The Oklahoma City Thunder suffered a major blow this weekend when it was discovered that reigning MVP Kevin Durant, a four-time NBA scoring champion, had a fracture in his right foot and will need surgery.
Durant, who averaged 32 points, 7.4 rebounds and a career-high 5.5 assists last season, is expected to require surgery and six to eight weeks of recovery for a "Jones fracture," which is a small break at the base of his small toe.
"From what I've been told, a Jones fracture is the most common surgical procedure performed on NBA players as of late," Thunder general manager Sam Presti said. "It has happened enough so that there is enough of a body of work to look at an average recovery time."
The Thunder rely heavily on Durant and fellow All-Star Russell Westbrook to carry the offensive load. Last season Durant evolved from scorer to all-around playmaker in Westbrook's absence, so he now will have to perform a similar role. The Durant injury shifts responsibilities throughout the roster however.
These are the players who will need to emerge for OKC to withstand this loss in the difficult Western Conference.
Reggie Jackson
Jackson saw his minutes double last season, and he rewarded Oklahoma City's faith in him with a career year. Jakcson averaged 13.1 points, 4.1 assists and 3.9 rebounds on 44 percent shooting. With Durant out, Jackson may be inserted into the starting lineup to provide extra scoring punch. Jackson can serve as a secondary ball-handler with Westbrook on the court, but will need to increase his 3-point percentage (33.9 percent in 2013-14) in order to keep teams from walling off the paint to Westbrook. Jackson has also settled into a role much like James Harden had in OKC as the leader of the second unit. If he is a starter, than the next name on this list has to step up.
Jeremy Lamb
Lamb hasn't been able to fill much of the void Harden left when he bolted to Houston, averaging 8.5 points last season on 35 percent shooting from 3-point range. He was woefully inconsistent, swinging from a 40 percent mark in November and December to 30 percent the next two months.
Lamb is in the running to be Oklahoma City's starting two-guard, but free agent Anthony Morrow has a better NBA track record. If Jackson is needed in the starting five, Lamb will need to knock down 3-pointers more consistently, and become more of a creator for other players.
Serge Ibaka
Ibaka's made great strides as a scorer since entering the league, but he is still extremely reliant on his teammates to put him in position to score. Ibaka's mid-range jump shot is deadly, and he's become an 81 percent shooter on corner treys, but almost 80 percent of his field goals are assisted.
He is still not a player whom the Thunder can dump the ball to in the post for one-on-one action, and without Durant drawing attention, open jumpers will be tougher for Ibaka to come across. Hopefully he has been working on his post effectiveness this offseason for the Thunder's sake.
Sebastian Telfair
It's unclear what Telfair will be able to give Oklahoma City, but playing him at times with Westbrook may not be the worst idea. Telfair is a true point guard with great passing ability, while Westbrook can certainly move over to shooting guard and dominate that way. With a more traditional point guard getting Westbrook great looks, as opposed to Westbrook having to do it all each time down the court, they may be able to ease his load a bit in Durant's absence and help his percentages.
That is, of course, assuming Telfair is playing quality basketball. Oklahoma City is Telfair's eighth NBA stop, indicating it may be a lot to expect too much from him.
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