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Five takeaways from Thunder preseason opener against Houston

By Tony Heim

TULSA, OK- OCTOBER 3: Raymond Felton #2 of the OKC Thunder handles the ball against Chris Paul #3 of the Houston Rockets during the preseason game on October 3, 2017 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Shane Bevel/NBAE via Getty Images)
TULSA, OK- OCTOBER 3: Raymond Felton #2 of the OKC Thunder handles the ball against Chris Paul #3 of the Houston Rockets during the preseason game on October 3, 2017 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Shane Bevel/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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TULSA, OK- OCTOBER 3: James Harden #13 of the Houston Rockets shoots the ball during the preseason game against the OKC Thunder on October 3, 2017 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Shane Bevel/NBAE via Getty Images)
TULSA, OK- OCTOBER 3: James Harden #13 of the Houston Rockets shoots the ball during the preseason game against the OKC Thunder on October 3, 2017 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Shane Bevel/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Chemistry and communication is the key

There’s a reason why Houston shot 55 threes and made 24 of them tonight. The combination of Chris Paul and James Harden was able to penetrate Oklahoma City’s defense and kick out to their myriad of shooters. The duo combined for 17 of the Rocket’s 22 assists; there’s only so many open shots Ryan Anderson and Trevor Ariza are going to miss.

While the Thunder have a lot of defensive talent, they are working in two new starters (three if you include Raymond Felton tonight). Carmelo made a couple good reads on the help-side, but those have to become more natural. And they can once everybody gets on the same page with Donovan’s defensive schemes.

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That’s on Steven Adams shoulders as the anchor down-low. As the player with the best view of the court, the Big Kiwi needs to be the Thunder’s middle linebacker. He’s got to call out every screen, every cut, so all five players have an idea of what’s going on.

Heavy communication is just as important on the offensive end. If the Thunder want to truly run a heavy motion offense they have to be interconnected at the brain. Adams got hit with a cheap foul on a charge at one point because he was late getting to a PG off-ball screen.

It’s not unusual for this to be a problem in the first preseason game. It will happen early on in the regular season too. But getting the bumps smoothed out has to be the Thunder’s biggest priority the rest of camp.

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