A loss in Chicago in early November left the Thunder at 3-3 but the dynamic duo of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook led OKC to wins in 15 of the next 21 games and a firm grip on first place in the mediocre Northwest Division.
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LOOK AHEAD
You have to hand it to Chicago’s Jimmy Butler, who’s been open all summer about his desire to be more of a leader on his team. But calling out your head coach probably isn’t the way to go about this. Sure, Butler has worked hard over the last two years to become one of the top two-way players in the NBA, and has likely earned the right to make such a bold move. But doing so in public is stunning for several reasons. Following Saturday’s loss to the Knicks, Butler accused coach Fred Hoiberg of being “a laid back guy” and said the team needed to be coached harder. Along with Hoiberg, Butler was supposed to be at the forefront of everything the Bulls did. Now, that relationship will be under a microscope for the rest of the basketball world to see. Either the Bulls will rally around their All-Star swingman in the wake of his comments and come together more than ever under Hoiberg, or this group will continue to splinter apart as these players, and this coach, continue to struggle to find any consistent unity.
INJURIES
Doug McDermott left Saturday’s game with New York dealing with a sore knee and Hoiberg admitted he was concerned with the injury. He is questionable to play this week. With Mike Dunleavy still shelved with a bad back, the injuries opened the door for Bobby Portis to sneak into the rotation and he responded with a double-double scoring 20 points with 11 rebounds in the Knicks game.
KEY MATCHUP
Russell Westbrook may be the most explosive player in basketball and his numbers back it up. Entering the week he ranked No. 2 in the league in points per game, assists, steals and player efficiency. Westbrook is No. 1 among point guards with 6.9 rebounds per game and his 18 double-doubles dwarf what others at the position have done while his 49.0 assist percentage leads the NBA. Westbrook has the second highest usage rate in the NBA but still is able to play cohesively with Kevin Durant when he isn’t the go-to guy. Westbrook ranks No. 2 in offense win shares in the NBA, but also ranks in the top 10 in defensive win shares, proving his worth on both ends of the court.
ODDS AND PREDICTION
It’ll be interesting to see how the Bulls respond after Butler publicly criticized his head coach for being too easy on the players, himself included. His remarks give us a good view of just how spoiled some pro athletes are. Last year, Tom Thibodeau was an over-demanding disciplinarian and his style didn’t fit the veteran-laden squad. Enter Hoiberg, a more player-friendly coach who had a successful up-tempo offensive style during his college career at Iowa State. His appointment was supposed to reduce some of the tension, but instead it’s apparently causing friction. Hoiberg can’t shoot, pass, or rebound, so at some point the players will have to take responsibility and play. The Bulls have a deep and talented roster that will carry them to wins and success in the Eastern Conference, but the spectacle that Butler created will have people talking about Chicago for the wrong reasons. OKC won 15 of 21 games after an early season loss in Chicago and will make the Bulls pay.
Oklahoma City 105, Chicago 98
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