2011-12 Oklahoma City Thunder Predictions
Written by Jack Jones
The Oklahoma City Thunder are the team that everyone in the league wants to model after. They have built this franchise into a real contender simply by cashing in their draft picks and developing their players. They have spent little money on free agents along the way.
Oklahoma City is clearly one of the best teams in the Western Conference. They proved that last season by making it all the way to the conference finals after compiling a 55-27 regular season record, which earned them the No. 3 seed in the playoffs. After beating both the Denver Nuggets and the Memphis Grizzlies in the first two rounds, they would lose to the eventual champion Dallas Mavericks.
This is a team that did not have to make too many moves in the offseason because they are already set. The only moves they made were drafting No. 24 pick Reggie Jackson, re-signing Daequan Cook, and trading for Lazar Hayward. They lost Byron Mullens and Robert Vaden in that trade, but neither player was a significant piece of this team last year.
The Thunder feature a lineup that is absolutely loaded with talent, both with their starters and off the bench. Starting in the backcourt will be PG Russell Westbrook (21.9 points, 8.2 assists last year) and SG Thabo Sefolosha (5.1 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.2 steals), who can shut down the opposing team’s best player.
OKC has ample depth behind both Westbrook and Sefolosho in the backcourt. Sixth man James Harden is coming off a monster year in which he averaged 12.2 points and was instant offense off the bench. Daequan Cook hit nearly 44 percent of his 3-point attempts and it was key to re-sign him this offseason. Eric Maynor (4.2 points, 2.9 assists) sees little time behind Westbrook, but he’s a solid contributor nonetheless.
The frontcourt features SF Kevin Durant (27.7 points, 6.8 rebounds), who has led the league in scoring each of the past two seasons. He is accompanied by C Kendrick Perkins (6.0 points, 8.0 rebounds) and PF Serge Ibaka (9.9 points, 7.6 rebounds, 2.4 blocks). Nick Collison was huge for them in the playoffs last year and he’ll back up Ibaka. Nazr Mohammed gives Perkins a breather, and Hayward will be coming in for Durant sparingly.
Western Conference Prediction: 1st Northwest Division – I believe that the Oklahoma City Thunder are not only the best team in the Northwest Division, but also the best team in the Western Conference. I have them going to the NBA Finals to face the Miami Heat this season.
Oklahoma City has everything you want in a team. The combo of Durant and Westbrook is nearly unstoppable, and they have key role players in their starting lineup with Sefolosha, Ibaka and Perkins who will do the dirty work defensively. They also have arguably the best bench in the league, featuring Collison, Harden and Cook. This is the team to beat in the West in 2011-12.
Expert handicapper Jack Jones offers a complete breakdown of all six divisions in the East and Western Conferences with his 2011-12 NBA predictions article. Check it out today to see where your favorite team will finish.
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