It is hard to find something to complain about when talking about the 12-3 Oklahoma City Thunder. However, one area that the Thunder have to improve at, especially once the playoffs arrive, is their rebounding.
Kendrick Perkins, Oklahoma City Thunder
Wikimedia Commons
It is telling that the leading rebounder on the Thunder's team is also their leading scorer, Kevin Durant. Heading into their 16th game of the season, Durant has 103 rebounds on the season while power forward Serge Ibaka has 90 and center Kendrick Perkins has 88. The three paint players, combined, only average 18 rebounds a game. That is why the Thunder have a -0.94 rebound differential in their games so far this season.
Even more distressing about Durant being the lead rebounder is the fact that 95 of his rebounds are defensive, which makes sense, but no one on the Thunder team seems to be able to pull down offensive boards.
Ibaka leads the team with 30 offensive rebounds. Center Perkins only has 22 on the season, an embarrassing 1.4 a game. Over the last two seasons, the Thunder have been accused of being a jump and shoot team, running down the court and making shots instead of working to set up a shot, giving themselves a chance at the rebounds.
There is only one team in the NBA with less offensive rebounds than Oklahoma City's 139 and that is the Boston Celtics, with only 130.
I can't honestly complain too much about how the Thunder win because they are winning, they are dominating and they look to be one of the best teams in the league, and can easily be called the best team in the Western Conference. However, rebounding is a problem that will haunt them when the postseason comes.
One prediction is that Oklahoma City takes on either the Miami Heat or Chicago Bulls in the NBA Finals this year. There is no way the Thunder can play people like LeBron James or Derrick Rose and expect to win without getting any second chance shots, an impossible option when you can't pull down offensive boards.
I don't think that Durant, Westbrook and Harden should change their way of play and pull back, but they have to do something to get Perkins and Ibaka in position to pull down the boards. That is one deficiency that could bring this team down when it matters this season.
Author Shawn S. Lealos has a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma (2000) and is an avid sports fan that has lived in Oklahoma for over 40 years. He used to religiously follow the Dallas Mavericks until Oklahoma City found a team to call their own.
Source: NBA.COM
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