Oklahoma City Thunder Continue Their Thunderous Start

Everyone questions and debates whether or not Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook can coexist. All this team seems to be concerned with is winning games. They're off to a league-best 12-2 start. They may not be blowing their opposition out of the water or putting up big numbers, but they are doing what they have to do to win.

Tonight, Oklahoma City played a Boston Celtics team that was desperate for a win in Boston. The Thunder refused to back down. Kevin Durant came out and scored 28 points and had seven rebounds. Russell Westbrook hit two clutch threes late in the game to seal the win. He finished with 26 points on the night. Westbrook wasn't the only one to come up clutch late. Thabo Sefolosha, who is traditionally known for his shutdown defense, scored 12 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter. Boston fell behind early and could never recover, losing the game 97-88. The Celtics have now lost five straight for the first time in the New Big 3 era.

The leader of the Thunder both on and off the court is clearly Kevin Durant. Everyone knows he is a great scorer, but it is more complex than that. Durant is a complete player, who his teammates can turn to for the leadership they need. Russell Westbrook is a fiery point guard, who is content shooting the basketball. While he infuriates some commentators and analysts, Westbrook is talented and plays hard, even if he doesn't fit the traditional point guard mold. He is still relatively young and has some growing to do. As long as his teammates know how he plays and what to expect, I don't see any problem with him playing in Oklahoma City with Durant.

The rest of the Thunder team fills out nicely. Center Kendrick Perkins came over in a trade from the Celtics. At, power forward they have a raw talent in Serge Ibaka from the Congo. Ibaka is still only 22 and showed some fabulous potential in the playoffs last season. His specialty is shot blocking, but with some quality coaching and maturing, I think he has a chance to be an All-Star in the future. The last starter is Thabo Sefolosha at the two guard. As was aforementioned, he is a top-notch defender.

The bench has some fine talent as well. Guard James Harden is one of the best sixth men in the league. He is averaging 17.4 ppg this season off the bench. Nick Collison and Nazr Mohammad are the big men coming off the bench first. Guard Daequan Cook has seen an increase in his minutes since Eric Maynor was injured. Maynor, a promising second-year player, might be done for the season.

As far as the Oklahoma City Thunder are concerned, the media can keep bringing up problems with their team. They seem to be too preoccupied winning games to care. As long as everyone keeps maintaining their roles and maturing as the season progresses, this will be a very dangerous team come playoff time. For Kevin Durant and the Thunder, the time to take off to the next level seems to be now.