The Oklahoma City Thunder are off to a slow start this season, which is a surprise because a team that has a trio of Russell Westbrook, Carmelo Anthony, and Paul George has no right to be 6-7 through the first 13 games of the 2017-18 campaign.
The Thunder’s early-season struggles can be partly attributed to chemistry issues. Assembling a superteam and achieving success isn’t as easy as it sounds. Westbrook, Anthony, and George are all ball-demanding stars used to having possession of the rock every time they’re on the floor, and they must adjust to sharing it now that they're teammates.
On that note, let’s just say that despite the arrival of Anthony and George to the fold, Westbrook remains the top go-to-guy for the Thunder late in games. According to NBA Stats, the reigning MVP paces the team in clutch usage percentage (41.6) followed by George (23.3), and Anthony (20.9).
Not only that, Westbrook also has the better true shooting percentage in the clutch among the three with 57.8. George and Anthony have 49.2 and 45.0, respectively.
Anthony used to make a living making shots to rescue the New York Knicks during his many seasons in the Big Apple, so seeing Anthony in the shadows of a teammate at crunch time is something new to many of us. Last season, Anthony led the Knicks in clutch usage percentage (35.2) with a 51.8 true shooting percentage during the last five minutes of games.
The Thunder may be struggling, but at least they have plenty of options to go to during tight outings, especially in the waning minutes of their outings.
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