OKC Thunder: Getting Our Bearings

The NBA season is less than 24 hours away, and the Thunder have their first game on Wednesday night. With everything that has gone on, let's get an idea of where we are, and where we are going.

Where we are:

We finished a dismal 23 - 59. Even with the end of the season 20 - 30 record, it doesn't look good. We were a top 10 rebounding team last season, but our Point Guard of the future committed the most turnovers of anyone in the league. The Thunder are lead by one of the league's best scorers in Kevin Durant, but we were in the bottom of the league in scoring.

This season, we are one of the youngest teams in the league. Oklahoma City has an average age of 25. If our young bench doesn't get better, don't expect much improvement this season.

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Gortat Coming to OKC?

The guys over at DailyThunder found a story in Croatia that claims Marcin Gortat talked to Nenad Krstic about the possibilities of playing with him. Here is a link to the story.

While the story has been crudely translated, at best, it brings up an intriguing possibility for Thunder fans. Gortat had a great showing during last year's playoffs, and there were rumors of him being traded to OKC.

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Where the Thunder Need to Be

ESPN has released its Western Conference rankings, and Oklahoma City is sitting at #11. Their rankings have OKC moving up spots and improving their win total by nine games.

Realistically, Oklahoma City can challenge for the nine spot, but it is possible they could be in playoff talks near the end of the season.

Based purely on these rankings, ESPN has too much faith in the Los Angeles Blake Griffins. While Griffin will improve that team, a 14 game leap just seems unreasonable considering the rest of the roster.

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Inside the Thunder: Power Forwards

Today, This Is Thunder Basketball will look at, arguably, Oklahoma City's deepest position.

Overview:

Jeff Green will likely enter the season as the starter at the Four. His improvement during his Sophomore campaign was overshadowed by Kevin Durant's breakout season. Even in the shadow of Durant, Green increased his season averages by 6 PTs, 2 RBDs, and 1 STL per game. While he is naturally a Small Forward, Green has thrived at PF and should only improve in his third season.

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Inside the Thunder: Small Forwards

In the third installment of "Inside the Thunder," we are going to look at Oklahoma City's Small Forwards. Or should we say forward, as Kevin Durant is the only SF listed on the Thunder's depth chart.

Overview:

Kevin Durant, Kid Delicious, the Durantula, Velvet Hoop, or KD35, no matter what you call him, he is the face, and voice, of the Thunder. He is already one of the best SFs in the NBA, and seems to only be able to improve. Last season, Durant averaged 25.3 PTs, 6.5 REBs, and 2.2 ASTs per game (NBA.com). He improved in every statistical category last season, and is on course have 5,000 points by the end of his third season. If his teammates can take defensive pressure off Durant, he is almost a lock for the All-Star Game.

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OKC Thunder Summer Preview

This past offseason has been a busy one for the Oklahoma City Thunder. From the draft, to free agency OKC has improved on the team that finished near the bottom of the NBA last season.

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