Departed Thunder superstars leave bask
The NZ Breakers will relish taking on Kiwi centre Steven Adams and the OKC Thunder, writes Brendon Egan.
Oklahoma City Thunder’s superstar duo are out the door and Kiwi centre Steven Adams could be the major beneficiary.
Much of the talk around the Thunder off-season has centred around the departures of NBA All Stars Russell Westbrook (to Houston Rockets) and Paul George (LA Clippers), leaving the perennial playoff side in full rebuild mode.
Without Westbrook and George, the Thunder will need to find a way of replacing a portion of their combined 50 points, 41 shot attempts and 19 rebounds per game. It’s impossible to fill that kind of void, so expect a committee approach from the vastly retooled Thunder, who have lowered expectations, at least from the outside, heading into the 2019-20 season.
The 26-year-old Adams, entering his seventh NBA season, faces a crucial period in his career.
As the longest tenured member of the Thunder, alongside veteran swingman Andre Roberson (both joined in 2013), Adams is poised for increased opportunities and possibly his best season statistically.
It wouldn’t come as a surprise to see him among the NBA’s leading rebounders (with around 12 to 14 per game) without Westbrook on the floor. He shouldn’t put up too many more shot attempts per game, but could average around 15-16 points, eclipsing the 13.9 he had in each of the last two seasons.
Adams put together a strong regular season for the Thunder, sparking calls for a first Western Conference All Stars berth, pulling in a career-best 9.5 boards per game.
‘‘I thought he had a breakout year last year, to be honest with you,’’ Thunder head coach Billy Donovan told Stuff.
‘‘Steven continues to get better. The thing I admire the most about Steven is he’s a team guy. It’s always about how he can help the team.
‘‘For me, it’s always been great working with Steven because you know Steven always comes from a place of trying to help the group.’’
Kiwi hoops’ fans will get an early chance to see how Adams looks in the remodelled Thunder offence when he plays against the New Zealand Breakers in a pre-season clash in Oklahoma City on October 11.
It will be a special moment for Adams, who is set to go up against several of his compatriots, battling in the low post with Tall Blacks Rob Loe and Jordan Ngatai.
The Breakers played NBA opposition for the first time last September, pushing the Phoenix Suns in a 91-86 loss. They will also take on the Memphis Grizzlies two days earlier on their US trip on October 9.
‘‘Steven is excited,’’ Donovan said. ‘‘I think for Steven it will be great for him, just because of growing up in New Zealand, and he’s got an enormous amount of pride and being such a big figure in New Zealand.’’
Adams will be desperate to start the pre-season positively after a frustrating finish to the 2018-19 season.
The 2.13m centre was outplayed in his ‘Stache Brothers’ reunion by former Thunder big Enes Kanter and the Portland Trail Blazers, who prevailed 4-1 in the first round of the Western Conference finals. Not much went right for Adams, who was yanked in the fourth quarter several times during the series. OKC struggled to shut down Portland’s outstanding guard combo of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum, benching Adams to go with a smaller, quicker line-up.
He battled on the boards, hauling in 36 rebounds across five playoff games. Adams never reached double figures for rebounds in a game – down on his regular season production.
‘‘I think the biggest thing for Steven