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Serge Ibaka is my pick for the Oklahoma City Thunder‘s MVP in the early season, but it was difficult to choose him over Reggie Jackson. So far, Jackson has been an excellent shooter and distributor, leading the team in both overall points and assists. However, Ibaka is a stabilizing force on the defensive end. Lord knows how many early season games they would have lost without him in addition to Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant out of the lineup.
It could not have gotten much worse, but things are looking more optimistic for the Thunder after getting back most of their rotation.
They have quite a large hole to dig themselves out of, but this is a team with enough talent to get it done. It must be emphasized, though, that they really cannot afford any other injuries. If something else occurs, their season will be beyond saving. A side effect of their struggles this year could be the ousting of head coach Scott Brooks this summer, because his lack of imagination on offense has been a glaring weakness for a long time and should result in him getting the can.
Ibaka’s numbers have not been eye-popping in this campaign, but as of Wednesday the power forward is averaging a career-high 15.3 points per game while controlling things on the defensive end. He has also become a fairly lethal 3-point threat (36.8%), which should help their spacing once defenses decide to clog up the paint.
The Thunder will do their best to make the playoffs, but they might have gotten off to too slow of a start. It would be a shame if they missed out just because of the injury bug, but that is life in the NBA.
Dave Daniels is a Prep Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on twitter: @AllDave_AllDay, like him on Facebook here or add him to your network on Google.
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