NBA Season Preview 2017-18: Oklahoma City Thunder roster has balance

Point Guard

Starter — Russell Westbrook

Depth — Raymond Felton, Semaj Christon

You already know about Westbrook. He’s the driving force of the team and he’s going to have the ball in his hands a lot. Not as much as last year, but still a lot. He’s an offensive force and a defensive detriment. There’s a slight chance he tries harder on defense this year given that he’ll have less of an offensive load, but I wouldn’t count on it. Westbrook is fascinating, enigmatic, powerful, unabashed, careless, dynamite, and any other word you want to use. Literally every single word in the dictionary can be used to describe Russell Westbrook. That’s the kind of noun he is.

Behind Westbrook is the crown jewel of Sam Presti’s offseason: Raymond Felton.

Last year, Semaj Christon was inarguably the worst point guard in the league. Aside from getting in Steph Curry’s face and hitting the shot that clinched the triple-double record for Westbrook, I can’t tell you a single good thing Christon did during the season. The team died when he took over for Westbrook, not just because the whole offense was based around him, but because Christon doesn’t have any serviceable basketball skills.

That’s why Felton’s acquisition is so important. He may not be good, but he’s also not Semaj Christon. All Felton has to do is not be a minus-15 when Westbrook sits for  three minutes. If he does that, it’s likely that Thunder fans build a statue for him.

With the reigning MVP and a veteran back-up, Oklahoma City has the best point guard duo they’ve ever had in their brief history.