Lost in all this Russell Westbrook noise was that the Thunder did just enough in the last four minutes against Memphis to hold on for a really nice win. Which if you recall, was something of a chore during the playoffs last season.

In both the Dallas and Memphis series, Oklahoma City’s halfcourt sets basically devolved into Westbrook trying to force a pass to Kevin Durant while KD held off Shawn Marion for 18 seconds and then after that inevitably failed, Westbrook trying to create something on his own.

In the past, the Thunder have primarily run two sets: 1) Westbrook and Durant in a screen-and-roll/slip play on the wing and 2) KD isolating at the top of the key with Westbrook trying to feed the ball so KD can go one-on-one with his man.

In conclusion, didn’t work so great. The has been a lot of pressure on Scott Brooks and his staff to get more creative with his two stars and figure out what to do in those later stages. You want KD with the ball and taking the shot, but it’s complicated. There’s a reason Westbrook was forced to go rogue so much. You don’t think Brooks wanted KD taking those shots? Thing is, he’s got to get it in an area he can score and he’s got to get it somewhere we he doesn’t have to dribble a lot to get his own shot.

So against the Grizzlies with the game getting tight, the Thunder broke out a new little set and ran it three straight times with pretty successful results.

The play starts simple enough. Westbrook drops it to Harden, which initializes the motion, with Durant hovering by Perk. By all appearances, the Thunder are going to run KD baseline off a double screen and have Harden feed him either in the post or off a curl.

Instead, OKC does something interesting. Russell Westbrook sets the screen for Durant. A twist. Harden, a great passer, is there to feed the ball to Durant, which is better than Westbrook doing it. And on top of it, with Harden on the wing, it sets up a possibility for a screen-and-roll with Harden, which is something OKC likes to do.

Now look where KD’s got the ball. He could’ve taken a jumper right there (Westbrook’s screens were really good, actually), but he’s got the ball at the free throw line one-on-one with Rudy Gay. That’s a spot where KD is lethal. The first time, Durant crossed him and scored on a runner. Next time, the defense collapsed to double and he kicked out to a wide open Serge Ibaka who missed a make-able jumper. Third time, Durant hit a ridiculous fadeaway over Gay.

What this set is contingent on is KD doing ridiculous things. Luckily, he’s entirely capable of it. That’s what you want in a go-to finisher. A guy that when he gets the ball in a spot, he can finish. I’ve often wondered why the Thunder didn’t have something like the Celtics do when they get the ball to Paul Pierce isolated on the elbow. Well, here it is.

Defenses will adjust to this. They’ll collapse, run defenders at KD or he’ll just miss. But as you can see with the spacing, he’s got options. He can kick to Ibaka. He can hit a cutting Westbrook. He can swing it back to Harden. The spacing is there and Durant’s got the ball in a good working area. It’s essentially the same idea as the top of the key iso, except instead of KD trying to hold off a defender pushing on him (which he doesn’t do well, as he always gets moved out), Durant gets a catch with a little breathing room.

Kudos to Scott Brooks and his staff for this one. Simple, quality set that gets the ball to Kevin Durant, which is always a good play.

You know how some TV shows get disclaimers on them? Well, this post needs one too. This post may not be suitable for emotional Thunder fans still not over yesterday’s loss. Reader discretion is advised.

Following the Thunder’s incredible fourth quarter meltdown in Game 3 which gave away a big swing game, a lot of focus was on Russell Westbrook and his now infamous “hero mode.” I saw it differently. I didn’t think Westbrook had a whole lot to do with it. I saw it more as a product of bad team offense, no James Harden and predictable, elementary offensive sets. Westbrook was a part of it, but it’s not on him exclusively.

I don’t think me just saying it convinced everyone — not even myself necessarily — so I re-watched the Thunder’s fourth quarter again, specifically those last seven minutes. The video of every Thunder offensive possession the last seven minutes of the game is above. If you’re one of the many pinning this on Westbrook, you’re probably going to see what you want to see and I’m not going to change your mind. But going through it, I just don’t see how Westbrook went “hero” or tried to subvert Durant here.

Possession 1, 7:13
OKC runs its simple little Durant-Westbrook screen-and-roll/screen-and-post play. Durant is battling Tony Allen on the wing and Westbrook intends to get him the ball. KD is most likely fouled as Allen employs the “hugholdgrabpull” move and Westbrook gets hit with a turnover.

Possession 2, 6:32
A good, clean open look for Westbrook from a spot he’s proven he can hit from. If you truly have a problem with Westbrook taking this shot, then you’ll just have to sit him down. I’d actually be throwing and yelling at him if he didn’t take that shot. It was a rhythm jumper that was open. Yes, there were 16 seconds on the shot clock when he took it. But he’s a good scorer and capable shooter from there. Just didn’t make it.

Possession 3, 5:45
Durant tries to post on Allen on the right win. Westbrook can’t give him the ball because Zach Randolph is shading to double KD on the catch. So Russ does the correct thing and reverses it to James Harden with 10 on the shot clock. Harden probably should’ve called for a pick-and-roll, but gives it back to Westbrook. With only a few ticks on the shot clock, Westbrook is forced to make a play and he knocks down a little midrange jumper.

Possession 4, 4:54
OKC runs that high post isolation thing for KD, but he never gets free. Westbrook is clearly trying to get it to him, but there’s no room for it. Look at the other three guys though. Standing. Not moving. Not screening anyone. And after KD doesn’t get it, he just remains well behind the 3-point line. Westbrook does a nice job getting into the paint and to the rim. He misses a somewhat difficult layup.

Possession 5, 4:31
After a nice steal, Westbrook looks up court and finds Durant on the fly. KD attacks, is likely fouled but the ball is knocked out, off Memphis.

Possession 6, 4:24
Ball is thrown in to Durant, he gives it to Ibaka who gives it to Westbrook. Nobody is moving, nobody is screening. KD is standing on the wing. This is the one time you actually see Westbrook wave Durant off, but I assume it’s just that Russ doesn’t want to run the screen-and-pop thing. Shot clock grinds down, Westbrook takes a contested jumper.

Possession 7, 3:40
I think this possession illustrates my frustration with the entire offense more than anything. There’s good action off the ball to start, but then it dissolves into a two-man game with KD and Westbrook again. Westbrook drives and kicks to Thabo — who should be James Harden — who gives it back to Durant who gives it back to Thabo — who should be James Harden — who is forced into an ugly 3-point attempt.

Possession 8, 3:14
A quick 3-point attempt for Durant. It’s contested, but I don’t entirely hate the shot. However, that’s the only type of shot KD took in these last few minutes. Nothing from midrange. Nothing going to the hole. Everything was outside.

Possession 9, 2:35
It looked like the Thunder were running a real set here for a second. Except Westbrook lost the ball in the paint. He wasn’t out of control, wasn’t doing something selfishly. I think he was actually trying to slip it to KD who made a baseline cut.

Possession 10, 2:17
Another 3 attempt from KD. Good screen from Perk, good on time pass from Westbrook. KD airballs, but it’s because he was very clearly fouled on the shot. The reason I say so is because it wasn’t blocked and there’s no way KD comes up four feet short on an open jumper like that without a reason for it.

Possession 11, 1:42
I would say this is Westbrook’s worst and maybe only bad shot during this stretch. It came with 14 on the shot clock, without a single pass and the most important part, he missed it. It’s probably not a bad look in the second quarter, but here he probably should’ve went elsewhere. Really though, the biggest problem is that he stopped to pull up. I thought he could’ve went all the way to the rim here.

Possession 12, 1:06
Westbrook does exactly what we want to see. He drives hard, collapses the defense around him and kicks out to an open Serge Ibaka. But for whatever reason, Ibaka turns down the shot. Now Westbrook has to come and get the ball again with just nine on the shot clock. It’s up to him to make something happen and he draws a shooting foul and knocks down both free throws.

Possession 13, 0:14
OKC’s chance to win the game despite all of this. It’s the high post iso play for Durant who catches the ball with four on the shot clock. Tough fadeaway shot for KD and he misses. A question here though: Honestly, do you think Russell Westbrook could’ve gotten himself a better look than that in that situation? I absolutely think so. Now, I’ve always said KD has to be the guy taking that shot and I have no problem with that here. And if Westbrook takes it and misses, whoa boy, we’d be hearing a lot more about it.

But still, that’s what’s at the heart of all this. Westbrook can and does get himself good looks. He searches for the first option and once it wasn’t there, he becomes the next in line to do something.

Again, the issue here is the entire offense in general. One or two passes, one or two options. That’s not the way to beat a team playing the kind of defense Memphis was. You’ve got to keep moving the ball, keeping spacing well, keep cutting and screening. The Thunder were killing the clock trying to set up isolation for Durant and as a result, they backed themselves into a corner offensively.

Some will still see this as Westbrook’s fault. I’ve had countless people say to me, “That’s the point guards job though! He’s got to get everyone moving. It’s his responsibility to make the offense work.” Most say that because “point guard” is attached to Westbrook’s name, but he can make his teammates move. He can’t make them set screens. He can’t make them move the ball.

If you’re saying things like “Westbrook isn’t a point guard, Eric Maynor is a better pure point guard,” then I’m not sure I can convince you of anything. If your mind is made up with what you think a point guard’s job is on any team regardless of the situation, then forget it. But reality is, if Maynor is in there instead of Westbrook, OKC runs the same futile offense except this time it’s Maynor and not Westbrook trying to make something happen with six on the 24. Now what would you rather have?

This halfcourt execution has been a challenge for the Thunder all year. It’s on all five guys and the coaches for not developing an answer. But watch those possessions over and over again. I think at some point your eyes will tell you that Russell Westbrook isn’t the man to blame for it. At least that’s the hope.

I’ve really enjoyed not only the way Scott Brooks has found minutes for Daequan Cook by virtue of expanding to a 10-man rotation but even more so, how Cook has totally taken advantage of it.

Cook only sees 8-12 minutes a game typically (only five last night), but as OKC’s 3-point specialist, he’s ready to step on the floor and knock down shots when called upon. We could argue as to if Cook probably deserves a few more minutes a night, but point is, having a weapon like Cook in your second unit is pretty valuable.

Thing is, you’ve got to figure out exactly how to use him. Last night for example, Cook took two shots and went 2-2 (1-1) from 3. Exactly what you want from him. Underrated minutes. If he’s only going to sees four or five minutes, you’ve got to make sure he gets his shots. It’s very easy when you’re the third or fourth option on the floor to go those five minutes without getting a look. And Cook’s not on the floor just to stand around and play defense.

So Scott Brooks has developed a subtle play for Cook. I first noticed it about three weeks ago and now it looks like a set the Thunder runs routinely only with Cook in the game.

It’s really a pretty simple set. Not a ton of movement, not a ton screening. Cook runs what my middle school basketball coach called an “umbrella cut” where he basically runs a half circle from one side of the court to the other.

The setup is key. With the way Cook runs his cut, it looks like he’s going to have no part of the forthcoming play. The ball goes to James Harden on the wing and Nazr Mohammed comes to set an on-ball. By all appearances, it looks like about the 500th screen-and-roll the Thunder’s going to run with Harden.

You can see Danilo Gallinari is watching the Harden-Mohammed pick-and-roll and has sort of forgotten about Cook on the wing behind him.

It’s all about timing here. Harden throws a skip pass, to a spot he trusts Cook will be at. On the skip, look at Nick Collison lining up Gallinari like he’s a tight end about to blow up a linebacker. With as well as the play is set up, basically it just comes down to if Cook makes the shot or not. If he gets a little space, he’s going to fire. And Collison’s screen gives him exactly that.

But look at how much room Cook gets. More than enough. Al Harrington gets caught having no idea if he should stay home on Collison or hedge out to cover Cook. As a result, OKC gets a beautiful look from 3 and Cook does the most important part: He makes it.

It’s become part of the Thunder game routine. Just like you can be sure Russell Westbrook will smack his hands together after a no-call at least once, just like you can know Kevin Durant will fall down a time or two in a way that scares you to death and just like you can be certain Nick Collison will take a charge, you can also be sure James Harden and Collison will hook up on a backdoor cut and pass.

Unofficially, I think they have a streak of 60 games on this. I can’t think of a night it didn’t happen honestly. It’s become a go-to set for the second unit and one with a success rate of somewhere around 99 percent.

So naturally, let’s study it in a little greater detail. In the video I put one backdoor play from the Charlotte game Friday and one from Sunday night’s game against Toronto.

The first couple times I saw the backdoor play, I always kind of assumed it was just a smart two-man play from Collison and Harden. I didn’t really see it as a called set, but more of two smart players improvising a good play. Harden is probably the best cutter on the team and he has tremendous hands, so the play kind of comes natural. I don’t know why it always seems to come with Collison, but he is a very good passer and because he has the threat of being capable of that 18-20 foot jumper, it draws the defense to him and takes focus away.

The play starts with Collison slipping off after kind of faking a screen. Nothing special about that, but obviously the Thunder wants the ball in Collison’s hands at the top of the key with some space.

Again, the space Collison has is pretty important, but the key to the play is the setup. Without that, this thing never works. Harden’s man has committed slightly to helping on Collison, at least just in eying him. Harden sets up his man by faking either a hard move to get a hand-off from Collison or just a pass. Without Harden’s 3-point threat, his defender isn’t as concerned about where he’s going. So Harden stutters toward Collison and that’s all he needs. Once his man moves slightly toward stopping the hand-off, it’s all over.

The way the play is designed, I think it’s an option between Collison and Harden. If Harden feels his man commit, he’ll backcut. If he doesn’t get it, he’ll come up for a hand-off. Again, that’s a big reason the play is so tough to stop. Because Harden can hit the 3 off the hand-off, defenders have to key on both.

Tyrus Thomas actually did a pretty good job of sniffing the play out and forced Harden to pump a couple times before scoring. But you can see how Harden barely needs any space to get it done. It’s kind of like a wide receiver putting his man on his hip. Once that happens, all it takes is a good throw from the quarterback and there’s no stopping it. And in this case, Nick Collison is basically the Peyton Manning of backdoor passing.

The way the Thunder ran it Sunday against the Raptors was slightly different with Collison not faking his on-ball screen quite as well. His man didn’t commit, so Collison never had extra space.

But what you can see is that the floor spacing is terrific. Just look at that huge hole there in the paint. Collison sells the hand-off even more by taking a dribble and a step toward Harden and right at that moment, Harden cuts reverses and cuts hard to the baseline.

The biggest reason I love this play so much is the timing and chemistry it requires to execute. Harden has to make eye contact with Collison and at the same time, they have to sync up to make it work. It’s a trust play. Collison is trusting Harden not to fake a cut and step back out and Harden trusts Collison to deliver the ball on time.

Again, to use the quarterback analogy, Collison has to sort of throw Harden open. He has to lead him to the basket, picking a spot out and dropping the ball right there for Harden to scoop up and go to the rim with.

Harden’s ability to cut along the baseline has become such a weapon for the Thunder and the reason he’s so good is because he’s always under control, times it well and has terrific hands.

This is the type of play that as long as Harden and Collison set it up properly and get on time together, you really can’t stop it. The best you can hope for is for Harden’s man to guess right and play him to the backdoor more than hedging on the dribble hand-off. Or hope your big man rotates perfectly on time to cut Harden off at the rim. That’s about it.

When Kevin Durant’s game-tying 3-pointer dropped through the net with six seconds left in Philadelphia last night, a lot of people thought finally. Finally Scott Brooks drew up a play that worked at the end of the game. Finally Oklahoma City executed said play.

There has been lots of talk about the Thunder in these situations — not as much as the Heat, though — and a lot has centered around the plays Brooks’ clipboard. A lot of the criticism has been that there’s no creativity, that everything is too straightforward and simple.

But upon closer examination of Durant’s big 3, I wouldn’t say it was an ingenious playcall or anything. I wouldn’t say it even close to one of Brooks’ finer sets. Fact is, it worked and that’s what makes it good. I’ve always said about these last second shot situations is how when the ball goes through the net, it suddenly makes a set look really great. And when one clangs long, the play is crap.

That’s why it’s always nice to have a player like KD that can turn a bad play to a very good one just because he’s capable of making tough shots. And that was really the case against the 76ers Wednesday.

From the outset, the play is obvious. With where Serge Ibaka is set up, it’s clear that Durant is about to run off his screen. It all comes down to how good the screen is and maybe more importantly, how good KD sets his man up.

Andre Iguodala is on Durant and is very good at staying on someone’s hip despite getting picked and pushed. So the play starts with Durant giving a small false step toward the paint and pushing Iguodala away to get a little initial separation.

The pick from Ibaka is far from great. He kind of misses and really just sticks his butt out to try and at least get a piece of Iguodala.

What I’m curious about is why not use Nick Collison to set the pick? Is it because that would’ve made things too obvious if Collison were set up where Ibaka is? Or is it because Doug Collins had put Evan Turner in on Ibaka, so if there was a switch, KD would have the smaller Turner on him?

I don’t really know the reason to go with a weaker screen setter in Ibaka there, because I’d have favored Collison.

In that same moment though, you can see Turner is kind of the one that screwed the pooch. He definitely should’ve hedged out on the screen and denied the ball from Westbrook to Durant. Yes, it probably would’ve opened a slip for Ibaka to dive to the bucket, but with 10 seconds left, I think you’d trade those two points instead of giving Durant a decent look for 3.

On the catch, KD has just a little space. It’s not a lot, but it’s enough, since he’s basically seven feet tall. Again, look at Turner. He’s in no man’s land. He’s not doing anything. Probably the ideal defense here if the 76ers could do it over would be for Turner to help on KD, Meeks to rotate down to cover Ibaka leaving Thabo open in the corner. That’s what I’d have done.

But you can see that the play was at least good enough, because Durant has some room. Which is all he needs. Some.

Still, let’s not act like this shot wasn’t contested or defended well. Iguodala is right there. But Durant makes it all work and look lovely because he’s super awesome at basketball.

One of my favorite basketball sayings comes via the always excellent Stan Van Gundy who said to write the story with the ball in the air. I heard that used for the first time by Tas Melas on a Basketball Jones episode recently and it made total sense to me. Too much sense.

And if you were doing that in Oklahoma City Saturday night, your story would’ve looked like this: Kevin Durant didn’t shoot well at all; the Thunder’s defense was absolutely awful; OKC’s offense was elementary against a poor defensive team; and really, the Thunder didn’t deserve to have a chance to win.

Except KD sunk a beautiful fade-away 3 and we all went home happy. Just like that Durant had a wonderful game, the sins of the first half were forgotten and the Thunder had just won a great game. Again, I love that quote.

But here’s the thing: Even the Thunder’s game-winning play kind of stunk. They didn’t execute properly and what OKC wound up with was a near impossible shot from 3-point range at the buzzer. So if you’re writing the story with the ball in the air, you’re probably saying something about how poor a shot the Thunder got at the end of regulation.

Regardless, it went down and it was a great player making a great player. But for fun, let’s break this baby down.

The play was drawn up for Nick Collison to rub Danilo Gallinari off of Kevin Durant and give him space to work. I don’t think it was drawn up for KD to shoot off the catch, because that means the shot would’ve gone up with four seconds left.

But here’s what I don’t like about this play already. KD is catching the ball moving away from the bucket. He’s not a great ball-handler to start with and on the catch, he’s going to be headed straight for the sideline. Collison’s pick doesn’t work though as Gallinari skates right by it, so the point is moot. Also, it’s pretty clear from this shot that the Thunder didn’t have a section option if KD was covered. Thabo isn’t involved, Jeff Green is just standing and I guess Westbrook using a drive is the secondary play.

KD has to make a slight move to come back and get the ball. Here’s the thing: Collison’s pick was so bad, after watching this 20 or so times, I started to wonder if it was designed that way. Collison sets great screens and he didn’t get any of Gallinari here. And the way KD comes back to get the ball, maybe this was a little wrinkle to play to get KD in isolation. That’s just a guess though.

The big mistake here by the Knicks was not running an extra defender at Durant. Amar’e Stoudemire makes sense, but I figured Felton would double KD on the catch right away. That would’ve forced KD to swing it back to Westbrook and probably meant Westbrook was taking a 20-footer at the buzzer. Instead, Felton stood aimlessly just watching like you and me.

Durant has a lot of trouble when two defenders swarm him because he’s not a good enough ball-handler to get by a double. Most teams do this when OKC tries to iso. New York didn’t.

As for where we’re at in the “play,” I think this what Brooks’ plan. KD has the ball alone on the wing with Gallinari on him. Collison’s screen may have been an effort to get Ronny Turiaf to switch onto KD, but still, Gallo isn’t a great defender. The only issue is I think the play was intended for Durant to get the ball a little closer to the rim. Instead, he’s at the 3-point line.

Money. And as you’ll notice, the most crucial part of this whole breakdown is KD’s swaggin’ after he nailed it.

You can’t always write the story with the ball in the air when a player the caliber of KD is taking the shot. Because even bad shots are pretty good ones. As evidenced Saturday night.

Teams have been doubling KD on the catch when he’s posting as well as off the dribble. After his 21-point third quarter, the Nuggets were determined to get the ball out of Durant’s hands. OKC tried to isolate on the wing with Durant, relying on him to either distribute as the double came or score if it didn’t. It worked out pretty well for the Thunder down the stretch and really showcased some more maturity in KD’s ever evolving game.

PLAY 1: [Q4, 5:37]

The first — and most important — part of beating a double-team is recognizing where the double is coming from. If two players are guarding one, but simple mathematics, you can figure out that someone is open. It’s all about figuring out who that guy is. One major advantage KD has is that he’s tall — he can see over most doubles. He does the correct thing here and turns to look where the double came from. A lot of times guys keep their backs to the double team. The simple play here is to just kick out to James Harden but that doesn’t advance the offensive possession at all. Instead, Durant see the double came off of Green, swings the ball to him forcing Nene to step out, which leaves Serge Ibaka wide open on the baseline. Truly a beautiful job of beating the double, all started by Durant. This is KD’s “hockey assist” he was talking about.

PLAY 2: [Q4, 4:02]

The Thunder failed on this play which resulted in a desperation heave from 3 from Durant. Why am I showing it? Because OKC should’ve beat the defense again. Tim Legler smartly points out how late in the shot clock OKC was operating and yes, Durant kicked out from the double-team with about four on 24. But the issue here is that James Harden was indecisive. He catches and instead of doing what Green did and drop the ball to the man in space on the baseline, he hesitates, letting the defense swarm him. Westbrook was open though if Harden just would’ve found him.

PLAY 3: [Q4, 3:47]

Not much to this one other than Durant just making a correct, decisive choice in passing to Green. The double didn’t even get to Durant before he recognized the open man in Green who had a ton of space. Green pumped on the catch getting his man to fly by, took one dribble and knocked down the jumper.

PLAY 4: [Q4, 3:10]

Durant is really triple-teamed here as the sideline is working as a defender on him. But he catches, lets the extra defender come to him and then dishes to Jeff Green on a cut who is fouled. Part of successfully getting past a double-team though isn’t just about the man that’s doubled though. It’s about the other players. Green makes a good decision to cut. Without Green’s cut, Durant is stuck and just has to swing out. One other thing to point out that KD did well: He stood his ground. He didn’t really lean back, or give ground. That’s one thing that’s natural to do when people are pressing up in your face. You lean or step back. Durant didn’t give up ground and used his size to pass out.

Oklahoma City isn’t running an offense conducive to producing open looks or easy baskets. It’s an offense based on shot-making and while the Thunder has a bunch of talented offensive players, even the best ones don’t hit much higher than 45 percent of their attempts.

Not that the Thunder had an excellent offense last season because truthfully, the Thunder won mostly on the defensive end, but what’s the problem right now? Why does the Thunder go through stretches of four or five minutes without a basket? Why are they missing 11 straight from the field? Why are they scoring 37 points in a half? Let’s look at a number of possessions from the Celtics game Sunday night.

Play 1: Westbrook and Krstic pick-and-pop

Really, there’s not a ton wrong with this. It’s something OKC loves to run and it’s something that’s often pretty successful. When the Thunder offense needs to get going, the Westbrook-Krstic pick-and-pop is kind of a decent fall-back plan. The problem I have here is that it comes with 15 still on the shot clock and after just one pass. Plus, it’s not like it’s a “you’ve got to take this” look for Krstic. It’s contested and it results in an empty possession.

Play 2: Durant tries to do it all himself

The funny thing about having a guy like Kevin Durant is that he’s an offense all to himself. You don’t really mind when he forces a shot because most of the time, even a forced shot from Durant is better than an open look for Thabo Sefolosha.

But for a team struggling to find some continuity and scheme, a play where Durant brings the ball up, dribbles and takes a contested long 2-pointer with 14 on the shot clock without one pass isn’t a good possession. I wouldn’t classify it as a bad shot, but it’s certainly not a good one.

Play 3: KD does do it himself

I stuck this one in here to make the point that a lot of times, good offense comes because a good player made a shot. This is truly a horrible offensive possession. OKC tries to free Durant after the ball is inbounded to Eric Maynor. Krstic sets a weak screen and KD never gets separation. Maynor stays locked on to Durant and finally gets a pass to him. There’s no spacing, no movement without the ball and no place for Durant to go other than heave a step-back jumper.

He swishes it and that’s the point. We all forget this possession and chalk it up as a good play simply because KD knocked it down. That’s largely what the Thunder bases the offense around is Durant, Westbrook and Green hitting shots. If KD clanks this one, this one looks like a bad set. It was a tough shot, contested and came off one pass and a bad screen. Except Durant made it, which makes everything OK.

Play 4: Thabo from the corner

This is the worst possession of the game in my mind. The Thunder is down 11 and needs a basket. More importantly, they need a good look.

Maynor brings the ball up and wants to go to the wing for Westbrook. Ray Allen doesn’t work very hard, but denies the pass. So option one is shut down. Maynor turns to do the same to Durant on the other wing. Paul Pierce cuts off that option by just standing there. So 12 seconds off the shot clock have been entirely wasted without anything productive happening. Basically, now Maynor has to try and create something by himself.  Problem is, nobody is really moving and all there is, is dribbling.

So Maynor goes to Thabo in the corner. And guess what Thabo does? He hoists a contested 3 with nine on the 24. To recap: 12 wasted seconds of dribbling without progress. Then more dribbling. Then one pass to the 3-point line to a bad 3-point shooter who decides to take a contested 3-point shot with nine seconds left to make something happen. I wanted to drink a gallon of paint after that possession.

Play 5: Westbrook shoots from 20

Again, this one is an example. This was an open look. This is really a shot I have no problem with Westbrook taking. He’s open, he’s got room and with the way the Thunder offense has been operating, this might be the best look OKC gets in this trip. Kind of like how a baseball coach might say to swing at the first pitch if it’s a strike because it might be the best pitch you see that at-bat.

If the shot goes down, good work team. But since it doesn’t, it’s yet another trip without a pass and a long 2-pointer with 17 on the shot clock. Westbrook’s job as a point guard is to get his team into quality offensive sets and make sure each trip is valued. I can’t imagine Rajon Rondo shooting a jumper with 17 on the shot clock without a pass, but I can totally see Derrick Rose, Deron Williams or Chris Paul do it if they’re open. So again, not a bad shot but considering where the Thunder has been offensively, it becomes one.

Play 6: Durant is forced to force one

I don’t know why OKC is so in love with the iso-post-up sets with KD. Against the Blazers, the Thunder ran that nearly every trip down. I don’t even know if it’s a call or if it’s simply just something to get the ball to Durant to let him go to work.

The Thunder goes to KD and after one pass, a shot goes up. Not a horrible look, but where’s the curling and cutting from KD? I’m not opposed to these isolation plays because Durant is great at scoring over an isolated defender, but in terms of an offense working as a unit, this is just one guy trying to go against five.

Thing is, when OKC made a run in the third quarter, honestly, the offense didn’t really change. Shots just went in. Westbrook knocked down some jumpers, Durant hit a couple deep ones and they both got to the line. Maybe there was a change in their aggression and focus, but in terms of the offense, it was essentially the same stuff.

That might be where OKC’s offensive plan is though. Maybe Scott Brooks is content with playing good defense and then hoping his talented offensive players make plays. That can work to some degree – for instance, in Portland – but in most others, you’ll lose against good teams. Against bad teams, Durant, Westbrook and Green can carry the Thunder. But against teams where scoring is more difficult, OKC needs an offense that creates scoring opportunities for all five guys on the floor.

I can’t say if I think this will get worked out in terms of the Thunder running better offense, but I do think the team will play together a bit more as we go on. The team improved offensively last season and maybe they just need some time to calm down and start playing as a group rather than a one-pass-and-shoot unit as they are now.

Cole Aldrich didn’t have a line that jumps out at you – five points, two rebounds – but in the small time on the floor, we got a pretty solid look at what he can add and why he caught Sam Presti’s eye.

Aldrich made an immediate impact on the game, loudly dunking an offensive rebound for his first NBA points. But in just a couple possessions, he greatly affected the Jazz offense with his length and instincts. Here are two possessions I thought were good examples:

In the first play, Aldrich just does an excellent job of not giving ground to Al Jefferson. But even before that, watch how Aldrich is just active. He uses his ridiculous wingspan to clog the lane and cover up apparent passing lanes. He doesn’t even have to move to help on the cutter James Harden is trailing. He just has to stick his arm out.

The Jazz work the ball to Jefferson in the post and Aldrich stands Jefferson up – a supreme post player – and keeps him away from the low block position he wants. Aldrich does a really great job of not fouling while using his body to “feel” Jefferson. Meaning that Jefferson never really gets any separation. Then the Jazz big man spins to the lane and goes for a baby hook, but Aldrich is able to contest enough of it to bother Jefferson into a miss. Then he snatches the rebound and quickly outlets to a guard. Very nice work.

In the second play, Utah runs basically the same set with a curling cutter. This time the ball finds the cutter and Aldrich peels off Jefferson to help. My favorite part is how Aldrich basically guards two players at once. He knows how long he is and that he can get to a shot while keeping some distance. So he sort of stays in no-man’s land between C.J. Miles and Jefferson.

As a result, Miles doesn’t really know what to do. He can’t drop to Jefferson because Aldrich hasn’t fully separated and he doesn’t really have a clean layup because Aldrich is still in the area. So Miles tries to float one – watch how high he has to put it – which Aldrich just misses swatting. It was a play that doesn’t show up in any kind of box score for Aldrich, but basically was a stop because of his defense.

Those are two pretty small examples of what Aldrich brings to the table for OKC, but it’s something that the Thunder don’t really have. Serge Ibaka is a great enforcer that can swat shots, but Ibaka isn’t as capable of straight defending a post scorer like Jefferson one-on-one. Plus, Aldrich has extremely good rebounding instincts.

He’s not going to be a player that really blows you away with big numbers, but he can certainly impact a game with his presence. It’s a small start for Aldrich and Scott Brooks is bringing him along slowly, but as he gets a better feel, Aldrich will find his place to make a difference on this team.

Here are five plays Durant was stopped and on the end, one successful trip down the floor.

OK, so let’s analyze a bit. The first play:

This play happened mid-way through the second quarter, after Durant had gotten off to a slow start. After OKC had swung the ball around the perimeter trying to find an open look, it came back to Durant. If you watch the play again, notice how Artest bodies up KD. Durant couldn’t move an inch without Artest touching him. The Thunder likes to try and run Durant around screens to give him space, but Artest didn’t allow KD to move without resistance. So the ball comes back to KD and with the shot clock running down, Nick Collison comes to set a pick. Artest does a smart thing making Durant use the pick and thus funneling KD right to a waiting Andrew Bynum. But look how much attention there is on Durant. Kobe is roaming, waiting to help. And even Derek Fisher has sagged into the lane waiting to step up if Durant gets to the rim.

Here, the Lakers get busted for a defensive three seconds, but I wanted to include it to try and illustrate, how tightly Artest glued himself to KD’s side. OKC loves to try and free Durant by running him off a “faux” screen and then trying to bust an unsuspecting defender with a good hard pick on the curl. You see Jeff Green give a small shiver just to rub Artest off and give Durant a little space to run. KD comes all the way around and tries to run off a Krstic pick. It’s not that great and Durant catches the ball a few steps behind the 3-point line. The set isn’t bad because with Durant on the wing, he’s iso’d on Artest and Krstic has spaced the floor well. But notice how Kobe is again just playing rover. He gets caught for a three-second violation, but because Thabo is no threat, KD essentially had a second man shadowing him the entire game.

I thought this might have been the worst offensive set in the game. OKC goes with some kind of double, back-to-back post here with Collison receiving the ball just steps away from a posting Durant. We’ve seen OKC run this before where Nick pivots and feeds Durant on the block. So why does this one look so messed up? Because Artest has moved KD off the block and well out away from the lane. So as a result, KD is standing right next to Collison. Therefore, everything is blown up, Westbrook has to come get the ball and even still, OKC can’t get the ball to KD because of an excellent hedge by Lamar Odom. The ball ends up with Harden on the wing who is indecisiveness and hesitant and ends up virtually throwing it away. Just a real cluster.

Another excellent job by the Laker defense funneling KD into trouble. A really good screen by Ibaka gets Durant the ball with room to operate. Finally, a little air from Artest and his nasty hair. Collison comes and sets another pick on Artest, and KD tries to go at the rim. Artest does an excellent job getting through the pick and then Bynum steps up as Artest recovers. Just excellent help defense. And you’ll notice again, a third Laker (Kobe) is hovering nearby for extra help.

Just a case of KD settling a bit. There’s a lot of time on the 24, and he tosses up a deep 3. Now I almost don’t blame him. He got a good screen from Collison and for once, had some breathing room and a good look. So he took it. Normally, I have no problem with this shot and really here, I still don’t. But it just felt forced a bit. If he knocks it down, then it’s a great pull and a big shot to get both him and the team going. But since he missed it, it just seemed like a force.

I wanted to put this one in on the end, because it’s a good example of Durant catching the ball in an area he could work with. Artest doesn’t force him off the block and KD gets a clean catch. The help defense is slow and KD gets into the lane with ease and knocks down a fairly routine jumper. This a way we’ve become accustomed to seeing Durant score. He got the ball in space and used his height and length to gain a little distance for a clean look. There was no Andrew Bynum running at Durant for a challenge and Pau Gasol was late helping. More of this please.

I don’t think it’s back to the drawing board time for OKC. These are sets the Thunder has used all season and KD led the league in scoring using them. There’s nothing brilliant or innovative about them. Most of them rely on Kevin Durant being awesome at basketball, which most of the time he is. He’s great because he can hit tough shots over anyone, and if he makes three or four of those, he’s got a great game in his pocket and OKC is right in it. So I don’t expect much to change, but the Thunder need to be a little more conscious with the screens for Durant and also KD needs to be aggressive at the basket and not settle for easy jumpers.