HoopsHype - NBA Season Previews - Oklahoma City Thunder

STRENGTHS: Kevin Durant should be an MVP candidate for the next decade or so ... Durant is skilled at getting to the foul line and is an excellent free throw shooter (90 percent last year) ... He led the NBA in scoring and has a versatile game where he can hurt teams from the perimeter or taking it to the basket ... This is a young team with durable starters, as four players started all 82 games (Durant, Russell Westbrook, Jeff Green and Thabo Sefolosha) ... Sefolosha is an outstanding defender ... Westbrook showed great improvement in his second season, cutting down his turnovers and making much better decisions ... The Thunder do a great job at team rebounding and were third in the NBA in that department ... Jeff Green continues to show steady improvement as a solid No. 3 offensive option behind Durant and Westbrook ... James Harden is a streaky shooter, who has the ability to supply instant offense ... Newcomer Daequan Cook never really established himself in Miami, but he has the ability to give the Thunder a three-point threat ... The team responded to coach Scott Brooks, playing with the same intensity that marked his NBA career ... Due mainly to Durant, the Thunder are a great free-throw shooing teams (second in the NBA, .805) ... Despite being 22 when this NBA season begins, Durant is among the great leaders in the game.

WEAKNESSES: Durant’s assist to turnover ration of last year (2.8 to 3.3) obviously could use some work ... In addition, Durant is coming off a subpar playoff series (for him), so the Thunder has to show that others can help him carry the load ... Green also must bounce back from a difficult playoff series ... While the Thunder have young legs, they still don’t have the same seasoning as many of the other Western Conference playoff teams ... Westbrook only attempted 104 three-pointers, but still must become a better threat, because teams will continue to play off of him and give him that shot ... Nenad Krstic doesn’t supply an imposing presence in the middle ... Forward-center Nick Collison is solid but unspectacular ... Harden must work on being more consistent in his second season ... Team three-point shooting needs to improve after finishing 25th last season.

PROJECTION: (55-27) 1st in the Northwest Division / 3rd in the Western Conference

.PROJECTED STARTERS
	Point guard Russell Westbrook	Shooting guard James Harden	Small Forward Kevin Durant
	One of the best athletes in the game. Plays with great energy and has a lot of talent to boot. Shooting needs improvement. An All-Star candidate.	Was the safe pick at No. 3 in 2009 and must start to live up to the expectations and take some pressure off the stars of the team. Nice all-around game.	A superstar at age 21. Makes scoring look easy. Has a whole lot of weapons on the offensive end. Good rebounder. Not tough enough defensively.
	Power Forward Jeff Green	Center Nenad Krstic	Sixth Man Serge Ibaka
	Power forward size with small forward skills. Should get more credit for the Thunder's success. Will be playing for the big contract.	The weakest link on the starting five. The Serbian has good size and shooting touch, but he's not really an enforcer down low.	Can play both forward spots and do it well. Excellent athleticism and great shot blocker. Offensive game is looking nicer and nicer.

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