Oklahoma City Thunder can't find offense without Oladipo
The Oklahoma City Thunder dropped their second game in as many nights against the Utah Jazz. They’ve failed to reach the 100 point mark in their last two games.
The Oklahoma City Thunder have lost their last two games on the road, failing to reach the 100 point mark in both games. The last time the Thunder failed to score 100 points in back-to-back games was November 2nd and 3rd. Ironically, the Thunder were on the road, this time against the Los Angeles Clippers and the Golden State Warriors.
Russell Westbrook hasn’t grabbed a triple-double in his last three games. The game against the Utah Jazz was especially troublesome. Westbrook shot 7-of-25 from the floor and 2-of-5 from three. Clearly, not having Victor Oladipo has this team out of sync.
Still, the numbers for the Thunder are what’s alarming. In the last two games, the Thunder shot 63-of-169 from the floor and 14-of-46 from three. Now, my stance on the Thunder’s three-point shooting has been simple, they’re taking way too many. Now, it appears the Thunder are missing point blank shots as well.
Steven Adams shot just seven times against the Utah Jazz. This is problematic, Adams has to be a central element in the Thunder offense without Oladipo. In fact, only two players from the Thunder shot the ball more than 10 times against the Jazz. Those players are Westbrook and Enes Kanter.
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Kanter struggled from the floor shooting 6-of-11 for 19 points. Utah heckled him loudly all night long. Utah fans don’t forget anything, especially when a player has a falling out before a trade. Nevertheless, the Oklahoma City Thunder are clearly missing Oladipo’s points.
Some would argue that the Thunder need another superstar to play alongside Westbrook. At times, Westbrook can’t make enough shots consistently to will this team to victory. That was the beauty of the Kevin Durant, Westbrook dynamic. Now, Westbrook is trying to do everything himself.
This will not translate to wins on the road. Which could prove troublesome during the month of January, the Thunder have just three home games during the month of January. This team is going to need more scoring consistently from their role players. Furthermore, players are going to have to get more shots as well.
The Thunder will take on the Phoenix Suns this Saturday at 4 pm. Suffice to say the Thunder are going to need to up the scoring in order to hang with the guard-heavy Suns.
