The Thunder are rolling, and how. After sputtering through the first fourth of their 2017-2018 campaign, they’re now showing why preseason prognoses had them crowding the top of the West. With their Big Three finally humming, they’ve put up an impressive 12-and-three slate this month. And they’re coming off two impressive victories at the Chesapeake Energy Arena; they took the measure of the vaunted Rockets on Christmas Day, and followed it up with a thorough beating of the highly touted Raptors yesterday.
Considering the Thunder’s plight at the start of the season, the manner in which they’ve turned around their fortunes is nothing short of impressive. Perhaps wanting to make new acquisitions Paul George and Carmelo Anthony feel welcome from the get-go, reigning National Basketball Association Most Valuable Player Russell Westbrook dialed back on his trademark aggressiveness. The results left much to be desired; too many your-turn-my-turn isolation sets made for predictable, not to mention inefficient, stands. Once he understood that the best way for his fellow marquee names to thrive is for him to be, well, himself, though, success came, and in spurts.
To be fair, the Thunder never wavered in confidence. They knew they had the talent level to compete with the best of the best, and they understood that, in time, Westbrook, George, and Anthony would learn to play off, and with, each other to collective success. Which was why, even in the midst of funks that had them absorbing multiple losing streaks and struggling to produce .500 ball, they kept preaching patience. They enjoyed each other’s company, they insisted, and their off-court camaraderie translating to on-court productivity was a matter of when, not if.
The Thunder aren’t perfect; every so often, they still succumb to spates of hero ball. Then again, so do most other opponents featuring all-world personalities. If their performance in the crunch of late is any indication, however, they’ve developed the trust required for them to thrive under pressure.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is the Senior Vice-President and General Manager of Basic Energy Corp.
