National Basketball Association

Views from OKC: Thunder struggle against defending champs

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 2:38 p.m. ET

Fansided, Tony Heim/FanSided via Thunderous Intentions

Jan 29, 2017; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) drives to the basket against Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kyle Singler (15) during the second half at Quicken Loans Arena. The Cavs won 107-91. Credit: Ken Blaze-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!

Joffrey Lauvergne rare bright spot in Sunday loss

“Upping Lauvergne’s minutes wasn’t Donovan’s only second-unit adjustment. He played starting power forward Domantas Sabonis in some bench rotations and looked to involve Sabonis in the post, looking for ways to start the offense with touches in the paint the way the Thunder can with Kanter.”

I realized something while watching yesterday’s game: Joffrey Lauvergne is Enes Kanter-lite. He doesn’t have the post moves/scoring prowess of Kanter, but he has all the same skills and some. A solid finisher in the pick & roll? Check. A mid-range jumper? Check. Plus Lauvergne’s a much more versatile defender. If and when the Thunder decide to trade Kanter, King Joffrey will be able to step in and play his role full time for half the cost.

Must Read: All-star weekend set to suck for Westbrook

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A significant reason why Westbrook is the MVP

“Westbrook’s regular-season usage rate is 41.4 percent, by far the highest in NBA history. That number skyrockets to a historic 60.9 percent in clutch time. A whopping 93.9 percent of his made field goals are unassisted. When games get down to the wire, not even the Jaws of Life could separate Westbrook from the ball.”

Personally I think Russell Westbrook puts too much on his shoulders at the end of games. It’s like he forgets that in the first 45 minutes Steven Adams‘ screens were opening up driving lanes. Or that Victor Oladipo is actually a pretty good shooter. But than when you see Russ’ stats compared to James Harden…well let’s just say I probably shouldn’t be complaining.

Views from Twitter

Suboptimal doesn’t even begin to describe how awful that statistic is. But it also tells a lot about the current state of the team. Oklahoma City came out attacking in the first quarter but once they lost their lead they played like they were afraid to be on the same court as the defending champs. They weren’t confident taking it to the rim; you can’t win in the NBA without confidence.