The Oklahoma City Thunder‘s loss on Sunday, in Game 1 against the Houston Rockets, exposed their vulnerability when Russell Westbrook is double-teamed almost the entire game. It also opened Billy Donovan‘s eyes that he cannot play another player in extended minutes versus their opponents in the first round of the playoffs.
With 7:39 left in the fourth quarter, Enes Kanter was beaten on a pick-and-roll play, which ended in Clint Capela throwing down an alley-oop off the perfect lob pass from Patrick Beverley. That signaled Donovan to pull him out of the game and admit to his assistant, Maurice Cheeks, that he needs to remain on the bench.
P&R lob to Capela causes Billy Donovan to tell Mo Cheeks, "Can't play Kanter." pic.twitter.com/4ROFSNpFw6
— Yaya Dubin (@JADubin5) April 17, 2017
Although he has improved his game by leaps and bounds over the past couple of seasons, there is still a lot left to be desired when it comes to how Kanter moves his feet on defense.
It won't be surprising if Donovan and his coaching staff will work closely with the 24-year-old Turkish international this summer and help him become more mobile. Should he be able to develop that skill, it will be a huge boost to the Thunder, especially with their plans of contending for a title. It will also be crucial for the team if they want to continue to have a very tall frontline moving forward.
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