Melo’s Thunder Big 3 flailing

The Knicks have been one of the NBA’s pleasant surprises this season. Carmelo Anthony’s new team has been a surprise, as well, but for all the wrong reasons.

The Thunder beat the Clippers 120-111 on Friday night to improve 5-7 this season, snapping a four-game losing streak and earning their first win in seven tries against Western Conference foes this season. But after adding Anthony and Paul George to form a “Big Three” with reigning MVP Russell Westbrook, the Thunder were expected to be one of the top challengers for the Warriors in the West.

It has gotten so bad the Thunder already called a dreaded “players-only meeting” after 11 games with this new-look roster.

Oklahoma City’s defensive rating (points allowed per 100 possessions) entering Friday was 97.6, second in the NBA.

However, they are just 1-6 in games that reach “clutch” time, defined by the NBA as the final five minutes of regulation or overtime when the game is within five points.

The Thunder had spent 23 minutes in clutch time this season ahead of Friday’s victory and were outscored 92-43 in that time. Their defensive rating in those situations was 162.1. Friday, they were tied at 105 with just over five minutes left before pulling away.

How is the Thunder’s defense so bad when the game is tight? Part of it starts with the offense. While Westbrook, George and Anthony have done an admirable of job of sharing shot attempts, there is little flow to the offense and it bogs down even more at the end of games.

Over the course of the game, the offense too often looks like a “my turn, now your turn, now your turn” collection of isolation plays. That gets magnified in clutch time, and a combination of missed shots and poor rebounding is leading to a lot of easy baskets for the opposition.