By Ryan Nguyen

Basketball is often a game of tradeoffs. Contest the three-point line and you might be vulnerable in the paint. Pressure the ball to force turnovers and be prepared to be undermanned on the defensive boards.

No two strategies are said to be as inversely related as offensive rebounding and transition defense. Send more guys to the offensive glass and you risk getting beat on the fast break. Send everyone back and it’s pretty hard to track down a missed shot. Video games literally contain sliders where players can decide which of those two areas to emphasize. Focusing on one comes at the expense of the other.

How, then, do we explain the Oklahoma City Thunder?