The new Oklahoma City Thunder lineup debuts Thursday night against the New York Knicks. In the past two seasons, Paul George has averaged a bit more than 23 points per game and Carmelo Anthony around 22 PPG. During Russell Westbrook's final season alongside Kevin Durant, he averaged 23.5 PPG (31.6 PPG last season). How do you think the scoring will break down between PG, Melo and Russ this season?
Eric Karabell: I view Westbrook as a different player than he was playing alongside Kevin Durant, more driven and better skilled on long-range shooting. And while it's nice he's got a new pair of teammates more than capable of averaging 23 points a night if they want -- and can -- I think Westbrook scores the most. Perhaps not 30 points a night, but he's the driving force on this team and when he wants to score, he'll score.
Scoring is just one part of fantasy value, of course, and I know we're debating only that statistic, but Westbrook will score 26 points per night, George will be next at 22 points and Anthony for the first time in his career is going to have to quickly get used to a lesser role. Anthony has never finished a season averaging fewer than 20 points per night, but he's never played with someone like Westbrook before. Oh, Anthony will get his open shots. He'll get plenty of them. He'll probably attempt more 3-pointers than ever before and it remains to be seen if he'll feel like getting rebounds, which could also aid his scoring, but this feels like a guy who averages roughly 18 points a night and by January is complaining about a lack of shots and being on the bench in the final minute.
Mike Schmitz: Even with isolation-heavy George and Anthony next to him, the MVP remains Oklahoma City's workhorse and will have the ball in his hands more than any other player on the roster. While his game is still predicated on attacking the rim with ferocity, the fact that Westbrook shot made a career-high 2.8 3s per 40 minutes at a career-best 33.7-percent clip bodes well for his fit next to two other ball-dominant scorers. From a fantasy perspective, the explosive UCLA product is still the most dangerous scorer of the three, given the volume he'll have, his relentless nature and his improved shooting stroke. George and Anthony are talented, but it's hard to imagine the brash Westbrook taking a back seat after the season he had last year.
At 27 years old with three-level scoring ability and young legs defensively, George falls next in line. He's a far superior defender compared to Anthony and is six years younger, which will allow him to stay on the floor for longer stretches, thus leading to more scoring opportunities. George is a more versatile scorer as well, with his ability to run off screens, play out of pick and roll, create in isolation situations and spot shoot. George might end up having the biggest impact on this team from a wins and losses perspective, but he remains behind Westbrook in terms of productivity.
If Anthony is willing to play mostly the 4 and do the majority of his damage picking and popping to space, then he may very well have the most efficient season of the three. Rather than the catch-and-hold style he played in New York, you're likely to see more Team USA Carmelo, where he's been much more efficient as a stretch 4 who can spot shoot or punish mismatches on the block. Westbrook and George figure to have more value in terms of sheer volume, but if Anthony buys in, he could be the most efficient scorer of the bunch.
Kyle Soppe: Oklahoma City might be the most interesting team to watch this season, as the addition of George and Anthony to the Westbrook show can go a number of ways. Personally, I think this is much more of a "big two" than it is a "big three," similar to what we saw from this team in 2015-16. In that season, Kevin Durant and Westbrook combined to average nearly 52 points per game, something that I think George and Westbrook will approach this season.
Give me Westbrook to get the slight majority of that (26-27 points) with George experiencing a little growth (24-25). Anthony will be this team's third option, but well behind (I'll say a career-low 18 PPG) due to his increased reliance on the long jumper.
