Measuring OKC Against Golden State Following the Carmelo Anthony Trade

Just when you thought we’ve seen the most ridiculous offseason in the history of basketball, we get one more Woj bomb to remind us just how memorable this arms race has been. Now that the dust has settled and the smoke has cleared, Oklahoma City has built one of the best lineups in the NBA, following their most recent deal to acquire Carmelo Anthony from the Knicks.

Obviously, there are a ton of different storylines that come to mind because of this trade. Carmelo Anthony is finally free of the ever-growing dumpster fire that is the Knicks, Sam Presti somehow came away with another superstar, and yet neither of those topics of discussion are the most important point of emphasis after this deal. As always during this time period in the NBA, one question immediately leaps to mind.

Is this team good enough to beat Golden State?

On paper, their lineup is pretty insane.

They now have the reigning MVP, an All-NBA Defensive caliber stopper, a four-time All-Star, a 10-time All-Star/scoring champion, and the league’s best garbage man as the starting five. From top to bottom, that’s an unbelievable roster that not only has a ton of scorers in Melo, George, and Westbrook, but also has a solid defensive core. This team finished 10th in defensive rating last year and that was before they acquired Paul George, one of the better two-way players in the NBA.

Yes, the immediate knock on Carmelo Anthony is that he can’t play defense, but look at what this team had last year. Enes Kanter is no Dennis Rodman and Doug McDermott is nothing more than a solid role player. It’s easy to say Carmelo isn’t a good defender, but the truth of the matter is, there’s still a chance for improvement. He’s always had the burden of covering one of the better players on a team when he was fighting for championships in both Denver and New York, and won’t have to thanks to George and Roberson.

Yet on the other hand, it’s pretty impossible to “hide” someone against Golden State. If George covers KD, Westbrook covers Steph Curry and Roberson covers Klay Thompson, that still leaves Carmelo with the burden of covering Draymond Green. He’s a stretch forward who can move with and without the ball and is one of the better passing big men in the NBA. Melo has always been considered lazy on defense, and will never get the chance to take a possession off when his team is playing the Warriors. Asking Green to beat you is still a best case scenario for the Thunder, an option they can surely live with, need be.

Believe it or not, the problem actually comes on offense. There’s no denying the fact that this team has the capability to light it up every single night, but according to official NBA rules and regulations, a team is only allowed to play with one basketball at a time. No matter what the Thunder try to do or what appeals court they end up going to, that isn’t going to change. Teams covet star power in the NBA, but the question is, is there enough ball to go around?

All three of these superstars have spent the majority of their career as “the guy” on their team, except Westbrook, who then had his first season as a solo act breaking the NBA record for usage in a season. The beauty of the Warriors is all four of their All-Stars don’t need the ball. Only one player (Curry) finished in the top-20 in usage last season, while the others didn’t even come very close. The Thunder, on the other hand, now have three Alphas who are all accustomed to getting the ball.

That’s a problem within itself—who becomes the “glue” guy? The guy who can score off the creation of others? All signs point to Anthony, who is not only the oldest on the team, but is the best shooter and would thrive as a spot up option. But is he willing to dumb down his game to be that kind of player? We’ve seen too much star power drag a team down before, like the Lakers with Kobe, Dwight, Nash, and Gasol. There were too many chefs in that kitchen, and there could be the same problem in OKC.

Obviously, the Warriors have had a chance to prove they can work together, which makes it easy to go in their favor. Everyone clamors to get as many stars on the same team to chase a championship, but seeing if this team can work together is the true test. Billy Donovan is a creative coach, but that might not even be enough of a difference maker. Even if George, Westbrook, and Melo adapt to change their style of play for the greater good, it essentially takes away the best part of each of their respective games. Not one of those players will be able to maintain the same usage or statistical output they had last year, thanks to the players aside from them.

The Thunder have unquestionably leapt over the Spurs and the Rockets as the second-best team in the Western Conference, but as always, it’s not enough. They may land a couple of big punches, but the Thunder still don’t have enough to topple the giants of Golden State.