If the Oklahoma City Thunder take the next leap in 2014-15 and win their first championship, 20-year-old Steven Adams will likely have a big role to play in the process.
The center position on the Oklahoma City Thunder has become something of a running joke in recent years. Here you have one of the league's great teams, led by the partnership of two superlative young stars in Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, and it's bungling one of its key positions bad enough to ruin the whole party.
Kendrick Perkins hasn't just been a problem for the Thunder, he's been their most obvious scapegoat during the Durant-Westbrook era. Skirting aside talk of simplistic coaching schemes, Westbrook's shot totals and the steady presence of Derek Fisher, Perkins has consistently been the easiest target for blame during the past few years in OKC.
Thankfully, it appears to be coming to an end this fall. Steven Adams, an entertaining 7-footer from Rotorua, New Zealand, is the Thunder's much-needed reinforcement in the post. He's only 20, averaged just seven points per game in college and once marveled to reporters about tables on airplanes, but he's the best bet this team has.
And if the past year is any indication, Adams' development into a high-quality NBA big man could be a game-changer. On a team as good as the Thunder, a significant upgrade at even one position could be enough to push the team over the top and toward a title. That's the ultimate upside for Adams in the short-term, as the final piece to emerge on a OKC championship team.
We got our first glimpse of Adams' potential impact on the Thunder's title aspirations in the 2014 playoffs, when Scott Brooks finally pulled the plug on Perkins and began giving Adams significant minutes. He didn't light the world on fire, but was efficient shooting from the field and didn't commit nearly as many fouls and turnovers as his more experienced counterpart.
It wasn't incredible, but the Thunder don't need incredible with so much greatness elsewhere on the roster. If Adams can simply be pretty good, rather than the weird amalgamation of terribleness that Perkins usually is, then the team should be in pretty good shape going forward.
Adams has significant room to grow as a player in his second season. With Brooks seemingly moving on from his fixation on Perkins, there's a huge opportunity for Adams to expand his game. That's something he's proven capable of doing quickly -- it was less than two years ago that Adams was a mediocre player in the Big East -- and that's good news all around.
The bigger question is just how much Adams can improve, and how quickly it will happen. Defensively, a player with his length and athleticism could be a major disruptor in the post, but he needs to get stronger and master the nuances of OKC's defensive schemes. If he can make significant progress on that end next season, the Thunder could quickly be talking about a devastating frontcourt trio with Durant, Adams and Serge Ibaka flying all over the place.
While Perkins used to have a reputation for being a high-level defender in the post, it's been years since he was actually a legitimate difference-maker down there. Offensively -- well, we probably shouldn't even go there. There's merit to the idea that Perkins brings value to the table by doing the little things, but the big man's numbers otherwise look terrible on both ends of the floor.
No matter what else happens, a decline in minutes from Perkins will likely make a difference for OKC. Last season, the Thunder were plus-1.9 points per 100 possessions with Perkins on the court, per NBA.com, but that number jumps up to plus-3.8 points per 100 when Adams replaces him. Around the rim last season, Perkins shot an unimaginably-bad 45 percent. Adams was better at 52 percent, but still below average.
While OKC's best lineups last season didn't include either player, moving minutes from Perkins to an improving Adams can only have a positive effect on the win-loss tally. And once the postseason comes around, it's possible another 82 games could have Adams prepared to play at a much higher level.
Entering next season, much of the Thunder roster will be the same as last year. Durant, Westbrook and Ibaka will continue to be the core, Reggie Jackson will play a huge role of some kind, and the (other) young guys -- Adams, Jeremy Lamb, Perry Jones -- will continue carving out spots in the rotation. But among all of them, Adams stands out as the one most likely to take a significant leap in production next season, both because of his youth and who he's replacing.
Adams is one of the key guys to watch in the NBA next season, not just because of the possible improvement, but because of what it means to the league. If he helps push the Thunder to another level next season, a crowded Western Conference could get that much messier.
from SBNation.com - All Posts http://ift.tt/1z7wkBu
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