The Thunder raised expectations in the offseason by adding Paul George and Carmelo Anthony, but the start to their season has only disappointed.
Troubles came to a head Wednesday night in a 121-108 loss to the Magic in Orlando. Magic forward Aaron Gordon exploded for 40 points and 15 rebounds, and Elfrid Payton sent Russell Westbrook flying on the way to a stepback jumper in a play that erupted on social media.
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It appears Westbrook stepped on Steven Adams' foot, but Payton could not have beaten the Thunder's star in a more impressive way.
Gordon, meanwhile, blew past Anthony for a two-handed baseline slam.
What went down Wednesday night as OKC lost its third in a row and dropped to 8-12 prompted Thunder TV analyst Antonio Daniels to go off on the team postgame on Fox Sports Southwest.
"This team is about talk right now," Daniels, who played 13 years in the NBA, said. "They are not taking anything from the pregame or postgame press conferences and applying it to the floor."
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Westbrook ran the show as always, recording 37 points, but the Thunder continued to show clear issues sharing the ball. OKC recorded only 17 assists on 38 made field goals, below their season average of 21, which was tied for 21st in the NBA entering Wednesday.
In addition to criticizing the offense's lack of cohesion, Daniels also pinpointed a lack of spark that could get the team working together.
"There has to be some energy and passion that comes from someone in timeouts, after games, whether it's you going in the locker room and coaches are throwing stuff because frustration brings these sort of things," he said.
Westbrook's frustration showed after the final buzzer.
Russell Westbrook looked really upset after tonight's defeat. We know the feeling. pic.twitter.com/BquCR4Fjsm
— Up The Thunder (@UpTheThunder) November 30, 2017
The Thunder still have at least one fan: former center Enes Kanter, who was traded to the Knicks in the Anthony deal in September. (New York is enjoying an unexpected 11-10 start.)
Enes Kanter was asked what he thought of the Oklahoma City Thunder falling to 8-12 on the season. pic.twitter.com/5EkzvyH8pl
— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) November 30, 2017
Kanter's pick of the Thunder as the best team in the West has yet to come to fruition. They may have the tools to be one of the best teams in the conference, but Wednesday's loss showed they're far from making it work.