The Oklahoma City Thunder have found their offense. After ranking 24th offensively through Dec. 18, the Thunder have led the league in offensive efficiency (119 points per 100 possessions) over their last nine games.
The increase in efficiency has started with their stars. Over the nine games, Russell Westbrook has shot 54 percent from the field, while Carmelo Anthony and Paul George have combined to shoot better than 50 percent from 3-point range.
The Oklahoman’s Brett Dawson has the story …
Shots started to drop, but it’s more than that.
On one play in the fourth quarter of Thursday’s game against the Clippers, Westbrook drove right and looked like he’d pull up for a short jumper.
Instead, he found a cutting George on the baseline for a layup that gave the Thunder an eight-point lead with 6:47 to play.It was the sort of pass that stems not just from Westbrook’s vision, but a growing sense of how George plays, the way he moves away from the ball.
“I think we’re just finding our groove, we’re figuring it out, we’re learning how to play with one another,” George said. “The best thing is, we’re doing that on the road.”
George is taking fewer shots as the Thunder has erupted, but making a higher percentage of them and scoring more. The same goes for Anthony.
A 14-5 mark since Dec. 1 has pushed the Thunder to fifth place in the Western Conference. They’re in the middle of an easy stretch of schedule, but also have a big matchup with the fourth-place Timberwolves (in Minnesota) on Wednesday.
