OKC Thunder: Three Players who Impressed in Blowout Loss to Grizzlies

The OKC Thunder continued their disappointing preseason with a 110-94 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. All though there weren’t many, there are a few bright spots to focus on.

I hate being this frustrated by preseason basketball. These results mean nothing, but the product the OKC Thunder are throwing on the court is not giving me any optimism.

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The first quarter was a beautiful display of passing, cutting, picking, defending and rebounding. The offense looked fantastic; Russell Westbrook came out aggressive, yet he still was looking to integrate his teammates. But than it all went down hill.

Much of the Thunder’s struggles came because of Memphis’ athleticism off the bench (more on that later). With Westbrook out the second half and Price out for the whole game, Semaj Christon was forced to run point for 24 straight minutes. The second half was characterized by solid penetration from Christon but an inabilit

y to capitalize on open shots/teammates.

There were still bright spots for the OKC Thunder. Three players particularly stood out, including the “worst” performer from preseason so far.

3. Alex Abrines

Yo Thunder fans. Remember this kid, because Abrines can play.

Abrines was one of the few Thunder players who looked interested on the offensive end. He was locked in from behind the line, hitting five of his six attempts. But that’s not what excited me. What’s so intriguing about Abrines is that he never restricts himself to the three.

Instead of forcing up contested threes late in the fourth quarter, Abrines used a slick head fake to penetrate into the paint. He went 1-5 on two-point field goals; Abrines’ only make came from a circus shot fadeaway. The fact that Abrines was attacking shows he’s not afraid of the athleticism of the NBA.

The Spaniard has a lot of work to do on the defensive end, but his ability to shoot the three makes him impossible to keep off the court. Personally I want to see Abrines in the starting lineup this Sunday (more on that this weekend).

2. Kyle Singler

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA wow has Kyle Singler proved me wrong.

Since that fateful tweet Singler has scored 32 points in two games. He’s a combined 9-12 from three-point range and he’s recorded nine rebounds. Look, Singler isn’t going to stuff the stat sheet. We thought he wasn’t going to make threes either, but apparently Singler rediscovered his shooting stroke.

I’m all for the Kyle Singler resurgence. The Thunder desperately need to find another consistent three-point threat alongside Abrines and Singler has fit that bill the last two games. The only difference from last seasonseems to be his confidence.

Singler’s play last year was much like the graph of a sin wave (shoutout my high school  pre-calculus teacher Ms. Nashid.) Kyle put too much pressure on himself to uphold his new contract, and his play suffered because of it. If he can stay consistent-by being confident-Singler is going to play a prominent role with the OKC Thunder this season.

1. Kaleb Tarczewski

WHERE IN THE WORLD DID THIS COME FROM?!?!

Tarczewski looked like a solid prospect tonight, playing awesome defense on both Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph at points. And than this happened:

Sadly preseason basketball limits us with video footage. HOWEVER, it essentially looked like LeBron stuffing Steph Curry in the Finals.

Tarczewski ended his first true preseason experience with 5 points, 10 rebounds and 2 blocks in only 21 minutes of play. It was particularly interesting to see his interaction with Russ; the pair looked like they had developed a nice relationship on the court.

The former PAC-12 All-Defensive Team center used his size and strength to keep Marc Gasol out of the paint all night. Gasol did hit 3-5 from deep tonight, but Tarczewski’s impact kept Gasol to 5-16 shooting overall.

Related Story: Thunder Preseason Grades Through Three Games

Royce Young believes Tarczewski will find himself on an NBA roster at some point; hopefully that roster will be with OKC. Even with an influx of bigs on the roster, the Thunder are dealing with early injury concerns. Maybe Tarczewski starts in the D-League, but keeping him in the organization should be a priority after tonight’s performance.