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Thunder in the news: Pundits say OKC may flop this season

By Tony Heim

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - OCTOBER 1: Paul George #13 and Carmelo Anthony #7 of the OKC Thunder and their team hold an open Blue/White scrimmage for fans on October 1, 2017 at Edmond North High School in Edmond, Oklahoma. Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Layne Murdoch/NBAE via Getty Images)
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - OCTOBER 1: Paul George #13 and Carmelo Anthony #7 of the OKC Thunder and their team hold an open Blue/White scrimmage for fans on October 1, 2017 at Edmond North High School in Edmond, Oklahoma. Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Layne Murdoch/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – OCTOBER 1: The OKC Thunder hold an open Blue/White scrimmage for fans on October 1, 2017 at Edmond North High School in Edmond, Oklahoma. Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Layne Murdoch/NBAE via Getty Images)
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – OCTOBER 1: The OKC Thunder hold an open Blue/White scrimmage for fans on October 1, 2017 at Edmond North High School in Edmond, Oklahoma. Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Layne Murdoch/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Excited for the start of a new OKC Thunder season? If so Thunder in the news needs to become your daily destination for your Oklahoma City fix.

Missing Thunder basketball already? Me too. Luckily we have a lot to talk about considering we’ve only seen one game of preseason basketball. As we get closer to the season national pundits are giving their best guesses of what’s going to happen this season. Naturally not everybody is going to favor our team – it’s to look at what they view as potential flaws.

The Crossover looks at potential disappointing teams

Five writers were asked, two of them named the Oklahoma City Thunder as the “biggest flop” candidate this season. It makes sense too. There’s a lot of questions around the national media whether these three stars can quickly build chemistry together. Words like “ego” and “usage rating” is a hot topic when analyzing the Thunder; I counter with every single quote that has come from camp. Ultimately this was my “favorite” point that Ben Golliver made.

"Golden State, San Antonio and Houston all possess established frameworks that would keep them afloat during a major injury to one of their franchise guys. Oklahoma City, with new stars to acclimate and a bench full of no-namers, simply doesn’t."

Best case/worst case scenarios for the Thunder

Now for some good news! Well kinda. The Ringer is rolling out team previews as the season inches closer – a few days ago Danny Chau broke down the Thunder. His best case is at the very extreme of the spectrum:

"The Thunder take the Warriors to seven games in the Western Conference finals on the back of one of the best starting lineups in the league—and unlike in 2016, they seal the deal."

His worst case isn’t as fun:

"Anthony struggles to adapt to the first complementary role in his NBA career, George develops a wandering eye as the Thunder disappointingly fill a low-seeded playoff spot, and it becomes, once again, Russ all alone."

What’s the lesson? OKC success stems on how well the three stars fit their games into their new roles.

Previewing and hypothesizing Jerami Grant’s third NBA season

The day of projections continue! Instead of looking at the whole team, however, we’re going to study Jerami Grant. Joshua Lea looks at one of the most important bench pieces for the Thunder this season. Is he good enough to be an eighth man on a contender? Is Patrick Patterson going to eat into his minutes? Those are questions you’ll have to find out.

"Honestly, he reminds me a lot of Serge Ibaka with less muscle. Still, Grant’s position and role on the Thunder is clear."

That’s it for Thursday’s edition of Thunder in the news! We’ll be back every day with another issue, as well as daily features from our awesome staff of writers. Make sure you’re making Thunderous Intentions your go-to destination for OKC Thunder content.

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