Five takeaways from the OKC Thunder win against Utah
By Tony Heim
1. The West should be afraid of this Thunder team
After OKC won the first two games post-ASB it was incredibly difficult not to overreact. The new pieces were fitting in nicely, the team scored 110+ points, they were playing without their third best player…We had to remember that it came against the Pelicans and the Lakers.
Must Read: Cas Cuffy’s weekly Oklahoma City Blue report
But this win came against the fourth-seeded Utah Jazz. Who were playing on their own three-game win streak. And were fully healthy. I said it in the previous slide: everything is falling together perfectly for the Thunder.
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The team’s biggest weaknesses have all been addressed by the front office in a matter of a week. Just like last season Billy Donovan has a variety of lineup he can use to combat any style of play. If a team wants to go big OKC can play the Stache Bros together. If they go small he can employ Jerami Grant or Taj Gibson at power forward to match up athletically.
The scary factor is that all the growth has come in a matter of three games and two practices. Imagine what’s going to happen as Gibson and McDermott continue to get reps with their teammates. Imagine what’s going to happen as The Professor experiments and discovers a secret Death Lineup. Imagine what happens when Oladipo finally returns.
If I’m the Warriors, Spurs and Rockets I have my eye on the Thunder. Oklahoma City may be the seventh seed now, but that won’t last long.
Not if Russell Westbrook has anything to do with it.