--Bench production understandably went up when Kevin Durant and Jeff Green were both out. In the five games before Green returned at Sacramento, reserve scoring started at 14 before growing to 18, 19, 23 and 27. No player scored more than 27 in that stretch. In the preceding five games, an OKC player hit at least 32 each time.
"When our guys get back," coach Scott Brooks said, referring to the injuries, "we're going to continue to work on the same thing we've always preached: Have good spacing, continue to move the ball, move without the ball and make sure the ball finds a good shot." --Watching from the sidelines isn't necessarily a bad thing for Kevin Durant and Jeff Green, a pair of young players hobbled by minor injuries lately.
"Our guys love the game," Scott Brooks said. "On days off, they come into the gym. On nights off, they're watching NBA League Pass, no doubt. They talk about it in the locker room. They're learning. Even when they're not on the court, they're definitely picking things up."
QUOTE TO NOTE: "With those two guys we're a much better team," Brooks said. "There's no ands, ifs or buts about it. We're going to just continue to go with our process of getting better. We were doing it when we had all of our guys healthy and we're going to continue to do it when those guys get back." -- Coach Scott Brooks on the prospects of Kevin Durant returning soon to join recently-recovered Jeff Green.
