By Jeff Arnold

Last night’s Thunder vs. Clippers game was interesting. The Thunder came in as underdogs, heavily impacted by numerous injuries while playing a team that has a legitimate title shot this year. They held a lead  for a significant portion of the game and Serge Ibaka, whose jump shooting is steadily improving, had a look at the end of the game to send it into overtime. Sure they lost, but considering they were only suiting up nine players, eight after Westbrook got injured (more on that later), four of whom had never seen significant minutes before this season, a close loss on the road should have been considered as a moral victory. They battled their way down the stretch with a lineup that included Perry Jones as the point guard and Lance Thomas and Andre Roberson as legitimate scoring options. There’s one problem though. This team moved past moral victories years ago and at this point all that matters is winning, and winning a lot.

The biggest issue for the Thunder now is their longevity and durability. It’s not just that Kevin Durant is out for the first month recovering from surgery to repair a fracture in his foot or that, the apparently cursed, Russell Westbrook is now out with a broken, or that solid second rotation guys in Jeremy Lamb and Reggie Jackson are also listed as day-to-day, it’s that all of these things are happening at the same time. For so long ESPN columnist Bill Simmons has proclaimed that God hates Cleveland, at this point Thunder fans might think that what he really meant was that God hates Oklahoma City. It’s impossible to deny that this team has had to overcome more obstacles than any other title contender in recent years. Every postseason someone, whether it was Russ two years ago or Serge Ibaka last season, seems to go down injured and with that their title shot goes up in flames. It’s sad really that at this point, with all of their stars being before or just entering their prime, the question already has to be asked: what if this never pans out?

Sam Presti is one of the best GMs in basketball. Has he made questionable decisions? Yes, most notably the nightmare-inducing Harden deal, but all in all he has established this team as the most talented in the league. The problem is, talent doesn’t win championships, especially when injuries nag at this talent. As a Thunder fan, I’m not worried about Durant. His injury although sometimes harmful to other big men was most likely caused by overuse and, if his minutes are managed well, he will be fine come playoff time. Scott Brooks will have to channel his inner Greg Popovich and make sure that this goal is accomplished even if it means getting into the playoffs with a lower seed and without home court advantage. Russell Westbrook on the other hand does worry me.

Russ is the best player at the point guard position in the league and, to be honest, possibly the third best player in the league period. Is he the best point guard? No, that would be Chris Paul, but in terms of raw talent, athleticism, tenacity, and the will to win, nobody is at the one than him. He is beautifully out of control at times when the team needs a spark, yet also in control when they start to struggle. He is criticized for taking too many shots yet, when the team needs him most, he steps up not just as a scorer but as a facilitator whose passing has steadily improved.  His defense, despite being a cycle of gambling for steals, catching back up with the play, and then settling back down might be the most effective in the league. He more or less shut down Damien Lillard on opening night and he routinely plays well against Paul. Despite all of these praises, however there is one criticism that I am on-board with and it is that he is putting his body in jeopardy. his perpetual motor hurts him because he always competes so hard. Yes some of his injuries are not really his fault (looking at you Patrick Beverley), but his playing style does leave him open to getting hurt more so than say Chris Paul. The only real solution to this is to get him to abandon this take-no-prisoners style and, at least for the forseeable future, scale back and play with less fire. Hopefully this will be the case in the future but for now he is sidelined with a broken hand.

For now we are left to wonder how long Oklahoma City will be without their two stars and how this team will hold it together during this time. Maybe it will be good for them and some of their bench players will learn to step up in big moments. We saw this last night with Perry Jones’ 32 point outing. But who really knows. As has been the case far too often for the Thunder, they must now move on and adapt to a new lineup.