Most basketball fans I know, regardless of teams allegiances, were genuinely brokenhearted by the early elimination of the Oklahoma City Thunder at the hands of the Memphis Grizzlies in the second round of this year's playoffs. Many reasons can explain that.
1) Nobody really likes the Grizzlies. They are a blue-collar, hardworking team, sure. But they play an ugly brand of basketball. They are a defense-first team that clogs the paint and brutalizes star players. Unlike the 2004 Detroit Pistons, they don't have the following redeeming factors: a badass outside shooter, a terrifying center, a crazy person or the most maniacally competitive coach. The Grizzlies are boring in and off court.
2) They made their way to the finals last year, only to be brutally beaten by the Miami Heat. Nobody likes to see the underdog lose. Nobody likes to see a team patiently build through smart drafting lose to a team that was quickly assembled with money (I'm simplifying the Heat here, but without LeBron and Bosh it's unlikely they would be a dominant force). So everybody wished them retribution this year.
3) Russell Westbrook got injured. It's safe to say that given the number of close games the Grizzlies won against the Thunder, it's safe to say Westbrook's massive offense would have helped tip the scales in their favor. While everybody around Kevin Durant choked, I believe Westbrook would have been enough help to propel the Thunder in the NBA finals once more and get another crack at the annoyingly dominant Heat.
So back to the drawing board for General Manager Sam Presti and his troops. The 2012-13 season exposes the frailty of the Thunder's business model and the disastrous implications of trading James Harden. Long story short, the Thunder are a good, young team but they have a longer way to go than we first thought to become a reliable dominant power. Here are a few suggestions of what they should do during the off season.
