads “probably doesnt mean much…” Sorry Cole but I think you’re wrong. Not only has Russ lost his shooting touch from the beginning of the season but he’s taking more jump shots. The Thunder offense sputters when players-Russell Westbrook-don’t drive to the basket. And we won’t see that eFG% rise until Russ makes a concerted effort to shoot less.