OKC Thunder: Five Things We Learned in WIN against Clippers
By Tony Heim
4. The defense is one of the best in the NBA
It doesn’t matter that the Thunder rank 12th in points per game to start the season. When you have as many possessions as Oklahoma City, teams are going to score more points.
More from Thunderous Intentions
- Stealing one player from every Southwest Division team for the OKC Thunder
- Should the OKC Thunder chase after a disgruntled hometown hero?
- 3 OKC Thunder players who can step up in Aleksej Pokusevski’s absence
- Aleksej Pokusevski sidelined approximately 6 weeks with ankle injury
- Damian Lillard does not fit with the OKC Thunder
What matters is the fact that NBA.com ranks the OKC Thunder as the number one defensive team. They lead the league in opponent’s three-point percentage and rank sixth in turnovers forced. The Thunder have the third highest rebounding percentage…basically they are in the top 10 of every major category.
A lot of this has to do with the overall activity from every player. Going into Wednesday’s matchup, the Thunder ranked first in total deflections. Steven Adams is averaging two steals a game AS A CENTER; that’s very important as the tone-setter underneath the basket.
With the addition of Grant (can you tell I love this kid) the OKC Thunder will have the ability to switch on every player 1-5. San Antonio showed us in the NBA opener that’s how you beat a certain team in the Bay Area.