More was expected from last season’s Oklahoma City Thunder. Russell Westbrook had hunted and slain the triple-double the season prior. The team had added big names like Paul George and Carmelo Anthony. Everything was in place and aligned to transform games with Golden State from personal blood lettings into a rivalry with real implications.
Then, the season started, and Oklahoma City kept losing games in the fourth quarter. Oftentimes the offense looked even more out of sorts than normal. Spectators watched the players watching the ball stop in the hands of Westbrook mostly, but sometimes George and Anthony. Coherence was an issue, even if the individual talents were self-evident. If Golden State embodied the Marvel Universe, then Oklahoma City was the cinematic Justice League or, worse yet, The Watchmen (the latter, though, because they really did just take turns watching one another score). Andrè Roberson was also injured. The rotation and, especially, the defense fell apart.
People kept looking for answers. People kept saying it will take some time for all this individual talent to gel. People kept pointing fingers at Melo, and he just sat there stone-faced. Needless to say, he wore a cowl and no cape. And, unwilling to commit fully to the savior role, he refused to come off the bench and being neither the hero the Thunder needed nor the hero they deserved they sent him packing for Houston.
In his place is a roster still full of questions, but equally tempting in terms of talent. The word dark horse arises, as does challenger and maybe, with enough time to gel, contender. If not, there’s always the triple doubles and, after that, more triple-doubles.
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