The Oklahoma City Thunder didn't get into the playoffs last year, and perhaps that wasn't a bad thing. Russell Westbrook was already certainly burned out, and the team wasn't winning a series, let alone a championship.
Now though, Kevin Durant is back from his season-ending foot injury from last year, and the Thunder should once again be amongst the favorites to win it all.
NBA FUTURES ODDS, SEASON WIN TOTAL
Odds To Win the NBA Championship: +700
Regular Season Win Total: 56.5
It's a tall task for the Thunder to come back from a season in which they won just 45 games to get all the way up to 57 to get to this over, but with Durant back and Westbrook hopefully staying healthy for the full season, neither of which happened last year, there should be some hope.
Remember too, that the Thunder play in the worst division in the NBA, and if they don't win at least 14 games inside of the Northwest Division, something went seriously awry.
COMING AND GOING
The Thunder did a lot of tinkering in the middle of the season last year, and they've kept all of their pieces they added to the puzzle. Kyle Singler, Dion Waiters and Enes Kanter were all added at or near the trade deadline last year, and all three have returned.
Jeremy Lamb and Perry Jones were both notable men to move on from this club, leaving a massive hole at the shooting guard spot which needs to be filled.
STAR TO WATCH
Is Kevin Durant truly ready to come back and dominate the way we know he can? He's got free agency looming in the near future, and that has to be weighing on his mind as well, but getting over this banged up foot is going to be the first and foremost concern.
We're only a year removed from Durant averaging 32.0 points per game and winning the MVP award, so we know that he's capable. That said, these foot injuries tend to give problems to big men who have to elevate as a part of their game. It shouldn't hurt Durant's shooting, but we wonder if he's going to be anywhere near as effective on the glass as in the past when he averaged over seven boards per game.
IN 2015-16, THE OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER WILL WIN…
51 games.
The Thunder are going to be good this year, but we're not all that sure they're the end all, be all. Trading Reggie Jackson really left the team with a big hole to fill at that shooting guard spot, and no one successfully filled it last year after the big deal with the Pistons.
Is Dion Waiters really capable of being a 15 points per game type of spot up shooter? We're not sure there's a good answer to that.
What's most dangerous about Oklahoma City is just how thin this team really is. Beyond Westbrook, D.J. Augustin is the next best option at point guard. If anything happens to Durant, Nick Collison and Kyle Singler are going to be called into greater duty. Even if Serge Ibaka gets hurt, that takes a team with three legitimate big men along with Steven Adams and Enes Kanter and drops it down to just two.
Sure, if the Thunder stay healthy, they'll walk away from the Northwest Division, something they'll likely end up doing regardless. However, we don't see this team going on to win 60 some odd games this season, especially knowing that the real fight is going to come in the playoffs with all those teams from the Southwest Division and the Pacific Division who could be problematic.
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