The Oklahoma City Thunder went into Miami tonight to face off against a Heat team playing with a chip on its shoulder that had won 3 straight after a season-worst 5 game losing streak. Despite having one of their poorest shooting nights of the season the Thunder played stifling defense and get enough big buckets down the stretch from their All-Star phenoms Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook as the Thunder controlled the 2nd half en route to a 96-85 win. The game featured some of the most athletic players in the NBA and delivered some of the most violent dunks of the season from all angles. However the story of tonight's contest is how much of a force the Thunder will prove to be come playoff time.
A team brimming with young talent, the Thunder came out of nowhere last season to win 50 games and reach the 2nd round of the Western Conference playoffs. In addition to having one of the top 5 players in the NBA in Durant (whose only 22 by the way) they have built a terrific supporting cast lead by Westbrook, James Harden, Nick Collison and rapidly emerging defensive star Serge Ibaka to name a few. After a mostly successful first half of the season the Thunder found themselves in 4th place in the West but may have made the most underrated moves of the trading deadline. Thanks to a surplus of talent at the SF position OK City shipped talented scorer Jeff Green to the Boston Celtics for C Kendrick Perkins.
The addition of Perkins immensely improves their inside presence on defense and gives them a much needed upgrade in terms of size and postseason experience. Perkins was vital to the success of the Celtics in recent years and it was his injury in the NBA finals last June that allowed the Lakers to overcome the C's in Game 7. Perkins played only his second game for the Thunder tonight but his presence was felt as he and Ibaka dominated the paint and refused Miami's Big 3 from getting inside resulting in James, Wade and Bosh combining to shoot 7-24 in the second half.
The Thunder have now won 5 straight games and 8 of their last 9. The are significantly improved defensive team now with Perkins in the lineup and will not miss Jeff Green's production thanks to Harden flourishing in an expanded roll. Perkins also adds some much needed veteran leadership to this young team which will be immensely valuable down the home stretch. As we come in to the final weeks of the regular season Oklahoma City will look to pressure the Lakers and Mavericks for the 2nd and 3rd seeds in the West as they are likely to be one of the hottest teams headed into the playoffs.
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